Onam recipes: Treat yourself to these traditional Onam desserts

Onam sadhya dishes recipe: Elaneer Payasam

Looking  to complete your festive meal with traditional desserts? Try these exclusive desserts for pure indulgence. Bring the wow factor with Elaneer Payasam in the richness of coconut milk. Blend in the comforting flavour of jaggery in Ada Pradhaman, a delightful traditional dish. Let Seviyan Payasam deck up the festive platter and delight the kiddo guests with a pancake twist paired with buttermilk. Kerala Boli is the ultimate showstopper, a heritage dish, an epitome of Kerala culinary tradition. So try these recipes as shared by ace chefs across the country.

Elaneer Payasam

By Hardeep Singh, Chef-De-Cuisine, Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Center

Ingredients

• Tender coconut water (elaneer), 1 cup
• Tender coconut flesh (elaneer thengai), 1/2 cup (chopped or blended)
• Full-fat milk, 2 cups
• Thick coconut milk, 1cup
• Condensed milk, 1/4 cup (optional, for extra creaminess)
• Cardamom powder, 1/4 teaspoon
• Cashews, 8-10 (chopped)
• Raisins, 8-10
• Ghee, 1 teaspoon

• Prepare the tender coconut: Scoop out the tender coconut flesh and chop it into small pieces or blend it into a coarse paste, depending on your texture preference. Set aside. Reserve 1 cup of tender coconut water.
• Boil the milk: In a heavy-bottomed pan, bring the milk to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and let it simmer until it reduces to about 1.5 cups,  then add coconut milk and keep stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
• Add condensed milk: Add sugar and condensed milk (if using) to the boiling milk. Stir well until the sugar dissolves completely. Continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes until the milk thickens slightly.
• Add tender coconut flesh and water: Turn off the heat and let the milk cool down slightly. Once the milk has cooled a bit (it should still be warm but not hot), add the tender coconut flesh and tender coconut water. Mix well. Adding these ingredients when the milk is too hot can cause curdling, so make sure the milk is just warm.
• Flavour with cardamom powder: Add cardamom powder and mix well. This adds a nice aroma to the payasam.
• Prepare the garnishing: In a small pan, heat ghee. Fry the chopped cashews until golden brown. Add raisins and fry until they puff up. Remove from heat and add the fried nuts and raisins to the payasam.
• Chill and serve: Elaneer Payasam tastes best when served chilled. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Garnish with more tender coconut pieces or a few more roasted cashews or pista powder on top before serving.
• Tip: Make sure the tender coconut water and flesh are fresh for the best flavor.

Onam recipe: Kerala Boli

Kerala Boli

By SK Aman Islam, Executive Chef, Niraamaya Retreats

Ingredients:

• Yellow split gram, 1 cup
• Water, 2 ½ cups
• Sugar, 1 cup
• Nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon
• Ghee, 1 tablespoon
• All-purpose flour, ¾ cup
• Turmeric powder, A pinch
• Salt, A pinch
• Sesame oil, 2 tablespoons
• Rice powder, as needed
• Additional ghee, as needed

• Prepare the yellow split gram: Wash the yellow split gram thoroughly. Cook it in a pressure cooker with 2 ½ cups of water. Turn off the heat after four whistles. Once cooled, strain the gram. Grind it in a small mixer jar without adding any water.
• Prepare the dough: In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, turmeric powder, and salt. Mix well with your fingers. Add water gradually to form a soft dough. Rub sesame oil into the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Prepare the filling: Grind the sugar, cardamom, and nutmeg into a fine powder. Transfer the yellow split gram paste and sugar powder into a pan. Cook the mixture, adding a little water if it becomes too thick. When the mixture starts to separate from the sides of the pan, add 1 tablespoon of ghee. Continue cooking until the mixture is soft enough to roll into balls. Allow it to cool.
• Assemble the Boli: Rub some ghee on your palms and scoop out small portions of the dough. Roll each portion into thin flatbreads. Cook the flatbreads on a hot pan, applying ghee on both sides to keep them soft and fluffy.
• Tip: Enjoy the boli with payasam.

Onam sadhya dish: Buttermilk Pancakes

Buttermilk Pancakes

By Head Chef Ganesh, KOA, Mumbai

Ingredients

• Maida (pan cake premix), 770 gm
• Eggs, 6 no
• Milk, 1 ltr
• Caster sugar, 120 gm
• Clarified butter cold, 200 ml
• Baking powder, 20 gm
• Vanilla essence, 15 ml
• Salad oil, 25 ml

• Beat eggs and castor sugar together until fluffy with vanilla essence. Fold in the baking powder and ref flour. Pour in the butter and milk - whisk at a slow speed making sure it all combines to a glossy batter. Pour on to a griddle plate - each pancake is 30 gms and serve with accompaniments.

Onam sadhya dishes recipe: Ada Pradhman

Ada Pradhaman

By Aditi Chatterjee, Senior Sous chef, ITC Maratha, Andheri, Mumbai

Ingredients

• Ada powder, 110 gm
• Grated jaggery, 220 gm
• Coconut milk (first extract), 100 ml
• Coconut milk (second extract), 220ml
• Ghee, 30 gm
• Cashew, 15 gm
• Coconut grated, 30 gm
• Cardamom powder, 4 gm
• Water, 800 ml

• Boil 2 cups water. Switch off and remove from flame. Rinse ada in half a cup of regular water. Add rinsed ada to the warm water and set aside for 15 minutes. Transfer to a strainer. Rinse it with water to avoid further cooking. The ada needs to be half cooked as further cooking will take place. Add the jaggery with 1/2 cup water and heat it up until it is dissolved.
• Extract coconut milk from fresh grated coconut. The first extract will be thick, the second extract will be thin due to diluting the grated coconut with water.
• In a pan, add half the ghee fry cashew and set aside once golden. In the same pan, add grated coconut and fry till golden brown. Add the soaked ada and stir. It will stick initially. Cook for about 2 minutes and add the liquid jaggery. This will take around 10 minutes. It is important to stir in this moment to avoid lumps. Now, add the thin coconut milk to the ada and cook on low flame stirring continuously for another 10- 15 minutes.
• Add the cardamom powder, fried cashew. Turn off the flame. Stir in the thick coconut milk and add the ghee. No cooking will take place post adding the thick coconut milk. Cover it and set side. This will thicken further while it cools down. Then serve.

Onam sadha recipe: Seviyan Payasam

Seviyan Payasam

By Executive Chef Amit Swarup, Radisson Blu Pune Kharadi

Ingredients

• Seviyan vermicelli, 1/2 cup
• Sugar, 1/2 cup
• Water, 2 cups
• Milk, 1/2 cup
• Ghee, 2 teaspoon
• Cashew nuts, 6
• Raisins (optional), 12
• Cardamom (crushed), 1
• Salt, a pinch

• Heat a pan firstly, add ghee and fry cashews into golden in colour. Make sure the flame is low to avoid burnt cashews. If using raisins, fry them as well in ghee until it fluffs up. Keep aside. After that, in the same pan, roast vermicelli in Medium-low flame with constant stirring. The vermicelli should turn golden here and there. Set aside.
• Cook seviyan in 2 cups water with pinch of salt, for 5 minutes or until soft. Do it in low or medium flame. Add sugar and cardamom powder. The cooked vermicelli turns transparent at this stage. Boil for 2 minutes. Add the milk.
• Bring to boil. Boil for a minute and switch off the stove. As it cools down, it gets thicker. Garnish with fried cashews and raisins. Serve.