Black eyed peas Kheer/Vanpayar Payasam

Yesterday was Daddy’s (F-I-L’s) birthday and mummy (M-I-L)made this as this is made every year on his birthday. This is the first time Daddy is celebrating his birthday here with us and so I am eating this vanpayar payasam for the first time. It is really yummy. This is also called as sharkara kanji.

This is a traditional preparation of Kerala. It is a mix of rice, black eyed peas and jaggery. To increase the taste, a dollop of clarified butter is added. This can be consumed chilled or hot. There are so many different varieties and bases of payasams in Kerala. Trust me this will be loved by all.

Daddy’s birthday started off with a bouquet of red roses, a cake cutting, a small gift from us and it ended with a sumptuous dinner...
Ingredients

1. Black eyed peas / Vanpayar- ¾ Cup
2. Raw Rice- ¾ Cup
3. Jaggery- 250 gms (grated and melted) / adjust the taste accordingly
4. Coconut- ½ coconut (grated)
5. Dried ginger- 1 tbsp
6. Cumin seeds- 1tsp

Method:

1. Roast the peas in a skillet till the raw smell disappears and cook this along with rice in a pressure cooker till soft.
2. Roast the dry ginger and cumin seeds and grind it to a fine powder and keep this aside.
3. Strain the melted jaggery in a vessel and keep this on low flame on stove and add the cooked peas and rice and mix well.
4. Add the roasted and ground spice powders and mix till everything is well blended. At last add the grated coconut and mix well.
5. Enjoy this hot or cold.