Pazham Pradhaman / Banana Payasam Recipe (Kerala Style)

The best thing about Onam is the variety of payasam that are made and I thought I will share my easy Pazham Pradhaman Payasam otherwise known as Banana Payasam, so that you can try this and make and serve along with your Onam Sadya. Banana is locally known as Ethapazham or Nethrapazham and the star in this payasam.

I made this payasam, for my MIL's birthday and it just took under 50 minutes to make the payasam and it tasted so yummy that I had to share it for you. Your, Thiruvona Sadya would be incomplete without this traditional payasam.

The only difficult part is scraping out two whole coconuts for coconut milk, so I did that a day before and refrigerated it. I first thought of making the payasam entirely with ripe banana, but after discussing with amma, I decided to add 1/2 cup of cherupayar parippu and I have to tell you that amma was so right, it tasted so yum that my kids are demanding me to make again for Thiruvonam...yes, you have to try it and its a no excuse payasam as I am showing easy step by step pictures for your understanding.

Note that I used grated coconut for the milk: How to make coconut milk: Put the grated coconut into a blender with 1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water....give it a light blend....mix and squeeze with your hand, then squeeze out into bowl with a sieve and collect the thick milk (1st milk). Again add the required amount of water to the coconut scrapings and then again squeeze and mix and then strain into a bowl, this is the 2nd milk or thin milk.

Incase you are looking for cherupayar parippu payasam, for your sadya please check that out.

Get traditional and make this authentic and traditional and ofcourse healthy dessert of Kerala.

STEP BY STEP PICTURES BELOW:
I used roughly 4 bananas (1/2 kg) and 2 ball jaggery (1/2 kg sharkara), 1/2 cup cherupayar parippu (moon dal lentil), 2 coconut grated, and cahewnuts, kismis (not in pic), cardamon, dry ginger, jeera (not in pic), and a small piece of coconut for thinly slicing and frying.
In the next picture, it is jaggery or sharkara lightly crushed being melted with little water (about 1/4 cup), so that once melted we can strain it....this is to clear of all impurities...but if you get clean jaggery, even powdered jaggery; you can use it as it is and skip this.

I sliced the bananas and blended coarsely....you can mash with a fork too.

Wash and clean the cherupayar parippu and put it in a pressure cooker to cook with little water, about 4 whistles would be fine....also, I do not like the parippu to be cooked and mashed, slightly undercooked parippu will give a nice texture to the payasam...but ofcourse this a personal choice, if you like it to be really cooked and mashed, then go ahead.
Grind crushed dry ginger, jeera, and cardamon in a dry blender finely.

Heat ghee 3 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottom pan (if you have uruli, use it) and add in the mashed bananas. Mix well. Allow it to get cooked for 5 minutes in the ghee on medium to low flame.

Add in the strained jaggery syrup and mix well. In the second picture, you can see banana lumps; it is because I did not grind it to a fine paste as it might make it stick to the pan. But the bananas will get smooth and fine during the making of the payasam.....let it simmer for 15 min and stir in between and see that it does not get sticked to the bottom. (the idea is to allow the water to evaporate, but if you are using powdered and clean jaggery you do not have to mix for long).

Add in the cooked cherupayar parippu into the jaggery-banana mix. Mix well for another 5 minutes.

Add in the 2nd coconut milk or thin milk (randam pal), mix and let it simmer in medium flame for 15 to 20 minutes or until it is reduced and slightly thick.

In the first picture, you can see that the second milk has reduced and become thick. Add in the thick coconut milk or 1 st milk or onnampal. Mix well.

Add in the ground spices, and allow the coconut milk to be boiled (on high flame) and simmer (low flame) for 2-3 minutes.

Sliced and fried coconuts add a bit of crunch to the payasam along with chopped chashewnuts. Heat a tadka pan with 1 tbsp of ghee, add in the coconut first and allow it to brown lightly, then add in cashewnuts, and then rasins (rasins get fried pretty fast).
Pour this over the paysam, mix and close with a lid.

Serve hot! See, making traditional payasam is not that difficult. So I hope you try it.
I hope you enjoy your onam with this yummy and easy payasam.

Pazham Pradhaman / Banana Payasam (Kerala Style)

PREP TIME: 15 Mins    |  COOK TIME: 50 Mins    |  SERVES: 5-6

AUTHOR: NISA HOMEY    CUISINE : Kerala     CATEGORY: Indian Dessert, Payasam, Onam

   INGREDIENTS

• Banana (Ripe): 1/2 kg.
• Cherupayar Parippu: 1/2 cup.
• Thick Coconut Milk: 2 1/2 cups (about 1/2 liter).
• Thin Coconut Milk: 4-5 cups
• Jaggery (Sharkara): 1/2 kg.
• Cardamon: 4-5
• Jeera: 1/2 tsp.
• Dry Ginger: 1/4 inch piece.
• Finely Sliced Coconut Pieces: 3 tbsp.
• Cashewnuts: 2 tbsp, broken.
• Kismis (Raisins): 2 tbsp.
• Ghee: 3 tbsp plus 1 tbsp for tempering.

  METHOD:

1. Blend the bananas in a blender or mixie. You can mash with fork too. Melt jaggery with little water (about 1/4 cup), when cooled strain and keep aside.
2. Heat a large heavy bottom pan with ghee, add in the mashed bananas. Mix well, and let it cook for 5 min. Add in the melted jaggery and mix into the bananas and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. While it is simmering, put the cleaned dal (cherupayar parippu) into a pressure cook and cook for 3-4 whistles, keep aside. Grind cardamon, dry ginger, and jeera; keep aside.
4. Add the cooked dal (cherupayar parippu into the banana-jaggery and mix well. Simmer and mix for 5 minutes.
5. Add in the thin coconut milk and mix everything together and allow it to boil. Once it starts to boil put the flame in medium or low flame and allow it to simmer until it becomes thick (about 15-20 minutes.
6. Add in the thick coconut milk, and the ground spices. When about to boil, simmer for 2-3 minutes.
7. Heat a tadka pan with 1 tbsp ghee and add in thinly sliced coconut; once it starts to brown add in cashewnuts, and then lastly kismis.
8. Pour this over the payasam, mix well and serve.

NOTES

• I used 200 ml cup for measuring.
• Thick coconut milk is otherwise known as "onnam pal" and thin coconut milk is otherwise known as "randam pal".

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