adharas' Paysum

I begged adharas for this recipe, and she sent it to me almost immediately! For this, she earns my slavish adoration whether she wants it or not. She warns that the amounts are approximate, so keep that in mind. Blue Artemis has made this before and did the cardamon & cashew/raisin thing.

I know this as Kheer, but since adharas' family is from southern Indian. This stupid American learned something useful today!

In a heavy bottomed pan, start out with whole milk. For 1/2-3/4 gallon, add a handful of raw white rice (half a handful if you've got big paddles). You can use long-grain rice, but not Minute rice for heaven's sake. Bring it to a boil, but not over high heat, stirring it quite often, so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Once it comes to a boil, (this takes quite a while) be very careful, because it might boil over, you may have to take it off the heat for a minute, so it doesn’t.

Turn the heat to medium low, and let it cook, for about an hour, uncovered, so the milk condenses. Don't forget to keep stirring! You will know when it is done, because the rice should look like each grain is falling apart. That’s the big secret. Also, don’t hurry it along, because the flavor won’t be the same. Once the rice is cooked, add sugar. I think it is about 1 cup of sugar, you can add less or more, depending on how sweet you want it.

Stir in the sugar, you will see that the milk gets more liquid, as the sugar dissolves.

You can sprinkle some saffron in, crushing it as you do so, and let it sit for while after stirring it in, and you will see after half an hour that the color has been released.

Stir again, so it is even.

If you don't have saffron: Crush some cardamom pods, and add them. Again, according to taste, so if you like more, go ahead. You can also fry some cashew nuts and raisins in ghee (clarified butter) and add those in.