Elaneer Payasam

“Elaneer” means tender coconut in the kannada language.
I tasted this payasam a few months ago at a well-known restaurant in Bangalore. It tasted absolutely divine. The taste still lingers in my mouth! Eversince I tasted this, I wanted to prepare this at home but somehow it never materialized. They say that there is time for everything and when the time comes it just happens !

Well, the time finally came and after going through a lot of recipes, I prepared this with some variations – I did not have condensed milk and I was not very keen on buying one. Instead, I boiled half a cup of milk with 3tsps of sugar and reduced it to half the quantity and used this. The payasam tasted just the way I wanted it to be – heavenly ! And, you will have to take my word for it. Try it out and see it for yourself.

While buying tender coconut, ask the vendor to select one with water and some pulp i.e. “ganji” (in kannada), and “malai” (in hindi). The pulp should not be very thick.

Ingredients:

Tender coconut water	About 1 cup
Tender coconut pulp	1/4th cup
Condensed milk	1-2 tbsps or as per taste
Thick coconut milk	1/4th cup
Cardamom powder	About 1 tsp
Cashew nuts (coarsely powdered)	For garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Pour out the tender coconut water into a glass.
2. Remove the pulp and keep aside a small quantity and the rest grind to a paste.
3. Now chop the small quantity of the pulp that is kept aside. This is to be added later to the payasam.
4. Mix the ground paste and the coconut water into a bowl.
5. Add the condensed milk, coconut milk and the cardamom powder. Mix well and keep it in the refrigerator for an hour or so. The payasam is now ready to be served.
   Serving Suggestion:
6. While serving, first place some pieces of the chopped pulp in the bowls.
7. Then pour the payasam in the bowls and garnish it with coarsely powdered cashews.
8. Serve chilled.

                                   

                               

                           

                               

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins . No cooking required if using condensed milk

Serves: 3-4 persons

Note:

• You can omit garnishing altogether Or use a combination of cashews, almonds and pistachios Or any one of these nuts. The choice is yours. I have used only cashews.
• The payasam should be slightly watery and not thick.
• Grind the pulp for just a few seconds.