Broken Rice pudding or Matta Rice payasam or Kerala Paal Payasam is a delicious dessert made during festivals and celebrations and a popular 'prasadam' (food of religious offering) in temples. The perfect blend of velvety, sweetened milk and tender, broken red rice with nuts and raisins roasted in ghee creates a mouthwatering delicacy that’s irresistibly delicious and will leave you craving every last drop!
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Matta rice payasam, sometimes also known as Ambalapuzha payasam, is a kind of rice pudding that uses broken red rice, and this particular rice imparts a distinct flavor to the pudding.
Why you'll love this?
- This dessert strikes the perfect balance of sweetness, offering a delightful flavor that’s not too overpowering.
- The mix of broken red rice and sweetened milk creates a unique, comforting taste that anyone who enjoys milk-based treats like the Vermicelli Semiya Payasam will enjoy.
- This pudding has cardamom flavoring and nuts and raisins, which enhance the taste.
- It is one of the easiest and simplest desserts, especially when using a pressure cooker and in a time crunch.
- Great for parties, and guests usually love this dessert. Some other suggestions are the pineapple pudding recipe and the rose falooda recipe.
- A great prasadam dish, it is made for festivals and kept as an offering for God and tastes divine like the sharkara payasam and neyyappam with rice flour.
- This payasam is also a popular dessert at get-togethers like weddings and is served after a delicious and mouthwatering meal like Malabar chicken biryani, Kerala mutton biryani, or Kerala prawn biryani.
Ingredients needed
- Rice (red broken) Matta Rice, a kind of brown rice but with more flavor.
- Full-fat milk or 2% fat is fine, too. I used the 2% fat milk.
- Sweetened condensed milk is optional; this gives a rich and creamy consistency and is especially better when using reduced-fat milk.
- Sugar: Add more if you like it sweeter and adjust accordingly if you are also adding sweetened condensed milk.
- Cardamom seeds, powdered finely - This gives a nice aroma and flavor to the pudding.
- Cashews and Raisins are fried in ghee and chopped into small pieces.
How to make Broken Rice Pudding (Matta rice payasam)?
To make this, all you do is pressure cook the rice, add milk and sugar with a little powdered cardamom, and keep boiling it till you get the desired consistency.
If you use the canned sweetened condensed milk, the job is even easier; you can use it instead of milk and sugar. Condensed milk makes great desserts like milk peda and the best tres leches cake.
However, if you like to use only whole milk, that is fine. Using whole milk gives a rich and creamy texture. Continue heating on low flame, reducing the milk to half or until it thickens to your desired consistency.
Some folks prefer to add a combination of milk and condensed milk as well. Garnish with dry fruits and nuts fried in clarified butter, and voila, you are done!
- Step 1: Wash the broken red rice well, add about double the amount of water, and cook in a pressure cooker for about 1 to 2 whistles.
- Step 2: When the pressure is released, open the cooker and check if the rice is cooked as desired; it should easily mush.
- Step 3: Add milk and sugar and adjust to have a free-flowing consistency.
- Step 4: Fry cashews and raisins in ghee until they turn brown, drain, and keep aside. Chop into smaller bits.
- Step 5: Add condensed milk if using and stir well. Cook on low flame, and make sure it doesn't burn.
- Step 6: Powder cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar into a fine powder.
- Step 7: Add the cardamom powder to the cooker with the milk and rice.
- Step 8: Mix well, simmer, and finally add the fried cashews and raisins.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, while white rice is commonly used to make this payasam, often referred to as Paal Payasam, and it will still be delicious, using matta rice adds a distinct flavor and unique texture. For a truly authentic taste, you might want to opt for matta rice to elevate the dish.
You can substitute condensed milk with regular milk and sugar, and it will still deliver the same authentic taste. For the best results, try using whole milk to enhance the richness and flavor.
This payasam can be kept in the refrigerator for two to three days; make sure to store it properly in an airtight container. It is best to have it fresh for the best flavor.
Related Recipes
If you tried this Matta Rice Payasam Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
Broken Rice Pudding ( Matta Rice Payasam)
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice broken red
- 4 cups milk full fat or 2% fat is fine too
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk optional
- 1 ½ cup sugar add more if you like it sweeter
- 5-6 cardamom pods powdered finely
- 10 cashews fried in ghee and cut into pieces
- 10 raisins fried in ghee and cut into pieces
Instructions
- Pressure cook the washed rice with water for about 2 whistles
- Once the steam is released, add milk and sugar to the cooked rice.
- Heat ghee in a pan and roast the cashews and raisins until golden brown.
- Keep aside the roasted dry fruits for garnish.
- Keep boiling until it thickens or until you get the desired consistency.
- You can substitute the sugar and milk with a can of sweetened condensed milk if you like to get a rich consistency and taste.
- Garnish with cashews and raisins.
Notes
- Use whole milk to get a rich and creamy texture, the taste is also exceptional.
- Milk and sugar can be substituted with condensed milk, or you can use a combination of both.
- Do not skip the cardamom in this recipe, as that gives a special flavor and taste.
- Roast the nuts and raisins with ghee, and you can pour the leftover ghee from the fried nuts into the payasam.
I made this broken rice pudding, and it was so comforting! The creamy texture and subtle sweetness made it a perfect treat. Definitely a must-try!
Such a comforting dessert! The broken rice adds great texture, and the cardamom flavor is perfect.
I made this Broken Rice Pudding, and it was absolutely divine! The creamy, sweetened milk paired with the tender red rice, roasted nuts, and raisins created such a rich and comforting dessert. Every spoonful was pure bliss—I can see why it’s a festival favorite!
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
Payasam looks absolutely divine 😍👌
Thanks so much, it really tastes awesome !
Wow, what a beautiful pic!! And of course, a seriously delicious dessert as well 😛 😛
Thanks a lot 😘😘
Definitely pampers my palate 😉
Thank you so much Jyo!
Lovely recipe, will definitely try it. Loved the pictures !!
Thank you Anshu, it is really yum hope you try it out !!
Super delicious and comforting payasam. I love Matta rice, being a Keralite.
Exactly Vidya, it is very comforting and delicious. Thank you! This payasam does not even have the overpowering sugary taste and I can keep having serving after another 🙂
Actually you are right, payasams with low sugar are often easy to consume and they dont give that overpowering taste.
Lovely clicks n I like Lord Krishna Idol 👍😊
Thank you so much Ramya and glad you liked the idol of Lord Krishna!
Ahh...sweet😋😋
Thanks dear for the comments and stopping by!