Kavuni arisi payasam with coconut milk. A Chettinad special black glutinous rice, jaggery and fresh coconut milk to make this delicious and wholesome sweet. The rice turns deep purple as it cooks, becomes fragrant on its own, slightly chewy bite makes the texture more complex and interesting.
Make this for festival days, special family meal, I crave it at times, so make it as part of my lunch too.
Check out my Kummayam recipe and Kandarappam recipe in this website.
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About Kavuni arisi
Kavuni arisi is a glutinous black rice, tied closely to Chettinad cuisine. It isn't native to Tamilnadu, the Chettiar community known for their trade networks across Southeast Asia, is believed to have brought this rice back from Burma, where black sticky rice has been grown and eaten for generations. Over time, it settled into Chettinad kitchens and became a fixture at weddings and festival meals.
In ancient days, black rice was said to be reserved only for the emperor and nobility. Commoners were forbidden from growing or eating it, either to keep it exclusive or because it was believed to boost health and longevity and the emperor wanted to keep it for himself. That's why its called forbidden rice and emperor's rice.
Kavuni arisi Health benefits
- Rich in antioxidants (Anthocyanins - the purple-red pigment)
- Supports heart health
- Aids healthy digestion
- Good source of fibre
- Contains more protein than white rice, contains iron, other minerals
- Helps manage blood sugar
- Naturally gluten free grain
- Supports eye health
- Reduces inflammation naturally
Kavuni arisi payasam Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients needed to make Kavuni arisi payasam.
- Karuppu kavuni arisi - The base of the payasam
- Coconut - Fresh coconut - To make coconut milk
- Jaggery - Sweetener
- Cardamom - for flavour
- Water for soaking and pressure cooking
- Salt just a pinch
Check out my recipe card below for quantities.
Step by step photos
Let's see how to make Kavuni arisi payasam with coconut milk.
- To start with, take ¼ cup kavuni arisi and wash it. Then soak it in water overnight.
2. Add 1 cup water and a pinch of salt.
3. Pressure cook for 6 whistles in low flame.
4. Once pressure is released naturally, check for soft cooked kavuni arisi.
5. Meanwhile, take 1 cup grated fresh coconut in a mixer/ blender.
6. Grind smoothly with ½ cup lukewarm water.
7. Squeeze out the milk completely.
8. Keep the collected coconut milk aside.
9. Then add ¼ cup jaggery, plus 1 tablespoon and mix well.
10. Mix well to dissolve jaggery.
Tip: I used jaggery powder which had no impurities. If you feel yours may have, dissolve in ¼ cup water. Heat gently and keep mixing till the jaggery is completely dissolved. Add it to the cooked kavuni rice.
11. Add ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder.
12. Boil in low heat for 2 minutes until homogenous consistency.
13. Then switch off the heat. Slowly add the coconut milk.
14. Again heat in low flame as you stir.
15. Once it bubbles for a minute, switch off the stove.
16. Kavuni arisi payasam is ready.
You can add ghee fried golden brown cashews to this payasam. But I love this as such. The texture, fragrance of the rice and coconut milk, all go well with each other in this kavuni arisi payasam. Do give this a try.
Top tips
- Make sure to pressure cook in low flame or medium flame to ensure the rice is cooked soft.
- The rice when cooked well and slightly mashed, helps to keep the payasam thick and which in turn keeps the coconut milk from splitting. Since we use jaggery, there should be something to bind the coconut milk to prevent from splitting.
- Adjust jaggery quantity after tasting. If you like more you can add more.
Substitutions & Variations
You can add ghee fried cashews and even golden fried chopped coconut bits for a nice texture highlight. Or just mix a teaspoon of ghee at the end for flavor.
Instead of jaggery, use white sugar for lovely hue.
Instead of coconut milk, you can use regular milk as well.
Shelf life
It stays good for half day in room temperature. Since we add coconut milk and jaggery, I would not store more than that or refrigerate it.
Faqs
How to prevent curdling of milk when making payasam with jaggery?
Make sure to have something that binds the coconut milk together. In this recipe, just mash some cooked rice so that it thickens. Do not mix jaggery and coconut milk in high heat. I prefer to switch off or mix in low heat.
Kavuni arisi is a dense glutinous grain and you should soak it overnight for easy cooking. Make sure to cook in low flame to ensure it is cooked soft. Give couple of more whistles as needed to cook it soft.
Adjust the consistency by mashing the rice well so that the starch makes the payasam homogenous. Otherwise after adding jaggery, it gets thin.
Recipe card
Kavuni Arisi Payasam Recipe | With coconut milk
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Kavuni Arisi
- ¼ cup Jaggery + 1 tbsp, I used powder
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 1 Cardamom powdered
For coconut milk
- 1 cup Coconut
- ½ cup luke warm water
Instructions
- To start with, take ¼ cup kavuni arisi and wash it. Then soak it in water overnight.
- Add 1 cup water and a pinch of salt.
- Pressure cook for 6 whistles in low flame.
- Once pressure is released naturally, check for soft cooked kavuni arisi.
- Meanwhile, take 1 cup grated fresh coconut in a mixer/ blender.
- Grind smoothly with ½ cup lukewarm water.
- Squeeze out the milk completely.
- Keep the collected coconut milk aside.
- Then add ¼ cup jaggery, plus 1 tablespoon and mix well.
- Mix well to dissolve jaggery.
- Tip: I used jaggery powder which had no impurities. If you feel yours may have, dissolve in ¼ cup water. Heat gently and keep mixing till the jaggery is completely dissolved. Add it to the cooked kavuni rice.
- Add ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder.
- Boil in low heat for 2 minutes until homogenous consistency.
- Then switch off the heat. Slowly add the coconut milk.
- Again heat in low flame as you stir.
- Once it bubbles for a minute, switch off the stove.
- Kavuni arisi payasam is ready.
Video
Notes
- Adjust jaggery quantity after tasting. If you like more you can add more.
- If you use urundai vellam and if you think there's impurities, then melt it with ¼ cup -½ cup water and strain it through metal strainer, add to the cooked rice, rather than adding directly.
- Do not add coconut milk to boiling payasam. Switch off and wait for a minute for bubbles to reduce and then add, to avoid splitting.
- When the rice is cooked well and mashed to release starch to become thick, then the starch helps to hold the coconut milk, prevent from splitting.
Sara says
You can make a difference in someone’s life by doing a lil research and lay out a nutritious way to cook and eat! Antioxidants are water soluble, soaking and discarding water - waste! Soak, use the same water to cook. Extra Nutrient-Saving Tips
* Avoid overcooking – mushy rice = lost antioxidants
* Keep the lid on while cooking (less oxidation)
* Add salt at the end (early salting can slightly reduce antioxidant stability)
* Use stainless steel or cast iron, not aluminum (anthocyanins are sensitive)
Raks Anand says
Thank you for sharing your research and the extra nutrient-saving tips. I appreciate you taking the time to look into it and share your findings. You indeed made a difference in someone’s life! 🙂