Yesterday, on Ugadi, the weather was perfect with temperatures around 70 F. It felt like spring and Andhra weather. To celebrate this perfect day on Ugadi, I prepared chana dal payasam (sanaga pappu payasam) for puja.
Payasam is the most common type of dessert served in homes across south India. Prepared with basic ingredients and following a simple method, Payasam– the liquidy dessert, is a people pleaser. Usually the base is a thickened milk and sugar or jaggery syrup. The solid component varies – protein in the form of chana dal or moong dal are added. Or by adding carbos like rice, vermicelli, sabudana and nuts like almonds; different types of payasams are prepared. Real easy and the outcome is always sweet mouthfuls, it is a favorite among children and adults all alike. Here is the recipe for one of my favorite payasams:
Recipe:
(For two)
1 cup chana dal
¼ cup sabudana (Sago, Saggu Biyyam)
separately, soak them in water for at least two hours. Presoaking both chana dal and sabudana (sago) reduces the cooking time, considerably.
For sweet syrup
1 cup of powdered jaggery or sugar
3 cups of milk
Flavoring
1 tablespoon of ghee
¼ cup of cashews and golden raisins
4 cardamom pods – seeds finely powdered
1. Take chana dal and one cup each of milk and water in a pressure-cooker. Pressure-cook the dal until one whistle, just to soften the chana dal. Do not disintegrate the dal; take care not to over cook.
2. Meanwhile in a thick bottomed, big vessel, take half cup of water. Add sugar or powdered jaggery. Stir and cook, until the sugar/jaggery melts. When the syrup starts to thicken, add the soaked sabudana, and 2 cups of milk. Cook them on medium heat for at least 15 minutes, stirring in between. To this milk-sugar-sabudana syrup, add the contents of the pressure cooker – chana dal and the milky liquid it is cooked. Stir and check the sweetness level, add sugar if needed. Simmer on medium heat, Uncovered, stirring occasionally for another 15 minutes or until it reaches consistency/thickness, you desire. Keep in mind payasam further thickens on cooling.
3. When all this is happening, heat a spoonful of ghee in a small pan. Add and toast – first cashews, then golden raisins until light brown. Add these toasted things along with ghee, to the simmering payasam.
4. Finally stir in powdered cardamom, simmer another 5 minutes. Switch off the heat, cover the pot with a lid and let it sit for at least half an hour. Serve warm or cold.
Chana dal payasam (Sanaga Pappu Payasam) ~ For this week’s Indian sweets 101
Variations:
I also prepare the same payasam with chana dal(bengal gram) without adding the sabudana(sago).
Sometimes, I also add fine semolina instead of sabudana to chana dal payasam.
Toasted fresh coconut gratings are also added along with cashews and golden raisins for that rich nutty sweetness.
Glad that your first new year’s post is a sweet dish. I’ve tried saboodana payasam, rice payasam and semiya payasam, but never this. I must try this. Lovely pic, very tempting!
Comment by sandhya — March 31, 2006 @ 1:39 pm
sanaga bellu(pappu) payasamu ante ma akka ku pranamu, addi ishtamu leni varu vunaru anukunta indira.
chala bavundi .
Comment by Lakshmi — March 31, 2006 @ 1:43 pm
Hi Sandhya, this is one of regional (Rayala Seema) speciality, I guess.
Almost every Saturday, my mother prepares this ‘chana dal payasam’ for puja naivedyam. My favorite, tastes quite good, try it.
Hi Lakshmi,
thanks.
Avunu kada. Maa iddariki kuda chaala istamu, ee payasamu. Mee akkaya ekkada untaaru?
Comment by Indira — March 31, 2006 @ 1:51 pm
Looks delicious ! i have never tasted channa dal payasam, shall try this one soon. We usually make paruppu payasam for ugadhi back home, but iam not sure if it channa dal or moong dal.
Comment by Priya — March 31, 2006 @ 2:06 pm
hi Indira,
ikkade Kansas lo.
Thanks for asking,
lakshmi
Comment by Lakshmi — March 31, 2006 @ 2:11 pm
wow chanaga pappu payasam its my fav sweet dish,U pictures come out so good indira meeru manchi cook ye kadu manchi photographer kuda keep up the good work:)
Comment by tanuja — March 31, 2006 @ 2:15 pm
I have never heard of chana dal payasam.We make pesara pappu payasam without adding sabudana.Will have to try.
Comment by Celeste — March 31, 2006 @ 2:16 pm
Indira:
Never heard of chana dal payasam. Looks good.
I made regular semya payasam :)!
Comment by Luv2cook — March 31, 2006 @ 2:17 pm
awwwww indira, meeru ika noru urinche pics pedataru, and nenemo chaala tempt ayipoyi urgent ga chesi tinestanu..:):).
I was thinking about what to make for a party I am going to tomorrow. This is what it will be now.:):)
I made the mango halwa. It came out very well.
Comment by Santhi — March 31, 2006 @ 4:26 pm
BTW my mom uses upma rava instead of saggu biyyam.
Comment by Santhi — March 31, 2006 @ 4:26 pm
Indira:
Never heard of this payasam, but sure it looks so tempting and yummy 🙂
Comment by Karthi Kannan — March 31, 2006 @ 4:44 pm
Hi Indira,
Never heard of this payasam.I will definitely try it.Photos r really good.Meeru adigaru kada “Ugadi” ki Ladoo,Vada chesanu.
Thank u for ur payasam.
Vineela
Comment by vineelakrishna — March 31, 2006 @ 5:48 pm
Indira, this sounds so good! I’ve only ever had payasam made with vermicelli, but I’m very interested in trying this version. Thanks for the recipe!
Comment by Cathy — March 31, 2006 @ 7:17 pm
sounds good!! I’ve had sago payasam and chana dal payasam separately. This is the first time I’ve seen both together in a dish. The combo has got to be good 🙂
Hey, looks like while you were posting your “Upma Gallery”, I was doing a similar picture gallery on my blog! weird 🙂
cheers!
Comment by Saffron Hut — April 1, 2006 @ 12:25 am
Nice Payasam, Indira! You filled up the bowl to the brim with Payasam so that it photographs beautifully? Ingenious as usual!
Comment by GaramMasala — April 2, 2006 @ 4:17 pm
I didn’t know this sweety way for cooking dal. Thank you for the recipe.
Comment by Virginie — April 2, 2006 @ 6:01 pm
Hi Indira,
I am definetly going to prepare this one.I have lot of subudna in my kitchen.Just the right recipe to finish that.
Regards
laxmi
Comment by srilaxmi — April 3, 2006 @ 1:24 am
Hi Indira,
We cook a kind of Chana Dal Payasam in our family, too. I will try and make it soon and then blog about it.
By the way, with reference to one of your last replies, I am not related to those web owners Kaamath. Who are they? I am rather curious. Please let me know.
Indira replies:
A family recipe, I look forward to your post, then.:)
There is a website named “Kamat Potpuri”. Information about India, culture, food, traditions and images, neatly put together by a Kamat family. I think that is one of the first websites about India on the internet, they started it around 99 before all the blogs and everything. Thought you might be related to them. But, totally forgot that “kamat” is a common last name.:)
Comment by Vaishali — April 3, 2006 @ 3:32 am
Channa dhal payasam is totally new to me.Looks delicious and must to be tried …
one curious question, how do u powder the jaggery, the ones I get here is very hard and dark brown in colour..do u have any instrument to scrap it or any special technique.
Comment by Sumi — April 4, 2006 @ 1:31 pm
I liked this dish a lot. But I like to cook the daal more. I also made this with soy-milk and it tastes pretty good.
Comment by Archana G — June 17, 2006 @ 6:36 pm
[…] The recipe comes from Mahanandi, though mine didn’t turn out quite as pretty. Appetizers/Snacks/Nibbles, indian […]
Pingback by Noodles and Rice - Chana Dal Payasam — April 16, 2007 @ 12:47 am
I am on low carb vegetarian Diet and use Chana Daal often. I used your recipe, ommited sabudana and sugar. Added more(a cup) milk and EQAL and came out just fine!
Thanks a lot!
Comment by Vandana Jani — May 10, 2007 @ 7:19 am
super
Comment by sreeni — June 14, 2007 @ 4:57 am
madam
i visited your site few days back only. i have done the channdal paysam. it is well tasty. my family people like more. thank you for giving a good dish.
Please visit my site once.
http://www.suthirecipe.blogspot.com
Please tell me the comments
Comment by meena — September 11, 2007 @ 11:45 am
dear indira,
you have the most wonderful foodblog. professional work, both in the narration and pictures. i entered food blogs through your site. it has been a wonderful journey from then onwards. i had been searching for a channa dal sweet and i will never forget your sweets-101 photos arranged & especially the channa dal payasam. the photo was so beautiful and golden. your site seems to be growing everyday and my heartfelt prayers and good wishes for you to carry on your venture.
Comment by farah — February 24, 2008 @ 9:39 pm
Hi Indira,
I am big fan of yours since 3 years. I learnt and cooked many dishes from you. When I used large pressure cooker this pesarapappu payasam, the milk totally leaked out of pressure cooker. It was sooo scary moment 🙁 I soaked poppyseads too. I will better make this in a big thick bottomed pot instead of pressure cooker.
I never left a comment for your recipes as everything was going soooooo good all these years. This is the first time I am posting comment and that too for telling my bad experience. Please take it in a +ve way. I really love your site and recipes.
Thanks,
Chaitanya
Comment by Chaitanya — December 19, 2009 @ 4:33 pm
[…] The source of this recipe is Indira’s Chana Dal Payasam. I love this recipe for its simplicity and ease of preparation. But don’t be tricked, the taste is just delicious and divine. Another factor that interested me is that this payasam does not use coconut at all. Prior to this I had not seen traditional payasams made without the coconut. The addition of sago and vermicelli gives it the carbs and the thickness. I prepare this payasam when I am low on coconut or not in mood for grinding the coconut for the regular Chana Daal Kheer. Also as a bonus the addition of Chana daal gives me feeling that I am eating something healthy. Thanks Indira for sharing this wonderful recipe. […]
Pingback by Indira’s Chanadaal, Vermicelli Sabudana Kheer/Payasam — January 5, 2010 @ 11:55 pm
Hi Indira,
My name is Indira too 🙂 . This senaga pappu payasam my mother adds rice flour for thickening. As I am allergic to rice I add upma ravva. When I read your recipe I was like yeeeeha. I tried it yesterday. Its’ sooooooooooo yummy. Even my husband liked it too. Thanks for the recipe.
Comment by Indira — May 31, 2010 @ 9:48 am
very nice..it came out verygood.thanks.
Comment by srividya — April 1, 2011 @ 1:32 pm
Hi I like this payasam and found the recepie here on u’r site but when i tried to make it the milk is curdling when i added it to the bellam paakam. first i added the cooled milk so thought it is cooled so must have happened but again did it with hot milk the same thing if u could tell me how to add milk it will b great.
Comment by Sowmya — May 19, 2012 @ 4:37 pm
Super Payasam…. thanks
Comment by Lakshmi — July 26, 2012 @ 4:03 am