Ada pradhaman, also called ada payasam is one of the most popular, authentic and classic desserts of Kerala often prepared on special occasions and auspicious days like Onam.

In this payasam, boiled rice ada is first simmered in jaggery syrup and then in coconut milk creating a thick, creamy and delicious goodness in every bite.
Ada is like a thin Indian pasta made from rice and the word “prathaman” means first in Kerala. Therefore, ada pradhaman is supposed be the king of all payasams or kheer and that is why it is a must dessert recipe on any super special occasion or festival.

Making ada pradhaman may seem daunting, as it takes time but once you get a hang of it, it is pretty easy, especially if you are using canned coconut milk. It just needs a little bit of patience and a generous labor of love.
This Kerala delicacy is totally worth trying, as it can make any ordinary day a special one.

Ada Pradhaman / Ada Payasam Recipe

Recipe by Neha NairCourse: DessertCuisine: Indian, KeralaDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

A very popular dessert made in Onam feast (Harvest festival in Kerala) in which flat rice sheet noodles is cooked in coconut milk and jaggery.

Ingredients

400 gm of rice ada (rice flat sheets)
800 gms of jaggery
6-7 cups of medium-thin coconut milk
2.5 cups of thick coconut milk
2.5 tsp of dry ginger powder
6-8 cardamom pod, powdered
4 Tbsp of cashews
4 Tbsp of raisins
4 Tbsp of 1/8 inch of coconut pieces,thinly sliced
3 Tbsp of ghee

Directions

Cook ada in 6 cups of boiling water. When ada becomes tender and soft, drain the water and rinse the cooked ada with cold water to remove stickiness.
In a deep bottom pan, melt jaggery in 1 cup of water.(if needed, strain it to get rid of impurities after jaggery gets totally melted.)
Put cooked ada and 2 Tbsp of ghee in the jaggery mixture and let it cook for 20 minutes until it becomes thick over low-medium heat.
Now add medium coconut milk and let it cook till the liquid reduces to its half.
Now add thick coconut milk and cook for another 3-5 min over medium heat. Don’t boil it.
Take the pan off the flame and add cardamom and ginger powder.
In a small pan, heat remaining ghee and fry coconut.
When coconut pieces are golden brown, add cashews and raisins until the raisins are plump and cashews are golden brown.
Add fried cashew mixture to the payasam. Ada pradhamam is done.

Notes

Serve warm with banana or it can be served cold also . It is delicious any way.
Always remember that the payasam will get even more thick when it cools down, so after adding thick coconut milk do not cook the payasam too much just warm it through.
If it gets too thick add hot milk in the payasam to thin it out a little.
You can also replace half of the medium coconut milk with the whole milk or use brown sugar instead of jaggery. The taste will be slightly different but still be delicious.
If using canned coconut milk, you can make thin coconut milk by adding 4 cups of water into 400 ml of coconut milk.