Ada Pradhaman

Here goes one of the mouth-watering dessert from Kerala "Ada pradhaman".  Ada pradhaman is cooked with Ada, Coconut milk and jaggery, in  the form of a thick liquid. Ada is the flakes of cooked rice. In olden days, Ada was made at home and used to make pradhaman. Nowadays we find readymade ada in almost every stores. I have used readymade ada from the brand "Nirapara". Pradhaman is similar to Payasam or Kheer but with more variety in terms of ingredients and the way it is made.

Servings:  6 cups              

Preparation Time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Level: Moderate

Ingredients:

Ada	50 gm
Thin Coconut milk	2 cups
Thick Coconut milk	1 cup
Jaggery	200 gm
Ghee	3 Tbsp
Cashew nut/Almond	8 nos
Cardamom	2 nos
Raisins	2 Tbsp

Method:

1)      Ada should be cooked separately prior to cooking pradhaman.  Since we are using readymade ada, it will be best to cook them according to the instruction given in the packet. For “Nirapara”ada, you should wash the ada in normal water and soak them in boiled water for about 15 mins and drain the water.

2)      I have used coconut milk bought from stores. If you are having whole coconut, grate the coconut and sprinkle ½ cup of warm water. Grind the grated coconut and squeeze them to get the thick milk. Keep it aside.  Add one more cup of warm water to the coconut and grind again. Squeeze them as earlier to extract the thin coconut milk. Use muslin cloth to squeeze. Otherwise use hands.

3)      If you are going to use store brought coconut milk, you need to dilute them in order to get thin coconut milk.  For thin milk take 1 cup of coconut milk and add 1 cup of water to it. For thick milk you can use directly.

4)      Heat 2 cups of water in a pan and add the cooked ada to it. Cook them in medium heat.

5)      Take another pan and melt the jaggery (Unrefined brown sugar) by adding ½ cup of water

and filter using muslin cloth.

6)      When the ada starts boiling reduce the flame to low and add the jaggery (Unrefined brown sugar). Stir well.

7)      Add the thin coconut milk stirring continuously.

8)      Allow it to cook for 10-15 mins and check the ada. It should be soft.

9)      At this stage add the thick coconut milk stirring continuously.

10)   Bring to boil. Add crushed cardomoms and mix well

11)   Heat another pan with ghee. When ghee melts add the cashewnuts/chopped almonds, raisins and fry till it turns golden colour.

12)   Pour the ghee along with nuts into the pradhaman.

13)   Turn off the heat. Transfer to the serving bowl.

Notes:

1)      Adjust the jaggery (Unrefined Brown sugar) according to your taste.

2)      It tastes best when used fresh coconut milk.

3)      I have used almonds here instead of cashewnuts. You can also use pistachios & coconut chips for garnishing.

4)      Serve them warm after meal.