Blogging Marathon# 27: Week 1/ Day 4
Theme: Occasions – Birthday
Dish: Paravannam (paramannam/ Rice Pudding)
No occasion is complete without a sweet dish in any Indian household. Paravannam or Rice pudding is probably the most made sweet/ dessert on any special occasion. There are probably infinite variations to this dish and I’m sure each household has its own version of it depending on which state in India you are from.
It is a must however for birthdays. The first thing my mom would ask is if I made paravannam for any of my kids birthday, not the cake, not any other special dishes that are made. It’s this simple rice pudding that signifies the occasion along with new clothes to wear 🙂

My mom makes one version with just sugar and the second one with a combination of jaggery and sugar. I have the second version today. But my jaggery is very golden and didn’t change the color of the dish that much.

I cook the rice in the pressure cooker with a little more water than I usually use for regular rice, then cook it more in simmering milk until thick and creamy. Jaggery and sugar are added after turning off the heat because if added earlier there is a chance of milk curdling. If you don’t have jaggery or don’t like it, then simply use all sugar.

Ingredients
- ½ cup Rice water - washed and soaked in for at least 30 minutes
- 2½ cups Milk
- ¼ cup Jaggery - (or more to taste)
- 3 tbsps Sugar - (or to taste)
- ½ tsp Cardamom Ground
- 3 tbsps Dry fruits - (I used cashews, almonds and raisins)
Instructions
- Cook rice with 1½ - 2 cups of water in the pressure cooker.
- Roast the nuts in 1tbsp ghee until golden. Keep aside until ready to use.
- Bring the milk to a simmer in a thick bottomed saucepan; add the cooked rice and cook on medium-low flame, stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens to the desired consistency.
- Add ground cardamom, mix well and turn off the heat.
- Finally add the jaggery and sugar, mix well until they dissolve. Add the roasted nuts and serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.
Notes

Nalini's Kitchen
Such an authentic preparation..looks awesome.Your props are so cute…
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
What a lovely presentation, pavani! I can’t take my eyes off your cute little pot! Anytime Paal payasam is my favorite desert :)Beautifully made 🙂
Priya Suresh
Omg, wat a fabulous spread, cant ask more.. Pudding looks super creamy and irresistible.
Savitha Ganesan
Simply love it.good looking pottery.
Gayathri's Cook Spot
The rice looks excellent. The way you have arranged is awesome…
Srivalli
Very beautiful pictures Pavani, so authentic and traditional setup..
Archana Potdar
Looks yum. love your pics. They have me drooling.
Harini-Jaya Rupanagudi
Love paramannam made in any way. Those terracotta pots are looking so cute!
vaishali sabnani
We call this kheer and it happens to be one of the favorites among most house holds…like the addition of jaggery to it.
The Pumpkin Farm
love the way u presnet all ur dishes pavani, but this one tops it all, lovely recipe and lovely click
Suma Gandlur
Paramannam looks divine in those terracota cups. We too make it the same way but add coconut as well.
Manju
Perfect one. Love your pot.
Rajani S
We make this with some variations. And yes, no function is complete without a kheer of some kind 🙂
preeti garg
Wow.. awesome nutty flavors.. Love the click