Bellam paramannam | Annam payasam | Bellam pongali

Bellam paramannam or payasam recipe – In most Andhra homes during the festivals makara sankranti(pongal festival), varalakshmi vratam, lakshmi puja, navratri puja this payasam is made. It is also called as sankranti pongal or bellam pongali. This is prepared with the dal and rice from the new harvest if prepared during pongal festival, since it is a festival of harvest. I just follow my mom’s recipe and I wonder if there are any other versions of making this bellam paramannam.

During any festival food preparations, the first thing to do in the morning is make the jaggery syrup and set it aside to cool while you proceed with other preparations. Since adding hot syrup to any payasam or paramannam will curdle the milk and ruin the dish. So always make sure your jaggery syrup is cool to room temperature. This time when I prepared this pongal, I had kept the glass of jaggery syrup in ice cold water to cool. I had to occasionally stir the syrup to cool it faster. But I suggest using a wide bowl for cooling the syrup. This recipe yields a very creamy, tasty and delicious sweet. If you are on a low fat diet, you can replace with low fat milk and reduce the ghee.

If you are looking for more festival recipes, check
poornam boorelu,
garelu
pala munjalu,
chakkara pongal with jaggery,
Chakkara pongal with sugar
senagapappu payasam
sagubiyyam payasam

find bellam paramannam or payasam recipe below

Bellam paramannam | Annam payasam recipe | Bellam pongali

Bellam paramannam also called as payasam in some parts of andhra is prepared during festivals.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time40 minutes

Total Time50 minutes

Servings4

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

• ¾ cup rice
• ¼ cup moong dal / pesara pappu
• 350 grams jaggery (grated or powdered)
• 4 green cardamoms (powder finely)(if adding powder add a generous pinch)
• 5 cups whole milk (you can use low fat milk if you desire)
• 1.5 cups water (you can replace with milk too, but the sweet becomes too thick and you have to stir it constantly to prevent the bottom from getting burnt)
• Cashews as desired
• 3 to 4 tbsps Ghee
• raisins as desired

How to make the recipe

• Wash and soak rice and dal in enough water for at least 15 to 30 mins
• To a heavy bottom pan, add jaggery and water just enough to immerse the jaggery. On a low flame, heat up to melt it and then filter to remove impurities
• wash the used pan and pour back the filtered syrup, boil it till it slightly thickens. Do not overcook or burn it.
• pour this to a wide bowl and partially immerse it in ice cold water to cool down quickly.
• Bring milk and water to a boil in a heavy bottom pan on a low to medium flame, drain water from rice and dal add it to the milk.
• Heat ghee in a small pan, add cashews and fry till golden, add raisins and off the heat.
• When the rice is soft cooked ,pour the cooled jaggery , add cardamom powder. Mix well and off the heat.
• Bellam paramannam is ready.

NUTRITION (estimation only)

Calories: 777kcal | Carbohydrates: 126g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 139mg | Potassium: 579mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 90g | Vitamin A: 495IU | Vitamin C: 0.9mg | Calcium: 397mg | Iron: 2.3mg

Notes

if you are using jaggery that is clean without any debris, you can skip making the jaggery syrup and can directly add it once the rice is cooked

If you are a beginner or new to Indian cooking, I highly suggest you to check the supporting step by step photos for best results. Step by step photos with description available below after the recipe card.

How to make bellam paramannam or payasam

1. Soak rice and dal for at least 15 to 30 mins.

2. You can directly skip and begin from step 6, if you have jaggery which is clean with out any stones or impurities. Otherwise follow making the syrup here. Add water just enough to immerse the jaggery in a heavy bottom pan. heat up till it melts completely.

3. Filter and remove debris.

4. Rinse the pan and transfer the filtered syrup to the pan, boil it till it slightly thickens. Remember that on cooling it becomes thicker.

5. Transfer this to a wide bowl and partially immerse it in ice cold water for cooling. Take care so that the water doesn’t seep into the jaggery syrup.

6. On a low flame, bring milk and water to a boil in a heavy bottom pan, drain up the water from rice and dal and add it to the boiling milk.

7. Cook until the rice and dal is soft cooked. Check if the rice is soft cooked. Take a grain of rice and mash it to check if it is cooked. If you add syrup before the rice is cooked properly, the rice becomes hard and is not cooked further.

8. Pour the cooled jaggery syrup, add cardamom powder and stir well to blend the jaggery well. I do not cook further for fear of it getting curdled. I switch off the heat and leave the utensil on the stove.

9. While the rice cooks, you can finish frying the nuts. Heat ghee in a small pan, add cashews and fry till slightly golden, add raisins and off the heat. Add this to the payasam.

Garnish with nuts and raisins before you offer to God.