Zucchini Kheer (Payasam) / ಝುಕಿನಿ ಪಾಯಸ

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

In India, Kheer / Payasam is mainly meant for serving to the God. Also, its very convenient to prepare Kheer when you want to prepare some sweet dish in less time. Main ingredients needed for any kind of Kheer are - milk and sugar / jaggery. Different varieties of Kheer are prepared by adding other thing with these main ingredients. When we were in Bangalore, I was getting nice bottle gourd from 'Reliance Fresh' almost throughout the year. I used to prepare Bottle-gourd Kheer frequently. After coming to Australia, I tried preparing same kind of Kheer using Zucchini. To our surprise, it resembled the same taste of Bottle-gourd Kheer! These days, I never look for bottle-gourd in the shops; we got used to the taste of zucchini itself!
This delicious dessert can be prepared very quickly. If you like a sweet side dish, it goes well with Tellevu also!

Preparation time: 20 - 25 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients:
Zucchini - 1
Whole milk - 1 1/2 cups
Water - 1 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Semolina / sooji rava - 3 to 4 spoons
Pinch of salt
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 2
Few strands of saffron (optional)

Procedure:
Peel the zucchini and cut into medium size cubes.
Add water to chopped zucchini and bring to boil.
Once the zucchini cubes are half cooked, add milk, sugar and pinch of salt.   
Wash the semolina and drain all the water. Add this to the boiling Kheer and mix it well so that no lumps are formed.
Boil this Kheer for 6 - 7 minutes. If you wish, add few strands of saffron while boiling. This will give a nice aroma and color to the Kheer.
Powder the cardamom seeds and cloves finely.
Before switching off the flame, add the powdered cardamom and cloves and stir it once.
Serve the Kheer hot or cold. For garnishing, you can you some dry fruits if you want.

Tips:

• Same way, you can prepare Kheer with bottle-gourd also.
• Semolina will thicken the consistency. If you want the Kheer to be more thicker, increase the quantity of semolina.
• Adding 1 - 2 spoons of jaggery along with sugar will give a nice taste to this Kheer.

Sending my entry to Celebrate Sweets | September 2011 - Sweets / Desserts With Fruits & Vegetables @ Rak's Kitchen, which was started by Nivedita.