Kadala Pradhaman is a dessert recipe for the Kerala feast of Sadya, which is made with chana dal / split garbanzo lentils, jaggery and coconut milk. This is one of the most popular recipes for a sadya, only second to maybe Ada Pradhaman.
Vishu, or the Kerala New Year is here and what better way to spruce up your sadya game than mastering this Kadala Pradhaman recipe. Even though the end result for this payasam is a decadent, creamy and almost melt in your mouth feel, it is not that difficult a dessert to make. The ingredients are fairly simple and yes, it does take a little bit of workout for the biceps with all that stirring but there is no consistency to stick to, no temperature to worry about for it to set or not, just add all the good ingredients, stir stir stir away and you have this glorious dessert in front of you, all ready to be enjoyed.
Only thing, if any, to keep in mind though is, if you are making it only for your family or maybe a few friends too, just make enough for all of you. I know it is tempting to make larger quantities when you can, so you can keep enjoying it. But somehow, the smaller quantities work better for home cooks like us, to make sure that it is cooked down enough to bring out the richness in it. When you cook in larger quantities, I have seen that people sometimes run out of patience or think that it is enough and then realize that their payasam is not quite as rich and decadent as they expected it to be.
Whenever I make sadya at home, I always make two payasams. One pradhaman like this – Ada Pradhaman or Kadala Pradhaman and a simpler milk based payasam like a simple Pal Payasam or Semiya Payasam. You can even try this Slow Cooker Pal Ada Pradhaman, so all you need to do it to just put everything in it and worry about it only when you need to serve it. This way everyone will have a little of both payasams and will have enough too.
Also check out the other Kerala Sadya Recipes here.
Wishing everyone lots of prosperity, happiness and love in the coming year! Ellavarkum Hridayam Niranja Vishu Aashamsakal or Happy Vishu!
That is just some step by step pictures of what the jaggery melted looks like and how thick it should be when you add the cooked chana dal. Lets get to the recipe now!
Kadala Parippu Pradhaman for Kerala Sadya– The Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup kadala parippu / chana dal, washed and soaked
- 2 ½ cups crushed jaggery
- ½ teaspoon Dry Ginger Powder / Chukku Podi
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin Powder / Jeeraka Podi
- 1 teaspoon Cardamom Powder / Elakka Podi
- 1 can coconut milk (in place of randaam paal)
- 2-3 tablespoon coconut cream (in place of onnam paal)
- 2 tablespoon + 3 tablespoon ghee
- 1 tablespoon crushed cashews
- 2 tablespoon dried coconut chips / copra bits
Method:
Cook the kadala parippu / chana dal in a pressure cooker with enough water, till it is soft and mushy. Once it has cooled down a bit, puree this coarsely in a blender.
Heat the 2 tablespoon ghee in a heavy bottomed wide pan. Add the pureed dal / kadala to it. Cook with the ghee for 5-6 minutes over medium high heat, till the dal puree leaves the side of the pan and start to thicken up a little. Add the dry ginger powder, cumin powder and cardamom powder and mix well.
Meanwhile, melt the jaggery with about 2 tablespoon water in another pan. Let it come to a boil. Pour this over the cooked kadala in the other pan. Continue to cook this over medium heat for 3-4 minutes more. Keep stirring constantly.
Now add the coconut milk to this and lower the heat. Let it cook again for 4-5 minutes, while stirring constantly. Add the coconut cream, give it a quick mix and remove from heat.
Heat the 3 tablespoon ghee and add the crushed cashews and dried copra bits to it. Once the cashews and copra turns golden brown, pour this over the pradhaman / payasam. Enjoy hot or cold.
Note:
- The 2 tablespoon water is added to the jaggery so there is something in the pan other than the jaggery till it starts to melt, otherwise it might caramelize and burn.
- Remove the payasam right after you add the coconut cream. Otherwise the oil will separate from the coconut cream, because of its higher fat content, and that will leave a bad after taste to the payasam.
Kadala Pradhaman | Lentil Pudding with Jaggery and Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup kadala parippu / chana dal , washed and soaked
- 2 ½ cups crushed jaggery
- ½ teaspoon Dry Ginger Powder / Chukku Podi
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin Powder / Jeeraka Podi
- 1 teaspoon Cardamom Powder / Elakka Podi
- 1 can coconut milk (in place of randaam paal)
- 2-3 tablespoon coconut cream (in place of onnam paal)
- 2 tablespoon + 3 tablespoon ghee
- 1 tablespoon crushed cashews
- 2 tablespoon dried coconut chips / copra bits
Instructions
- Cook the kadala parippu / chana dal in a pressure cooker with enough water, till it is soft and mushy. Once it has cooled down a bit, puree this coarsely in a blender.
- Heat the 2 tablespoon ghee in a heavy bottomed wide pan. Add the pureed dal / kadala to it. Cook with the ghee for 5-6 minutes over medium high heat, till the dal puree leaves the side of the pan and start to thicken up a little. Add the dry ginger powder, cumin powder and cardamom powder and mix well.
- Meanwhile, melt the jaggery with about 2 tablespoon water in another pan. Let it come to a boil. Pour this over the cooked kadala in the other pan. Continue to cook this over medium heat for 3-4 minutes more. Keep stirring constantly.
- Now add the coconut milk to this and lower the heat. Let it cook again for 4-5 minutes, while stirring constantly. Add the coconut cream, give it a quick mix and remove from heat.
- Heat the 3 tablespoon ghee and add the crushed cashews and dried copra bits to it. Once the cashews and copra turns golden brown, pour this over the pradhaman / payasam. Enjoy hot or cold.
Notes
Remove the payasam right after you add the coconut cream. Otherwise the oil will separate from the coconut cream, because of its higher fat content, and that will leave a bad after taste to the payasam.
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