Poppy Seeds Payasam | Khus Khus Kheer| Gasagase Payasa is a delicious kheer prepared with poppy seeds & coconut. It is a natural body coolant to relish during summers & also a great choice for any festive occasion.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2016 and has been updated with Video and replaced with edited pictures for comprehensiveness and freshness.
Today I present my all time favourite Poppy Seeds Payasam/Khus Khus Kheer/Gasagase Payasa. Name it as you wish but I’m sure it’s going to be your favourite once you try it!!
Are you curious how a payasam out of these tiny little poppy seeds would taste? I can promise you that the delightful combo of poppy seeds, nuts, coconut and flavoured with some cardamom is truly going to be a treat to your taste buds. This combination is a match made in heaven, it acts as a natural body coolant, an excellent dessert to enjoy during summer seasons and it is also a great choice for any festive occasion.
Poppy Seeds Payasam is very traditional and authentic to Karnataka. The blog hop theme for this month being South Karnataka Cuisine, I decided to make this delectable payasam as a part of it.
Different ways to use Poppy Seeds in Cooking:
Poppy seeds are a most intriguing ingredient, especially in Indian cooking. Nutty and pleasant in taste, you can use these nutritious oil seeds as a condiment in cooking. But when toasted, ground or blended with other ingredients, they add an unique flavour and texture to food. Poppy seeds are usually used in masala preparations and also it’s one of most important ingredients of non vegetarian cooking. Its function in curry is partially to thicken the liquid and add a lovely texture to it. Commonly we use them in the preparation of korma, ground poppy seed, along with coconut and other spices, are combined as the masala to be added at the end of the cooking step.
Poppy seeds are a popular topping for breads and cakes, used more for a mild crunch than intense flavour. Check out some recipes from blog which uses poppy seeds- Andhra style chicken curry, Fish iguru, Crab curry and Chicken Korma.
In Bengal (West Bengal and Bangladesh) white poppy seeds are known as posto . They are very popular and people use them as a key ingredient in a variety of dishes like Aloo posto, Chachuri , Postor Bora etc,. And what could be better than a serving of aloo posto over a mound of rice! Such comfort from carbs-on-carbs….Isn’t it?
Get ready to doze off with this addictive Poppy Seeds Payasam.
As most of you would know, poppy seeds are the source of opium. Don’t be shocked if you find yourself dozing off after having a hot cup of Poppy Seeds Payasam. The poppy seeds in this are believed to help in soothing mouth ulcers and the coconut helps in cooling your stomach. I have to mention that a little quantity of poppy seeds makes a large quantity of kheer and so as many claim, you are not going to fall asleep after drinking a cup of this payasam. At least I don’t.
If you are fond of Jaggery based desserts like Chakkara Pongal, Bobbatlu or Vermicelli Sago payasam, I am sure you will love this. Enjoy it warm or cold, this is sure to be a winner in any festival spread. Pair this payasam with soft and fluffy idlis ……strange right? But, it’s a great combination!! I haven’t tried though!!
I have to thank two people, Radhika for introducing this payasam to me years ago and Manjula for pampering me with this payasam whenever I visit her. Thank you girls!!
Step-by-Step process in making Poppy Seeds Payasam:
- These are all what you need!!
- First soak almonds in water, microwave for a minute. Once it cools downs, remove the skin and set aside.
- Dry roast poppy seeds, rice and cashews on low heat for 3-4 minutes, taking care not to burn it.
- Rice turns translucent and crisp. Poppy seeds slightly turn light brown or pinkish and start to give a nice aroma. That’s when you need to turn off the heat and let cool.
- Dry powder the roasted ingredients in a blender or a coffee grinder until poppy seeds are crushed well. Add fresh and dry coconut along with almonds and cardamom and grind to a smooth paste using hot water.
- My wet grinder is powerful enough to grind it, so I directly grind it by powdering first and then use a little hot water while grinding to make it to a fine paste.
- Add jaggery to a vessel and add one cup of water.
- Bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat.
- Strain the jaggery liquid to remove any impurities.
- To this liquid add the finely ground paste and add required milk (you can also replace with water) to get the consistency you wish.
- Bring it to a good boil over low medium heat while stirring occasionally to prevent any burning.
- The colour of the payasam changes slightly and the consistency thickens a little.
- Turn off the heat and serve it warm or cold.
- You can garnish with cashews and raisins fried until golden brown in ghee/butter. But this is optional.
Poppy Seeds Payasam | Khus Khus Kheer| Gasagase Payasa
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Poppy Seeds khuskhus/gasagase/gasa gasa
- 1 tbsp Raw Rice regular sona masoori or long grain
- 6 to 8 Cashews
- ¾ Cup fresh scraped fresh coconut
- ¼ Cup Scraped Dry Coconut Kopra/endu Kabbari
- 5 Almonds optional, soaked in hot water and skin removed
- 3 Green Cardamoms
- ¾ to 1 Cup crushed Jaggery dissolved in 1 cup water
- 2 to 3 Cups Milk
Instructions
- Dry roast poppy seeds, rice and cashews on low heat for 3-4 minutes, taking care not to burn it. Rice turns translucent and crisp. Poppy seeds slightly turn light brown or pinkish and start to give a nice aroma. That's when you need to turn off the heat and let cool.
- Dry powder the roasted ingredients in a blender or a coffee grinder until poppy seeds are crushed well. Add fresh and dry coconut along with almonds and cardamom and grind to a smooth paste using hot water.
- Dissolve jaggery in one cup of water in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat.
- Strain the jaggery liquid to remove any impurities. To this add the finely ground paste and add required milk (you can also replace with water) to get the desired consistency.
- Bring the mixture to a good boil over low medium heat while stirring occasionally to prevent any burning.
- The colour of the payasam changes slightly and the consistency thickens a little.
- Turn off the heat and serve it warm or cold.
- You can garnish with cashews and raisins fried until golden brown in ghee/butter. But this is optional.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Make sure to always dry roast the poppy seeds in low heat as they burn very fast. The whole essence of this payasam depends on the flavour of poppy seeds, so proper roasting is very essential.
- After roasting , next important step is grinding poppy seeds. First grind poppy seeds without adding water. If you add water /milk they will not become smooth paste.
- The texture of poppy seeds mixture should be really very very smooth.
- Colour of the payasam depends on the quality of jaggery, it is usually very light brown.
I never add any other flavouring agents such as saffron in this payasam as it should not dominate the poppy seeds/gasagase flavour. - Jaggery varies in its sweetness, adjust the amount based on your preference.
You can also replace milk with water. Try out both versions and check out which you like. - Do note that, little quantity of poppy seeds makes a large quantity of kheer.
- Rice, cashew and almonds gives a good consistency to the kheer.
OTHER SOUTH CANARA RECIPES FROM CULINARY HOPPERS:
- Vani: Mangalore sweet buns
- Shuba – Pineapple menaski
- Shaobana – Udupi tomato saaru
- Piyali – Appe payasa and vangi bath with bendekkai
- Padma –Neer dosa and uppu huli dosa
- Anu – Methi seeds thambli
- Parvathy – Gole bajje
- Swati – Udupi karela curry
- Jayashree – Sweet potato kheer
- Poornima – Wheat haalbaimanni,Ginger tambli and chayote-squash-majjige
Check out other similar categories from blog:
And many more to come!!…..Stay Tuned!!
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Happy Cooking 
Cheers!!
Padma.
