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Payasam served in earthenware glasses
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Poppy Seeds Payasam | Khus Khus Kheer| Gasagase Payasa

Poppy Seeds Payasam is a delicious kheer made out of poppy seeds & coconut. It is a natural body coolant to relish during summers & also a great choice for any festive occasion.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dessert / Festival Recipe, Dessert / Sweet / Festival Sweet
Cuisine: Indian (South Indian)
Keyword: gasa gasa payasam, poppy seeds payasam, khus khus kheer, gasagase payasa
Servings: 6
Calories: 280kcal
Author: Padma Veeranki

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.