Bamboo Rice Payasam:

Bamboo rice is very famous in western ghat region, especially in Wayanad and Munnar region of Kerala state. It is locally known as Mulayari. Usually tribal folks will collect this and supply to the local societies. Now a day I have seen this rice in so many organic exhibitions at Bangalore as well.  I had received this unknown ingredient as a gift from my sister, who bought it from her Munnar trip, as a “new item to try” who always encouraged me to try out new recipes and appreciated my preparation throughout.

Ingredients:

Bamboo rice – 1 cup

Jaggery – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups (if you are using tinned coconut milk)

-OR-

Thin coconut milk – 2 cups

Thick coconut milk – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Coconut bits – 1 table spoon

Cashew bits – 1 table spoon

Ghee /clarified butter – 1 table spoon.

Salt – ¼ tea spoon.

Method:

-Wash Bamboo rice twice and soak this for half an hour.

– Cook this soaked rice in a cooker for 3 to 4 whistles with sufficient water.

– When it is cooked, it will be soft and you can crush it easily.

-Now add jaggery and thin coconut milk and boil this until raw smell of the jaggery vanishes.

-If you are using tinned coconut milk, add water after adding jaggery.

-When it is done, add thick coconut milk, cardamom, salt. Don’t boil much, give only one boil. Remove from the heat.

-Now take one small tawa, add little ghee, fry coconut bits and cashew separately and add this to payasam.

Enjoy this when it is hot. Don’t cool this in a fridge, outer cover of the rice tends to become hard and chewy.