Payesh
Payesh is my favorite Bengali dessert ever. My family traditionally makes this Indian rice pudding for birthday celebrations, so this recipe feeds a lot of people. Our family’s version is made with a very special ingredient - date jaggery, or unrefined date sugar. It is diabetic-approved and gives the payesh a wonderful nutty, caramelized flavor and a toasty golden color.
Payesh is a very personal and adaptable dish, so besides the milk to rice ratio, all of the other ingredients are to taste. I would love to try making a vegan version with almond or cashew milk. Since date jaggery is hard to find in the U.S., I would substitute regular date sugar, or equal parts raw sugar, brown sugar, and soaked dates ground into a paste. I also like the North Indian style kheer that you find in a lot of restaurants, which is sweetened with sugar and flavored with cardamom and pistachios.
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Ingredients
3 litres/ 12 cups whole milk
3 fistfuls / 200g/ 1 scant cup of short grain rice (you can use Basmati in a pinch)
25 almonds soaked in water, peeled, and sliced (or if you are lazy like me, just chop them up dry or buy slivered almonds)
2 fistfuls of raisins
1.5 cups sugar in the raw
1 cup crushed date jaggery
Directions
Soak rice in water for 1-2 hours.
Bring milk to a boil in a tall pot on medium-high flame.
Reduce the flame to avoid spillover and stir in the drained rice. Bring to a simmer and maintain until rice is cooked and the mixture has thickened and reduced by 1-2 inches (about 1 hour).
Add the sliced almonds, raisins, and sugar, and continue simmering for about 10-20 minutes for a thicker consistency. If you prefer more soupy payesh, skip the simmering.
Add the crushed date jaggery and stir continuously until the jaggery has dissolved.
Turn off the flame and allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until serving. Payesh will continue to thicken as it cools.
Serve cold. Payesh tastes even better after a few days and will keep in the fridge for a week or so.
