Gothambu (Wheat) Payasam - Cooked Broken wheat prepared in coconut milk and jaggery

Who doesnot like Payasam and that too Gothambu (wheat) payasam?? Its one of the favourites of Malayalees...

When I was small, my father used to make this payasam and it used to taste better than what my mother makes :) I used to be a mere spectator to the proceedings though my brother used to help by parents in the process. My role was limited to tasting and drinking it :)

Now, I obviously cannot afford to play only that role esp. since there are 2 stomachs waiting to be fed with what I make :) 

So with Vishu approaching, my hubby suggested that we make gothambu payasam. So I decided that I will make Gothambu payasam this time. 

This time, it was my father-in-law who helped and guided me to make this payasam. He is also very good at cooking payasams esp. Gothambu Payasam, parippu payasam etc. My hubby also pitched-in after returning from office and we accomplished the feat!!

Gothambu or Wheat Payasam is another favorite dessert in Kerala served after a sumptuous lunch during festivals such as Vishu and Onam. 

Its also one of the highly traditional desserts of Kerala cuisine similar to Palada Payasam, Parippu payasam, Ada Pradhaman, Kootu payasam etc. and is made with broken wheat shown in pic below.

Broken wheat

Ingredients for Gothambu Payasam:

Broken wheat - 1 glass (around 150 gms)

Jaggery (Gud in Hindi / Sharakara in malayalam 

/ Vellam in Tamil) – ½ kg – chopped / grated / sliced

Small Banana (preferably Kadhali pazham or Njaalipoovan)

Ghee - 3 table spoons

Coconuts – 3 full, grated

Cardamom – 2-3 nos.

For seasoning:

Coconut slices – 25 to 30 nos.

Cashew nuts- 20 nos

Raisins- 10 nos.

Process:

First of all, take a cooker, put the broken wheat into it and wash it thoroughly. 

Then add 4 glasses of water into the washed broken wheat and cook for 3-4 whistles in high flame and 2 in low flame. The wheat needs to be cooked well.

If it doesnot get cooked we as shown in the pic, cook it again. This is because once you put anything uncooked into jagree, it will not get cooked after that. It will remain as it is.

Remove the skin of the cardamom and crush the seeds well. Add a pinch of sugar while preparing a powder of cardamom seeds. This makes it easy. Keep the cardamom seeds powder aside.

Extraction of coconut milk:

Step 1 - Take the grated coconut and grind it in the mixie. DONOT MIX WATER. Take the ground coconut and squeeze it with your hands to extract the milk out of it. This is called the 1st coconut milk. You will get approx. 300 ml of this.  Keep it aside.

Step 2 - Once the first milk is extracted, add around 100 ml of water into the ground coconut and grind it again in the mixie. Now take the ground coconut and squeeze it with your hands again to extract milk. This is the 2nd milk and this will be dilute compared to the 1st milk. 

The 2nd milk would be approx. 500 ml. Keep aside

Step 3 - Once the second milk is extracted, add around 200ml of water into the ground coconut and grind it thoroughly in the mixie. Now take the ground coconut and squeeze it with your hands again to extract milk. This is the 3rd milk and this will be dilute compared to the 2nd  milk. 

The 3rd milk would be approx. 1 litre. Keep aside

Preparation of Payasam:

Take a reasonably big pan (around 3-4 litres capacity) or Uruli.  Put the chopped/grated Jaggery into it and allow it to melt. Add 50 ml of water if required. 

Now, cook the Jaggery  until it turns slightly thick and turns dark brownish. While cooking, keep stirring it in such a way that it doesnot stick to the bottom of the pan so as to avoid it getting burnt. Cook in low flame.  

In order to identify whether the Jaggery is cooked, check if it flows like honey. The moment it start flowing like honey, it has got cooked.

Next add the 3rd coconut milk into the cooked Jaggery and mix well. Bring to a boil and add the cooked broken wheat and the sliced bananas. Cook about for 15 minutes in low flame stirring continuously until the mix turns thick. Check if the banana slices have got cooked. 


Once the banana slices are cooked and the whole mixture turns thick, add the 2nd milk into it and stir continuously. This needs to be done till the mix boils and gains consistency. Always cook in low flame.

Now, switch off the flame and add the 1st coconut milk. Add the cardamom powder.
Stir continuously so that a layer does not get formed on top. 

Fried coconut slices, cashews
and raisins

Seasoning:

Take a small frying pan and pour 2 teaspoons of ghee into it. 
Add coconut slices and fry until it turns golden brown. 
Next add the cashew nuts and sauté till the cashew nuts also turns brownish. 
Next add the raisins and sauté till they enlarge and become like grapes.

Add these into the Gothambu Payasam. 

Gothambu or wheat payasam is ready… We get around 2 litres of payasam.