You Karuppu Kavuni Payasam is a traditional festival sweet from the Chettinad region, Tamil Nadu. Karuppu Kavuni is glutinous rice having an aromatic fragrance to it. This rice is popularly cooked as dessert or sweets.
Karruppu Kavuni is known as karuppu arisi or black rice. Some of the other names are Emperor’s Rice, purple rice, or Forbidden rice. This rice is also referred to as forbidden rice as it was only used in the Royal kitchen and not allowed for the common man.
The rice looks black in colour and changes to deep purple when cooked. It is very healthy considering that it is full of antioxidants and anthocyanins. This rice comes as unpolished with the black bran intact. The black colour The black color pigmentation is due to the presence of anthocyanin in it, which is normally present in blueberries and blackberries. It has a nutty flavor.
Origin of this Black Rice and the health Benefits
We can trace back the origin to erstwhile Burma and China region. In due course, different strains were carried and cultivated in many regions of Asia. This is one of the popular varieties in Tamil Nadu.
There are many health benefits in consuming this rice because of its rich fiber content, the high level of antioxidants, it reduces the risk of Asthma, acts as a wonderful detox for the liver, it also helps in the prevention of diabetes, enhances the growth of hair and increases eyesight.
You can also make Idli, Dosa, Puttu, regular steamed rice, Risotto, etc. apart from desserts.
I bought the Black rice for some BM theme, then decided I would try as many rice varieties I can lay my hands on. It is very interesting to read about rice history and how it has been cultivated etc.
Today's Karuppu Kavuni Payasam is a delicious payasam you can make for any festival.
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Karuppu Kavuni Payasam
Ingredients
- 1 cup Karuppu Kavuni Rice
- 1.5 cups Jaggery
- A Pinch Cardamom
- 3 tsp Ghee
- Roasted Mixed Nuts
Instructions
- Wash the rice and soak it overnight or at least 10 to 2 hours.
- Cook the rice with water with a ratio of 1:3 in a pressure cooker and cook for 3 to 5 whistles.
- Meanwhile, melt the jaggery and remove impurities if any. Cook again for 5 to 7 mins to get a medium thick syrup.
- Take the rice out of the cooker and add the jaggery syrup and cook on low flame till the jaggery and rice mix well.
- The payasam becomes sticky in consistency and shiny in appearance and will retain a chewy texture.
- Add cardamom powder, roasted nuts, and ghee and mix it in.
Notes
Soaking for a longer time helps in cooking the rice properly.
Vaishali says
I love the deep purple kheer - how beautiful it looks ! I had no idea that this rice was also used in dosas - i am sure the dosas would look so pretty . I have made the kheer which tastes delicious , but other than that not much .
Suma Gandlur says
This is on my to do list and you are tempting me to try it soon. This sure makes a delicious dessert or a naivedyam dish
Radha says
That's a delicious dessert. It's a traditional sweet down south.
Harini Rupanagudi says
Wow! This sounds very yumm. I have never cooked black rice or glutinous rice but this one sounds like a must try.
sushma says
Never heard about this payasam. Looks delicious, will try sometime.