Kheer Made With Tapioca in Place of Rice
Prep: 12 hrs 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Chill: 2 hrs
Total: 14 hrs 25 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Yield: 3 cups
Sabudana payesh, or a milk-based tapioca boba dessert is a delicious alternative to the standard rice pudding. It is served after meals to celebrate festivals, birthdays, weddings, or any and all happy occasions.
This version of sabudana payesh uses coconut milk instead of milk with fruits. It is served with an optional hefty raisin and cashew topping that is fried in clarified butter to make it decadent and very irresistible.
“Sabudana Payesh or Tapioca Kheer is a creamy Indian pudding made with tapioca pearls, sweetened condensed milk, and cardamom. One variation of the recipe is to make it with sweet molasses which results in a rich, jewel toned dessert.” —Joan Velush
A Note From Our Recipe Tester
Ingredients
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1 cup coconut milk
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1 cup medium tapioca balls, soaked in 2 cups of water overnight and strained
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1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
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1/2 cup molasses, or sweetened condensed milk
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3 to 4 threads saffron, optional
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2 tablespoons ghee
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1/4 cup cashews
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1/4 cup raisins
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2 cups fresh blueberries
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
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Add the coconut milk to a a heavy-duty saucpan on a medium-low heat and bring to a boil.
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Add the tapioca balls and return mixture to a boil for 5 minutes.
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Stir in cardamom and molasses. Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes.
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Remove the payesh from the heat and let cool about 10 minutes before adding the saffron strands, if using.
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Add ghee to a shallow pan over low heat until warm. Add the cashews and raisins and saute until the raisins puff up, and the cashews brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
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Add the raisin and cashew mixture directly to the payesh, stirring slowly until fully incorporated.
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Divide payesh into smaller serving bowls. Top each bowl with blueberries and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Tips
- Make sure to keep the flame to slow or medium-low to avoid the coconut milk from sticking to the pan.
- When frying the raisins and cashews in ghee, make sure to do so in low-heat or else they can burn easily.
- The recipe can be made a day or two beforehand and refrigerated prior to serving.
Variations
- If you don’t have molasses, use ½- ¾ cup of condensed milk instead (depending on how sweet you want the payesh).
- Add raspberries, blueberries or blackberries, or omit that if you’d like.
- You could also replace the tapioca with ½ cup cooked basmati rice to make this a rice payesh/pudding.
Storage
You can store leftover payesh in an airtight container in the fridge for at least one week.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 6 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 365 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 15g | 19% |
| Saturated Fat 10g | 52% |
| Cholesterol 11mg | 4% |
| Sodium 53mg | 2% |
| Total Carbohydrate 59g | 21% |
| Dietary Fiber 2g | 7% |
| Total Sugars 31g | |
| Protein 2g | |
| Vitamin C 5mg | 27% |
| Calcium 80mg | 6% |
| Iron 4mg | 20% |
| Potassium 620mg | 13% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
