This Walnut Payasam aka kheer recipe is so simple to make, yet so nourishing and tasty. It is a great vegan recipe that utilizes one of the healthiest nuts available to us – Walnuts.
So, are you one of the folks who:
a) know walnuts are healthy
b) shell out a lot of money to buy it
c) store it in the freezer to lengthen its shelf life
BUT
d) Wondering: “Now, how do I use it all up? “
Well, this would be the perfect recipe for it….
I did not conjure this recipe out of thin air. This is an authentic Chinese recipe. They call this – a Walnut dessert soup.
I have just ‘Indian-ized’ this by using Jaggery. There is a link below to check out the original Chinese version from which I drew my inspiration from.
Step by Step Pictures
Oven roast the Walnuts
Grind them with water. Pour the ground walnut-milk into pan
Bring the puree to a boil, add jaggery, add rice flour mixed in water.
Switch off heat and serve
Recipe
A healthy payasam or kheer made with Walnuts. This is an Indian version of the Walnut Dessert Soup. A fantastic vegan beverage that can be drunk hot or cold.
- 1 cup Walnuts
- 4 cups Water
- 1/2 cup Jaggery dissolved in water (thick)
- 1-2 tbsp Rice Flour
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Preheat oven to 350F. Roast walnuts for 6-7 minutes.
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Grind 1 cup of roasted walnuts with 4 cups water in a high powered blender until you get a smooth liquid.
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Pour the liquid into a pan and bring it to a boil. Now add liquid jaggery and stir.
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Dissolve between 1-2 tbsp of rice flour in about 1/8 cup of water until you get a smooth paste. I used 1 tbsp and got a thin payasam, which I loved. But, for a thicker version, increase the amount of rice flour.
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Add it to the boiling walnut payasam. In about 30 seconds or so, when the liquid thickens, switch off the heat. Serve
Jaggery is a very flavorful Indian molasses. You typically get it in cubes, you dissolve the cubes in hot water, strain the liquid and use it. You can easily substitute with brown sugar, raw sugar or coconut sugar….but you will miss out on the lovely flavor of Jaggery.
Conclusion
The taste of roasted walnuts pairs beautifully with the molasses-y flavor of jaggery. It has a smokey, slight coffee like flavor profile to it. Look at me, I sound like a Food Network Chef – using the words smokey an all that:)!!
The payasam was a big hit in the house. We drank it cold, we drank it hot. We loved it….Yes, even my little one, my picky eater, loved it.
My regular readers know my usual rant – Payasam made with carbs like rice, or semiya only add with the sugar/jaggery in the payasam to give a carb overload. This walnut payasam is so much better alternative. The good fats in it should hopefully be a deterrent to rapid rise in sugar levels.
So to sum up. This recipe is a favorite of mine because:
- Uses Walnuts, but thins it out (Good calories, but not too much!!)
- Easy to make
- Works as a possible hot beverage substitute to coffee/tea
- Much lower in carbs compared to our payasam/kanji etc…
I hope you give this Walnut Payasam a try. Please share this recipe with your friends on Facebook and other social media platforms, if you think they may benefit from it. Thank you so much for reading, sharing and supporting this blog!!
Original recipe link
Want to use up your Walnuts? Here are some other ideas:
This looks wonderful! Can’t wait to give it a try..
Thanks Rushita!!
I love it!! I don’t have rice flour.. I have coconut, wholewheat, besan, and oats at hand. Will coconut flour maintain a similar consistency? The flavor profile sounds awesome to me, so will wait to hear your thoughts before I experiment.
I would recommend using Wheat flour or Oats. I think that coconut flour will not have the starchy quality needed to thicken the payasam and besan will have its own flavor.
I hope you love it as much as we did.
This sounds like a great late-fall-into-winter drink. Looking forward to making it.
Glad to hear that Val!!