Paramannam / Sweet Rice Pudding

Paramannam / Sweet Rice pudding  is an south Indian sweet mainly prepared on festival days to offer as nivedyam to God. Even on house warming day in many places in India milk ceremony will be conducted. For that milk will be set to boil over in the new house and then rice and jaggery or sugar will be added to prepare paramannam.
In a heavy bottomed pot milk will be boiled and then add rice to it and when rice is cooked then melted jaggery will be added. In this process we have to check mean while as milk will overflow. But preparing paramannam in cooker will be very easy. 
In olden days preparing paramannam is little bit time taking as they used to prepare on clay stoves, but the smoke from coal will add more flavor to paramannam. Even now in Andhra, for Rathasapthami, paramannam will be prepared on clay stoves. 

Rathasapthami is a Hindu festival that falls on the seventh day in the bright half  of the Hindu month Maagha. It marks the seventh day following the Sun’s northerly movement of vernal equinox starting from Capricorn (Makara). It is symbolically represented in the form of the Sun God Surya turning his Ratha (Chariot) drawn by seven horses (representing seven colours) towards the northern hemisphere, in a north-easterly direction. It also marks the birth of Surya and hence celebrated as Surya Jayanti (the Sun-god’s birthday).
Ratha Saptami is symbolic of the change of season to spring and the start of the harvesting season. For most Indian farmers, it is an auspicious beginning of the New Year. The festival is observed by all Hindus in their houses and in innumerable temples dedicated to Surya, across India.

Ingredients:   

• Rice - 1/2 cup 
• Whole Milk - 3 cups
• Water -2 cups
• Graded Jaggery or Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
• Cashew nuts - 10
• Raisins - 10
• Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

• Heat ghee in pressure cooker and roast cashews and raisins and keep aside.
• Wash rice 2 - 3 time.
• Add milk, water and rice to the pressure cooker and cook until 3 to 4 whistles.
• Switch off the stove and wait until pressure goes off.
• Add jaggery or sugar, mix and cook until jaggery dissolves and cook another 10 min..
• Add cardamom powder and switch off the stove.
• Garnish with roasted cashews and raisins and serve hot or cold. 

Note:

• If using skimmed milk no need of water. use 5 cups milk.
• If using small cooker, use 3 cups milk to cook rice. After opening the lid add remaining milk and cook.
• We can cook paramannam  in heavy bottomed pot instead off pressure cooker.