Payesh

[Simon Majumdar]

My parents are down in London for the weekend and my Baba is waxing lyrical about the Payesh of his youth.

I would love to try and make it for him

Does anyone have a good recipe for this most unctuous of Bengali dishes?

S

[Simon Majumdar]

Er, no, I guess not

Anyway, I found one, so here it is

250 gms Paneer ( Indian Cheese ), cut into pieces

A cup & a Half of Half & Half milk

1/2 Sugar

Green Cardamom ( Ground )

Raisins ( a handful )

4 cups of Water

Method

1.Mix the sugar with the water and gently boil to a thick syrup

2.Add the paneer to the thick sugar syrup and next add the Half & Half milk.

3.Continue boiling the mixture on a low lame for a few minutes.

4.Lastly add the ground cardamom and raisins and remove from the heat

5.Serve hot or cold with grated mace on the top or pistachios

S

[Adam Balic]

Simon - I am having a little trouble imagining what this is going to turn out like. What type of cheese is Paneer?

[Simon Majumdar]

Paneer is a soft curd cheese. Suvir ( where is he btw?) posted some recipes for making it on the board and very good they were too

The final pudding has the texture of a tapioca or rice pudding but is much richer and typically Bengali

S

[Adam Balic]

OK thank you. Do all/most Bengali deserts/sweets have green cardamon in them?

[Simon Majumdar]

OK thank you. Do all/most Bengali deserts/sweets have green cardamon in them?

Not all but it is a wonderful addition to desserts.

It is great in Ice cream and, if I am in need of a Bengali fix but can't be bothered with the rather labour intensive requirements of their desserts, I make Rabri by reducing a tin of Carnation evaporated milk with green cardamon and a little cream. I also put some ground cardamon in a little fromage frais as a nice mouth cleanser between courses

S

[Adam Balic]

I also put some ground cardamon in a little fromage frais as a nice mouth cleanser between courses

S

Excellent! I am going to steal this idea from you tonight, along with several of Survir's! I can't wait for the "Gosh Adam I have never tasted Indian food like this."

[Suvir Saran]

How was the Payesh Simon? I was in the hills of West Virginia.

Had some lovely American food....

Sorry I was not around to help.. your recipe seems lovely.

What did Baba think?