Forbidden treat-Kavuni Arisi Payasam (Black Rice pudding)

The most interesting bit for me about travelling is exploring the local cuisine, discovering the cooking culture, some unique ingredients and recipes. I am now also adding Food Photography ‘props’ to that list.

On a recent trip to Kolkata, I found ‘Black Rice’ at the Biswa Bangla store when I was looking for Nolen Gur. As a habit I pick up my new ‘finds’ and once back home, search for ways to use them. A hectic travel schedule meant that the Black Rice packet was forgotten.

..and then I visited Chettinad! You must have read of our culinary Indulgence in my last post about the Travel Tales from Chettinad. If you haven’t, you can read about it here. We got to sample the most authentic delicacies at Chidambara Vilas and Black Rice payasam was one of them.

Kavuni Arisi Payasam or Black Rice Pudding is a specialty of the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu. This gorgeous deep violet hued sweet, is a prominent preparation of most festive fares of the Chettiars. Apparently, Black Rice was brought in from Burma (then Mayanmar) by the Chettiars during their business travels. Authentic delicacies at Chidambara Vilas and this Black Rice payasam was one of them.

Black Rice is sometimes also referred to as ‘Forbidden Rice’. Legend has it that this ancient grain was once exclusively reserved for the Chinese royalty and hence ‘forbidden’ for the commoners.

This Anthocyanin rich, nutritious rice is revered to be an extremely healthy food.A variety of Black Rice is also cultivated in the North-Eastern Indian state of Manipur.

Having tasted the earthy, nutty Kavuni Arisi Payasam in Chettinad,I decided to make it using the Black Rice sitting prettily in my pantry.I have used palm jaggery also brought from Chettinad. You can use regular jaggery or sugar. This Chettinad Style sweet preparation is a very simple recipe; the only tricky bit, I was told, is the proper cooking of the rice. Using a pressure cooker takes care of this hitch too. The recipe below suggests cooking the rice with just water. But if you want a rich creamy payasam you can substitute it (partly or completely) with milk.