Dudde paays - Kumbalkayi payasa - Pumpkin kheer

Dudde paays or  kumbalkayi payasa recipe - India celebrates 68th Independence day  today.  Each Indian enjoys the happiness of  this day. This is the most memorable day for all of us. Wishing Each Indian A Very Happy and Joyful Independence Day. Today I made this pumpkin kheer to celebrate the special occasion of Independence day. Pumpkin kheer is a very popular South Indian traditional dessert. An ideal sweet dish to make on some occasions and festivals. Traditionally, pumpkin is cooked in thin coconut milk, simmered with thick coconut milk and jaggery, flavored with cardamoms and textured with semolina. Coconut milk and jaggery together release an excellent flavor  when it is induced with cardamom powder.

I have used semolina or rava in the kheer for my convenience, as I do not like to grind small quantity of rice. However,  you can use rice instead of rava, for that, please read the note given below.  I made this kheer using yellow colour round variety of pumpkin, which has luscious dense orange colour flesh as compared to the oval shaped pumpkin which has dang and thin flesh.

Whenever I bring the pumpkin from vegetable market, I reserve a small piece of it to make this delicious kheer as I am having a strong preference and liking for pumpkin kheer. It needs few ingredients and can be made quickly. You can also make lauki or  white gourd kheer in this way. Pumpkin takes a very few minutes to cook. Therefore take care not to cook it too mushy to avoid the kheer turns into paste. While cooking the pumpkins, you need to check it in regular intervals. It should not be too hard. That may spoil the taste of the kheer.

For the best result, use hard and dense pumpkin that cut into evenly sized cubes. The time required for cooking the pumpkin may vary according to the size and quality of the pumpkin.  Usually this kheer,  is served with meal.

Dudde Paays Recipe - Pumpkin Kheer Recipe

Prep time : 10 mins
Cook time : 15 mins
Total time : 25 mins
Recipe type : Dessert-Kheer
Cuisine : Karnataka
Yield : Serves 2
Author : Vidya Chandrahas

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin cubes
• 1 ½ cups thick coconut milk
• 1 cup thin coconut milk
• (Extract milk from 1 cup grated fresh coconut)
• 1/4 cup jaggery
• 2 tbsps rava / semolina
• 2 cardamoms, powdered

Method

1. Peel off the pumpkin skin, remove the seeds and wash it. Then cut it into equal sized cubes and set aside.
2. Grind a cup of  fresh coconut with 1 ½  cups water to a smooth paste. Strain it through a soup strainer and extract 1½ cup of thick coconut milk. Dissolve the jaggery in it and keep it aside.
3. Again grind the strained coconut with 1 cup water and extract 1 cup of  thin milk.  
4. Pour the thin coconut milk in a pan and keep it on medium flame. Add the pumpkin cubes and cook covered till the pumpkin becomes soft but not mushy. 
5. Then add the thick coconut milk with jaggery and bring it to boil. Add the rava or semolina. If you are using rice paste, add rice paste at this stage. 
6. Bring it to boil stirring continuously to prevent any lumps.  Simmer for 2 minutes and remove from the flame. 
7. Add the cardamom powder, mix well. Serve warm or cold. Either way it tastes great. Garnish with dry cashews and pistachios if you like it.

Note 
If you are making this kheer using rice paste, make sure to soak the rice 20 minutes before grinding it. Use 1 ½ tablespoons of raw rice in the place of  rava.

Dudde paays - step by step pictures

1.  Dissolve the jaggery in thick coconut milk and keep it aside.

2.  Extract the thin coconut milk using 1 cup of water 

3.  Pour the thin coconut milk in a pan, add pumpkin cubes and keep it on low flame.

4.  Cook the pumpkins covered on low flame.

5.  Cook until the pumpkins turn soft but not mushy.

6.  Add the thick coconut milk with jaggery ( first piture) and bring it to boil.

7.  Add the rava or semolina and bring it to boil stirring continuously. If you are using rice paste, add it at this stage. Simmer for 2 minutes and remove from the flame.

8.  Serve the pumpkin kheer warm or cold. Either way it tastes great. Garnish with cashews and pistachios if you like it.