Palambali

This pristine looking rice pudding called palambali from the kongunad region is a sublime dessert. Miniature Rice dumplings are cooked in milk to a consistency of a pudding. Making palambali is an occasion in itself. All the ladies of the family would sit across a dhoti lined dining table. They would roll the rice dumplings for hours together amidst a sea of gossips, sarees, jewelry and jokes. The dumplings would then be cooked with care and distributed to the families. Palambali is labour of love and is very special. The dessert is so smooth with a little textural bite from the rice dumplings. This is my mother in laws recipe. These days in kongunad, they do add cardamom to flavor the palambali. My mother in law says that cardamom was never added to palambali during the yesteryear’s. Palambali had no extra flavoring. The flavor of cooked rice in milk is very delicate and it shines in the recipe. She says that cardamom if added over powers this delicate flavored dessert.

So here is how to make Palambali

We will be using two varieties of rice for this recipe. Par boiled rice (puzungal arisi) and raw rice (pacharisi). Soak both the rice in water for 8-10 hours or over-nite.

First lets prep the Par boiled rice (puzungal arisi) We will have to grind the soaked and drained par boiled rice to a smooth paste. Add a mere two tablespoons of water while grinding. Grind to a perfectly smooth paste in a small mixie jar. Really smooth. Smooth like paint. Take care not to add too much water while grinding.

The Indian mixie does this job perfectly. I have a panasonic mixie and love it! Its a mean machine in the kitchen.

Transfer the ground mixture to a cotton absorbent cloth. Wrap the cloth and set aside for 15 minutes. The cloth would absorb most of the moisture from the rice.

We will repeat the process one more time. Transfer the mixture to a fresh dry cloth so we can pull out some more moisture from the rice mixture. Wrap and set aside for fifteen more minutes.

After the time, take a small piece and try rolling it into a small ball. If you are able to roll a ball, the dough is done. Else repeat the procedure to take some more moisture out from the ground rice paste.

Now get yourself a comfortable place to sit and some music to play as we are going to roll smally small balls out of the mixture. Start rolling the balls. Make balls that is somewhere close to the size of a corn and not bigger than that of a peas. Yeah. that’s really small. Place the rolled balls on a cloth lined plate. This rolling will take an hour to do.

Let the balls dry for a couple of hours. After couple of hours, the balls should not stick anymore.

In the mean time, grind the soaked raw rice with 1/2 a cup of water to a really smooth paste. Add in the milk and sugar to the ground rice. Mix well and set aside.

Lets start cooking! Bring 1.5 cups of water to a full boil on a wide pan. When the water is boiling, add in the rolled rice balls all over the water. Do not dump the balls all at once. Sprinkle the balls in the water. By sprinkling, the balls wont get stuck to each other. Do not disturb the water for 3-4 minutes. After the time, if you have some balls attached to one another, use a spoon to separate.

Now, add in the milk-sugar-rice mixture that we prepared earlier. Reduce the flame to sim. Cooking the milk mixture in a high flame would create lumps. So low and slow is the key. Cook the milk mixture stirring CONSTANTLY for 20 minutes.

The milk mixture will start thickening up considerably. It will be really thick. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Refrigerate the mixture for 4-5 hours and serve chilled. It tastes awesome when its cold! One word to describe palambali – Its a sublime dessert.

This dessert can be stored in the refrigerator for up-to 3 days.

• Measurements Used – 1 Cup = 250 ml (approx)

For grinding Par Boiled Rice

• 1/4 cup Par Boiled Rice
• 2 Tablespoon Water

For Grinding Raw Rice

• 1/4 cup Raw Rice
• 1/2 cup Water

Other Ingredients

• 1.5 Cups Water for boiling dumplings
• 1 Liter Milk
• 1 Cup Sugar

1. Soak the rice (both varieties of rice) over nite seperately.
2. Grind the Par Boiled Rice with water to a smooth paste.
3. Transfer the ground mixture to a cotton absorbent cloth. Wrap the cloth and set aside for 15 minutes. The cloth would absorb most of the moisture from the rice. Repeat this procedure if necessary to remove more moisture.
4. Make small balls out of the mixture and let the balls dry for two hours on a cloth lined plate.
5. Grind the raw rice with water to a smooth paste. Mix in the milk and the sugar. Set aside.
6. Bring a pan with water to a boil. Sprinkle the balls and boil for 3-4 minutes.
7. Add in the milk mixture and simmer constantly stirring for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
8. Refrigerate the mixture for 4-5 hours and serve chilled.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

• Measurements Used – 1 Cup = 250 ml (approx)

For grinding Par Boiled Rice

• 1/4 cup Par Boiled Rice
• 2 Tablespoon Water

For Grinding Raw Rice

• 1/4 cup Raw Rice
• 1/2 cup Water

Other Ingredients

• 1.5 Cups Water for boiling dumplings
• 1 Liter Milk
• 1 Cup Sugar

1. Soak the rice (both varieties of rice) over nite seperately.
2. Grind the Par Boiled Rice with water to a smooth paste.
3. Transfer the ground mixture to a cotton absorbent cloth. Wrap the cloth and set aside for 15 minutes. The cloth would absorb most of the moisture from the rice. Repeat this procedure if necessary to remove more moisture.
4. Make small balls out of the mixture and let the balls dry for two hours on a cloth lined plate.
5. Grind the raw rice with water to a smooth paste. Mix in the milk and the sugar. Set aside.
6. Bring a pan with water to a boil. Sprinkle the balls and boil for 3-4 minutes.
7. Add in the milk mixture and simmer constantly stirring for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
8. Refrigerate the mixture for 4-5 hours and serve chilled.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/palambali-kongunad-style-rice-pudding/

About a decade ago, on a trip to Dhanushkodi, our car got stuck on the beach sand. I drove the car and I bumped it onto a pole and the car slid onto the sand (yeah! I can do things like that). We were stranded in the middle of nowhere for about 3-4 hours. We ended up reaching a fishing village nearby who helped us to get the car back on road. It was an unforgettable trip! Here is a picture of the children from the village.

On our way back we had stopped for a very late lunch at a small shop that cured dry fishes and also served simple meals and tea. We had fish curry with rice. The fish curry was made fresh to order with a home ground masala and was ready in minutes. The curry was simple and delicious. I got the recipe for the masala that day. I kept it inside my journal and forgot about it. After many years, I found it. Here is my adaptation of Fisherman’s Fish Curry. The original Fisherman’s Fish Curry recipe did not have coconut milk as far as I can remember. I add it as it creates a creamy curry. So its totally up to you to add the coconut milk or to skip it.

Here is how to do the Fisherman’s Fish Curry. Grind the masala ingredients with water to a fine paste. Set aside.

Take a pan and add in the sesame oil (gingely). Add in the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Let it pop. Add in the ground masala and saute for five minutes.

Add in a cup of water and tamarind paste. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Having home made tamarind paste can be such a time saver in our busy schedules. I make it once a month and store it in my refrigerator. It makes life easier to have tamarind puree at moments notice. Here is the recipe for tamarind paste.

Add in the fish pieces and cover the pan with a lid and allow it to simmer for another 6-7 minutes. Tear the curry leaves roughly and add it to the pan. Add in the thick coconut milk and let it simmer for a minute more.

Do not allow the curry to simmer for a long time after adding coconut milk.

Remove from heat and serve Fisherman’s Fish Curry hot with rice.

For the masala

• 1 Onion
• 1 Tomato
• 6 cloves Garlic
• 5 Dried Red Chillies
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Coriander Seeds
• 2 tablespoon Fresh Shredded Coconut

Other Ingredients

• 3 teaspoon sesame (gingely) oil
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 4 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 3 sprigs curry leaves
• 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
• 500 grams fish steaks

1. Grind the masala ingredients with water to a fine paste. Set aside.
2. Take a pan and add in the sesame oil (gingely). Add in the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Let it pop. Add in the ground masala and saute for five minutes.
3. Add in a cup of water and tamarind paste. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add in the fish pieces and cover the pan with a lid and allow it to simmer for another 6-7 minutes. Tear the curry leaves roughly and add it to the pan.
5. Add in the thick coconut milk and let it simmer for a minute more. Do not allow the curry to simmer for a long time after adding coconut milk.
6. Remove from heat and serve hot with rice.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Side Dish
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu