Celebrating Krishnashtami with Boondhi Payasam

Wishing you all a very happy Krishnashtami!!!

I wanted to publish this post yesterday,but I also wanted to take pictures of Krishna and the naivedyam.Hence the delay.If there is anything called a favorite God,I would surely say Krishna..mainly because-I grew up with Him!!!Yeah..no kidding,my house and Krishna temple share a wall and we have got a direct view to the temple from our kitchen!!I count myself and my family among those lucky few people who have got this great boon.So krishnashtami was a main festival for all of us.At my place too,we used to fast the whole day and appa conducted pooja,naivedyams were offered and all of us,including cousins and relatives used to have food together.

In the temple however,the pooja was conducted during midnight as Krishna was supposed to have been born during that time.We kids used to attend that pooja too.There was an "Akhanda Sapthaham",which is non-stop chanting of bhajans starting from morning till midnight,too.I was a part of that too.In fact,this ashtami is the first time I am staying away from all that.Every year,some how by that time I manage to be in Ekm.

So I decided to celebrate ashtami in my own style yesterday.I arranged a small corner in my pooja room with Krishna idols,offered naivedyam,and conducted a small pooja.I made a Boondhi payasam for naivedyam.Since it was the first time I was making it,and because of the divine aroma coming from it,I was so very badly tempted to have a taste of it!!But I resisted and waited till the pooja was over and then had a taste.It tasted great,a little too sweet for our taste buds,but I guess Lord Krishna would have loved it!!Hope He keeps showering His blessings on us,like He always has!!

Boondhi Payasam

Ingredients

Boondhi or 6 laddoos broken into crumbs - 1/4 kg
Sago - 1/2 cup,cooked
Coconut milk-thin milk - 2 cups
Coconut milk-thick milk - 1/2 cup
Milkmaid - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Saffron - a pinch

Method

In a thick bottomed kadai add the thin coconut milk and cooked sago and let it boil.
Keep stirring till it boils and then add the sugar and boondhi and cook again for 2 minutes.
Add the milkmaid(the quantity of sugar and milkmaid can be reduced if you don't want too sweet a payasam)
When it starts thickening,add the cardamom powder and saffron(soak the saffron in a few tbsps of hot water)
Add the thick coconut milk and switch off the flame.
Garnish with some more saffron and serve hot.
And yeah,do remember to offer some to Krishna before having it!!!





Boondhi payasam goes to Purva and Priti who are hosting the Festive food event.This month's theme being Krishna Janmashtami and Ganesh Chathurthi.