How Much Cardamom for Payasam (and When to Add It)

For payasam made with about 1 litre of milk (or the same amount of coconut milk), use the ground seeds of 5 to 6 fresh cardamom pods, roughly ½ teaspoon of powder, stirred in right at the end. Too little and it tastes flat. Too much and it turns soapy.

By type of payasam

Jaggery-based pradhamans can take a little more cardamom, since jaggery's deep flavour competes with it. Milk-based payasams need less.

When to add it

At the very end, after the heat is off. Cardamom's smell comes from oils that boil away quickly. Stir it in at the end, cover the pot for a few minutes, and the smell stays in the payasam instead of drifting off into your kitchen.

Powder or whole?

• Freshly ground seeds: the best choice. Grind with a spoon of sugar for a fine powder. For how many pods that takes, see our cardamom conversion guide.
• Crushed whole pods: fine, but people will find husks in their spoon.
• Old ready powder: you'll need a lot more of it, and it still won't smell the same.

Other spices that go with it

• Dry ginger in parippu and ada pradhaman, often with the cardamom.
• A little ghee with fried cashews and raisins, poured on top.
• Coconut slices fried in ghee for pradhamans.

If you added too much

Add a little more milk or coconut milk and a spoon of sugar or jaggery to balance it out. Next time, start with less. You can always add more.

Fresh cardamom makes payasam. Our Idukki cardamom is sold whole so you can grind it just before use. See also our guide on making cardamom powder.