Payesh is an essential part of celebrating birthdays in a Bengali household. I cherish the experience of making Payesh so much that I find it hard to express my happiness in words. It brings back nostalgic memories every time I see my mother preparing it for me. This year, I was fortunate to have my parents with me on my birthday, and my daughter was lucky to celebrate hers with her grandparents. Our birthdays fall in two consecutive months, so I encouraged my mom to make Payesh for us.

The Gobindobhog Chaler Payesh, or Bengali-style rice pudding, was prepared by my mother on my birthday, making it particularly special to me. The mushy rice grains are infused in sweet, cardamom-flavoured milk, with delightful bites of raisins and cashews making this dessert taste divine. While we also make Gurer Payesh, the version made with Misri holds a special place in my heart.

I hope you’ll love making Payesh for your family and friends by following my Mom’s recipe. And do share your cooking experience with me 🙂

Print

Gobindobhog Chaler Payesh/Bengali style Rice Pudding

Payesh is an integral part of any Bengali household. Learn how to cook Bengali style Rice Pudding with Gobindobhog chal in an authentic way.

Cuisine Indian

Keyword gluten-free

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 5 People

Author Chandrima

Ingredients

• 1½ litre- Milk
• 1 cup (minus 2 tbsp)- Gobindobhog Chal (Gobindobhog is a small grain fragrant rice variety, used for Bengali cooking)
• 300g- Misri/Rock Sugar (read note)
• ¼ cup- Raisins
• 2 tbsp- Cashews (optional)
• 2- Bay leaf
• 4-5- Green cardamom (lightly crushed)

Instructions

1. With a heavy object break Misri in small chunks.

2. Wash the rice well, drain and keep aside.

3. Take a deep bottomed pan. Pour the milk in it. Boil on high heat. Once it boils, reduce the heat.

4. Add the rice and bay leaves, mix well. On medium heat cook the rice until boiled. Stir in between, to prevent burning from the bottom of the pan.

5. Add misri chunks at this stage. Mix well, the misri chunks will be dissolved in the milk quickly and nicely, don’t worry about that.

6. Add cardamoms, cashews, and raisins. Mix well. Remove from the heat.

7. Cool completely at room temperature, serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

• From olden days using Misri for making Payesh was a popular practice. It was believed that Misri has the ability to give payesh a thick body. It gives a much thicker consistency than sugar. I was told by Ma many times that not to make Payesh with sugar, that way Payesh tends to become watery. It’s an old school theory though, many people make Payesh with sugar. If Misri is not available then you can use sugar. But with Misri Payesh always tastes authentic.
• If Gobindobhog rice is not available, then basmati rice can be used. But for this rice pudding, Gobindobhog Rice is highly recommended.
• If you feel that Payesh is thickening too much at the end of the cooking, then you can add some more milk at this stage.