Oat Milk Payasam| Vegan Kheer With Oat Milk

Oat Milk Payasam is an entirely vegan preparation, a sweet treat perfectly suited to those leading a plant-based lifestyle. It is a kheer made using vegan oat milk as opposed to the dairy milk used in a regular payasam. In case you are wondering, this Oat Milk Payasam tastes absolutely delicious, creamy and perfect!

A bit about the oat milk I used in this payasam

There are several types of plant-based milk – like cashew milk, almond milk and soya milk, to name a few. Oat milk refers to milk derived from oats and, therefore, plant-based. This was my first time using a vegan milk – mylk, rather – and I quite liked it.

Urban Platter has recently launched OatWow, a range of oat milk, in various flavours. The brand sent a few flavours of the milk for me to try out – Classic, Vanilla and Rich Cocoa. The Classic is what I have used here. It has a mildly sweet, oat-y flavour to it, which I loved. The milk looks thin at first glance, but thickens up nicely on heating, thus making it a great choice for things like pasta sauce, custard and payasam. They are priced at INR 300 per litre (expensive, if you ask me), and are available for sale on Amazon and the Urban Platter website.

What goes into this vegan kheer?

There’s the oat milk, of course. I have used flattened rice aka beaten rice or aval too, along with regular refined sugar. I have also used some raisins, cashewnuts and almonds to make the kheer richer.

I wanted to make the kheer completely vegan and, hence, have used coconut oil to fry the nuts instead of the usual ghee. I love the aroma that the coconut oil imparted to the kheer!

Please note that not all oat milk is certified gluten-free. The label on this one suggests there might be ‘traces of naturally occurring gluten found in oats’.

A-Z Recipe Challenge

This recipe is brought to you in association with the A-Z Recipe Challenge. This Challenge was initiated by Vidya, food blogger at Masalachilli, and Jolly, author of the recipe blog Homemade Recipes.

For the challenge, the members share recipes prepared using key ingredients in alphabetical order, one alphabet and one ingredient per month. The alphabet for this month is O, and I chose to cook with ‘oat milk’ for the same.

Check out the Oats Dosa that Vidya made for the challenge. Also, while on the subject of kheer, check out the beautiful Mango Kheer that Jolly has made using full-fat milk.

How to make Oat Milk Payasam

Here’s how I went about it.
Ingredients (serves 5-6):

1. 1/2 tablespoon + 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
2. 1/4 cup beaten rice (aval or poha)
3. 1 litre oat milk, unsweetened and unflavoured
4. 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
5. 8-10 cashewnuts
6. 8-10 almonds
7. 8-10 raisins
8. 2 pinches of cardamom powder

Method:

1. Heat 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add in the beaten rice. Turn the flame down to medium. Saute on medium flame for a minute or so, or till the beaten rice gets crisp. Ensure that it doesn’t burn.

2. Now, add the oat milk to the pan. Mix well. Increase the heat to high.

3. Allow the milk to come to a boil, then reduce flame to medium. Add in the sugar at this stage and mix well.

4. Continue to cook on medium flame for 10-12 minutes or till the mixture starts thickening. Stir intermittently. Switch off gas when the mixture has considerably thickened, but is still quite runny. It thickens further in some time.

5. Mix in the cardamom powder.

6. Now, chop up the cashewnuts and almonds roughly. In a small pan, heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil. Reduce heat to medium, and add in the raisins and the chopped cashewnuts and almonds. Fry till the raisins plump up and the nuts start browning. Take care to ensure that the ingredients do not burn. Pour this over the milk mixture. Your Oat Milk Payasam is ready – serve it hot, warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Tips & Tricks

1. Almond milk, cashew milk, soya milk are some other varieties of plant-based milk that can be used in place of the oat milk I have used here. However, I have never tried those, and am in no position to comment on them.

2. Increase or decrease the amount of sugar you use, depending upon personal taste preferences.

3. Jaggery or cane sugar or a similar vegan sweetener can be used in this payasam. I have used regular white sugar here.

4. Make sure the nuts and raisins do not burn while frying them.

5. Stop cooking the payasam when it has thickened considerably, but is still quite runny. It thickens up quite a bit more with time.

6. Make sure you use a heavy-bottomed pan to cook this Oat Milk Payasam.

7. Vanilla or rose essence can be used to flavour the payasam, instead of the cardamom powder I have used here.

8. My opinions about the products are completely honest, based upon my personal experience with them. The views expressed herein are not influenced by anything or anyone.

Did you like this recipe? Do tell me, in your comments!