10 Exceptional South Indian Mithais For The Festive Season

Most people, when asked to conjure up a list of Indian sweets, wax eloquent about the charms of jalebi and gulab jamun, and perhaps of modaks. When it comes to South India though, they stop short at payasam. A pity, because the South is no slouch when it comes to sweets. Here, we've gathered a smattering of what we think are ambrosial sweet dishes from the states down under; the entire list would go on for pages! 1. PayasamIt's almost impossible to make a list of desserts from southern India and leave payasam out of it. Payas, an ancient Indian dish that was possibly a forbearer of modern-day payasam, was mentioned in Buddhist literature from as far back as 2,000 years ago (according to eminent food historian, K T Achaya). Buddhism in India shrank, but the tradition of making payas remained (and possibly morphed into the kheer or payasam we have today). Payasam is also mentioned in the Ramayana; where king Dashrath offers it to his wives as a means to begetting sons.Today, we prepare payasam on auspicious occasions -- offered in temples, and served as part of sadya. The Oxford companion to Sugar and Sweets tells us that payasam is "prepared from rice, pulses, semolina, or other starchy ingredients simmered in milk to produce puddings of varying thickness", and is popular in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Kerala Tourism even organised an annual Payasam Festival around Onam. It's an iconic dessert, but this doesn't mean it cannot be tampered with - today, you get payasam spackled with dry fruits, cooked with fresh fruit, even carrots, and gourds!(Also read: 5 Best Payasam Recipes)_{Payasam is prepared from rice, pulses, semolina, or other starchy ingredients simmered in milk.}2. KozhukattaiKozhukattai is a rice dumpling stuffed with coconut and sweetened with jaggery, a cousin, perhaps, to modak. Like so many other Indian sweets, it is irrevocably tied to religion; in Tamil Nadu, it is offered once a year to Lord Ganesh, as well as being an indelible part of Vinayak CHaturthi celebrations. Meanwhile, according to the Historical Dictionary of the Tamils, by Vijaya Ramaswamy, it is also a "sweet dish dear to Pillaiyar, a deity who was Auvaiyar's special object of worship." Auvaiyar being a poet-saint of the Sangam era.
 _{Kozhukattai is a rice dumpling stuffed with coconut and sweetened with jaggery.}3. PaniyaramI paraphrase Shakespeare when I say that a paniyaram, by any other name, would taste just as delightful. Known variously as paddu, gunta ponganalu, and gundu ponganalu, the paniyaram comes In both sweet and savoury versions. The sweet version is usually made in a special paniyaram pan, with leftover idli batter; the spheres are usually shot through with jaggery, coconut, and cardamom.
 
9. Seeni MittaiLittle whorls of sweetness, seeni mittai is a traditional Tamil sweet, said to have been born in Tuticorin. Made with a mixture of rice flour, urad dal, and perfumed with cardamom, these deep-fried beauties are coated in a hard shell of sugar syrup of various types, resulting in a crisp, sweet, irresistible delicacy.
10. ObbattuG. Padma Vijay, in her book Indian Breads: A Comprehensive Guide to Traditional and Innovative Indian Breads writes that the obbattu is an unleavened, traditional flatbread, traditional to Karnataka, made with maida and stuffed with sweetened Bengal gram. Similar, but not quite, to the puran poli, it is usually made during Diwali and Ugadi. Purists may scoff, but nowadays, an entire pantheon of flavours have been infused with the original - date and fig-flecked ones, saffron and turmeric-tinged golden ones, coconut-infused ones, even gulkand-flavoured versions!   
 
About the Author:Meher Mirza is an independent writer and editor, with a focus on food and travel. Formerly with BBC Good Food India, she loves anime, animals and artsy things but also comics, technology and death metal.Disclaimer:The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.