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Chirumaalu Payasam

Chirumaalu/ Kusuri ( 'chirumaalu'  is a colloquial name) payasa is a tasty treat. Kusuri is made of maida flour and is mostly found in Arya Vysya Weddings. We call Chirumaalu as Kusuri at home. I googled for Chirumaalu and Kusuri and had a good time laughing over the results. Chirumaalu did not yield any results, Kusuri yielded all Japanese references.
Arya Vysya's history trace back to Penugonda, Andhra Pradesh, birth place of godess Vasavi. Their language or terminologies remain in Telugu and its influence lingers despite their settlement in different parts of India. Wedding customs of Vysya's change from place to place, regional influence being one of the possible factor for it. A day before wedding, bride and bridegroom parents exchange snacks, sweets, keepsake decorative items (hand made or store bought), carved dry coconut (beautiful art which requires lots of patience) and many more things during an engagement ceremony.  Few days before marriage we all sit together to make toy bananas, oranges, etc all fruits, all possible vegetables from maida flour. It is sundried and painted. They are packed nicely and arranged in beautiful plates for exchanging ;) The more you have on your side the more you have to show off ;) I will try to source few photos of wedding next time I visit India. Kusuri is a part of such exchange.
I did not know about this payasam untill my sister enlightened me about it. My sister's MIL made Chirumaalu  specially for me. I was so honored when my sister handed over the packet of Chirumaalu to me.
Making Kusuri is an art which only takes your time and tests your interest to do it. Once you taste the payasa made of them you will thank yourself for spending your time on it. Below is the picture of Kusuri.

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It is a simple payasam, if you have the above raw material/Kusuri. Here is how you can make it for yourself :

Chirumaalu/Kusuri :
Maida Flour : 2 tbsp
Milk: 2-4 tsp

Mix both to make a stiff dough. You may get a small gooseberry size dough.
Pinch half a mustard size dough and hold between you thumb and forefinger.
Press to make a disc and then roll it to make a cigar.Collect all of them in a plate. Remember to put them apart or else they may stick to each other.
Sundry it till they are crisp.

How to test the crispiness :
If you hold a teaspoon of kusuri in you fist and shake it you should be able to hear clinking sound which indicates crispiness of the product.

Chirumaalu/Kusuri Payasam
Chirumaalu/Kusuri : 1 tbsp (quantity as shown in the picture above)
Thick Milk : 4 cups
You can use evaporated milk, but plain milk is more tastier for some reason.
Sugar : 4tbsp
Ghee and dry fruits

1. Heat one tbsp of ghee in a non stick pan and fry dry fruits. Fry raisins and cashews separately. Raisins plump and cashews brown in while you fry.
2. Drain the dryfruits to a cup.
3. Add Chirumaalu/Kusuri to the same pan and fry it with the left over ghee till Chirumaalu/Kusuri turns reddish brown.
4. Add 4 cups of  milk  and bring it to boil. Let Chirumaalu/Kusuri get cooked in the milk. Chirumaalu/Kusuri get soft when they are cooked (similar to shavige/sevai)
5. Once Chirumaalu/Kusuri is cooked, add sugar and continue to boil till sugar is dissolved well and milk thickens. Switch off the stove. Garnish with fried dry fruits and serve hot. Chilled Payasam also tastes yummy.

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This also goes to Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen for her Sweet Celebrations

32 comments:

Unknown said...

very beautiful and new recipe..will try making it sometime..how much time does it usually take to dry?

Lakshmi said...

@ Sowmya,

depends on the weather ya, it is hot and sunny one or 2 days is good enough for perfectly dried stuff!

Cham said...

Gosh, I would say cooking is an art, what a tradition of exchanging some art works during wedding time :)
Hats off for who made this like a long basmati grain!
Worth this sweet treat!

Unknown said...

Wow...this is so new..am gonna try by tmrw...yummy...
and atlast i am able to post comment :)

Unknown said...

yummy and a very traditionla dish I have tasted this yummy payasa and one more thing I want to share with u lakshmi I have a bihari friend they make the same dish but with godhi hittu(wheat flour) and all other prosses is same they call this in bihar is JHILLI and also Atte ki kheer thanks for remainding me such a nice recipe

Lakshmi said...

@ Rekha,

Thanks for the wonderful information. It was good to learn about Jhilli

Sukanya Yogesh said...

You really are such a patient cook Lakshmi. Wish I get this Chirumaalu in the stores, so can make the payasam with it.Wonderful click of the payasam.

Priya Suresh said...

Delicious...never heard about this..first time seeing the picture of kusuri..

Adlak's tiny world said...

I m drooling dear. delish sweet dish...
One more sweet surprise is waiting for u in my adlaks kitchen dear.

Unknown said...

wow.. nice entry.. thxs for sharing...

Finla said...

I learned again something knew.
Payasam looks so delicious.

Anonymous said...

New Recipe for me ... will try :)
rgds

Anonymous said...

Lakshmi,
I have been a ghost reader of your blog for at least an year, never left a comment before, even though I wanted to, I always come in a hurry, read your blog and then go back to my normal routine. But today, no matter what I wanted to leave a comment, I'm so inspired by your energy and recipes. I don't know how you manage to blog everyday inspite of your busy personal and professional life. Applause to you, I'm very touched. I have tried few recipes of yours, they have not failed me. You are such a dedicated mom too from what I have read from your blogging. Keep up the good work, I come to your blog almost everyday, I have bookmarked many more recipes to try. I will let you know how it turns out.

-Thanks,
Gauri

Lakshmi said...

Hi Gauri,

First of all many thanks for taking some time to leave that lovely comment. I am happy to know that my recipes have not failed you. It is because of the appreciation that I get from people like you blogging is interesting to me. I have a very tight schedule from morning to evening endless work, but somehow I manage some time here and there and keep blogging :) Keep coming dear. Hugs to you.

Lakshmi

Kannada Cuisine said...

Lakshi this piece is making me nostalgic... Arya vaishyas (Shettru!! alwa) are a big community in my native place..I have seen my neighbor doing this Kusuri, though never managed to remember it all.. Brings back the memories of all the kuruk tindi our neighbors used to gift us during ceremonies at their places. Oh yes, not to mention Vijaya aunty's cobra carvings.. She is so talented!!

Deepthi Shankar said...

looks lovely lakshmi .. thanks so much for passing the award to me . i was busy with a few things so I took this loong to reply .. thanks ri

Lakshmi said...

@ Smitha,
Oh yes! you got it right! Shetru mane thindi, shetru maduve oota andre tumba pamous :P nam kade

@ Deesha,
Parvagilla ri. tada adru bandralla aste saaku bidi :)

anudivya said...

That looks almost like rice... Nice recipe.

anudivya said...

That looks almost like rice... Nice recipe.

Anonymous said...

hmmm.....yummy and traditonal paysa ree :)

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Wow wonderful payasam... Shall follow your way next time...

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

this ones really new!!! haage nodidre, shaavige paayasa thara ne kaanatte. You must have gone through a lot of pain to make all that chirumaalu...

Raks said...

I think I have seen this as packing in Chennai in some store,but never new what to do with it,thanks for sharing!

Andhra Flavors said...

Its new to me with plainflour.
Collect your award from my blog

Purva Desai said...

New dish for me, but looks yummy
Thanks for sharing...

Unknown said...

Hi Lg,

I had to leave this comment today. That was one interesting read! keep up the good work! Looking forward 2 some more exciting posts from you!

Veda

Unknown said...

That looks very tasty, i have never come across 'kusuri'. Home made alwyas taste best.

Dibs said...

LG - This is too good ya. Never heard of it, and the whole post is sooo interesting. I learnt two things here ...first of all making these things out of maida and milk, and secondly, I didnt know you can make toys with maida!!!!! is that just maida and water or do you add anything else?

Lakshmi said...

@ Dibs,
Maida Toys/keepsakes are made of maida and water dough. They are then sun dried and painted. If they are properly sun dried and preserved they stay well for years!

Savi-Ruchi said...

wow!, this indeed requires a lot of time, patience & energy. Do we get these chirumalu(readily available) in India? I dont have patience to prepare this :(

a mouthwatering payasa.., loved it :)

Lakshmi said...

@ Sushma,
Hogli bidi, ee sarthi mahila sanghada meeting ge bandaga tarthini :), so 2 items on my list for you.

anupriya said...

tried making the kasuri...could not,need more practice...