Payasam is a liquid sweet preparation that is a perennial favorite of the people of Kerala. It is so called because it is made of sugar and milk (payas). However, it is also referred to as pradhaman, and anyway all payasams are not made of milk and sugar. Many are made of jaggery and coconut milk. Thin flakes called ada, prepared by mincing steamed rice cakes, is a common ingredient of payasams, both of the milk variety and jaggery variety. A sweet dish that uses ada, whether with milk or jaggery, is referred to as ada payasam or ada pradhaman. Of course, payasams are not made just with ada, but also with rice, wheat, beaten rice, banana, bengal gram etc. Some people tend to categorize payasams into milk-payasam and jaggery-payasam, based upon the main component in it.
