Paramannam Recipe (Telugu Rice, Milk and Jaggery Naivedyam)

Quick answer: Paramannam is a Telugu sweet of rice cooked slowly in milk and sweetened with jaggery, finished with ghee, cardamom, cashews and raisins. It is a classic naivedyam (food offered to the deity) for Sankranti and other festivals. The key is adding cooled jaggery syrup off the heat so the milk does not curdle. Allow 5 minutes to prepare and 45 to 50 minutes to cook.

What is Paramannam?

The name is usually explained as parama annam, "the finest rice" or "supreme food". It is also called bellam paramannam (jaggery paramannam) to separate it from versions made with sugar, and it is close kin to the Tamil paal payasam and the North Indian kheer. Telugu food writers list paramannam with chakkera pongali and ariselu among the rice-and-jaggery dishes at the centre of the Sankranti table.

Many Andhra Pradesh and Telangana households cook paramannam on Sankranti day and place it before the deity at the household puja before the meal. It is also made on other festivals and family occasions. If you are cooking it as naivedyam, offer it before anyone tastes it, and follow your family's custom on whether it is served warm or cooled. Confirm the festival date with your local panchang or temple priest.

Ingredients

Use fresh full-fat milk. Milk near its use-by date is more likely to split. Use only food-grade edible camphor (pacha karpuram), never the camphor sold for aarti.

How to make Paramannam on the stovetop

1. Wash the rice and soak it for 15 minutes. Drain.
2. Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the rice.
3. Simmer on low heat for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring and scraping the base every few minutes, until the rice is very soft and the milk has thickened a little.
4. Mash some of the rice against the side of the pot with a ladle.
5. Meanwhile, melt the jaggery with the water on low heat. Strain it and leave it to cool until just warm.
6. Turn off the heat under the rice and milk. Let it stand 5 minutes so it stops bubbling.
7. Pour in the warm jaggery syrup slowly, stirring all the time. Do not boil it again.
8. Fry the cashews and raisins in the ghee and stir them in with the cardamom and edible camphor.

Paramannam thickens as it cools. Add a little warm milk before serving if needed.

How do I stop the milk curdling with jaggery?

Jaggery can split hot milk. The usual explanation is that jaggery is slightly acidic and may carry impurities, and acid plus heat makes milk proteins clump. Cooks avoid it with a few habits:

1. Cook the rice fully before sweetening. Jaggery goes in last.
2. Cool both sides. Take the milk off the heat and let the syrup cool to warm.
3. Add syrup to milk slowly, stirring, never in one splash. Some cooks reverse it and pour the rice and milk into the syrup.
4. Do not boil after adding jaggery. Warm it gently later if you must.
5. Strain the syrup to remove grit and impurities.
6. Use fresh milk.

If it does split, the texture turns grainy. Many families would not offer a split payasam as naivedyam; make a fresh small batch if you need one.

Pressure-cooker and Instant Pot versions

Pressure cooker: Milk can froth and block the vent, so use the pot-in-pot method. Put the soaked rice with 2 cups (480 ml) of the milk in a steel bowl inside the cooker, with water in the base. Cook for 4 to 5 whistles on medium heat and let the pressure drop naturally. Tip into a pan, add the rest of the milk and simmer 10 minutes, then continue from step 5.

Instant Pot: Use the same pot-in-pot method on Pressure Cook (high) for 15 minutes with a full natural release, then finish in a pan.

Rice cooker: Use the porridge setting with the rice and half the milk, stirring once or twice. Finish in a pan as above.

Substitutions abroad

Sugar-based swaps such as muscovado and palm sugar are less likely to split the milk than cane jaggery, but use the same method anyway.

Vegan option

Use coconut milk thinned with water, or oat milk, and coconut oil in place of ghee. Coconut milk does not curdle with jaggery in the same way. Naivedyam customs vary: many families offer only dishes made with cow's milk and ghee. Follow your family practice or ask your priest.

Common mistakes

• Adding jaggery to boiling milk: the most common cause of curdling.
• Too little rice: a quarter cup to a litre gives a pourable payasam. For a thicker one, add a few more spoons of rice.
• Scorching: stir often and scrape the base. A thin pot will burn the milk.
• Undercooked rice: rice does not soften further once jaggery is in.

Storage

Cool and refrigerate within 2 hours, as with any milk dish. It keeps 2 days in the fridge. Serve chilled or warm it gently without boiling.

Allergens

Contains milk (milk and ghee) and tree nuts (cashews). Leave out the cashews for a nut-free version. If an allergy is severe, check labels for nut cross-contact.

Frequently asked questions

Is Paramannam the same as rice kheer?

They are close relatives. Paramannam is the Telugu name, and the festival version is usually sweetened with jaggery, while many kheer recipes use sugar.

How is Paramannam different from Chakkara Pongali?

Paramannam is a milk-rich payasam, usually without dal, and is pourable. Chakkara Pongali uses rice and moong dal cooked thick and spoonable.

Can I use sugar instead of jaggery?

Yes. Sugar rarely splits milk, so you can add it while the payasam simmers. It will be pale and milder.

Should paramannam be cooled before offering?

Customs differ. Some families offer it warm and some let it cool first. Follow your family practice or ask your priest.

Can I make it a day ahead for Sankranti?

You can, and it keeps 2 days in the fridge. Many families prefer to cook naivedyam fresh on the festival morning, so check your family custom.

Sources

• Reshmi AR, "Sankranti: a harvest told through food, fire and memory in Telugu states", Deccan Chronicle, 8 January 2026: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/southern-states/telangana/sankranti-a-harvest-told-through-food-fire-and-memory-in-telugu-states-1929102 (accessed 12 November 2026)
• Askari Jaffer, "Sankranti on a plate: How Telugu kitchens celebrate the harvest", The Hans India, 14 January 2026: https://www.thehansindia.com/featured/women/sankranti-on-a-plate-how-telugu-kitchens-celebrate-the-harvest-1039366 (accessed 12 November 2026)
• US Food and Drug Administration, "Food Allergies": https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-food-labeling-and-critical-foods/food-allergies (accessed 12 November 2026)
• US Food and Drug Administration, "Safe Food Handling": https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/safe-food-handling (accessed 12 November 2026)

Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.

Related guides

• Sankranti in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
• Pongal festival guide
• Pongal recipes
• Chakkara Pongali recipe
• Kalkandu Pongal recipe
• Ariselu recipe