PAYASAM TREAT

Up until this morning, I had never heard of payasam and did not know what on earth it was. Yesterday, Sharveen had requested that Puan Kamariah lend him her rice cooker as he wanted to prepare some dessert for the teachers. At first he said that it was for all the teachers in the school. I told him that there are 89 teachers and if he were to borrow Puan Kamariah's rice cooker, he couldn't possibly feed all the teachers. So I told him that the next best thing was that he prepares the dessert and then invite any teacher that he happens to see to taste it. All in all 11 teachers and 9 students got to sample his cooking. How does it taste like? Very sweet.

I found out from Puan Grace and the other Indian boys that people usually serve payasam, a type of dessert which is made from vermicelli, sago, sugar, cardamons, cashew nuts, raisins, salt and coconut milk, during special occasions like weddings, birthdays and engagements. The intent of serving this dish is sort of like wishing the guests sweetness and success in life. Being served Payasam on Teacher's Day by Sharveen is indeed a wonderful gesture from a student to his teachers. Sharveen says that he will again serve payasam to the teachers in September when he has the Onnum Festival. Next time he plans to feed all the teachers.