Payasam is an Indian dessert made by boiling rice with milk or coconut milk and jaggery. Sometimes other grains, such as semiya (vermicelli) or broken wheat, are used. It is often flavored with cardamom, and garnished with cashews and raisins, which might be sautéed in ghee for flavor.
Payasam is most common in the soutern parts of India, especially Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka; contrast kheer, a similar dessert that is more common in the north