Thiruvananthapuram: ‘Payasamela’ turns big hit

Thiruvananthapuram: A variety of mouth watering payasams are attracting customers in hordes to payasamela at KTDC hotel Chaitram.

The payasamela which began on September 5 will conclude on Thiruvonam day on Wednesday.  "One litre of payasayam here costs Rs. 280 and Rs. 150 for half litre. There are bulk orders for paayasam. We don't sell online, it's all direct sales. There is no home delivery. We have more popular payasams than last time," said an official.

"Navarasa payasam, is a Chaithram specialty. It's our own recipe comprising 5 different types of cereals and dry fruits. This is the 32nd year of payasa mela. The Onam last year was low key because of the severity of floods," he added.

The most sought after payasams continue be the common ones like ada pradaman, kadala and paalada especially during Uthraadam. "This time the business has been brisk. We sold more than Rs 1 lakh worth of payasam containers on the first day itself.  The ingredients are sources from various places including Palakkad. Sugar and jaggery are procured from market societies. Our payasams are prepared by experienced chefs who have been in the business for past many decades," said Mr. Ajith Kumar, manager of Chaithram.

Those at the sales counter say carrot, navarasam, jackfruit, banana, and mango payasams are on high demand this season. The traditional ones like Palakkadan champa paalada, ada, paal payasam made from rice too have many takers. "We procure bamboo rice from forest department for our special mulayari payasm," he said.

About 700 litres of payasam are sold out from the counter daily. "Palada is flying of the shelves in no time. Today we had to prepare palada three times to meet the demand," said a staff.