Neeraagaram/Pazhayadhu/நீராகாரம்/Pazhaya Sadham Recipe/Pazhaya Soru with Pachaimilagai & Onions/Pazhayadhu Recipe – Fermented Left over Rice/How to make Pazhaya Sadham Kanji-Summer Special Body Coolant

Pazhaiyadhu/Pazhaiya Soru/Neeraagaram is one of the healthiest Breakfast recipes handed over by our ancestors to us. ‘Pazhaiya’ in Tamil means old and ‘Sadham’ means rice. The other name is Neeraagaram, in which 'Neer' means water and 'Aagaram' means 'meals'. Pazhayasadham has amazing and astonishing health benefits. Pazhaiyadhu is usually made with Vaditha Sadham [the rice is cooked and excess water is drained] rather than the pressure cooked rice. Pazhaiyadhu/Neeraagaram is a traditional recipe forgotten by many and given less importance in the Indian Cuisine. As years past most of the traditional food practices have gone out of practice. Pazhaidhu is one among them and look down as poor man’s food and ignored irrespective of its nutritional value. Please read below about the benefits of consuming Pazhayadhu/Neeraagaram. Do try out this this healthy and easy bowl of Neeraagaram and post your comments here. Meanwhile do check out other healthy Kanji and Porridge Varieties here.

Here’s how to make Pazhaiyadhu with step by step photos…

Food scientists who researched on the food practices among various regions in the world and concluded that the South Asia’s tradition of consuming the previous day's cooked rice soaked in plain water overnight, in the morning next day, as break-fast, is the best. It has the rare B6 B12 vitamins which are not otherwise easily available in other food supplements.

The lactic acid bacteria break down the anti-nutritional factors in rice resulting in an improved bioavailability of micro-nutrients and minerals such as iron, potassium and calcium by several thousand percentage points. For example, after 12 hours of fermentation of 100 grams of rice, the availability of iron changed from 3.4 mg to 73.91mg.

Forgotten home remedy, Paati Vaidhiyam: In our homes, when somebody is suffering from chicken pox, a cotton cloth is dipped in pazhaidhu water and kept over the eyes to cool them.

Following are the benefits of consuming Pazhaiyadhu listed by American Nutrition Association.

Consuming this rice as breakfast keeps the body light and energetic.

The fermented rice produces trillions of good bacteria that help in digestion and builds immunity.

It helps in quicker digestions and wards off ageing, bone related ailments and muscular pains.

Stomach ailments disappear when pazahiyadhu is consumed in the morning as excessive and harmful heat retained in the body neutralized. It helps in maintaining the gut health and keeps acidity at bay.

As the food is very fibrous, it removes constipation and also dullness in the body.

Blood Pressure is normalized and hypertension subsides.

It helps in removing allergy induced problems and also skin related ailments.

It removes all types of ulcers in the body.

Fresh infections are kept at bay as Neeraagaram builds immunity in our body.

It helps in maintaining youthful and radiant look. [content source: Google]

Other Healthy Kanji Recipes that might be of interest...

Varagu Arisi Kanji/Kodo Millet Kanji

Parboiled Rice Kanji/Puzhungal Arisi Kanji

Poondu Vendhaya Kanji/Garlic Fenugreek Porridge/PaasiParuppu Poondu Vendhaya Kanji

Neeraagaaram/Pazhaiyadhu

Rice Kanji/Arisi Kanji for Amman

Saamai Kanji/Little Millet Kanji

Ragi Kanji/Ragi Malt

Ragi Kanji Mix At Home/Ragi Porridge Powder

Kezhvaragu Koozh/Ragi Koozh

Ingredients

Cooked Rice/Vadhitha Sadham[Left over rice]	1 cup
Water	2 cups or as needed
Shallots/Sambar Vengayam	8-10
Green Chillies [optional]	1
Thayir/Yogurt	¼- ½ cup
Salt	As needed

Preparation Time: less than 5 minutes              Recipe Category: Breakfast

Author: Priya Anandakumar                               Recipe Cuisine: TamilNadu, India

Method

Prepare the rice as mentioned here, usually pazhaiyadhu is prepared with vaditha sadham[The rice is cooked and the excess water is drained] and not from pressure cooked rice. So please check out the post on how to cook the rice in a pothere. Make the rice the previous afternoon itself.

Take the leftover cooked rice in a clay pot, add enough water to it. Cover it with lid and leave it overnight at room temperature.

The next day morning the rice would have fermented. Mix the rice thoroughly with your hand [நன்கு கைகளால் பிசையவும்], usually I don’t drain the water. It is best not to drain the water.

Add yogurt/thayir to and mix really well, if needed add little salt. Chop the pearl onions/shallots/sambar vengayam and add it to the pazhaiyadhu. Addition of green chillies is optional, if needed you can add them.

Mix really well, healthy and delicious Pazhaiyadhu/Neeraagaram is ready to be enjoyed.

You can serve this Pazhaiyadhu with Vatha Kuzhambu/Meen Kuzhambu or just with any Pickle of your choice. 

Suggestions:

The small onions/sambar vengayam are usually served as such, but I prefer to chop them and add it to the pazhaiyadhu/pazhaiya soru.

I usually make pazhaiyadhu with the rice cooked in the afternoon and add water to it in the night. If you are making rice in the evening, make sure the rice is not hot.

Make pazhaiyadhu only in a mud pot for both health benefits and taste.

Soaking of cooked rice in water for 8 hours is mandatory otherwise it will not get fermented.

There is no proper proportion for the water for soaking, just adjust the amount of required water depending on the amount of rice, but make sure rice should completely immerse into the rice.

Add salt according to your family needs.

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