Cotton seed milk is one among the traditional and authentic drink of South Tamilnadu. I and my grandfa use to have this regularly during my vacations, because a vendor in cycle would bring this around 11 a.m and so I got tons of memories with this milk. When I talked about this to my friends, they were surprised – do people consume cotton seeds, since it’s consumed by cows.

This milk is packed with healthy stuffs and also tastes delicious and so it is called as triple nutrient drink. In Tuticorin, one could see people selling this in cycle around the streets in the morning, most commonly you could get this around factories by 11 a.m.

Health benefits of CottonSeed: It is recognized as a cost-effective “Triple-nutrient”, since it is rich in fiber, energy and protein. Let us move on to the recipe…

I am taking this to Fiesta Friday #74 hosted by angie@thenovicegarderner.

Cotton Seed Milk / Paruthi Paal

Ingredients:

• Cotton seeds – 200 gms
• Raw rice flour – 50 gms
• Jaggery – 100 gms
• Dried ginger powder – 1 ¼ tsp
• Grated coconut – 3 tbsp
• Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
• Cardamom pods – 3 nos
• Thick Coconut milk – 150 ml

Cotton seeds before soaking in water

Ginger, coconut and jaggery

Cottons seeds soaked overnight and then cleaned

Blended for cotton seed milk

Cotton seed milk getting filtered

Cotton seed milk getting filtered

Cotton seed milk about to boil

Getting boiled

With riceflour mixture

With ginger powder, cardamom powder and cardamom pods

With grated coconut

Getting boiled

With Jaggery syrup

With coconut milk

Cotton Seed Milk / Paruthi Paal

Preparation:

• Soak the cotton seeds over night or for 6-7 hrs. Wash them in running water by picking out the cotton and mud sticking to them. Continue cleaning in running water for 3 to 4 times.
• Take the cotton seeds in a blender and blend them along with a cup of water, blend well for a minute and then again pour in a cup of water, continue blending.
• Now filter the milk from the cotton seeds, again start blending with water and drain the milk. Continue this for 3 times.
• Jaggery syrup: Crush the coconut jaggery/vellam and take it in a pan with water (to dissolve the jaggery), keep in medium flame, until it comes to syrup consistency. Filter it and keep it aside.
• Pour the filtered cotton seeds milk in a pot and start heating it, stir once in a while, until it starts boiling.
• Keep in low flame for 5 mins, once it starts boiling and keep on stirring.
• Take rice flour in a cup, pour in a cup of water and stir it well, so that no lumps are formed.
• Now pour this to the boiling cotton seed milk and continue stirring, else it lumps would be formed.
• Crush the cardamom pods and keep it aside.
• Add in cardamom powder, cardamom pods, ginger powder and continue stirring, until it thickens.
• Pour in the jaggery syrup, keep in medium flame for 5 mins, and keep on stirring every now and then, until it thickens.
• Keep in low flame and pour in the coconut milk and keep on stirring, until the raw smell goes off.
• Remove from fire.

Serve hot in morning. This can also prepared with few herbal spices as a herbal drink which is good for cold and digestion.