In southern parts of Kerala, normally 3 types of payasams are served along with sadya during functions - ada pradhaman, parippu pradhaman(from Bengal gram) and paal payasam (either rice or vermicelli and milk). Ada pradhaman and parippu pradhaman are served along with banana while the third one is served along with boli. Here, I am providing the recipe of boli and vermacilli payasam which tastes great, if served as combo.

Boli
Boli looks very similar to a roti, even though it is yellow in colour. It can be taken as a sweet or along with any type of kheer. Though it is a little bit time consuming it is really a variety dish.

Ingredients:

Bengal gram - 1/2 kg
Sugar - 1/2 kg
Maida - 2.5 cups
Nutmeg powder - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Yellow food colour - As needed
Gingelly oil - 50 gm
Ghee - 100 gm
Finely grinded rice powder  - As needed

Method of preparation:

1. Take bengal gram in a cooker and add 4 cups of water to it. After first whistle, reduce the flame and simmer it for 5 more whistles.
2. When its pressure drops to zero, drain its moisture completely.
3. Take maida in a bowl and add a pinch of salt and mix well. Add sufficient water and yellow food colour and mix the contents well. The dough should not be as tight as chappathi's. It should be a little loose.
4. Press it well and add 50 gram gingelly oil on its top. i.e. The dough should be fully immersed in the oil and keep it for 20-30 minutes. At this time, we can prepare bengal gram.
5. Heat a pan. Add boiled bengal gram and sugar to it. Stir continuously. Add a little yellow colour also. Once heated it becomes a little loose. Stir continuously still it becomes almost dry. Add 1 tsp cardamom powder and 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder and mix well. Put the flame off.

6. When it cools, grind it to a fine paste without adding water.
7. Make lime sized balls from it. We can get almost 30 balls from this amount of mixture.
8. Make small (gooseberry) sized balls from maida, almost 1/3rd size of the lemon sized bengal gram balls. Oil content will make maida flour slippery.
9. Cover each big sized bengal gram balls with small maida balls. Its elasticity and oily nature will help us to do it easily. Big sized balls should be completely covered and should never be shown outside. If so, it will break while we spread it like a chappathi.
10. Take rice flour in a plate and place each ball in it and flip once. Repeat the same process for all the 30 balls.
11. Take a chappathi board and spread each ball like a chappathi. If needed, use rice flour. Through practice, one should try to reduce the amount of rice flour used for its process because if we use excess flour, it will appear as white marks on the surface of boli.
12. Heat a tawa. Take one of them and put it in the tawa. We can see blisters on its surface. At once, turn over and sprinkle a little ghee on the top and just wait for a second. Just a few seconds are required to cook each boli.
13. Fold it once and place it in a plate. Continue the process for making 30 bolis. Your soft bolis are ready to serve.

Note: Avoid rice flour as much as possible. Also, never wait boli to become brown colour. If so, it will lose its softness and becomes hard. Bolis can be served as it is or with milk added payasams. It can be kept outside refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Vermicelli or Semiya payasam
In southern parts of Kerala, during sadya, semiya payasam is served soon after 2-3 varieties of jaggery added payasams. Boli is served first and semiya payasam is pour on the top of it, in the plantain leaf itself. Sometimes boondi is also used as a substitute of boli.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli broken into pieces - 1 cup
Milk - 6-8 cups
Sugar - As per taste
Ghee - 2 tsp
Cashew nut split into two - A hand full
Raisins - 15
Cardamom crushed - 6 or 7
Condensed milk - 2 or 3 big spoons full
Sago (Chowwary) cooked - A hand full (optional)

Method of preparation:

1. Heat ghee in a pan and fry both cashew nuts and raisins and keep them aside.
2. In the remaining ghee, fry vermicelli till light brown.
3. Add milk to it and keep stirring till it is cooked. Milk will be very much reduced now.
4. Add cooked sago and condensed milk to it. Both its amount can be varied according to one's taste. Stir continuously.
5. Add sugar and cardamom to it and keep stirring.
6. Add raisins and cashew nuts to it and remove from fire.

Note:  Payasam should never be too loose. If so, it cannot be served on the top of boli . We can also make another alternative of vermicelli payasam. You can add a little coconut milk at the end to get a variety taste. Sago may or may not be used. Also, we can fry and add coconut pieces to it.