An easy-to-prepare Organic Aval Payasam
I love rice and I love some sweets, however, I am not big on cooking desserts as I always feel it is very complicated. However, when I got organically grown and processed Jyoti Aval from one of our favourite paddy farmers, a new product they have started processing recently, I was excited. They told me, “This will make a wonderful Aval Payasam (Poha Kheer) in addition to Aval Upma, Aval-banana and so on.”
I also have a wonderful salad recipe using this medium-thick Aval and it is a great addition to homemade muesli. I could also make a lovely Aval-banana breakfast, featured on our Facebook& Instagram page.
Then came the Aval Payasam, a trial for someone like me, who is not into making desserts. Radha, friend and farmer, shared her recipe with brown sugar, I made that version and then modified it after seeking advice from Sujata on adding Nattusakkarai (Raw Cane Sugar) to a milk-based Payasam. It came out creamy, rich and a nice light brown colour. Next on the cards is the vegan version, with coconut milk.
The best part of this Aval Payasam is that in its consistency, it is similar to the famous rice Ada Payasam, a big favorite with all of us Keralites, but with half the preparation time. After my first attempt with the Payasam I realised that I have an old , small, uruli (a traditional vessel made of bell metal) at home , which belonged to my great grandmother. So the second time I made the Payasam in it. The small uruli was used for making Payasam offering for the sarpam (snake god) during certain times of the year.
So here it is – the all-organic Jyoti Aval Payasam (also called as Red Poha Kheer in Hindi):
Ingredients:
Jyoti aval – 1 Cup
Milk – 3/4 Litre
Raw Cane Sugar – 1 Cup
Cardamom – 4 Pods
Procedure:
Rinse the Aval in a colander and add to milk warming on the stove once drained. Let it cook slowly while stirring to prevent the milk from boiling over. Once it is slow cooked for about 20 minutes, the Payasam will get a thick creamy consistency and the Aval will be cooked. Add the powdered cardamom and take it off the stove. Once the Aval Payasam cools down a little bit add the Raw Cane Sugar and stir it in.
Pro Tip:
If made with brown sugar you can add the brown sugar while it is cooking on the stove itself.But if you use Raw Cane Sugar (Naatusakkarai), then take it off the flame, wait till it cools down a little bit and then add the raw cane sugar.
So here we are with a quick, easy to prepare, healthy, delicious dessert!!!
About the Ingredients
Poha / Aval / Flattened Rice is a healthy breakfast or dinner option , which provides energy and digests easily. It is versatile and also easy to cook and can be had without cooking as it is pre-roasted.
Jyoti is an improved red rice variety, one of the most popular in Kerala, eaten as rice and aval (poha) and used also as red rice flour.
To make your own organic Aval Payasam, visit our Online Store to source Jyoti Aval, Raw Cane Sugar and Cardamom.
