AVAL PAYASAM WITH ROCK SUGAR

     Aval Payasam is a simple Payasam recipe prepared with Beaten Rice/Poha/Avalakki.  This Payasam can incorporated within few minutes.  My daughter had been asking me to make this Aval Payasam since we ate this at our friend's place.  I had immediately asked her how to make it. But It is almost six years, that I totally forgot the taste and texture of the payasam. I literally had to scratch my brain ... But from my memory, it was a bit thicker.  What I remembered was just that she had toasted the Aval before adding them to milk and she had used Rock Sugar (Kalkandu) to sweeten up the dish.
     The main ingredients in this recipe are Aval/Poha/Flattened Rice, Milk and Rock Sugar.  Rock Sugar is considered to have therapeutic properties, but it is higher in calories compared to white sugar. Aval Payasam can also be made with Refined Sugar/Jaggery.  The texture of Aval is awesome that they turn so soft and succulent when added to milk.
     Usually, Aval payasam is made as a Naivedyam for Gokulashtami. Aval as such reminds me of the famous story of Krishna & Sudama.  The tale of Sudama and Krishna comes from the Bhagavatam. Both were childhood friends, from their Gurukulam(Schooling). Krishna grew up to become the king of Dwaraka whereas Sudama and his family were living a life of dire poverty. Though Sudama goes through a bad time in his life he doesn’t intend to get help from Krishna. But when things go out of his hand he goes all the way to Dwaraka to meet his long time friend with his humble gift 'A small bag of Aval'. Krishna treats him royally.  Overwhelmed and equally embarrassed Sudama doesn’t say anything about his problems or why he had come to meet Krishna. But to his astonishment, when he returns home he finds a huge mansion filled with all luxury and wealth, instead of his poverty struck house. Sudama realised that it is the mercy & miracle of The Supreme Lord - Krishna.  In spite of all wealth and treasure, Sudama continued to live a simple life. No wonder why Aval is Krishna's favourite food.

Cuisine - South India
Recipe Type - Payasam, Dessert
Difficulty - Easy
Serves - 4- 6
Author - SM

Preparation Time - 15-25 Minutes
Cooking Time - 20 -30 Minutes

HOW TO COOK AVAL PAYASAM WITH ROCK SUGAR

 

INGREDIENTS :

Aval - 1 Cup
Milk - 3 Cups
Rock Sugar - 1/2 Cup
Cashew Nuts - Few
Raisins - Few
Ghee - 1 Tbspn
Salt - 1 Pinch

For Grinding :

Coconut - 2 Tbspns
Cardamom Pods - 4-5 Nos.
Poppy Seeds - 1 Tspn
Cashew Nuts - 5-6 Nos.

METHOD :

• Heat Ghee in a pan and fry the Cashew Nuts and Raisins, remove and keep it aside.
• Toast the Aval/Beaten Rice in the remaining ghee until into turns light golden brown colour.
• Toast the Aval on a very low flame.
• In a separate pan, boil the Milk, lower the flame and allow it to thicken, stirring occasionally.
• Add Rock Sugar and mix well, leave this on a low flame until the rock sugar melts.
• Soak Poppy seeds in 1 Tbspn of warm water for about 10-20 minutes.
• Grind all the ingredients mentioned under 'For grinding' to a smooth paste.
• Mix the coconut mix to the boiling milk and give a quick stir.
• Leave this on a low flame until the raw flavour goes.
• Add the toasted Aval to the above and cook it on a low flame until it turns soft & cooked.
• Finally, garnish the Aval Payasam with fried Cashew nuts and Raisins.
• Serve  Aval Payasam hot or cold.

NOTES :

• Adjust the sweetness as per your taste preference.
• You can substitute Rock Sugar with Refined Sugar/Jaggery.
• If the Aval is of the thick variety, it can be coarse ground before adding it into the milk.
• Thick full cream milk gives a perfect consistency to the Payasam.
• If using normal milk, reduce its volume until it thickens.
• The coconut mix enhances the flavour. But that step is purely optional.