Aval Payasam/ Kheer with Poha (Indian dessert with Flattened Rice) - Microwave Recipe - Krishna Jayanti Special

If you want to make a traditional payasam / kheer in 10 minutes, this is it :) I bought some Aval for Krishna Jayanthi and used some for making Chivda for Diwali. There is yet some more left, so I made it into a quick kheer in no time! Everyone liked it and my cousin suggested that I put up the recipe on the blog. 
 
I try to use jaggery in place of sugar whenever the recipe can work well. I first thought of using jaggery when a friend mentioned to me that she adds a bit of jaggery to turn payasams away from white color (bcoz she doesn't like milk in its original white color).  Bottomline - Jaggery is a healthier option, go for it if you like the substitution! :)

Aval Payasam / Kheer with Poha

The quantities are right for 3 adults, but it was enough for 4 of us as a dessert after a complete meal.

I Used -

• Aval / Poha / Flattened Rice - 1/2 cup
• Ghee - 1 tsp + 1 tsp(to roast cashews)
• Milk - 1 cup + 1/4 cup
• Sweetened Condensed milk - 2 tbsp (This time, I used High Calcium Milkmaid)
• Jaggery - 1/4 cup or slightly lesser  (grated or coarsely powdered)
• Cardamom powder (Elaichi powder) - a pinch
• Cashews - about 10 (to be roasted in ghee)

How To -

• Roast Aval in a teaspoon of ghee in microwave for about a minute. By now, it would have become a bit crispy.

I wouldn't suggest ghee-roasting cashews in microwave, as it doesn't turn out as nicely roasted

• Cook Aval in steps, starting with 1/2 cup milk. I'm not giving timings as it varies with the power of the microwave you have. But I can assure you that the kheer will be ready in less than 15 minutes. Of course, you could choose to prepare this in a milk pan/ pot on the stove as well.

• Stir after about 2 minutes and add another 1/2 cup milk and let the Poha/ Aval cook fully. I had to taste to confirm it is well-cooked. Most of the milk is now absorbed by the rice flakes. Good news! No more cooking after this step :)

More milk is now absorbed by Rice flakes as compared to the previous pic

• Add jaggery and mix well. I just break the big rock of jaggery into smaller chunks using my kitchen hammer. It melts in the heat and you just need to mix the really small bits using a spoon.

Aval Payasam with Jaggery

• Add cardamom powder next.
• Stir in 1/4 cup of milk and you can see that it's now at the right consistency of kheer.
• Finally, add the condensed milk and top with ghee-roasted cashewnuts :)

Decorated with cashews and ready to be served!

Linking this to Christmas Delicacy @ Julie's space. Merry Christmas! :)