അവില്‍ പായസം

അവില്‍ പായസം - Aval Payasam
By : Joseph Chiriyankandath
Ingredients

Brown Beaten Rice - 1 1/2 cups [White beaten rice also can be used. Choose the thicker variety ]
Ghee - 3 Tbsps
Milk - 2 1/2 cups
Jaggery - 3/4 cup [ You can substitute with sugar as well ]
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coconut pieces - 2 Tbps [ Cashews , Raisins etc can also be used for garnishing]


Preparation

Roast the coconut pieces in 1/2 Tbsp of ghee and keep aside.
Heat a thick bottom pan and add the remaining ghee to it.
One it is hot, add the beaten rice and stir for sometime till it gets roasted lightly in the ghee. [ Since I have used brown beaten rice, there wasn't much color change. If you are using white one, you can stop stirring once the color slightly changes to brownish.]
Now add 1 1/2 cups of the milk and keep stirring until the beaten rice gets cooked in it. It may take about 8 - 10 mins. The beaten rice becomes very soft once it is cooked.
Add Jaggery and cardamom powder and keep stirring.
Finally add the remaining milk and bring it to boil. The consistency can be adjusted as you prefer by adding more / less milk. Keep in mind that the milk gets soaked up and the payasam will get thicker if you keep it for long.
Payasam can be now transfered to a serving bowl and garnished with the roasted coconut pieces.