Aval Payasam

Beaten rice (poha) payasam — thick poha (aval/flattened rice) rinsed, drained, and simmered in full-fat milk with jaggery and cardamom until the poha dissolves partially and the milk thickens to a lightly grainy, golden-coloured payasam. Finished with a few cashews and raisins fried in ghee. Quicker to make than rice payasam (no long-grain reduction required) and lighter than semiya payasam; the beaten rice gives the payasam a subtle texture — not fully liquid, not fully solid — and the jaggery a deeper sweetness than refined sugar. Made for Krishna Jayanthi (Gokulashtami), Rama Navami, and other Vaishnava festivals when it is offered as prasadam along with other sweet preparations.