Chocolate Aval (Poha) Payasam.

Iyengar means Tamil vaishnav Brahmin

Cooking food is an art. Most recipes contain the same vegetables, dals, spices, etc. But the taste differs the way one cooks food. At my home my boys tell me that if I cook food in a hurry it tastes yummy.... but it would not be the same if I cook the same recipe in a lazy and leisurely mood. As the tradition is at Indian households, I learned to cook from my mother and my mother-in-law. Eventually I picked up some interesting recipes from other relatives and friends.But I have tried new recipes of my own too. Here I would like to share with you, some of my own methods of preparing food .


CHOCOLATE AVAL(POHA) PAYASAM.

Ingredients.

• 1-cup aval(poha)(rice flakes)
• 3-cups milk.
• 1-cup sugar.
• 7-8 teaspoons chocolate powder--(drinking chocolate powder or milo or any that you use at home for your children)
• 4-tablespoons ghee (butteroil)
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom and joifal (jadikai/nutmeg) powder.
• Roasted cashewnuts,raisins,badam.
• 1-small apple
• 1/2-banana - sliced

Method

First rinse the aval(poha) and soak it in water for half an hour., In a non-stick kadai roast cashewnuts,raisins,badam in (butter-oil) ghee and keep them aside. Now in the same kadai pour 3-cups of milk and boil it till it is reduced to half the original quantity. Then add 1-cup of sugar and let it boil for 3-4 mins. Now add 7-8 teaspoons of chocolate powder and stir the mixture throughly. Add ghee to it and let it boil for 1 min. Next add the soaked aval(poha) into the boiling mixture. Stir the mixture constantly till it becomes thick. Now add cardamom and joifal powder. you can now switch off the flame.
Garnish with sliced apples, bananas , roasted cashewnuts, raisins and badam.



Serve hot.