Potted Plants and Aval Payasam

Ever since childhood, I was always fascinated by plants, especially the potted ones.Whenever I used to visit someone, my eyes were always drawn to the potted plants that adorned the corners of their humble abodes.Only a few days back could I convince Karthik (my dearest better-half) to get me one of those potted plants that I chanced upon at Kroger.Till then, I had no clue about plants, the one 'keepable' inside the home and the ones on the patio.This potted plant that I got, had a tag hanging on it that had all possible instructions to guide the owner in taking care of the plant.
So there I was beaming, smiles written all over my face, riding home with my first ever potted plant!

This one is my stint with the camera, trying a macro shot of my plant.Green, these days is becoming my favorite color.

As I write this post, I feel I should also include the recipe for Aval Payasam (Poha Kheer) that I made, as today, incidently is Gokulashtami:)

Cooking is something that I've developed a good interest for, ever since I came to the States.Making the same old rasam or sambar everyday ain't my idea of cooking.I always like to try my hand at new things since it drives me to experiment and give my taste buds a nice new feeling each time.

Aval is supposedly Lord Krishna's favorite food as we might all know from the story of Kuselan, Krishna's best friend.How Lord Krishna pops in a few grains of aval in his mouth (given by the poor Kuselan) and and with each grain, the shoddy hut of Kuselan is transformed into a huge mansion, his wife's rags turn into lavish garments and ornaments, all by Lord Krishna's mere generosity and play is a well known story to most Hindus.On this very auspicious day, I tried my hand at aval payasam, a recipe that my MIL suggested I prepare to please the Lord.

Here goes, the ingredients that go into making this simple payasam.

Cooking time:1/2 hour
Aval(thick/thin Poha) - 1 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Jaggery - (1/4 cup)
Elachi powder - 1/2 tsp

For garnish
Ghee - 1 tbsp
A few cashews and raisins



Soak the aval in a bowl of water for about ten min till they turn soft.
Heat milk in a heavy bottomed pan for about ten min on low flame till the milk reduces a little in quantity.
Meanwhile, in another pan, heat the jaggery in half a cup of water, just to make sure the jaggery dissolves in the water.Once the jaggery dissolves, pour this into the milk.
Throw in the elachi powder and stir for about 5 min.Now add the soaked aval and keep stirring on low heat till the payasam thickens well.
Finally fry the cashews and raisins in ghee and throw them into the payasam.Delicious aval payasam is ready to serve.

The thought of this having a payasam made of aval has never really been my cup of tea but the moment I tasted it, I was proved wrong.Trust me the payasam was super delicious and I am saying this only after getting the nod of approval from the husband!

So then, happy cooking and have fun!