Aval Kesari /Brown rice flakes Kesari

Our simple golu:

Happy Navarathri to all my friends and readers. We started the celebrations today with a simple golu. I prepared peanut sundal and aval kesari for today's puja. We were looking for a different sweet other than the usual kesari or payasam when my hubby suggested this. I like the texture of this kesari very much. It is more of like the traditional vennai puttu sweet made with rice flour.  Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:
1. Aval, (any kind of rice flakes), 1 cup.
2. Cardamom powder, a pinch.
3. Ghee, 2 tablespoon.
4. Any sweetener of choice, 1/2 cup. (I have used palm sugar here).
5. Saffron, a few strands (orange food color can also be used here).
6. Salt, a pinch.
7. Broken cashews, 1 tablespoon.
8. Raisins, 1 tablespoon.

Preparation:
Add the saffron in 1/2 cup of water and let it sit for 15 minutes. Grind the aval into a coarse powder. Heat a pan with the ghee. Add the cashews and raisins and fry them under low flame until the cashews turn brown and the raisins are plump.  Remove them from the pan and add the powdered aval now. Keep frying under low flame for 2 minutes. This has to be done under low flame to prevent burning of the aval.  Once this is done, remove the aval powder from the pan and add 2 cups of water and let it come to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, add the sweetener, cardamom powder, salt, and the saffron strands along with the soaked water and mix everything well.  Add the aval back in now and mix well. Keep stirring under medium-to-low flame until the kesari thickens and the desired consistency is reached.  Garnish with the roasted cashews and raisins and serve.