Rajgira-Red Poha Kheer (Vegan recipe)

Today is second friday in Sravan masam when 'Varalakshmi Vratam' is performed. I did my pooja too today, thanks to my mom for her help :-)

This kheer or payasam recipe is from a Telugu cooking show, it is very healthy with no refined ingredients. This kheer is made with rajgira or amaranth grains, red poha and jaggery.

Rajgira or amaranth grains is a new ingredient in my kitchen, I recently bought it from Whole Foods (from the bulk bin, if you want to know). it has been cultivated as a grain for 8000 years. The protein contained in amaranth is of an unusually high quality. It is gluten free and is particularly high in lysine, an amino acid found in low quantities in other grains.

So this kheer is very nutritious and delicious at the same time. It uses coconut milk instead of dairy milk making it vegan. It is perfect to make for festivals or as a guilt free dessert.

Ingredients:

Amaranth grains/ Rajgira - ½cup
Red Poha - 1cup, rinsed and drained
Jaggery - 1cup, grated
Coconut milk - 2cups
Ground cardamom - 1tsp
Dry fruits (cashews/ almonds/ raisins) - 1tbsp, each

Method:

• Soak amaranth grains overnight. In the morning, combine them with 2cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on medium flame until tender, about 30 minutes. Keep aside.
• In another saucepan, combine jaggery with ½cup of water and cook till melted. Add cooked rajgira, red poha, coconut milk, ground elaichi and dry fruit. Bring the mixture to a slow simmer and cook till poha is tender.
• Serve warm or at room temperature or chilled.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: August -- Week 5'.