Aval vellam

Aval vellam is a special offering prepared during Saraswathi pooja and Krishna Jeyanthi. Because of its simplicity , we can prepare this sweet in just 10 minutes.
I am sending this sweet dish to Shanthi's State special event on behalf of TamilNadu and Purva's Festive food event for krishna Jeyanthi.



Ingredients:
Poha / beaten rice / aval (thicker variety)- 1 1/4 cup
vellam / jaggery / brown sugar - 3/4 cup
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
cashew - 10
cardamom - 3
Raisin - 10
almond slices - 10

Method:
Wash and clean the poha. Soak it for 3 minutes and drain the water completely.
Take 1/2 cup of water in a wok and heat it along with the jaggery.
As the jaggery dissolves, filter and remove the impurities.
Again heat it to achieve a thicker solution called one string consistency.
(One string consistency means, if you take the stirring spoon out of the jaggery solution and if you can get a thing string dripping as the last drop , it is called so).
Mix the poha, cashews, shredded coconut, powdered cardamom, raisin , almond and stir well.
Immediately switch off the flame.
Aval vellam is ready!

Note:
We can roast the nuts and raisins in ghee before adding. But I stick to the more simpler old version.

Serving suggestions:
In my home town, this sweet is served as a starter snack during festive occasions as soon as the guest arrives.
Serves 4 people.