A Navarathri festival favourite from childhood is ‘aval’, a simple, quick to prepare delicious snack. So, for the first day of the Saraswathie poosai, I would like to share this simple recipe for ‘Aval’.

I have always thought of ‘aval’ as a sweet snack, generally prepared during ‘home poosai’ (prayer ceremony) as a ‘prasadam’ (blessed offering), but I came across the Indore Kanda Poha a few months back and was happily surprised it was a savoury, breakfast food. Here though, I am sharing the traditional way it is prepared in north Sri Lanka.

Aval

Time taken: 10 – 15 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients

• Aval (flattened rice or puffed rice) – ½ cup
• Coconut – ¼ cup, scraped
• Sugar – 3 tbsp or Jaggery – 2 tbsp, chopped
• Crushed cardamom – 1 tsp
• Cashew nuts – 1 tsp, chopped
• Raisins – 2 tsp

Method:

1. Rinse the ‘aval’ in a bowl of water and drain it.
2. Add ¼ cup of hot water to the cleaned ‘aval’ and let it soak for 5 mins. Drain.
3. Heat a pan on low heat and dry roast the coconut for about 2 mins.
4. Add the jaggery or sugar to the pan and continue cooking for another 2 – 3 mins.
5. Add the crushed cardamom to the pan and stir before adding the ‘aval’ to the pan. Mix well before removing from heat.
6. Garnish with chopped cashew nuts and raisins.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.