Vella Aval - Sweet Poha with Jaggery

Vella aval is a sweet dish prepared with aval and jaggery. It is an instant sweet which can be prepared without much planning. Since both aval and jaggery are good for health, this can be given as an evening snack for kids. Also during festivals or any special pooja occasion, this can be prepared as a quick neivedhyam dish.

Vella Aval Recipe

Serves  :  2 - 3 people

Ingredients

• Poha/Rice flakes/Aval  -  1 cup
• Jaggery  -  3/4 cup
• Grated or dessicated coconut  - 1/4 cup
• Ghee  -  1 tbsp
• Cashews  -  7 to 8 pieces
• Cardamom powder  -  a pinch (optional)

Method

• Remove any dirt particles from poha. Wash and rinse well in water for 2 to 3 times.
• If using thick poha, add little water for poha to become soft. For thin or medium varieties, sprinkling 1 or 2 drops of water is sufficient. Leave it aside for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Take a pan and add 1/2 tbsp of ghee and fry the cashews till golden brown and keep it aside.
• In the same pan, add jaggery and water as required to immerse the jaggery.
• Once jaggery is melted, strain it to remove any impurities.
• Pour the strained jaggery water again in the pan and heat it up. The syrup should be slightly thicker than the sticky consistency. i.e. the jaggery syrup will first thicken and then turn slightly sticky. Once it reaches sticky consistency, allow it to boil for 2 to 3 more minutes to reach a little more thicker consistency.
• Drain any excess water from the poha and ensure that it is soft.
• Add the poha to the syrup along with coconut and mix well.
• Add the remaining ghee, fried cashew pieces and cardamom powder and mix everything well.
• Switch off once all the ingredients are blended well.

Notes

• Ensure the poha is cooked well before adding to the jaggery syrup. Add water to the poha based on the type of poha. Only thick varieties need more water for making it soft. Thin or medium varieties only need few drops to be sprinkled.
• Very less ghee is required for this recipe.
• Adjust the quantity of coconut based on your preference.
• To make it as a simple dish for the last minute, you can skip cashews and cardamom powder and just prepare with poha, jaggery, ghee and coconut.