Aval

Typically South Indian, aval is pressed or flattened rice flakes. Made out of rice which is husked, cleaned, soaked in hot water and then pressed under rollers and dried, the paper thin flakes are very light and bland in taste.

In this dish, I use jaggery which is concentrated sugar syrup from cane juice; again very Indian. Considered a pure, wholesome sugar, jaggery is made by boiling the juice of sugarcane while several people help stir the steadily thickening syrup. Also a rich source of iron, it is used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine.

You will mostly be able to find white pressed rice and jaggery in Indian or Iranian stores.

So what do you need to make the sweet?
2 cups aval
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated jaggery
1/4 teaspoon powdered cardamom

Into a bowl of aval, add grated coconut. Now stir in the milk and allow about an hour or more so that the rice flakes soak in the milk and soften. When you are about to serve, merge in the grated jaggery (Jaggery can be a bit difficult to grate; its easier if you use a knife to gentlly peel off or you can also cut small chunks from the jaggery block). Top it off with a sprinkle of fine cardamom which gives the dish a nice aroma. I like to have the sweet dish with a few slices of banana.

Recipe from Mom