Kharjura Payasa / Dates Kheer

Like I said in my previous post, Diwali ws comparitively dull for us this time. We were missing home and family a lot... Naveen wasn't keeping all that well..... Inorder to get ourselves out of that mood, I decided to make something that I had never tried before. I decided to go make Kharjura payasa as both of us love dates!!! And as you all know dates have a high nutritional value. And the best part is that you need to add very little external sweetener as the dates are already sweet!! So, here goes the delicious, yet healthy diwali recipe....Couldn't have asked for more!! :). This will be my entry for AFAM-Dates event hosted by Chandrika of Akshayapatra. Thanx Chandrika for hosting!! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup Dates, deseeded and chopped into small pieces

1-2 tbsp Jaggery, powdered

1 tsp Elaichi/Cardamom, powdered

3-4 tbsp Cashews

2 cups Thin coconut milk, fresh or canned

1/2 cup Whole milk (optional)

Method:

1. Keep aside few pieces of dates for garnishing and grind the rest to a smooth paste along with half the coconut milk.
2. Empty the paste into a heavy bottemed pan and bring to boil on the stove. Add the remaining coconut milk, jaggery, elaichi and boil well. If the mixture is too thick, add milk and boil for some more time. Adjust the sweetness according to your taste.
3. Remove from stove; garnish with the remaining date pieces and serve hot.