Navarathri Day 3 & 4 - Avil Payasam, Kadalai sundal, Arisi Paruppu Payasam & Kesari

Wash and soak the channa overnight. Rinse and pressure cook with a pinch of turmeric. These variety of chikcpeas doesn't turn mushy on cooking. Even when cooked soft, it remains firm in shape.  Drain the cooked water. Heat a kadai and do the seasoning with mustard seeds, chopped green chillies, ginger , broken red chillies and curry leaves. Add the cooked and drained chana. Mix in salt and let it cook on slow flame for the chana to soak in the flavors. You can add little of the cooked water to retain bit of moisture. Garnish with freshly grated coconut.

Dry roast rice and ghee separately. Roast rice till the color changes lightly. Dal can be roasted till you can smell the aroma. Leave rice and dal to cool. Wash and pressure cook in 3 cups of water. In a kadai or any thick bottomed vessel, melt the jaggery with 1/4 cup of water. Strain to remove any impurities. Boil the syrup. When the jaggery syrup starts bubbling, stir in the cooked rice and dal combo. Mix well. Continue to cook, till the jaggery flavor is abosrbed by the dal and rice. By then, the mix would have thickened. Remove from fire. Roast cashew and raisins in ghee and garnish the payasam. The paysam will not be very sweet. If you would like it having sweeter, increase the jaggery quantity.