Gothumbu(Broken wheat) payasam/Kheer

Gothumbu payasam(Broken wheat Kheer)

Everyone in my family has got a sweet tooth including me, we just can't do without sweets, and payasam/kheer is one such item we all look forward to have on any occasion.

The other day I was talking to one of my collegues that there is something different about Navratri and Dushera.It brings so much of joy and freshness into the lives of the people who celebrate it and its got a very fascinating and colourful dimension in Maharastra, where on the 10th day, Dushera or vijaya dashmi- victory of good over evil is celebrated  by decorating every household, vehicles or instruments with flowers.

So this Dushera I treated my family by preparing Broken wheat kheer or Gothumbu payasam. Gothumbu payasam that I had at my aunt's  place, was prepared using cow's milk and sugar but I prepared it using jaggery and coconut milk and it turned out to be really yummy.

Hope you too would love it.

Ingredients                                              Quantity                                                       
Broken wheat                                           : 1 cup
Plam Jaggery                                             : 500 gms
First thick coconut milk                          : 2 cups
Medium thick coconut milk                    : 1 cup
Water                                                           : 3 cups
Cardamom                                                 : 2
Cashew nuts                                              : 2-3 spoons
Raisins                                                         : 2-3 spoons
Coconut pieces(Thenga kothu)               : 1-2 spoons

Preparation Method:                                                                                                         

• In a pan, boil 1/2 cup water, add jaggery to melt it .Strain it and keep aside.
• Clean the broken wheat and pressure cook it with 4-5 cups of water. Cook it on medium flame for around 7 whistles.
• Now add the melt jaggery to the cooked wheat, add a pinch of salt and 2 tsp of ghee. Mix well and  cook the entire content till the jaggery gets half dried up.
  
• Now add the third extract of coconut milk , cardamom powder and mix well and let it boil.
• Then add the medium thick coconut milk, the second extract and agin cook for 2-3 mins on medium flame by stirring continuously.
• By now it should have attained a thick consistency.
• Now add the thick coconut milk extract( the first extract), mix well and cook on low flame.
• Cover it with a lid and remove from stove.

For Garnishing :

• In a tadka pan, heat 2 tsp of oil, fry the chopped cocnut pieces till they turn light brown, add cashews and saute for 1 -2 min, add raisins as well. Remove from flame and garnish the hor payasam with this and Serve hot.

Tips:                                                                                                                                                    

• One can use readmade coconut milk if extracting milk from coconut seems tedious to you.
• While taking the second and thrid extract out of fresh coconut, add few spoons of water to it
• You can alternatively even use dry coconut powder, mix 3-4 spoons of the coconut powder to warm water and grind it. After grinding it to fine paste and add 1/2 cup of warm water to it and mix well. 
• To get a dark brownish coloured payasam use palm jaggery as the colour of the payasam depends on the type of jagerry being used.
• Dont use cow's milk with jaggery as it would curdle. If you wish to use cow's milk then use sugar for sweetning.