Gokulashtami Special- Paruppu Payasam

Normally, I stay away from attempting traditional prasadams on festivals. There is a reason for it- my mother and grandmothers are/were all excellent cooks, and nothing I churn out comes to their level. More importantly, while I love the idea of traditions, my family doesn't particularly enjoy traditional dishes, and I end up having to finish everything off myself.
Having said that, I have been craving for paruppu payasam for a very long time, and the first Gokulashtami in our new house was as good an excuse for it as any other. Since I decided to make it at the last moment, I didn't have time to get the recipe from my mother, and used this one.

Milk - 2 1/4 cup

Pasi paruppu/Moong dal - 1/3 cup

Jaggery - 3/4 cup

Grated coconut -1/4 cup

Rice flour - 2 tsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Cashew nuts - 6

Method

Dissolve jaggery in very less water and filter it to remove any impurities.

Heat a tsp of ghee and fry cashew nuts.

In the same pan roast pasi paruppu until you get a nice aroma of roasted dal. Immediately add water to the dal. Wash and drain that water.

Grind grated coconut and rice flour just for a second.

Pressure cook dal with enough water, keeping the coconut + rice flour mixture in a cup for 3-4 whistles.

Add the mashed up dal, coconut + rice flour mixture, cardamom powder to the jaggery and mix it well.

Keep it in low flame and let it cook until everything gets blended well.

Meanwhile,boil milk in medium flame until it reduces a little. Keep stirring now and then to prevent the milk from getting burnt. Let the milk cool to room temperature.Add the milk (at room temperature) hot jaggery syrup (the temperature difference is necessary to prevent curdling). Add the fried cashew nuts, simmer for 2-3 minutes and switch off the flame.
Serve cold.