A Sweet Start - Broken Wheat Porridge

Desserts with coconut evoke nostalgic memories of some of the most exciting events in my life. We have a custom of breaking coconut at the start of any new venture or when inaugurating a new purchase (something really special - we don't break coconut before wearing a new dress, of course =D). The coconut would then be offered to God and turned into a delicious dessert - a barfi or sweet coconut rice, laddu or kheer. All these tasty treats remind me of my first bike, first computer, getting our first car and all the other milestones! The custom is symbolic of breaking all obstacles and achieving the sweet outcome. I love these small but meaningful traditions. Of course, I didn't miss out on this tradition when we entered a very big phase in our lives of home ownership recently. It's been a little under a month since we moved to our home sweet home! I've been caught in a whirlwind of activities - moving can be stressful. Hence the long absence from the blogging world. But I made sure to take pictures of the dessert I prepared from the coconut we offered while entering the house.

With my kitchen barely set up, I wanted to make something simple and went to one of my childhood favorites - Gavhachi Kheer or Broken Wheat Porridge. Gavhachi kheer is a very down-home, comforting, non-glorious yet delicious dessert. I love how it's no-fuss and simple to make. As long as you have good ingredients, there's little that can go wrong in the preparation. It's great as a dessert for any meal and one of the few Indian sweets that is great for breakfast.

Gavhachi Kheer/ Broken Wheat Porridge

Ingredients:
1 Cup broken wheat (or whole wheat)
1 Cup good jaggery - grated
A little less than 1/2 cup fresh grated coconut

1 Tablespoon Ghee/clarified butter
1 Tablespoon chopped dry fruits such as cashews or almonds

1/2 Teaspoon cardamom powder
3-4 Cups water or as needed

• Soak broken wheat for 3-4 hours. This helps it cook fast. If you have whole wheat instead, soak it a bit longer and pulse in the food processor just enough so that it's coarse. 
• Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and roast the dry fruits until golden. 
• Add broken wheat and toast it for a couple of minutes. Then add jaggery, coconut, cardamom powder, and mix everything well. 
• Add water and pressure cook with 2 whistles. The wheat almost doubles in size after cooking. There should be enough water so that you get a nice thick consistency. This kheer is not like the milk-based thin kheers. 
• Serve with some ghee and more dry fruits on top.

Just 4 days back, my parents flew from India to visit us in the new house! Having a new 'field' to play around, I've been cooking my heart out under my mom's expert guidance. I'll make a point to post some of those recipes as time permits.

Have a good weekend, everyone!