Kheer is also known as Pasayam. This is a traditional Indian dessert that is milk and rice based. Most of the time, the Kheer is flavored with cardamom, saffron, raisins and pistachios and almonds. Sometimes, Kheer is eaten as a savory dish and most of the time, if paired with fruits and other sweets, becomes a truly yummy dessert.

Ingredients:

• 3 pieces of ripe yellow bananas
• 1 c of clarified butter or ghee
• 3 tbsp of shaved coconut
• 4 pieces of cardamom seeds
• 25 grams of jaggery or pure cane sugar
• 1 coconut (small)
• 1 tbsp raisins

Directions:

1. Peel and make sure to remove the seeds of the bananas.
2. Steam the bananas for a few minutes and then mash the bananas well.
3. Take one small coconut and grate the meat into fine shreds. Add about 1 and ½ c of water and to squeeze out the coconut milk.  To make the second squeeze coconut milk, add 3 to 4 c more of water.
4. In a large frying pan, heat the ghee and fry the mashed bananas for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Melt and strain the jaggery, and stir it until it gets thick and smooth.  And stir the melted sugar cane to the mashed bananas and continue stirring the banana mixture.
6. Time to add the second coconut milk. Stir until the ingredients are well combined and the consistency is thicker. By this time, the milk and banana mixture should have reduced to half its original amount.
7. You can now add the first coconut milk and let it boil again. Do this for about 5 to 10 minutes.
8. In another shallow pan. Fry the coconut shavings or pieces, cashew nuts, raisins, and crushed cardamom until very fragrant.
9. Add the fried garnish to the banana-coconut mixture.
10. Make sure to serve the dish warm.

Tips and Trivia:
Jaggery is unrefined sugar cane juice, famously used in Asia and Africa. This is a good substitute to refined sugar. You can also use saffron to flavor the kheer. You have to add a few strands of saffron to the warm coconut milk to make your saffron liquid.