Festive sweet

When I was a child, my favourite kheer used to be appi payasa. It's a typical karnataka/ Mysore kheer but involved more work than the usual shavige/ vermicelli kheer or kadale bele ( chana dal) kheer so my mom used to make it less often. The combination of crunchy appi and the sweet, cardamom-laced payasa are heavenly, so for Navami this year I decided to make Appi payasa. Turned out it was simpler than I had figured and tasted great; reminded me of the Chandrahara that we hoggged during our Mysore vacation a couple of years ago. Ingredients 1 cup fine suji 1 tsp ghee 1/2 cup cold water 1/2 liter milk 1/2 cup sugar ( to taste) 2-3 strands of saffron soaked in 2 tsp warm milk 1 tsp cardamom powder Mix the ghee into the suji, then add the water ltitle by little to make a stiff dough. Keep aside for an hour or so. Then roll out into really thin puris, about 4-5 inches diameter and deep fry. Ensure that these puris do not puff up, so they need to be rolled out thin; you can also prick them with a fork before deep frying. Keep aside to cool. Meanwhile heat the milk and sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Add the cardamom and saffron. Break the puris into one inch pieces and add to the kheer. Serve hot or cold - we love it cold, straight from the fridge.