Besan Kheer(Split Chick Pea Flour Pudding) using Xylitol as Sweetener

Happy Varusha Pirappu, Vishu, Vishuva Sankranti, Poyela Boishakh to all my readers. If you are new to these names and are wondering what it means? This is the name of the New Year celebrated in different regions of India based on the Hindu Solar Calendar.  Kheer , Payasam or pudding is a must on such occasions and this is one of the easiest one to prepare, can be done in a jiffy. Most of the traditional Payasam/Kheer in the Southern parts of India is made with Jaggery and a very few are made with Sugar. This is one such sweet dish which is normally made with sugar and I substituted Xylitol instead of refined sugar. For those of you who are new to Xylitol, it is a low glycemic sweetener, a natural sugar substitute which looks like sugar but has a slight chilling effect when you taste it. One draw back about xylitol is, not every one can digest it. So try it in low quantities and if you can digest it  go ahead in replacing this instead of sugar. However, portion control is critical when using xylitol as a sugar substitute.

Preparation Time – None

Cooking Time – 20 Minutes

Serves – 4

Ingredients

Besan/Split Chick Pea Flour/Kadalai Maavu – 1 Cup

Water – 1 Cup

Milk – 21/2 to 3 Cups

Xylitol – 1/2 Cup(You can replace this with sugar if you want to and increase the quantity depending on your sweetness level)

Safrron – pinch

Clarified butter/Ghee – 1/4 Cup

Nuts – 2 Tbsp

Method

1) Heat a thick bottomed pan and once hot, add the ghee and toast the nuts till slightly golden and keep them aside.

2) Now to the warm ghee add the besan flour and roast till it becomes golden browns and a nice aroma comes.  Make sure to keep stirring the flour to prevent burning.

3) To the roasted flour add water and saffron and with a whisk keep stirring till it becomes a nice thick paste without any lumps and starts thickening.

4) At this stage add half of the milk and simmer till it starts bubbling/boiling and now add the xylitol and stir till it completely dissolves. Now add more milk to the desired thickness and set it aside to cool.

5) Top it with nuts and serve or, refrigerate and serve it chilled topped with the toasted nuts.

Posted in: dessert, diabetic desserts, gluten free desserts, how to make besan kheer, xylitol