In a pan dry roast the poppy seeds and raw rice.

Poppy seeds will get burnt soon, so roast in low medium flame.

Once the seeds started popping up and slightly changes the color, switch off the pan.

Transfer the roasted poppy seeds and rice to a mixie jar.

Add 1 cup of grated coconut to this.

Grind this into a smooth paste.

Add little warm water to this and grind well.

In a pan add 1 cup of powdered jaggery. I used organic jaggery powder. I felt 1 cup was a little more for this as my jaggery was a bit strong.

Add 2.5 cups of water.

Let the jaggery dissolve completely.

Filter the impurities if any.

Add the ground poppy seeds coconut paste to this.

Mix well without any lumps.

Let this boil for 15 minutes.

Stir well in between.

The payasam will start thickening.

Once it reaches the right consistency, switch off the flame.

Add cardamom powder.

Roast cashew nuts in ghee and add to this payasam.

Mix well.

If you want you can add room temperature milk when the payasam comes to room temperature.

Do not add milk when the payasam is hot, it will get curdled.