Dry roast the poppy seeds and rice in pan or kadai without adding any oil or ghee until you get an aroma over medium heat. Do not let the poppy seeds to brown.
Turn off the heat and add the coconut to this and just let it cool. We don’t need to roast the coconut.
Meanwhile, heat 2 cups of water and add the jaggery. Let the jaggery dissolve and if there are any impurities, turn off the heat and strain the jaggery water to filter out the dust.
Let the jaggery water simmer for a couple of minutes.
While it is simmering, grind the roasted poppy seeds, rice, and coconut into a fine paste by adding ½ cup of water.
Add this ground paste to the jaggery water. Add ½ more cup of water. I usually rinse the mixer with this additional water and add to the kheer.
Add the cardamom powder and let the kheer simmer for 5 to 7 minutes over low-medium heat.
In a separate tempering pan, heat ghee and roast the cashews until brown.
Add this to the kheer and serve hot.
Notes
For this measure, I have used more jaggery as we prefer it that way especially for this kheer. But you can adjust according to your preference.
Also, you can use more coconut or along with cashews you can roast coconut, raisins and add it to the kheer as well.