Moong Dal Halwa
Moong Dal Halwa is a traditional lentil based sweet which is made using split yellow moong dal, sugar, ghee, milk and nuts, flavoured with saffron and cardamom. It is a popular winter delicacy in Rajasthan and other parts of North India too.
Moong dal halwa is a quintessential dish during the weddings in North India and also a big part of the festive food. This is quite a rich and decadent dessert and loaded with ghee! But don’t be intimidated with the amount of ghee that goes in this dish, as it is a perfect comforting dish during winters to keep your body warm.
Though there are numerous varieties of halwa available across India, but this halwa is definitely one of the most unique and delicious ones that you could taste. It has a crumbly, coarse yet soft texture which is the important aspect to perfect while making this dish. Also, the moong dal is turned aromatic and nutty from the slow roasting process which adds unique depth of flavour to the halwa.
While this halwa is a delicious treat to the taste buds, it involves a laborious process of cooking. The moong dal needs to be first soaked and then ground to a paste which then needs to be cooked and roasted in ghee on a low to medium flame while stirring continuously to roast and get the beautiful golden colour. The roasted moong dal is further cooked in milk to make it fluffy and soft and then finally sugar is added.
This halwa is one of these dishes where there is no shortcut to this traditional way of cooking. The continuous stirring definitely needs some elbow grease and time! But trust me this effort is all worth it. With the below tips, you could definitely ease the process of cooking though and achieve a perfect halwa:
- It is important to grind the soaked moong dal a bit grainy as this is what yields the halwa the crumbly and soft texture. Do not grind to a very smooth paste.
- Ground moong dal tends to stick to the bottom of the pan while roasting it, hence it requires continuous stirring. So use a thick non-stick kadai or pan for making this halwa. It will ease the entire stirring process.
- Adding couple of tablespoons of semolina or sooji also avoids the moong dal from sticking to the bottom of pan.
- Do note that moong dal needs to be roasted and cooked on medium to low flame to get the right texture and colour without burning the moong dal.
Serving Suggestion
Moong Dal Halwa is a dessert that is best enjoyed piping hot. It tastes divine especially during winters. Consider into account slightly lesser portions as compared to other halwa, as this is a bit heavy.
The halwa can be stored at room temperature for couple of days and stays good. It can be reheated in microwave for few seconds before serving.
Moong Dal Halwa
Equipment
- Standard Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 1 cup Yellow Moong Dal
- 1 cup + 3 tbsp Ghee
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp Sugar
- 2 cups Full cream Milk
- 2 tbsp Fine Semolina or Sooji
- 1 pinch Saffron
- ½ tsp Cardamom Powder
- 10 Almonds
- 10 Pistachio Nuts
Instructions
- Wash and soak the moong dal for 3 to 4 hours
- Drain the water from moong dal completely. Now grind it to a slightly grainy paste (neither too coarse, nor too fine).
- Heat a heavy bottom non-stick kadai and add 1 cup of ghee to it. On medium flame, now add 2 tablespoons of semolina or sooji and roast for 30 seconds.
- Next add the ground moong dal paste to the ghee and mix well.
- On medium to low flame, keep stirring the moong dal or at least once a minute. The moong dal mixture will initially absorb all the ghee and appear crumbly.
- In the meanwhile, boil 2cups of milk in a separate pan.
- Take couple of tablespoons of hot milk and dissolve a pinch of saffron in it. Keep this aside.
- After stirring in regular intervals and cooking for roughly 30 to 40 minutes minutes, the ghee will gradually start separating from moong dal.
- Now switch the flame to low and continue stirring continuously till the mixture turns golden in colour. Be careful at this stage, as if you leave it unattended, the moong dal could burn easily. You must get a good roasted aroma of moong dal.
- At this stage, add the hot milk to the moong dal mixture and mix vigorously.
- Once the milk is absorbed to a certain extent, add the saffron milk and cook for couple of minutes.
- Once the milk is fully absorbed and the moong dal has fluffed up, add the sugar. Add one to two spoons of ghee and mix well.
- The halwa will turn into liquid consistency again on cooking, but then on cooking further, it will come together as a mass.
- After cooking for sometime, you will see that the ghee starts separating. Turn off the stove at this stage.
- In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and roast the dry fruits till it is golden in colour.
- Add this dry fruits and ghee to the halwa. Add cardamom powder as well and mix. Serve hot.
Notes
- While I am not a big fan of non-stick cookware, but heavy bottom non-stick kadai works best for cooking this dish. If you use regular cookware, it would require more work of continuous stirring and scraping.
- Do not grind the moong dal too fine. Keep it slightly grainy as it yields a good texture for halwa.
- Addition of semolina prevents the moong dal from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Moong dal paste needs to be roasted on low to medium flame while stirring continuously. Do not hasten this process as it would alter the taste and texture of the halwa.
- You could also store this halwa in fridge, but I suggest reheating in microwave before serving, as the ghee would solidify when stored in fridge.
