This savory, delicious Moong Dal Halwa is a warm Indian dessert or sweet treat believed to have originated in the city of Rajasthan in India. It has a golden hue and a shiny ghee glaze with nuts and is mostly enjoyed during the winter months to keep warm from the bitter cold.
It consists of split yellow moon lentils, sugar and ghee. Sometimes milk or khoya is added to make it richer. The traditional recipe involves a laborious process of cooking the moon lentil paste in ghee over low heat and stirring constantly for many hours until it loses its raw smell and becomes aromatic.
Here I tried to simplify the traditional recipe (to save time and effort) by first roasting the mong lentils in ghee instead of the ground dal paste. That’s why I didn’t have to cook the paste for so long after grinding the roasted dal. This sped up the entire process and the halwa was ready in no time and tasted just as delicious!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup yellow split moong dal lentils
1 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup ghee plus more
1/2 cup whole milk or condensed milk
A pinch of saffron
1 tbsp pistachios
1 tbsp almonds
1/4 tsp green cardamom powder
Instructions:
1. Wash the moong dal three or four times until the water runs clear. Let it soak for at least half an hour. Drain well in a colander and set aside.
2. Add half of the ghee to a non-stick sauce pan or wok and roast the washed moong dal lentils. At first they would stick to the pan a bit because they are wet. Keep stirring until the raw smell disappears and you smell a hint of the aroma of roasted dal. Once lightly golden, turn off the heat, remove and set aside to cool.
3. Grind the lentils in a grinder or Vitamix blender with milk and sugar into a paste that is not too coarse or fine. It’s nice that they are slightly grainy.
4. Add the remaining ghee to the wok and cook the ground lentil paste over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent it from browning on the bottom.
5. Meanwhile, take a pinch of saffron threads and dissolve it in milk. You can first crush them with a mortar and pestle before adding milk to get a concentrated saffron extract.
6. When the lentil paste thickens and starts to pull away from the edges, reduce the heat and add the saffron extract and cardamom powder. Mix well and continue stirring. Add a little more ghee around the edges and continue cooking until it thickens and starts to run out of the ghee without sticking to the pan anymore. Then remove from the heat and let cool.
7. Blanch almonds and pistachios. You can either slice them, crush them, or chop them coarsely.
8. Serve the moonshine halwa warm in a bowl or plate, garnished with almonds and pistachios. Enjoy as a dessert after your meal. It also tastes good with roti or flatbread. So delicious!
Notes:
1. It is better to use soaked moong dal as it softens faster.
2. The halwa needs to be cooked continuously on low to medium heat to get an even, smooth and light consistency. When exposed to high heat, the halwa burns quickly and brown spots appear all over it, giving it a burnt taste.
3. You can adjust ghee and sugar according to your taste and need. But if the point of bliss is not reached, one cannot enjoy it as it should be.
You might also like:
Dark halwa
Shahi Egg Sweet (Andey Ki Mithai)
Banana Halwa Cake
Recipe
Easy Moong Dal Lentil Halwa
Ingredients
- Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Yellow split moong dal lentils
- 1 cup Organic sugar
- 1/2 cup ghee and more
- 1/2 cup Whole milk or condensed milk
- A pinch of saffron
- 1 tbs Pistachios
- 1 tbs Almonds
- 1/4 TL green cardamom powder
Instructions
-
Instructions:
-
Wash the mong dal three or four times until the water runs clear. Let it soak for at least half an hour. Drain well in a colander and set aside.
-
Add half of the ghee to a non-stick sauce pan or wok and roast the washed moon dal lentils. At first they would stick to the pan a bit because they are wet. Keep stirring until the raw smell disappears and you smell a hint of the aroma of roasted dal. Once lightly golden, turn off the heat, remove and set aside to cool.
-
Grind the lentils in a grinder or Vitamix blender with milk and sugar into a paste that is not too coarse or fine. It’s nice that they are slightly grainy.
-
Add the remaining ghee to the wok and cook the ground lentil paste over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent it from browning on the bottom.
-
Meanwhile, take a pinch of saffron threads and dissolve it in milk. You can first crush them with a mortar and pestle before adding milk to get a concentrated saffron extract.
-
When the lentil paste thickens and starts to pull away from the edges, reduce the heat and add the saffron extract and cardamom powder. Mix well and continue stirring. Add a little more ghee around the edges and continue cooking until it thickens and starts to run out of the ghee without sticking to the pan anymore. At this point, remove from heat and allow to cool.7. Blanch the almonds and pistachios, roughly crush or chop them.
-
Serve the mong lentil halwa warm in a bowl or plate, garnished with almonds and pistachios. Enjoy as a dessert after your meal. It also tastes good with roti or flatbread.
Notes
Notes:
1. It is better to use soaked moong dal as it softens faster.
2. The halwa needs to be cooked continuously on low to medium heat to get an even, smooth and light consistency. When exposed to high heat, the halwa burns quickly and brown spots appear all over it, giving it a burnt taste.
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