Moong Dal Halwa
a slow-roasted lentil halwa, grainy and deeply nutty, eaten in the cold months
Start the day before. The soaking alone is 4 hr, against 85 min of actual work.
Allergens in Moong Dal Halwa: milk, tree nuts.
Ingredients
Quantities for 6.
- 200g split yellow moong dal, soaked 4 hours Moong Dal
- 200g Gheeless than this and it will catch and taste scorched
- 400ml, hot Milk
- 200g Sugar
- 200ml Water
- 6 pods, seeds crushed Cardamom
- a generous pinch, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk Saffronoptional
- 15, slivered Almondsoptional
- 12, halved Cashewoptional
- 1 tbsp Raisinsoptional
Cookware
stovetop, kadhai, blender
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Soak the moong dal 4 hours, then drain it very well and grind it coarse with barely a tablespoon of water. A wet, smooth paste makes gluey halwa; a coarse, thick one makes grainy halwa, which is what you want.
- Heat the milk and keep it hot on the side. Cold milk added to roasting dal seizes it into lumps.
- Clear an hour for this. The roasting cannot be hurried and cannot be left alone, and every recipe that claims otherwise is describing a worse halwa.
Method
- Grind the drained dal to a coarse, thick paste. It should hold a ridge when you drag a spoon through it.
- Melt the ghee in a heavy kadhai over low-medium heat and add the dal paste. It will seize into a solid mass immediately, this is normal.
- Roast, stirring and scraping constantly with a flat spatula, for 35-45 minutes. It moves through pale lumps, then a sandy crumble, then a loose glossy mass that smells like toasted besan and turns golden brown.This is the whole recipe. Stop stirring for two minutes and the base scorches; stop roasting early and the halwa tastes of raw lentil.
- Fry the almonds, cashews and raisins in a spoonful of the separating ghee for 1 minute and lift them out.
- Keep going until the ghee visibly separates and pools around the edges of the mass. Do not move on before this happens.
- Meanwhile bring the sugar and 200ml water to a boil in a small pan and simmer 3 minutes into a thin syrup. Keep it hot.
- Pour the hot milk into the roasted dal in three additions, stirring hard after each, and let it be absorbed before the next.It will spit. Stand back and add it slowly.
- Add the hot syrup and the saffron milk. Stir continuously 8-10 minutes until the halwa drinks it up and thickens.
- Cook until the halwa comes together and slides as one mass, leaving a clean film of ghee on the pan, about 5 minutes more.
- Fold in the crushed cardamom and the fried nuts and raisins. Rest 5 minutes off the heat and serve hot.
Storage
Keeps 5 days refrigerated. Reheat portions in a pan with 1 tsp ghee and a splash of milk until loose again; it sets solid when cold. Freezes 1 month.
Nutrition Medium estimate
One serving of Moong Dal Halwa (208 g) is about 603 calories, or 291 calories per 100 g.
Medium protein: 11 g a serving, 7% of the calories
| Per serving208 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 603 kcal | 291 kcal |
| Protein | 10.9 g | 5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 60.1 g | 29 g |
| of which sugars | 40.7 g | 20 g |
| Fibre | 5.9 g | 3 g |
| Fat | 37.3 g | 18 g |
| of which saturated | 22.1 g | 11 g |
| of which unsaturated | 13.0 g | 6 g |
Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
More like this: Vegetarian Indian recipes · Gluten-free Indian recipes · No onion no garlic recipes · Rajasthani recipes
Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.