This rich, delicious dessert has an unusual main ingredient, normally associated with savory dishes - lentils. You'd never believe it when you eat it though! Serve Moong Daal Halwa warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream and you'll get many requests for seconds.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Moong Daal (split yellow lentils)
- 2 cups ghee
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups water
- 6 pods green cardamom split
- 1 cup khoya (see recipe below)
- 1 cup finely chopped mixed dried fruits of your choice
Preparation:
- Wash thoroughly and soak the moong daal in water plenty of water, overnight.
- The next morning, grind to a smooth paste in a food processor. Do not add any water while grinding.
- Prepare a sugar syrup of one-thread consistency (here's how you do it). When done, turn off the fire and add the split cardamom pods to the syrup. Cover and keep aside for later.
- Heat the ghee/ clarified butter (recipe here) in a heavy-bottomed (preferably non-stick) pan on a medium flame till warm.
- Add the moong daal paste to this ghee and stir to mix. Cook the moong daal, stirring frequently till it begins to turn golden and release its aroma. Another sign of doneness to watch for is, the separation of the ghee from the moong daal.
- Add the khoya (recipe here) and mix well. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Now add the sugar syrup (remove cardamom pods before adding) and mix to blend.
- Cook on a medium flame for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the dried fruits and cook for another 2 minutes. Turn off the fire.
- Garnish with chopped nuts and serve. You can also add a dollop of vanilla icecream if desired.
