Moong Dal Halwa with Khoya | Moong Dal Halwa | Holi Traditional Dessert

 

Moong Dal Halwa is an Indian Dessert made with Moong lentils, Khoya, Milk, Ghee, Sugar, Cardamom and Dry fruits.

Holi is a festival of colors which marks the beginning of the spring season. This festival celebrate the triumph of good over evil. It is also associated with the eternal love of  Lord Krishna and Radha. It's a festival to play with colors, bonfire, dancing and singing and to savour in some traditional delights. 

A festival is an excuse to feast. Like all Indian festivals, sweets (Indian Mithai) play very important role in holi. Add this Moong Dal Halwa to your Holi spread. This delicious recipe will add to the fun and sprit of the festivities.

Moong Dal is an aromatic and flavorful sweet. It doesn't require much ingredients but yes, it does require a lot of time and effort to make. The ingredients which you require to make Moong Dal Halwa are Moong Dal, Khoya, Milk, Ghee, Sugar, Cardamom and Dry fruits.

Moong Dal Halwa is a classic rich traditional dessert which is always joy to have. It is not just delicious but a filling wholesome halwa which you will love to have.

This Moong Dal Halwa was made by my Mom yesterday, it was so delicious that I just couldn’t stop myself and share the recipe with y’all. So here is it with step by step pictures.

Step by Step Method To Make Moong Dal Halwa

How To Make Moong Dal Halwa With Khoya

1. Soak Moong dal (split husked yellow lentils) in water for 4-5 hours.

2. Drain water, and rinse the moong dal until the water runs clear.

3. In a food processor, add moong dal and grind it coarsely adding enough water around 1/2 cup. Keep it aside.

4. Melt 6-7 spoons of ghee (clarified butter) in a large wide pan over a medium flame.

5. Add the coarsely grounded dal in the pan.

6. Stir it well so that the halwa doesn't stick to the pan.

(Add more ghee in the grounded moong dal and stir.)

7. Keep stirring the halwa on the low flame till it turns light brown. Keep roasting with constant stirring, until the ghee starts to separates out from the sides and the texture in no longer lumpy. Break the lumps and keep stirring for atleast 25-30 minutes.

8. Meanwhile when the halwa is cooking, take another pan, heat 1 cup milk and let it boil. After 4-5 minutes, add 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, and stir it for 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring so that the sugar is completely dissolved and no lumps are to be found. Once it comes to boil turn off the flame. Keep it aside.

9. When the moong dal get separated in the pan, add khoya/mawa or (dried evaporated milk solid).

10. Next, add the hot milk mixture in the cooked fried moong dal very carefully and stir well so that no lumps are found. 

11. The Mixture will start to thickens slowly. Continue stirring on low flame. Once again the ghee will starts to separates out from the sides. 

12. Add in the chopped dry fruits and pumpkin seeds (optional), followed by the crushed cardamom pods (seeds removed) and stir it for 2-3 minutes. Mixture will start to thickens slowly. Continue stirring on low flame and turn off the heat.

13. Serve hot Moong Dal Halwa to your family and enjoy!

Patience is a virtue as Moong Dal Halwa takes lot of time and effort to make.

If you haven’t tried this recipe yet, just give it a try and let me know in the comments below. Happy holi!! 

How To Make Moong Dal Halwa | Moong Dal Halwa with Khoya | Holi Traditional Dessert

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes - 1 hour
Serves: 6-8 People
Author: The Food Root

Ingredients:

Soaking Time: 4-5 hours

For Soaking Moong Lentils 

1 cup Moong Lentils, coarsed (split husked yellow lentils)

For Grinding Moong Lentils 

1/2 cup water

To Make Halwa

7-8 tablespoon ghee
1 cup full fat milk
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup khoya
chopped dryfruits (cashews, pistachios, raisins)
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds (optional)

6-8 cardamom pods, husked or powdered

Method:

1. Soak Moong dal (split husked yellow lentils) in water for 3-4 hours.

2. Drain water, and rinse the moong dal until the water runs clear.

3. In a food processor, add moong dal and grind it coarsely adding enough water around 1/2 cup. Keep it aside.

4. Melt 6-7 spoons of ghee or clarified butter in a large wide pan over a medium flame.

5. Add the coarsely grounded dal in the pan.

6. Stir it well so that the halwa doesn't stick to the pan. 

7. Keep stirring the halwa on the low flame till it turns light brown. Keep roasting with constant stirring, until the ghee starts to separates out from the sides and the texture in no longer lumpy. Break the lumps and keep stirring for atleast 25-30 minutes.

8. Meanwhile when the halwa is cooking, take another pan, heat 1 cup milk and let it boil. After 4-5 minutes, add 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, and stir it for 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring so that the sugar is completely dissolved and no lumps are to be found. Once it comes to boil turn off the flame. Keep it aside.

9. When the moong dal get separated in the pan, add khoya/mawa or (dried evaporated milk solid).

10. Next, add the hot milk mixture in the cooked fried moong dal very carefully and stir well so that no lumps are found. 

11. The Mixture will start to thickens slowly. Continue stirring on low flame. Once again the ghee will starts to separates out from the sides. 

12. Add in the chopped dry fruits and pumpkin seeds (optional), followed by the crushed cardamom pods (seeds removed) and stir it for 2-3 minutes. Mixture will start to thickens slowly. Continue stirring on low flame and turn off the heat.

13. Serve hot Moong Dal Halwa to your family and enjoy!

Notes:

1. Use full-fat milk to make Moong Dal Halwa more delicious.

2. Soak Moong Dal Lentils for 4-5 hours or overnight.

3. Adding khoya is optional. You can skip it if you want.

4. Add sugar as per your taste.

5. Add your choice of dry fruits and nuts in the Moong Dal halwa.

6. Add cardamom pod, husked or powdered to get the intense flavour.

MOONG BEAN FRITTERS

Treat yourself and your family to these crispy and delicious moong bean fritters!!

No fancy restaurant or a street food vendor can beat the taste of Mom's homemade fritters!!! Last weekend, my Mom fried a batch of crispy and golden Moong Dal Fritters for the entire family. They were so good that I ate the entire first batch myself. These crunchy and delicious fritters are great eaten hot with a cup of tea or coffee.

It's a quick snack and can be enjoyed at any time of the day. If you are craving for a taste of autumn, do try them. It may not be the most nutritious, but who cares? Ideal as a side dish, these moong dal fritters are fried to crispy perfection. Serve them with coriander chutney or ketchup and a cup of tea or coffee. It's a bliss specially during a monsoon season.

These fritters are made from moong dhuli dal (skinned and split green gram beans). Soak it in the water for few hours (2-3 hours) so the green skin of the gram comes off.

It's unbelievably easy to make. Wash the moong dal and soak it in the water for about 2 hours. Grind it into a coarse paste. Add a little water and whisk to ribbon like consistency, keep it aside for 2 hours. Add the spices just 5 minutes before frying the batter and enjoy your crunchy and delicious fritters with mint chutney and hot tea!

MOONG BEAN FRITTERS

Soaking time: 2 hours

Prepration time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Author: The Food Root

INGREDIENTS
1 cup or 200 grams - Moong Dal (skinned and split green gram beans)
1 piece or 1 inch long ginger, grated
2 green chillis, chopped
pinch of asafoetida
handful of chopped coriander leaves
1 teaspoon - fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1/2 teaspoon - chili powder
1 teaspoon - salt or as per taste taste
- and your favorite veggies (optional)
boiled peas, lightly mashed
1 medium size potato, chopped
1 medium size onion, chopped
Oil for frying

METHOD
1. Soak 1 cup of Moong Dal for 2 hours. Drain the water and put the soaked moong dal in the grinding jar and coarsely grind it. If the batter looks thick add a little water but do not make a smooth paste.

2. Take the moong dal paste out from the grinding jar and keep it aside for 2 hours.

3. Next, add grated ginger, green chillis, pinch of asafoetida, chopped coriander leaves and other spices in the batter - lightly crushed fennel seeds, red chili powder, and salt to taste. Mix it well.

4. You can also add some yummy veggies of your choice in the batter. I added mashed boiled peas, chopped potato and chopped onion in the batter. Add little water if required.

5. Now, heat the sufficient oil in a deep pan. Once the oil is hot, spoon in the small sizes of fritter mixture, spaced apart. Cook for over 3-4 minutes on both sides, until they turn golden brown. You may need to do this in 2-3 batches until they become golden brown.

6. And, the Moong Dal Fritters are ready! Sprinkle some chaat masala on top and serve them with coriander chutney or ketchup.

NOTES
1. Make sure you chop your veggies really small otherwise you'll get stuck with crunchy fritters.

2. I recommend frying a test fritter to begin with and to check that you have the right consistency.

3. Theses crunchy fritters are made from moong dhuli dal (skinned and split green gram beans). Soak it in the water for few hours (2-3 hours) so the green skin of the gram comes off.