Moong Dal Halwa

This is a traditional recipe of making Moong Dal Halwa (Green Gram Dal) in which dal is first soaked and ground and then fried in ghee. Although this process is little lengthy but outcome is really good.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups split skinned green gram (Dhuli moong dal)
• 1 cup ghee ( clarified butter)
• 1 cup khoya
• 2 cups sugar ( can be modified according to taste)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp powdered cardamoms
• 2 tbsp chopped cashew nuts
• 1 tsp Rose water
• Few strings of Saffron

Method:

• Wash and soak lentils for 1 hour.
• Blend it with minimum water to a make a thick paste.
• Fry dal in ghee, in a heavy bottom skillet, on medium fire until it becomes light brown in color.
• Put the sugar and water to boil in another pan. Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves completely. Boil for 5 minutes.
• Add this sugar syrup to fried dal. Cook, stirring vigorously until the mixture becomes thick. Add khoya, dry fruits, cardamom powder, Saffron, rose water and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Garnish with nuts and serve hot.

Do You Know?

Khoa or khoya or mawa is a dried whole milk. It is normally white or pale yellow, similar to ricotta cheese, but lower in moisture and made from whole milk instead of whey.

There are three types of khoya - batti, chickna, and daan-e-daar. Batti, meaning “rock,” has 50% moisture by weight and is the hardest of the three types; it can be grated like cheese. It can be aged for up to a year, during which it develops a unique aroma and a mouldy outer surface. Chickna (“slippery” or “squishy”) khoya has 80% moisture. For daan-e-daar, the milk is coagulated with an acid during the simmering and has moderate moisture content. Different Khoa is used for different preparation.

Khoa was originally produced by heating milk in an open iron pan and placing over a medium fire for several hours. The milk was simmered at 175–180°F (about 80°C), an ideal temperature to avoid boiling and minimize scorching.