Moong dal halwa

Method

1. Rinse the skinless split yellow moong dal in a sieve until the draining water is mostly clear. Put it in a bowl with 800 ml room-temperature drinking water; cover and soak for 4 hours at room temperature. Drain for 10 minutes and discard all soak water; do not count retained soak water as the separate grind water.

   Done when: A soaked dal piece crushes between two fingernails but still has a distinct grain; the drained dal is wet but no water pools beneath it.

2. Transfer the drained dal to the grinder. Add only 45 ml drinking water for grinding, in three additions, pulsing and scraping between each. Grind to a thick, slightly coarse paste: no whole dal remains, but fine grains are visible. Do not pour in extra water to make the blades run.

   Done when: The paste mounds on a spoon and shows fine grain; it does not flow like dosa batter.

3. Crack the green cardamom pods; discard the husks and crush the seeds finely. Thinly slice the raw almonds. Take 30 ml from the measured 500 ml full-fat milk, warm it in the saucepan, turn off the heat and soak the saffron threads in it. Keep the remaining milk, 250 ml drinking water for cooking and 200 g granulated white sugar separately measured.

   Done when: Cardamom seeds are finely crushed, almonds are thinly sliced, and exactly 30 ml milk is separated for the selected saffron or held plain when saffron is omitted.

4. Set the empty kadai on the scale and note its weight if using the finishing-weight check. Melt 120 g ghee over low heat, then add the ground dal paste. Raise to medium-low and roast for 25 minutes, scraping the base, corners and sides continuously with a flat spatula. Press every lump against the pan; never walk away.

   Done when: The paste has passed through sticky paste and lumps into separate moist granules; it is evenly golden, smells nutty rather than raw or beany, and a thin film of ghee is visible at the edges.

5. Move the roasted dal kadai off the burner. Put the remaining measured full-fat milk and all drinking water for cooking in the saucepan. Heat on medium, stirring the base, for 6 minutes until steaming and just beginning to rise; do not boil it over.

   Done when: Steam rises across the surface and small bubbles ring the edge; the milk has not formed a scorched skin or climbed the pan.

6. Return the kadai to low heat. Stand back and add the hot milk-water mixture in four small additions, stirring each one smooth before the next; it will hiss and spit when it meets the ghee. Keep your face and stirring hand away from the steam. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds and breaking lumps.

   Done when: No free milk pools around the dal, the grains are tender rather than chalky, and the spatula leaves a one-second path across the base.

7. Add the granulated white sugar. The mixture will loosen. Cook on medium-low for 8 minutes, stirring and folding continuously until it thickens again. Add the saffron milk and crushed cardamom; cook for 3 minutes more, then fold in half the raw almonds.

   Done when: The halwa gathers into a soft mass, pulls cleanly from the sides, drops slowly rather than pours from the spatula, and releases small beads of ghee at the edge. Optional weight check: finished halwa is 900 to 960 g after subtracting the empty kadai weight.

8. Turn off the heat and rest for 5 minutes so the surface stops bubbling. Divide into six small warm bowls and scatter the remaining sliced almonds evenly. The halwa should be soft and spoonable, not runny, dry or cut into fudge-like pieces.

   Done when: Each portion holds a soft mound and glistens lightly with ghee; no watery milk or syrup separates around it.

Good to know

Diet

Vegetarian

Contains

milk, tree nuts

Eaten at

Snack

Nutrition, per serving

~505 kcal · 12 g protein · 60 g carbs · 26 g fat (approx.)

Keeps

3 days in the fridge