In a Mangalorean household, festive celebrations are incomplete without a delicious serving of this creamy moong dal payasam or payasa. Learn how to make this traditional South Indian dessert in half the time without compromising the taste.
Rinse and soak moong dal in 2 cups water for 3-4 hours.
Separately, rinse and soak sabudana in 1/4 cup water for 3-4 hours.
Drain the water from the moong dal.
For stovetop cooking, pressure cook moong dal on medium heat with 1.5 cups of water and a pinch of salt until the vent goes off once. Then, set it aside. Let the pressure release by itself.
For Instant Pot users, pressure cook the dal and salt for 4 minutes on high. Once the cooking cycle is complete, release pressure immediately.
Open the pressure cooker and add the soaked sabudana, along with coconut milk and jaggery.
Heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the sabudana is cooked (approximately 4-5 minutes). If using an Instant Pot, use the 'Saute' setting on 'Less.'
Adjust the consistency by adding water as needed; typically, around 1.5 cups should suffice.
Mix in the cardamom powder and turn off the heat. Do a taste test, add more jaggery, if needed.
In a separate pan over medium heat, heat the ghee.
Add cashews and raisins, allowing them to sizzle in the ghee for about 20 seconds.
Add this ghee-infused tempering to the payasa and stir it in.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Here are some helpful tips and notes to ensure you save time while achieving the most delicious moong dal kheer:1. Time-saving tips:
Opt for canned coconut milk for convenience instead of making homemade coconut milk.
Use powdered jaggery as a time-saving alternative to grating or powdering a large chunk of jaggery.
2. Coconut Milk Selection: For a rich, creamy taste, choose regular coconut milk over the light version.3. Adjusting Sweetness: Begin with 1 cup of powdered jaggery and adjust the sweetness to suit your taste.4. Dal substitution: If desired, substitute moong dal with chana dal, but remember to soak it beforehand.5. Sugar substitute: Regular or coconut sugar can be used to substitute jaggery. Start with 1 cup of sugar and adjust to your preference.6. Texture preference: While you can mash the moong dal, retaining a bit of texture in the payasa is recommended.7. Consistency: As the payasam naturally thickens over time, use either water or milk to dilute it to your desired consistency.8. Jaggery syrup: If your jaggery contains impurities, add the grated jaggery to 1/2 cup of water and heat the mixture until the jaggery is completely dissolved. Strain the mixture to eliminate impurities, then add it to the payasam.9. Add tempering last: To retain the crunch of the nuts, add tempering after pressure cooking.