Moong Dal Halwa | Popular Indian Dessert

Moong Dal Halwa is a classic, rich and delicious melt-in-mouth Indian dessert prepared using yellow lentil (mung), sugar, and ghee as the main ingredients. This traditional dessert from Rajasthan is prepared mainly during winter as it helps keep your body warm. Mung Dal Halwa is also prepared during festivals such as Holi, Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, and Weddings (Shadi).

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Desserts, sweets

Cuisine: Delhi, north indian, rajasthan, uttar pradesh

Servings:

Calories: 310kcal

Author: Kushi

Equipment

1 Non-stick pan

Ingredients

For the sugar syrup

1 cup Sugar, approx 200 grams
1 cup Water
¾ teaspoon Cardamom powder
8 to 10 Saffron or Kesar Strands

For the Halwa

1 cup Moong dal or Yellow lentil
1 cup Ghee (200 grams)
¼ cup Sooji or Semolina
100 grams Khowa or Mawa or Khoya (optional)
2 tablespoon Almonds

Instructions

Wash and soak the moong dal in water for 3 to 5 hours. You can even soak it overnight. Drain the water. Add this to the mixie jar or blender and blend it to a smooth thick paste. See that you add very little or no water during the grinding process.
1 cup Moong dal or Yellow lentil
In a pot, add sugar, water, cardamom powder, and saffron strands and bring it to a boil and simmer until the sugar dissolves completely. Switch off the flame and keep it aside.
1 cup Sugar, approx 200 grams, 1 cup Water, ¾ teaspoon Cardamom powder, 8 to 10 Saffron or Kesar Strands
Heat ghee in a pan or kadai on low heat. Add semolina or suji and cook on low heat for a few minutes. Now add the ground mung dal and keep stirring on a low flame until it becomes light brown and aromatic. The total cooking time is about 45 minutes, so be patient.
1 cup Ghee (200 grams), ¼ cup Sooji or Semolina
The texture of the dal changes as it cooks, i.e., from paste to a thick dough, to a sand-like texture. At around 30 minute mark, add the khoya (optional) and continue sauteing. Check out the video here. The dal will get a sandy texture and slowly turn from yellow to light brown.
100 grams Khowa or Mawa or Khoya (optional)
Add the sugar syrup and stir until all the sugar is absorbed by the dal mixture completely.
Garnish it with chopped nuts of your choice. Serve hot for the best taste, and enjoy.
2 tablespoon Almonds

Video

Notes

The longer you saute on low heat, the tastier your halwa will be.

The amount of time it takes to saute the moong dal will vary based on the pan's thickness and the flame's intensity. Also, the amount of water in your moong dal paste will decide how long it takes.

Keep stirring during the entire process for even cooking and preventing it from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.

To make this process easier, I recommend using a nonstick pan like the one I did (video). It will help you a lot and make the entire cooking process mess-free.

I have added khoya to the recipe and thus skipped milk. Adding one of the ingredients, milk or khowa, will make it rich and give that traditional burfi-like taste.

For the best result, the ratio of moong dal to ghee must be 1:1. You can reduce the amount of ghee by compromising on the rich taste of the halwa.

Lentils will not cook if you add sugar. So make sure you add sugar only at the end once your dal has reached the desired stage.

This recipe can be halved, doubled, or tripled.

Nutrition