Instant Moong dal halwa - easy recipe

What is moong dal halwa?

mung daal ka halwa or Mung dal jo sheero is a yum treat. It is a must for cold winters. This recipe is very popular in Rajasthan and other parts of North India. Rajasthan has very cold winters and very little vegetation in the olden days. Hence, such recipes were developed which used lentils, spices and grains instead of fresh produce. Making sweets out of lentils makes it beneficial for diet too. It is rich in proteins and also provides immunity. Ghee has its benefits for strengthening bones and teeth. This sweet is warm in nature and also provides heat to the body internally.

You will find this served a lot at weddings. However, people find it difficult to make at home as it is tedious. The traditional recipe takes much longer time to cook. The below recipe is an instant version. Most people love making gajar ka halwa at home. However, this halva is just as tasty to make. Yes, you read it right. You can make recipe of moong dal ka halwa without soaking. You can make sweets from lentils and veggies too. Both are a must at weddings. Hence, the fandom. However, making this is much easier as you do not need to grate carrots. You also do not even need the red carrot from market too. 

Jump to:

• Equipment
• Step by Step Instructions
• Instant Moong dal halwa recipe
• Variation
• Storage
• How many variations are there for halwa?

Especially in winters. I had rather eat halva than soup to keep warm. However, I do need to watch sugar too so sometimes soup it is 🙁 Kids love this and so do elders. It is very filling and great for tiffin too. It is rich in protein as well. Heat it just before you serve in a pan or microwave. You can even serve it with some fried poori.

Why is this an easy moong dal halwa recipe ? what makes it instant moong dal halwa recipe ?

Traditionally, it is made by grinding the soaked mung lentils while its wet and cooking with it. Cooking it from a wet mung daal is more tricky and takes more time.It needs to be cooked over low flame as it might stick and get burned. This makes it tedious process. You need to keep stirring and it takes a very long time. In the below method, we wash the yellow mung lentils in advance. Dry them in sun and powder them. Then just cook like normal wheat or sooji one even midweek. Hence, this is an easy recipe for moong dal halwa without soaking. This recipe for moong dal halwa is made with moong dal flour hence its an instant recipe as well.

 

 Ingredients 

• Yellow moong dal powder
• Sugar
• Ghee / clarified butter
• Milk+water mix
• saffron strands in warm milk
• Chopped nuts for garnish.

Equipment

• Spice grinder
• Frying pan

Step by Step Instructions

Read the below steps and refer to pictures to understand how to make moong dal halwa without soaking.

1. In a steel/non stick pan, dry roast the powdered mung daal on low flame for 10-15 minutes. Add ¼ cup ghee and roast it further. Keep stirring with a spatula.

2. Continue to mix it and let it cook until it starts turning brown.

3. Now, Add  the remaining ¼ cup ghee and continue cooking. If you like you may add teaspoon cardamom powder to it

4.  After 5 minutes, add the warm milk water mixture and mix well.

5. Keep stirring until it is cooked on low flame

6. As it starts to thicken, add sugar.

7. Keep stirring as it turns brown.Add the remaining ¼ cup ghee ,spoon by spoon while cooking.

8. It will start turning thicker and starts to come together.

9. Continue cooking, it will start getting more brown in color.

10. Once it starts coming together, ghee oozes out, that's when its ready. Garnish it with nuts as per choice.

Read the recipe for moong daal halwa below.

Variation

In the above recipe. we wash the lentils and dry it in the sun for the whole day. Roast it for few minutes to remove any moisture. Powder it using a spice grinder and then cook it like any pudding. However, this ground lentil pudding can be made in various ways. Such is the versatility of Indian cuisine. You can make the same recipes in various ways. Some like to make it with condensed milk, while others with khoya or mawa. Some even use jaggery instead of sugar. The above dessert is gluten free. There is a similar recipe in the south Indian kitchen -Ashoka halwa which uses boiled mashed mung daal cooked with ghee sugar and spoonful of wheat flour or maida along with food colors. It was developed due to wheat shortage during WW2 in Thanjavur district.

Storage

You can store it in refrigerator up to 1 week easily.  Just heat it in a pan before you serve.You may also store this in the freezer for an extended period of time and reheat this with little water/milk (after deforsting) and let the ghee ooze out.

How many variations are there for halwa?

There are many different types of halwa recipes in India. We make it from fruits, veggies, flour, grains, semolina and even lentils. Here are some of the ones you can make easily when there is a special occasion.

• Sooji halva: Semolina pudding usually served during pooja, havan especially Satyanarayan pooja.
• Gur ka halva: Sooji halva made with jaggery instead of sugar. Simple yet divine.
• Kada prasad: Atte ka halwa which is served as prasad in Gurudwaras. Simple divine dessert which makes you forget all your troubles.
• Gajarela: Carrot halva is great whether you are fasting or not.
• Pumpkin halva: Sweetness and softness of kaddu makes this kashi halva perfect companion to fried rajgira or kuttu poori during fasting period.
• Sama chawal halva: Made with barnyard millet. It is a gluten free recipe usually made during fasting periods.
• Another great recipe is tahini halva which is a Middle eastern treat with sesame seed paste. Unlike other recipes this has a no cook version.

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