Moong dal halwa recipe with step by step photos. Moong dal halwa is an addictive and delicious halwa variety made from mung lentils and ghee (clarified butter). it is a popular and rich halwa recipe from north India.
Moong dal halwa is usually made on celebratory or festive occasions like Holi, Diwali, marriages etc.
For this halwa recipe I referred a book on the cuisine of Uttar Pradesh. The whole process takes a lot of time and work from the hands. You have to stir and stir and stir. This is the first time I made this halwa. I was avoiding making the halwa all the times for obvious reasons.
I would suggest to use non stick pan or kadai to make this moong dal halwa. In the step by step pics, you will know why.
Moong dal halwa is delicious and one of the sweets you cannot stop eating. but making this halwa takes a lot of time and effort. So make this halwa on a day when you have plenty of time, patience and energy.
How to make moong dal halwa
1. Soak 1 cup moong dal (spilt husked yellow mung lentils) in enough water overnight of for 4 to 5 hours. I soaked the lentils overnight.
2. Drain and then grind the moong dal to a smooth paste with some water.
3. Melt 9 to 10 tbsp ghee (clarified butter).
4. Add the ground moong dal.
5. Stir well. You see in the pic, from the iron kadai the halwa has shifted to a non stick kadai. When stirring and mixing the halwa in the kadai, it started sticking so much. I did not want to do so much of work… Scraping and stirring the halwa. So I shifted the whole halwa mixture to a non stick kadai. It was very very easy to stir the halwa then.
6. Keep on stirring the halwa on a low to medium flame. The halwa has the raw aroma of the moong lentils and it should go away completely before you start with the next step. So till then you have to stir and cook the halwa. First the halwa is pasty, then starts getting lumpy and then starts breaking down and getting separated with fat releasing from the sides. In the pic below the halwa is at a stage where it resembles sooji halwa but still with the raw aroma of the mung lentils.
7. So while the halwa is cooking, in another pan or kadai, take 1 cup full fat whole milk, 2 cups water and 1 or 1.25 cups sugar. Keep this pan on the stove top and stir so that the sugar dissolves. Heat this milk-water-sugar mixture till it comes to a boil.
8. Meanwhile the moong dal has got separated. They have a granular consistency now. The aroma & color has also changed and the fat has separated.
9. The milk mixture has come to a boil and now needs to be added to the fried moong dal.
10. Pour the boiling hot milk mixture to the fried mung lentils. The mixture sizzles, so be careful while adding the hot milk and water mixture.
11. Stir well.
12. Simmer and cook stirring often.
13. The liquid should get absorbed and once again you will see the ghee getting separated. Done finally. It took me a total of about 1 hour to make the moong dal ka halwa on the stove top. Add ¼ to ⅓ tsp cardamom powder, 10-12 chopped unsalted pistachios and 1 tbsp golden raisins. I forgot to take pic of this one. This is what too much of working and stirring with hands does to you.
14. Take a breath of relief, thank your hands. Serve moong dal ka halwa hot.
Few more halwa recipes
Moong Dal Halwa
Ingredients
main ingredients
- 1 cup moong dal (spilt husked yellow mung lentils)
- 9 to 10 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
- 4 green cardamoms, husked and powdered in a mortar-pestle or ¼ to ⅓ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 10 to 12 unsalted pistachios - sliced or chopped or 10 to 12 blanched almonds - sliced
- 1 tablespoon golden raisins
to be mixed together
- 1 cup full fat whole milk
- 2 cups water
- 1 or 1.25 cups regular sugar or organic unrefined cane sugar * check notes
Instructions
making moong dal paste
- Soak the moong dal or mung lentils, in enough water overnight or for 4 to 5 hours.
- Drain and then grind the moong dal to a smooth paste with 1/4 or 1/3 cup water.
making moong dal halwa
- Melt ghee in a non stick pan. Add the ground moong dal. Stir well
- Keep on stirring the halwa on a low to medium flame. The halwa has the raw aroma of the moong lentils and it should go away completely before you start with the next step. So till then you have to stir and cook the halwa.
- The halwa first is pasty, then starts getting lumpy and then starts breaking down and getting separated with the fat releasing from the sides. Break the lumps while stirring.
- Meanwhile when the halwa is cooking, in another pan or kadai, take milk, water and sugar. Keep this pan on the stove top and stir so that the sugar dissolves. On a low or medium flame, heat this milk-water-sugar mixture till it comes to a boil.
- The moong dal mixture should reach a granular consistency before you add the hot milk mixture. You should get a fried aroma from the mung lentils and the color should become a light golden. The fat also should get separated.
- When the milk mixture comes to a boil, add it to the fried mung lentils.
- The mixture sizzles, so be careful while adding the hot milk and water mixture.
- Stir well. Simmer and cook stirring often.
- The liquid should get absorbed and once again you will see the ghee getting separated.
- Lastly add cardamom powder, chopped pistachios and raisins.
- Serve moong dal ka halwa hot. You can also garnish with some pistachios and serve.
Notes
* the recipe can be halved or doubled.
Can moong dal halwa be made with moong dal flour.
needs experimentation. the moong dal flour has to be coarsely ground. with a finely ground moong dal flour, the halwa can become pasty and sticky.
Very good
Beautiful halwa. I have tried this and its yummy.
thanks neha for the feedback. glad to know you liked the moong dal halwa recipe. thanks for the rating too.
Just tried this. As soon as I put the moong dhal paste in the ghee it got fried…and I couldnt get it to separate. Something went terribly wrong.
was the temperature too high? the ghee has must been very hot. the flame could have been switched off, the pan kept down on the countertop and then mixing the fried batter with the ghee. when the batter has been mixed well, the pan could have been kept back on the flame and cooked further. hope this helps.