Asoka Halwa

This is a halwa that's made with mung dhal (paasi paruppu) and is a specialty from Thanjavur and Thiruvarur areas of TamilNadu. My aunt from Thanjavur used to always bring these for us every time she visited us. As much as Tirunelveli halwas taste divine, this is an equally nice variation and this is my 2nd attempt at making this halwa since my husband likes this a lot. The first recipe I used didn't work out too great for me but this one by Mrs. Mano is perfect and I've already made it a couple times using this method. We love the fact that it's not overpoweringly sweet and is not dripping with ghee either like the halwas one purchases.

ASOKA

Ingredients:

Yellow (split) Mung Beans (paasi paruppu) - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 to 2.5 cups
Ghee - 1 cup (upto 1.5 cups)
Whole wheat flour (atta) - 0.5 cup
All purpose flour (maida) - 0.5 cup
Milk - 1 tbsp
Red food coloring - few drops
Saffron - a big pinch
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1) Pressure cook mung beans with about 3 cups of water till soft. Mash till smooth. To this, add the sugar and mix well.

2) Meanwhile soak saffron in the milk, add food colouring and cardamom powder. Keep aside.

3) Heat ghee in a pan and add the atta and maida. Stir until there are no lumps. Keep stirring on a low-medium flame until there's a nice aroma and it turns golden.

4) Now add the mung dhal + sugar mixture and stir well until well cooked and the halwa leaves the sides of the pan. Add the milk mixture and stir well and cook for a few more minutes before removing from stove. Ashoka Halwa is now ready to serve.

Wishing you all a very Happy Deepavali !