Paruppu Payasam

My husband is a big fan of jaggery based sweets and coconut in general, so this payasam is like combining two of his favorite ingredients and he is quite partial to this. I, on the other hand, like milk based kheers/payasams such as semia payasam, paal payasam etc. with the only exception being chakka pradhaman (jackfruit payasam). That statement combined with the fact that I do the cooking at home would explain why this payasam hasn't been posted till now (it's making an appearance after 6 yrs of blogging!). I've made this payasam just a handful of times and though my paati (grandma) makes this quite often, the recipe I have written down is my mother-in-law's version and it's super satisfying. The only change I've made is to add channa dhal in the mix because I like the texture and nuttiness of this dhal.

PARUPPU PAYASAM (Mung Dhal Kheer)


Paruppu Payasam



Ingredients:

Split mung dhal (yellow) - 3/4 cup
Channa dhal - 1/4 cup (optional, you could just use same quantity of mung dhal instead, I like the texture and nuttiness)
Jaggery - 1.5 cups, powdered
Cardamom (Elaichi) - 3, powdered with some salt
Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 to 2 tsp
Raisins, Cashews - 2 tsp each (I omitted cashews since my daughter has an allergy)

Method:1) Wash and pressure cook the dhals together with sufficient water until soft (about 3 to 4 whistles). Mash well.

2) Combine powdered jaggery and 1/4 cup water in a heavy bottomed pot and allow to melt. Strain to remove impurities and return to pot.

3) Add the mashed dhal to it and stir on a low flame. Once it bubbles and thickens a bit add the coconut milk and about half cup to 1 cup water (to get desired consistency) and the cardamom powder... allow this too cook for a few more minutes. This will thicken a bit more upon cooling.

4) Remove from stove. Heat ghee in a small pan, fry the raisins and cashews and add to the payasam.  Serve warm or cold as desired.