Ever tried a South Indian Lentil Pudding?? Here’s the recipe… I’ve been in the mood for something sweet the past few weeks and so I had to find time to make this. It took me just 20 mins to put together  🙂

It can be served chilled or warm – it’s a traditional pudding cooked in many parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh  – we call it Heserbelle Payasa in Karnataka

This recipe uses simple ingredients found in every Indian kitchen, I truly admire the simplicity of some of these traditional recipes, I also love the fact that this is one sweet treat that you can whip up in minutes… 😉

Cook Time: 15mins                                                           Prep Time: 5mins

Ingredients: 

• 200 grams of moong dal
• Approx. 75 grams of jaggery (depending on how sweet you prefer it)
• 8 pods of green cardamom
• 8-10 cashew nuts
• 15-20 raisins
• 100 mls of coconut milk (I’ve used canned coconut milk here)
• 1 teaspoon of ghee
• 500 mls of water

Start by dry roasting the moong dal – for approx 2 mins. Then rinse it in cold water 2-3 times or until the water runs clear

Using a knife chop the cashews to small pieces, crush the jaggery into smaller pieces. Then  de-seed the cardamom and use a pestle and mortar to crush into a fine powder

Then add water and cook the moong dal in a heavy base utensil until its completely cooked through and mushy, this may take about 10 mins or so

In another small pan add the ghee and heat then add the raisins and cashew and fry for a minute – keep your eyes on it as it may burn if left too long!

Then add this to the cooked moong dal and allow to boil- add jaggery and cardamom powder. Boil for a further 5 mins or so

Finally, add the coconut milk and allow to boil for 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat

Cool down and chill in the fridge or serve warm!

Enjoy!! 🙂

Tip: Turn of the heat in exactly 2 minutes after you add the coconut milk, as if its boiled for longer then it may separate / curdle!