Moong Dal Payasam with Sabudana

This is my first post in 2013, it is later than I intended it to be, as I was a little out of sorts due to an unexplained inflammation in my wrist. I have been resting the wrist for the last few days, today I am better so I made moong dal payasam with sabudana for the hubby who has been missing home made mitha.

My mother would generally make this payasam with channa dal, the recipe is just the same, you just substitute moong dal with channa dal. Here is the recipe...

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup moong dal,

¾ cup sabudana or sago,

2 cups of jaggery,

1 ¼ cup of thick coconut milk,

3 ½ cups of thin coconut milk,

½ cup of cashew halves,

¼ cup of raisins,

¼ cup of dry coconut, cut into tiny bits,

½ tsp of powdered green cardamom seeds,

2 tbsps ghee

Method

Roast the moong dal till it turns light brown. Next wash the moong dal and place it in a pressure cooker with the thin coconut milk and cook it till 3 whistles on high heat. Let the steam release on its own.

Soak the sabudana or sago after washing in about 2 cups of water for about half an hour. Then cook the sabudana in the same water used for soaking it till cooked.

Take the jaggery in a vessel and add about 2 cups of water. Heat it till it is well dissolved, strain this jaggery mixture.

Combine the cooked moong dal and sabudana. Mix this well. Some of the sabudana may become lumpy, break the lumps using a big spoon and stir till it is all a uniform mixture. Add the jaggery mixture and cook for another 10 minutes on a medium flame.

Heat the ghee and fry the cashew halves till they turn light brown, tip this into the payasam, next fry the raisins in the same ghee and tip the fried raisins in the payasam, now finally add the dry coconut in the ghee and fry till it turns brown and pour this with the ghee into the payasam.

Next add the thick coconut milk and the powdered cardamom into the payasam. Stir well and switch off the flame.

This can be served warm or at room temperature.