Classic Indian dessert - moong dal halwa

My eldest sister got married in the late 70's. Back then, the 5 star marriage culture had not crept in. Food was prepared in a very traditional manner with the halwai being called a good week in advance for making the sweets. Moong dal halwa was one of the desserts served in the marriage and as usual, the halwai made everything in excess. What I remember is how much fun it was, eating this delicious mithai for a long time, much after the marriage was over.

Though the halwai culture is pretty much extinct, at least in the cities, Moong dal halwa has still not lost its appeal and is still a huge favorite. In fact my daughter who does not (unlike the rest of the family) have a sweet tooth never says no to this awesome mithai.

Moong dal halwa is a traditional Indian sweet - sinfully rich and dripping with ghee. It is still a regular feature in marriages and has thankfully not gone out of fashion. It is pretty straightforward to prepare this dessert ... though one does need to make sure that the paste is not finely ground and remains coarse / grainy, so as to ensure the right texture of the halwa. Also it requires constant stirring in the initial stage, to prevent, the paste from sticking to the bottom of the wok. It is subtly flavored with cardamom and saffron and tastes best when eaten hot. Though it is usually made in winter months ... but honestly such a yummy sweet can be had any time. The calorie conscious may reduce the desi ghee and khoya by half, if they so desire - it is definitely very rich for the health buffs. In fact even I was in two minds about adding so much of ghee but later realized that the halwa soaks up the ghee pretty fast particularly if it is not eaten immediately after being made.

Moong dal halwa

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves: 6

1 cup split green gram (dhuli moong dal)

1 cup clarified butter (desi ghee)

1 cup sugar

1 cup concentrated milk (khoya/ mawa) crumbled

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon cardamom (elaichi) powder

A generous pinch of saffron

10 - 12 blanched and peeled almonds sliced into slivers

Soak the moong dal (split green gram) for 6 -7 hours.Grind the dal coarsely with very little water.

In a pan add the sugar and one cup of water and boil, till the sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens slightly. Keep aside until required. Soak the saffron in warm milk.

Heat the ghee in a thick bottomed kadai (wok) and add 1 tablespoon of whole wheat flour or chick pea flour/ besan (this prevents the dal from sticking to the kadai and forming lumps) and then add the ground dal. Cook, stirring continuously, over low heat till golden brown, this will take around half-an-hour. Add the sugar syrup and saffron milk. Stir constantly till everything is well mixed and then add in the khoya and cook till the ghee starts showing up in the halwa. Lastly, add the cardamom powder and mix it all well.

Serve hot garnished with almond slivers

 

 moong dal halwa

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Simply irresistible Indian fudge

Nowadays, most of the vegetables are available throughout the year, but personally I like consuming in season and fresh produce as opposed to food which is canned or is from the cold storage as their nutritious value and taste gets substantially reduced.

Though 'Lauki' (bottle gourd) seldom figures in anyone's list of favorite vegetables it is known to have enormous health benefits. 'Lauki'  has immense cooling properties which makes it an ideal summer veggie. It has a lot of water content and is therefore low in calories. Its juice of late has become immensely popular amongst the diet conscious and is arguably the latest health fad. This vegetable is very versatile too, apart from the everyday ‘lauki ki sabji’, one can make ‘koftas’ or add it to curd to make 'raita'. Not to miss out on the lauki ki 'kheer' and 'barfi' ...  two yummy Indian sweets that one can make. 'Lauki' is one of the vegetables that can also be eaten during a fast, so it's barfi makes an ideal 'vrat ka khana’ (food eaten during a fast).

Select fresh and tender 'lauki' for making the barfi (Indian sweet) and discard the seeds. Weigh the grated 'lauki' and sauté it in 'desi ghee' till it starts losing its moisture then add milk (twice the weight of lauki). Simmer on low heat and keep stirring it from time to time. Making it with milk may take more time but trust me all the pains in cooking are justified by the end result ... you have to literally stop yourself from polishing it off.

The 'barfi' has a milk cake texture and remains soft even after refrigeration and also keeps well. The 'barfi' has a dark creamish hue because of the milk and 'khoya'. To get a green colored lauki barfi one can add food grade color to it. Lauki ki barfi ( bottle gourd fudge ) has always been a favorite with me and between me and my husband we managed to polish off almost a kilo of it much before the week could get over. This of course did not go well with my daughter who gave me strict instructions to restrain ourselves from gorging on sweets. Though with my sweet tooth, I know, that's a tall order.

Melt in the mouth barfi

Lauki ki barfi

1 kg grated lauki (bottle gourd)

2 litre milk (full cream)

4-5 tablespoon desi ghee (clarified butter)

2 teaspoon elaichi (green cardamom) powder

250 gm sugar

200 gm khoya /mawa (concentrated milk)

Peel the 'lauki' and then grate it, discard the centre seedy portion. Take a heavy bottom kadhai (wok) and roast the grated lauki (bottle gourd) in desi ghee for 10-15 minutes till the water in the lauki evaporates. Then add the full cream milk to it and let it simmer on low heat for a couple of hours. Stir it in between so that the mixture doesn't stick to the pan.

When the quantity of milk reduces, add the khoya and cook on medium flame till the khoya gets well blended. Then add the sugar and stir continuously till the whole mixture starts to come together and forms a lump. Lastly, add the cardamom powder, mix well and then spread the barfi on a greased plate.

Let it cool and then cut into pieces and enjoy. Since its milk based sweet, it should ideally be refrigerated in case it is not consumed the same day.

Creamy lauki ki barfi