Moong dal Kheer/ Hesaru Bele Payasa/ Indian Lentil pudding with Coconut Milk

This is a special dessert of south India. Old is Gold :-) I have followed the same old traditional recipe of Udupi/Mangalore without any twist .!! 
 Coconut Milk, jaggery and moong dal are healthy & main ingredients of this recipe.You can prepare this tasty and healthy dessert easily at home.

Here we go with the recipe

Severs 2-3

Ingredients :

two handfuls of split moong dal /Indian lentil
4-6 tbsp of jaggery ( increase the quantity if you want very sweet)
200 ml of coconut milk
pinch of salt (optional)
1/4 tsp of crushed cardamom
1 tbsp cashew nuts
1 tbsp raisins (optional)
1 tsp of ghee (optional)

How to Prepare ?

• Wash the dal/lentil and cook it with sufficient water and keep it aside. (Make sure its not too mushy, you can either use pressure cooker OR cook it in a thick bottomed vessel].
  
• In a heavy bottomed cooking vessel heat ghee.Fry cashew nuts and raisins.Transfer them into a different bowl.( Avoid this step to make your dessert vegan , Refer "Notes" section below for more details)
  
• Into the same vessel, add jaggery and little water ( not too much, just to make sure jaggery will get dissolved completely in water).Bring the syrup to a boil. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes.
  
  
  
  
• Now add cooked dal,cashews and raisins and mix well and bring it to a boil again.
• Add pinch of salt, keep the flame in low and let it boil for 6-7 mins. 
  
• Now add cardamom powder and coconut milk and mix well. Give just one boil and switch off the flame. (After adding coconut milk you shouldn't boil for more than 30 secs.). At this stage You can add little water to adjust the consistency.
• One another important thing here is the consistency, either you can make it little watery and serve in glasses or make little thick (not too thick) and serve it in bowls.
  
  
  
  
  
• Serve hot/cold/warm by garnishing with few more fried cashews and raisins on top.
  
  
  

Alternate/Notes:

• You can avoid ghee in this recipe and make it "Vegan Dessert" too.You can either add cashews to the dal while cooking or decorate it just before you serve. 
• Instead of using store bought ready coconut milk, You can grate the coconut and extract the milk out of it in a traditional way to avoid preservatives.

Memories I always cherish while having this payasam :

During my childhood, I used to go to fields to pluck tender cashews from the tree along with my brother.It was fun taking the tender cashews out from the cashew nut shells.Just can't forget the sweet memory and heavenly taste of payasam with tender fresh cashews. 

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments. .Please do share it with your friends and family if you like the recipe :-)