Moong dal Payasam or payasa is a rich and traditional South Indian dessert recipe made with moong dal, jaggery, cardamom, ghee, nuts, and coconut milk in an Instant Pot, Perfect for any festival or celebration.
I have included the stovetop pressure cooker version as well.
Today, I am sharing a payasa recipe, also known as kheer, made with moong dal (split yellow lentils), milk, and sweeteners like jaggery in the pressure cooker.
This is one of the easiest, healthy desserts and is often prepared for festivals or celebrations at our home. My mom used to prepare moong dal payasa, chana dal payasam, or semiya payasam on some Sundays when my dad craved it during my childhood.
Her version included dairy milk instead of coconut milk, and she also added roasted nuts and fried coconut bites for extra crunchiness.
Moong dal payasam is also known as 'Hesarubele Payasa' in 'Kannada', 'Pesara Pappu Payasam' in 'Telugu' or 'Moong Dal Kheer' in 'Hindi'.
This payasam is also often served during the Onam festival. My neighbor from Kerala suggested adding coconut milk instead of dairy milk, and I loved the flavor.
You can find frozen coconut slices at your local Indian grocery store. The color of the dish also depends on the jaggery used. If you don't have jaggery, you can use coconut sugar or brown sugar.
More Moong Dal Recipes
Moong Dal Payasam Recipe Ingredients
- Chana dal: Chana dal, also known as bengal gram dal or split chickpeas, is used. It's easily available in any Indian grocery store.
- Jaggery: I used organic powdered jaggery, you may also use coconut sugar or brown sugar.
- Coconut milk: I used full-fat coconut milk, you can also make it with almond milk or dairy milk.
- Coconut Slices: I used fresh coconut pieces. You may also use frozen sliced coconut pieces.
- Ghee: is used for roasting dry fruits and moong dal. If you are vegan, use a neutral oil like coconut or avocado oil for roasting.
- Cardamom powder: I used freshly ground cardamom from 3 whole green cardamom pods.
- Nuts: I used cashews and raisins. You can also use slivered almonds or pistachios.
How to Make Moong Dal Payasam in Instant Pot
Press SAUTE button on Instant Pot. Add 1 tablespoon homemade ghee to the pot. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons cashews, 2 tablespoons raisins, and ¼ cup of coconut pieces, and stir fry till they are light golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
Add ½ cup of moong dal (yellow lentils) and roast with leftover ghee in the pot until you get a nice aroma for about 2 minutes. Also, you should not let it brown too much.
Then add 2 cups of water. Mix well and deglaze the pot.
Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes.
Once the pot beeps, let it Natural Pressure Release (NPR).
After done, mix well in a mashing way, add powdered ½ cup jaggery (adjust the quantity to your taste), and turn on the SAUTE button again.
Boil for 2 minutes until the jaggery melts, and then pour in 1 cup of full-fat coconut milk, ¼ teaspoon of cardamom powder, and boil for 2-3 minutes or until it thickens a bit.
Serve moong dal payasam warm or cold and garnish with roasted cashews, raisins, and coconut pieces.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
Follow the same process as for the Instant Pot. In the pressure cooker, give 2-3 whistles on medium heat and release the pressure naturally. All the other steps remain the same.
Expert Tips
- If you feel your jaggery has impurities, first heat the jaggery with water just to immerse it and melt the jaggery. Strain it through a metal strainer and add this to the pesara pappu payasam.
- You can also add coconut slices (fresh or frozen) or dry coconut slices.
- Moong dal texture is important for the moong dal payasam or kheer. It should not be completely mashed out.
Variations
- You can also see almond milk or whole milk instead of coconut milk
- You can follow the same recipe and substitute moong dal with chana dal.
- You can also use coconut sugar, brown sugar, but traditionally, this dessert is prepared with jaggery, and I prefer that way.
More Indian Sweet Recipes
Instant Pot Moong Dal Payasam
Ingredients
- ½ cup split moong dal (yellow lentils)
- 2 cups water
- ½-3/4 cup organic jaggery or coconut sugar, adjust to your taste
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 tablespoon ghee (or coconut oil if vegan)
- 2 tablespoons coconut pieces
- 2 tablespoons cashew nuts
- 2 tablespoons raisins
Instructions
Instant Pot Method
- Press SAUTE button. Add ghee into the pot. Once hot, add cashews, raisins, and coconut pieces, and stir fry till they are light golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
- Add the moong dal (yellow lentils) and roast with leftover ghee in the pot until you get a nice aroma for about 2 minutes. Also, you should not let it brown too much.Then add the water. Mix well & Deglaze the pot.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes.
- Once the pot beeps, let it Natural Pressure Release (NPR).
- After done, mix well in a mashing way, add powdered jaggery to this, and turn on the SAUTE button again.
- Boil for 2 minutes until the jaggery melts, and then pour in the coconut milk, cardamom powder and cook for 2-3 minutes or until it thickens a bit.
- Serve Moong dal payasam or paruppa payasam warm or cold and garnish with roasted cashews, raisins, and coconut pieces.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method:
- Heat a pressure cooker pan. Add ghee into the pan, once hot add cashews, raisins, and coconut pieces, and stir fry till they are light golden brown in color. Remove and keep aside.
- Add the moong dal (yellow lentils) and roast with leftover ghee in the same pan until you get a nice aroma in about 2 minutes, also you should not let it brown too much.
- Next, add water into the pan and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles, or you can cook the moong dal in the open pot method as well.
- After done, mix well in a mashing way and add powdered jaggery to this and turn on the gas again.
- Boil in for 2 minutes until the jaggery has been melted and then pour in the coconut milk, cardamom powder and cook for 2-3 minutes or until it thickens a bit.
- Serve moong dal payasa or pesara pappu payasam warm or cold and garnish with roasted cashews, raisins, and coconut pieces.
Video
Notes
- If you feel your jaggery has impurities, first heat the jaggery with water just to immerse it and melt the jaggery. Strain it through a metal strainer and add this to the pesara pappu payasam.
- You can also add coconut slices (fresh or frozen) or dry coconut slices.
- Moong dal texture is important for the moong dal payasam or kheer. It should not be completely mashed out.
- You can replace jaggery with coconut sugar or brown sugar. But traditionally this dessert is prepared with jaggery and I prefer that way.
- If you don't have coconut milk, you can add almond milk or full-fat milk.
- I used homemade coconut milk, but you can use store brought coconut milk as well.
- You can follow the same recipe for chana dal as well.
Nutrition
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