Moong Dal Payasam (Instant Pot & Stovetop)

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. We call this Moong dal payasam as hesarubele payasa in kannada, pesara pappu payasam in telugu or moong dal kheer in hindi.

I have included the stovetop pressure cooker version as well.

What is Payasam? Payasam, also known as kheer, is a traditional Indian Sweet pudding made using milk, grains like rice, millet, broken wheat, tapioca, semolina, or lentils, and a sweetener like a jaggery or sugar.

This is one of the easiest, healthy desserts and is often prepared for festivals or celebrations at our home. My mom used to prepare this moong dal kheer on some Sundays when my dad craved it during my childhood.

Her version added dairy milk instead of coconut milk, and she also added some fresh shredded coconut along with fried coconut bites for crunchiness.

This payasam is also often served during the Onam festival. My neighbor from Kerala suggested adding coconut milk over dairy milk, and I obsoletely 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.

How to make Coconut Milk at home?

Blend ½ cup of shredded coconut (fresh or frozen) with 1 cup of lukewarm water. Strain the coconut milk in a strainer or nut milk bag, and this is the first and thickest coconut milk.

Grind again by adding 1 cup of water and extracting the milk, and this is the second and thin coconut milk. You can use a mix of first and second milk for this recipe.

Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate. You can save pulp for baked goods or add it to poriyal, smoothies, or coconut curries.

Moong Dal Payasam Recipe Ingredients

• split moong dal (yellow lentils)
• organic jaggery or coconut sugar
• thin coconut milk
• cardamom powder
• ghee (or coconut oil if vegan)
• coconut pieces
• cashew nuts and raisins

How to Make Moong Dal Payasam in Instant Pot

Press SAUTE button on Instant Pot. Add ghee to 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 until they are light golden brown. 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 to 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, 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.

Tips & Variations

• 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-bought coconut milk as well.
• You can follow the same recipe for chana dal as well.

More Moong Dal Recipes

• Moong Dal Fry
• Khichdi
• Whole Green Moong Dal
• Pongal
• Quinoa Khichdi
• Moong Carrot Kosambari
• Palak Moong Dal Dosa

More Sweet/Dessert Recipes

• Milk Powder Burfi
• Badam Halwa Recipe (with Almond Flour)
• Carrot halwa
• Sooji Halwa
• Shrikhand
• Rice Kheer
• Carrot Kheer
• 5 Minute Pineapple Dessert

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