Chana Dal Payasam Instant Pot

Chana dal payasam served in a samll bowl with spoon garnished with roasted cashews

4.80 from 5 votes

Chana dal payasam is a popular south indian dessert recipe made with chana dal, jaggery, cardamom, ghee, nuts and coconut milk in an Instant Pot pressure cooker

Course Dessert

Cuisine South Indian

Keyword instant pot chana dal payasam

Diet Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Method Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 382kcal

Author Bhavana Patil

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup chana dal
2 cups water
½ cup organic jaggery or coconut sugar ,adjust according to your taste
1 cup coconut milk
¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
1 tablespoon ghee (or coconut oil if vegan)
¼ cup cashew nuts

Instructions

Instant Pot Method:

Press SAUTE button. Add ghee into the pot. Once hot, add cashews, stir fry till they are light golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
Add the chana dal (split chickpeas lentils) and roast with leftover ghee in the pot until you get a nice aroma in 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 10 minutes.
Once the pot beeps, let it natural pressure release.
Once done, mash it roughly, when it is hot.
Add powdered jaggery to this and turn on the SAUTE button. Boil in for 2-3 minutes until the jaggery melts.
Pour in the coconut milk, cardamom powder, and stir well. Cook for only 1-2 minutes to avoid curdling.
Serve instant pot chana dal payasam/kheer warm or cold and garnish with roasted cashews.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method:

Heat ghee in a pressure cooker pan. Once hot add cashews and stir fry till they are light golden brown in color. Remove and keep aside.
Next, add chana dal and roast with leftover ghee in the pot till you get a nice aroma in about 2 minutes.
Add water into the pan and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
Once done, mash it roughly and add 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 only 1-2 minutes to avoid curdling.
Serve warm or cold and garnish with roasted cashews.

Notes

I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT.

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 senaga pappu payasam.
You can also add roasted coconut slices (fresh or frozen) or dry coconut slices.
Chana dal texture is important for the payasam. It should not be mushy.
You can replace jaggery with coconut sugar or brown sugar, but traditionally this dessert is prepared with jaggery.
If you don't have coconut milk, you can add almond milk or full-fat dairy milk.
I used store brought coconut milk, but you can use homemade coconut milk as well.
You can follow the same recipe for moong dal as well.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition