Ingredients
Dal
- 1 cup (200g) yellow split moong dal (dhuli moong dal)
- Water for soaking
Sugar syrup
- 2½ cups water
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 6–8 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- Pinch of saffron strands soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
Halwa
- ¾ cup (165g) ghee
- ¼ cup whole milk
Garnish
- 3 tbsp cashews, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 2 tbsp slivered almonds or pistachios
Instructions
Soak and grind
- Wash and soak moong dal in plenty of water for 4–6 hours (or overnight). It will swell and soften.
- Drain well. Transfer to a blender and grind to a coarse paste using as little water as possible — just enough to help the blades move. The paste should be thick, not runny. A grainy texture is fine; it will smooth out during cooking.
Make the syrup
- Combine water, sugar, and cardamom in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add saffron milk. Keep warm on low heat.
Fry the dal (the critical stage)
- Heat ghee in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan (kadai) over medium heat.
- Add cashews and fry until golden. Remove and set aside. Add raisins, fry 30 seconds, remove and set aside.
- Add the dal paste to the hot ghee. It will spit — be careful. Stir immediately to coat the paste with ghee.
- Cook on medium heat, stirring almost continuously, for 40–50 minutes. This is the defining stage. The paste will go through several phases:
- First it looks wet and pale — keep stirring.
- It will start to dry out and clump — keep going.
- Around 20–25 minutes it begins to turn golden and smell nutty.
- At 35–40 minutes it is deep golden, fragrant, and the ghee starts to separate visibly. This is close.
- Done when it is a rich amber-gold, pulls away from the pan, and smells caramel-nutty. Taste a small amount — it should taste cooked and nutty, not raw or floury.
Add syrup and finish
- Reduce heat to low. Carefully pour in the hot sugar syrup — it will bubble aggressively. Stir immediately.
- Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, for 8–10 minutes until the syrup is fully absorbed and the halwa is thick, glossy, and pulling away from the pan.
- Fold in fried cashews and raisins.
- Garnish with slivered almonds or pistachios. Serve warm.
Storage
- Fridge: Up to 5 days in an airtight container. It firms up significantly — reheat in a pan with a tablespoon of ghee or milk over low heat, stirring until soft.
- Freeze: Freezes well for up to 2 months. Portion before freezing for easy reheating.
Variations
- Khoya version: Stir in 50g crumbled khoya (mawa) with the sugar syrup for extra richness and a milkier flavor.
- Rose version: Add 1 tsp rose water at the very end, off heat, for a floral note common in more elaborate versions.
Notes
- The soaking time matters — insufficiently soaked dal grinds unevenly and takes even longer to cook out.
- Don't rush the frying stage. Under-fried dal paste produces a raw, beany flavor that no amount of sugar and ghee can fix. When in doubt, cook longer.
- The ghee quantity is correct. Moong dal halwa made with less ghee is dry and dense. The fat is what gives it its characteristic richness.
- A heavy-bottomed pan (cast iron or thick-based kadai) distributes heat evenly and reduces the risk of burning on the bottom.
- This halwa is traditionally made in large quantities for festivals — scaling up works fine but extends the frying time proportionally.
Added Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026