Pasi Paruppu Payasam or Moong Dal Kheer is a traditional sweet made with split green gram and coconut milk. Served as part of a festival meal or celebration.
One of the distinguishing features of my grandmom’s cooking were her Kheers / Payasams, although in chaste Iyengar Tamil, it is called Thirukkannamudu (Thiru = heavenly/ good. amudhu = nectar in Tamil) and then transformed over ages as Kanamindhu. Grandma could whip up devilishly delicious Payasams in a jiffy – be it for festivals, guests or even religious ceremonies.
And the best part was that she used jaggery for most of these payasams, along with a pinch (or teeny weeny ) pinch of salt ! Yes, you read it right – salt in very very minute proportion in any sweet, especially jaggery based ones, increases the sweet manifold.
Payasam for festivals
So, today in loving gratitude to Paati (or grandmom) as we call her , I prepared Pasi Paruppu Payasam (Moong Dal Kheer / பாசி பருப்பு பாயாசம்) or called ಹೆಸರುಬೇಳೆ ಪಾಯಸ (In Kannada) with jaggery – just the way she taught my mom.. Growing up (and probably even now), Semiya Payasam (vermicelli Kheer) is a personal favourite, but this liking for Moong dal kheer has grown over the years, and we make it especially for Avani Avittam (the annual sacred thread change ceremony festival for men), along with Paruppu Vadai. Avani Avittam is the same day as Raksha Bandhan, and this is a must make at my place on that day.
This kheer / Payasam is served along with Aama Vadai (paruppu Vadai) as part of a festive meal for Avani Avittam. Last few years, we have been baking the Aama vadai (Dal vada) instead of deep frying it, and it tastes yummm, especially when eaten hot. Yes, we do miss the crunch of deep fried, but some compromises are worth having, right?
Grandmom's Tips and tricks to make the Creamiest Moong Dal Kheer:
- Roast the dal and rice on low flame till aromatic, this is a key step
- Use only hot water to cook the dal+rice mixture, do not add cow milk while pressure cooking, as it will split and will alter the taste
- Add thick coconut milk after the jaggery syrup and cooked dal mixture are blended. Only thick coconut milk to be used.
- If using Instant pot, cook Pressure HIGH for 4 minutes, NPR after 10 minutes.
- Add saffron while cooking the dal+mixture for an aromatic kheer, similarly don't skip the edible camphor if you have that on hand.
- For a 100% VEGAN version: Skip the ghee to fry the rice and dal & to roast the nuts, simply dry roast the rice and dal
- If you are not making a vegan version, add boiled and cooled COW milk, AFTER the jaggery syrup + dal mixture has simmered and completely cooled down. Else Coconut milk is highly recommended, as per the recipe.
Other kheer / Payasam varieties you may like on the blog.
Preparation time :10 mins. Cooking time : 20 mins. Serves : 4
Cuisine - South Indian ; Course - Dessert / Festival recipes
What you need to make Pasi Paruppu Payasam | Moong Dal Kheer
1 cup = 60 grams in this recipe.
- 1 cup Moong dal
- 2 teaspoon rice (raw rice, any short grained non aromatic variety will do)
- 1.25 cups Jaggery (soft variety)
- 1.25 cups Coconut Milk
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- ¼ teaspoon saffron strands
- 1/16 teaspoon Edible Camphor (pachai karpooram, one teeny pinch, optional but recommended)
PIN FOR LATER
How to make Pasi Paruppu Payasam | Moong Dal Kheer
- In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon ghee and fry the yellow Moong Dal till a nice aroma wafts out. Take care not to burn the gram. Cool.
- Similarly roast the rice too
- In another heavy bottomed vessel, boil ¼ cup water and add the jaggery. Boil on simmer till you get 1 string consistency. Cool
- Pressure cook the fried gram with 2 cups of hot water , a few strands of saffron for 4 whistles.
- Cool and whisk thoroughly with a spoon till the dal + rice mixture is nice and mushy and you get a nice aroma.
- Deseed and powder the cardamom finely.
- In a pan, add ghee and fry the cashews, raisins and almonds till they turn golden brown. Remove to a plate
- Add the cooker dal-rice mixture with jaggery and let it come to a gentle boil on simmer.
- Now add the coconut milk (homemade or store bought) and let it simmer for 7-8 minutes till the payasam / kheer turns creamy.
- Cool and add cardamom powder now. Add a pinch of edible camphor (if using) and switch off flame.
- Serve warm or chilled.
How to make Pasi Paruppu Payasam | Moong Dal Kheer
Equipment
- Thick Bottomed Pan
- Pressure Cooker Sub with Instant Pot, See recipe card / Notes for details
- Ladle
Ingredients
- 1 cup split green gram Moong dal / Pasi Paruppu / Hesaru Bele
- 2 teaspoon rice raw rice, any short grained non aromatic variety will do
- 1.25 cups Jaggery soft variety
- 1.25 cups Coconut Milk
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- ¼ teaspoon saffron strands
- 1/16 teaspoon Edible Camphor pachai karpooram, one teeny pinch, optional but recommended
Instructions
- In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon ghee and fry the yellow Moong Dal till a nice aroma wafts out. Take care not to burn the gram. Cool.
- Similarly roast the rice too
- In another heavy bottomed vessel, boil ¼ cup water and add the jaggery. Boil on simmer till you get 1 string consistency. Cool
- Pressure cook the fried gram with 2 cups of hot water , a few strands of saffron for 4 whistles.
- Cool and whisk thoroughly with a spoon till the dal + rice mixture is nice and mushy and you get a nice aroma.
- Deseed and powder the cardamom finely.
- In a pan, add ghee and fry the cashews, raisins and almonds till they turn golden brown. Remove to a plate
- Add the cooker dal-rice mixture with jaggery and let it come to a gentle boil on simmer.
- Now add the coconut milk (homemade or store bought) and let it simmer for 7-8 minutes till the payasam / kheer turns creamy.
- Cool and add cardamom powder now. Add a pinch of edible camphor (if using) and switch off flame.
- Serve warm or chilled.
Notes
- Roast the dal and rice on low flame till aromatic, this is a key step
- Use only hot water to cook the dal+rice mixture, do not add cow milk while pressure cooking, as it will split and will alter the taste
- Add thick coconut milk after the jaggery syrup and cooked dal mixture are blended. Only thick coconut milk to be used.
- If using Instant pot, cook Pressure HIGH for 4 minutes, NPR after 10 minutes.
- Add saffron while cooking the dal+mixture for an aromatic kheer, similarly don't skip the edible camphor if you have that on hand.
- For a 100% VEGAN version: Skip the ghee to fry the rice and dal & to roast the nuts, simply dry roast the rice and dal
- If you are not making a vegan version, add boiled and cooled COW milk, AFTER the jaggery syrup + dal mixture has simmered and completely cooled down. Else Coconut milk is highly recommended, use as per the recipe
Aarthi says
wow yummy kheer..i love it
Mélange says
Drooling over your paruppu payasam.classic presentation!
Jayanthy Kumaran says
this looks so tasty, fantastic recipe..:P
Jayashree says
Grandma's recipes really are the best. I too have this practice(inherited) of adding a pinch of salt to sweets and a little bit of jaggery/sugar to some curries and gravies.
Vardhini says
I just posted paal payasam 🙂
Looks good Kalyani.
Priya Suresh says
Love moongdal kheer anytime, its been a while i havent prepared them, delicious and inviting..
Monika says
moong dal kheer... I have never tried that looks tempting
Harini says
This is sure heavenly, right...
Suma Gandlur says
We too love this moong kheer. Infact I made this today!
Archana Vivek says
Wow nice one. Even i do this often.
MySpicyKitchen says
One would not even know it is moong dal kheer looking at the color.. Lovely and divine kheer
Raghavendra says
Ohhh feel like having that glass so tempting....chennagidhe
Pavani says
Awesome looking payasam. Sounds delicious.
Uma Venkat says
My favorite kind of payasam. looks yummy!
Srivalli says
Nice pictures, we make it often for festival days..
Chitra says
Happened to see your payasam here via google. lovely colour to pasi parippu payasam
Kalyani says
Thanks a lot for stopping by
Vimala Bhat says
this payasa with hesarubele - thumbaa chennagidhe, varlakshmi ge try madthini
Kalyani says
Dhayavadagalu. Try maadi thilsi
Priya Vj says
Hesssrubele paysa is my favorite and l love it for all reasons . The best taste comes when we add coconut milk or grind some fresh coconut with elaichi and add it to the paysam ...
Kalyani says
yes that coconut milk is something that's fabulous in this payasam
Mayuri Patel says
Though I've not made moong dal payasam in my kitchen, I have had the opportunity to taste it from my neighbours. Now I have a lovely creamy pasi paruppu payasam to follow with tips. Thanks for sharing.
Kalyani says
Thanks, Mayuri. Glad you liked this payasam recipe, Do try soon
Priya Srinivasan says
Look at that gorgeous color on that payasam! Love the simplicity of this payasam and the amazing aroma! Perfect for neivedhiyams!
Kalyani says
Thanks da. yes, we love this payasam for naivedyams
Radha says
Lovely color! This is my favorite payasam. I can't stop eating this payasam and I would be happy with a bowl of this right away.
Kalyani says
thanks a lot, Radha! This payasam is a family favourite too.