Padanji bele payasam/ Moong dal payasam

When it comes payasams, we all drool. This is a payasam with Padanji bele (Moong dal); happens to be my best half's ultimate favorite. There are two categories under which payasams may fall. One in which we add jaggery with coconut milk as the combination, else, its sugar with plain milk. The trophy, I personally feel, should go to the former.

In Udupi, during the summer time, we get tender cashew-nuts. These may be added in this payasam along with moong dal...now thats called as a deadly combination. I'm adding Sabu dana (Tapioca pearls) along with the dal just to bring about a variation.

Ingredients:

Moong dal- 1/2 cup
Sabu dana- 1/2 Tbsp
Jaggery- 3/4 cup
Coconut milk- 2 cups (Extract of one coconut)
Ghee- 4 tsp
Cashew nuts- Few
Raisins- Few
Cardamom powder- A pinch

Method:

In a pan, dry roast the dal well till you get the aroma. Soak Sabu dana is in a cup of water for half an hour.
Put the dal and sabu dana into a vessel and add a cup of coconut milk along with 2 cups of water. Let the dal and sabu dana cook in this milk-water mixture. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring in between. In another small vessel, add the jaggery and pour about 1/4 cup of water to just melt the jaggery. Strain this solution and pour it into the cooked dal. Let this boil for 10 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk and let it boil for few minutes as well.Now, in a pan, to 4 tsp of hot ghee, add cashew nuts and fry them well. To this add the raisins and pour this into the payasam. Add pinch of Cardamom powder and serve hot.

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes
Serves: 4 people