Festival Recipes, Indian Sweets, Kheers / Payasam

How to make Pasi Paruppu Payasam | Moong Dal Kheer

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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.

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.
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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:

  1. Roast the dal and rice on low flame till aromatic, this is a key step
  2. 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
  3. Add thick coconut milk after the jaggery syrup and cooked dal mixture are blended. Only thick coconut milk to be used.
  4. If using Instant pot, cook Pressure HIGH for 4 minutes, NPR after 10 minutes.
  5. Add saffron while cooking the dal+mixture for an aromatic kheer, similarly don’t skip the edible camphor if you have that on hand.
  6. 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
  7.  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.  
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.Pin

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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 Moong dal
  • 2 tsp rice (raw rice, any short grained non aromatic variety will do)
  • 1.25 cups Jaggery (soft variety)
  • 1.25 cups Coconut Milk
  • 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
  • 1/4 tsp saffron strands
  • 1/16 tsp Edible Camphor (pachai karpooram, one teeny pinch, optional but recommended)

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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.Pin

How to make Pasi Paruppu Payasam | Moong Dal Kheer

  • In a pan, heat 1 tbsp 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.
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.Pin
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.Pin

How to make Pasi Paruppu Payasam | Moong Dal Kheer

Kalyani
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.
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert, Festival Recipes
Cuisine Indian, South Indian, Tamilnadu Cusine
Servings 4 people

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 tsp rice raw rice, any short grained non aromatic variety will do
  • 1.25 cups Jaggery soft variety
  • 1.25 cups Coconut Milk
  • 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
  • 1/4 tsp saffron strands
  • 1/16 tsp Edible Camphor pachai karpooram, one teeny pinch, optional but recommended

Instructions
 

  • In a pan, heat 1 tbsp 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

GrandMom’s Tips and tricks to make the Creamiest Moong Dal Kheer:
  1. Roast the dal and rice on low flame till aromatic, this is a key step
  2. 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
  3. Add thick coconut milk after the jaggery syrup and cooked dal mixture are blended. Only thick coconut milk to be used.
  4. If using Instant pot, cook Pressure HIGH for 4 minutes, NPR after 10 minutes.
  5. Add saffron while cooking the dal+mixture for an aromatic kheer, similarly don’t skip the edible camphor if you have that on hand.
  6. 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
  7.  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  
 
Keyword Festival Kheer, Kheer, Moong Dal Kheer, Pasi Paruppu Payasam, Payasam for festivals, Quick Kheer Varieties
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23 Comments

  1. wow yummy drink..i love it

  2. Drooling over your paruppu payasam.classic presentation!

  3. Jayanthy Kumaran

    this looks so tasty, fantastic recipe..:P
    Tasty Appetite

  4. Jayashree

    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.

  5. I just posted paal payasam 🙂
    Looks good Kalyani.

    Vardhini
    Event: Dish it Out – Spinach and Garlic
    Event: Healthy Lunchbox Ideas – Broccoli

  6. Priya Suresh

    Love moongdal kheer anytime, its been a while i havent prepared them, delicious and inviting..

  7. moong dal kheer… I have never tried that looks tempting

  8. This is sure heavenly, right?

  9. Suma Gandlur

    We too love this kheer. Infact I made this today!

  10. Archana Vivek

    Wow nice one. Even i do this often.

  11. MySpicyKitchen

    One would not even know it is moong dal kheer looking at the color.. Lovely and divine kheer

  12. Ohhh feel like having that glass so tempting….

  13. Awesome looking payasam. Sounds delicious.

  14. My favorite kind of payasam. looks yummy!

  15. Nice pictures, we make it often for festival days..

  16. 5 stars
    Happened to see your payasam here via google. lovely colour to pasi parippu payasam

  17. Vimala Bhat

    5 stars
    this payasa with hesarubele – thumbaa chennagidhe, varlakshmi ge try madthini

  18. 5 stars
    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 …

  19. Mayuri Patel

    5 stars
    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.

5 from 4 votes

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