Sweet Payar Sundal, an Indian festival recipe made with green moong dal that is sweetened with jaggery , perfumed with cardamom and some coconut for some crunch is very simple and easy recipe that can be made with just four ingredients. It is also Vegan and Gluten Free and is chockful of protein.
When Amma and Appa visited us this summer, AJ made an observation about my family. A lot of our conversation revolve around food. It is either about me asking them how to make something or Appa talking about how his mom used to make something or all of us talking about some kind of food memories from the time when my brother and I were kids. I never really realized that we talked so much about food till AJ pointed it out. Well, it no surprise, isn’t it.?!
A lot of my favorite memories from the time I was growing up as a little girl, all have some kind of food element to it. I often try to get to those nostalgic moments by recreating the food that the memory triggered. It gives you all kinds of warm and fuzzies that you can never imagine. It takes you back to those sweet times when life was so much simpler, so much easier yet you didn’t know that. Such is the irony, right?
When you were little, all you wanted was to be a grown up, so you can be in control, so you can make decisions. Little did you know that being in control and making decisions are huge responsibilities and it takes a lot from you. What I wont give right now to be a little girl and sitting in my Paatti’s kitchen, watching her make this sweet payar sundal. Watching and waiting. Waiting for it to be done, so I can sneak in a little taste.
I have not made this in such a long time that I had almost forgotten about it. This came up in one such food memory conversation with my parents and I wrote it down to make for Navarathri.
The sweet scent of jaggery mingled with the warmth of cardamom lingering in the kitchen, took me to my Paatti’s kitchen for sure. Such is the power of food and memories.
Sweet Payar Sundal – The Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole green moong dal / cheru payar
- 2 cups jaggery
- 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
- 2 tsp ground cardamom
Method:
Rinse the moong dal under running water and cook it with about 3 cups of water, till it is mushy to touch. Drain the water and keep aside. I cook this in a pressure cooker and that takes me about 10-15 mins. It will take much longer if you are cooking on the stove top.
In a heavy bottomed pan / kadhai on medium heat, add the jaggery and 1/4 cup of water. The water helps to keep the jaggery from burning, till it starts melting. Once the jaggery has melted, add the cooked moong dal to this. (If the jaggery you get is not clean and you see any impurities floating around, strain the melted jaggery with a sieve and then add the moong dal)
Continue cooking over medium heat till most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the ground cardamom and grated coconut and stir it in. Let it all come together in the heat for about 2 mins. Remove from heat and serve warm.
- 1 cup whole green moong dal / cheru payar
- 2 cups jaggery
- 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
- 2 tsp ground cardamom
- Rinse the moong dal under running water and cook it with about 3 cups of water, till it is mushy to touch. Drain the water and keep aside. I cook this in a pressure cooker and that takes me about 10-15 mins. It will take much longer if you are cooking on the stove top.
- In a heavy bottomed pan / kadhai on medium heat, add the jaggery and 1/4 cup of water. The water helps to keep the jaggery from burning, till it starts melting. Once the jaggery has melted, add the cooked moong dal to this. (If the jaggery you get is not clean and you see any impurities floating around, strain the melted jaggery with a sieve and then add the moong dal)
- Continue cooking over medium heat till most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the ground cardamom and grated coconut and stir it in. Let it all come together in the heat for about 2 mins. Remove from heat and serve warm.
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