Have you ever eaten a dessert made with lentils?! Sweetened lentils are the star of this simple sweet dish! This moong dal payasam is made with small yellow lentils, jaggery, cardamom and coconut milk!
This Kerala style moong dal payasam is sweet, creamy and absolutely delicious! Moong dal payasam is basically the south Indian version of kheer but instead of rice we’re using small yellow lentils and instead of milk, we’re using coconut milk!
Kerala Style Moong Dal Payasam
The name of the South Indian state of Kerala translates to “the land of coconut trees,” and so it’s no surprise that this traditional moong dal payasam calls for coconut milk. There, they use fresh coconut milk, but for simplicity’s sake, my recipe calls for canned coconut milk.
This moong dal payasam goes by several different names. It’s also known as parippu payasam or moong dal ki kheer. It’s a special dessert often served during the Onam festival (I talk a bit about this festival in my avial blog post). You can of course serve this any time and for any reason!
My recipe calls for roasting the moong dal in the instant pot – it adds such a nice nutty flavor and aroma to the payasam. I also suggest sautéing cashews and pieces of coconut in ghee then adding it at the end. It gives the creamy kheer a nice crunch and adds flavor too. You can find frozen coconut pieces from your local Indian grocery store. With coconut being so popular these days, you might even be able to find them at your regular grocery store – I think I’ve even seen them at Trader Joe’s!
This isn’t a healthy dessert but I will admit, I feel a little better about eating a dessert made with lentils. My Keralite husband, Roby, doesn’t typically eat sweets but when he does – he likes them SWEET. That’s why we almost always end up adding a full cup of jaggery to this paysam, but feel free to adapt this dessert to your taste. You can also use coconut sugar or brown sugar if you don’t have jaggery on hand – I do love the taste of jaggery though.
If you make this dessert, leave a comment letting me know what you think! Have you ever made dessert with lentils? I think you’re going to love it!
Instant Pot Moong Dal Payasam
Yield: serves 5–6 1x
Method: Instant Pot
Cuisine: Indian
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Sweetened lentils are the star of this simple dessert. The name of the South Indian state of Kerala translates to “the land of coconut trees,” and so it’s no surprise that this traditional moong dal payasam calls for coconut milk. There, they use fresh coconut milk of course, but for simplicity’s sake, my recipe calls for canned coconut milk. If you’ve ever had kheer before, then you’ll find that this is a similar dessert, but made with lentils instead of rice and coconut milk instead of milk.
Ingredients
- ½ cup small yellow lentils (moong dal)
- 1 tablespoon ghee (or coconut oil if dairy-free)
- ¼ cup cashews, halved
- ¼ cup coconut slices*
- 1 ¼ cups water
Add later
- 1 cup jaggery or coconut sugar, adjust to taste!
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can of full-fat coconut milk
Instructions
- Press the sauté button. Add the small yellow lentils (moong dal). Dry roast the dal for 2-3 minutes, or until it turns golden and gives off a slightly nutty aroma. Remove the lentils and rinse them under cold water.
- Press the sauté button. Add ghee to the pot. Once it melts, add the cashews and coconut pieces. Stir-fry until golden. Remove and set aside.
- Add the rinsed lentils back into the pot along with 1 ¼ cups water.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 12 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure.
- Mash the lentils with a ladle, then press the sauté button, add the jaggery and cardamom and mix well. Pour in the coconut milk and stir until well combined. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until it thickens a bit.
- Serve warm or cold and garnish with the ghee coated cashews and coconut pieces.
Notes
- *Find frozen coconut slices at your local Indian grocery store.
- you can always add less sugar to start then add more if needed at the end after pressure cooking. We like our desserts sweet 😉
Thanks for the recipe. It turned out very well!
I added a teaspoon of Dried Ginger powder too because I have seen it in other traditional recipes.
Next time I might add a little more moong dal to make it thicker.
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Abey, I’m so happy to hear that you made and liked it! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂 Love that you added dried ginger powder – yum!
Oh My God, I love moong dal payasam. Tried it and it turned out perfectly. I could eat the whole bowl and claim it’s healthy, but I’ll try to refrain. Added ginger powder too!
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Lygia, that’s awesome!! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Love this delicacy. And love this recipe. So simple, straight forward and tasty. Tried it today and everyone in the family lapped it up. Thanks.
Aruna, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for letting me know how much you and your family liked it! 🙂
Great recipe. Thanks for sharing. I took it for a small dinner gathering all of them from Kerala except my husband and I. They loved it. I made 1.5 times of your amount and eight of us shared it and all was gone.
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Shanthini, I’m so happy to hear that! So glad they loved this!!
hi ashley,
I love your blog and its awesome.
Traditionally in stove top pressure cooker we cook daal for 2 mins for this payasam( after pressure build).
My question to you is i want daal to be cooked with having a bite to it ( not so mushy) can i Try with 5 mins in instant pot?
Thanks Mini! Yes you can definitely try less time and add more if needed later!
Hi Ashley
I commented last Thursday but did not go through.
I made this a week ago for a small dinner gathering with all of them from Kerala originally except my husband and I, with 3/4 cup mung and everyone liked it. I used dark brown sugar and used less of it proportionately. Did not have coconut pieces so used dry coconut I already had at home. Used less of the regular coconut milk as did not have the full fat kind.
Thank you again for sharing.
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Shanthini, thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a comment! I really appreciate the kind words 🙂 Thank you for letting me know how much everyone liked it!
Hi ! Planning on having friends over for lunch , and working on a South Indian menu like dosa idli . I have been browsing through for a dessert, and your recipe caught my attention! Looking forward to trying it ! It sounds yummy!!
Stay tuned !
Suniti, that’s awesome! I hope everyone loves it! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Really simple but delicious recipe…family loved it!
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Liz, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how the payasam turned out for you and your family 🙂
Hey! I’m a big fan of your recipes and this one is one of favorites! It was a big hit amongst my friends 🙂
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Rikki, I’m so happy to hear that you like this one so much! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
I already have frozen cookef (tuvar+masoor) dal in the freezer..can i use that? Thanks
Hi Anjali, the flavor will be different from moong dal and the texture may be different since cooked but I’m sure it’ll still be good. Since the dal is already cooked you can likely skip the water in the recipe and just make this on the stovetop or on saute mode in the instant pot (no need to pressure cook) Let me know how it goes 🙂