Vellam Paruppu Payasam
A signature Tamil Brahmin festive sweet - moong dal slow-cooked with coconut milk, jaggery, cardamom and ghee-fried cashews. Lighter than akkaravadisal (no rice), eaten on Aadi Perukku, Pongal, Karthigai Deepam and traditional family birthdays in the Iyer / Iyengar tradition.
Ingredients
- Ghee — 30 g
- Moong Dal — 100 g (dry-roasted)
- Jaggery — 200 g (powdered)
- Dry Ginger — 1 g (powdered)
- Cashew Nuts — 20 g
- edible camphor (optional) — 1 g
- coconut milk — 250 g
- Milk — 200 g
- Cardamom — 2 g (powdered)
- raisins — 15 g
Method
- Dry-roast 100 g moong dal till light golden + nutty (~3 min). Pressure-cook with 300 ml water for 3 whistles - dal should hold its shape, not mush.
- Melt 200 g jaggery in 80 ml water; filter to remove impurities. Pour into the cooked dal.
- Simmer on LOW for 6 min, stirring - jaggery infuses into the dal.
- Add 200 ml regular milk; simmer 4 min.
- Switch off the flame. Cool slightly. Stir in 250 ml coconut milk - if you boil after adding coconut milk, it can split. Heat gently on low for 1 min only.
- In 30 g ghee, fry cashews then raisins. Add to payasam with cardamom + dry ginger powder + (optional) pinch of edible camphor.
- Serve warm or at room temperature in small bowls. The Iyer festive close.
Common questions
- How many calories in one plate of Vellam Paruppu Payasam?
- 646 kcal per plate.
- How much cooking time?
- 40 min — 10 min prep, 30 min cooking.