Sabut Moong ka Halwa

Mung ki dal ka halwa is one of my favorite desserts ; not a surprise considering that I have a sweet tooth and love ghee. Traditionally moong halwa is made from split yellow moong beans. You soak the moong all night, blend it to a paste, and then roast it in ghee till it takes on this golden brown hue. Moong halwa is ideally dripping with ghee and you really can't eat much since the richness overpowers you. I decided to make this halwa with the whole moong lentil which is green in color. Remember to make sure your daal is properly ground into a paste with no whole lentils in the batter - if there was a halwa killer, that would be it.
My only pet grudge with store bought halwa , is the excess of sugar ( I will never complain about excess ghee). Typically people add 1 cup of sugar or more for 1 cup of dal , I just halved the amount of sugar , and to my mind you can enjoy the daal better without the cloy sweetness that can overshadow all the other ingredients.

1 cup of whole green mung
1/2 cup ghee
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup half and half
2 pods of cardomom
1 cup of water


Instructions

1. Soak Dal for 24 hours and then grind into a paste.
2. Mix 1 cup water and sugar. Reduce in half and keep aside. Add the cardomom.
3. Heat the ghee in the work and add the daal paste.
4. Saute till the dal turns a dark green - light brown shade and you can smell the cooked daal.
5. Add half and half. Reduce till the daal looks like a thick paste.
6. Add the syrup and heat for another 5 minutes or till daal looks like a paste.
7. Serve with puris.