Moong dal Payasam for Ugadi/Samsar padavo

Wishing you all a very happy Ugadi and Samsar padavo.(Read more about Ugadi-Samsar padavo here).

Moong dal payasam/Madgane/Parippu pradhaman is the main sweet prepared during Ugadi.All Konkani households have a fixed menu for every festival and Ugadi is no different.I cook additional dishes for every festival..wonder why?Coz me and my hubby are from different regions(me from Kerala and he from Mangalore)and both our families have a slightly different menu.No complications,I choose our favourite among the two and prepare my own menu;-) But Moong dal payasam is there come what may!!

I am a little immodest when it comes to this payasam..hehe..shall tell you why.We live in a colony where we have our yearly competitions and celebrations.During one such cooking competition,I got the second prize for making this payasam.What made me more happy was that I was the only youngster among the winners;-) To this date whenever someone talks about this payasam I never fail to mention about my prize.Wokay,I think I have gone too far in self-praising.

Moong dal payasam-Madgane-Parippu pradhaman

Ingredients

Moong dal - 1 cup (Slightly roast the moong dal in a kadai,wash well and pressure cook till well cooked,mash it well)
Coconut milk - 1 cup thin coconut milk(moonnam paal),3/4 cup semi thick coconut milk(randaam paal),1/2 cup thick coconut milk(onnaam paal)
Jaggery - 1 big ball of jaggery-melt the jaggery in a little water and filter it(no need to make paani/syrup but it should be of semi-thick consistency)
Cashewnuts,kishmish and thin coconut slices - for garnishing
Cardamom/Elaichi powder - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method

Take a thick bottomed kadai and put mashed moong dal and melted jaggery together.Keep on stirring till you get a brownish colour and semi thick consistency.(Keep on stirring to avoid the mix sticking to the bottom)
Add a tablespoon of ghee and mix well.
Add the thin coconut milk and stir well.
When the mix becomes a little thick,add the semi thick coconut milk,stir well.Let it cook on low heat-till it becomes a bit more thicker.
Add the thick coconut milk at this stage,mix well.
Add cardamom powder and switch off the flame.
Prepare garnishing in another pan by frying cashewnuts,kishmish and thin coconut slices in ghee.Add it to the payasam along with the ghee.

Few things to note -
1.Use of coconut milk - You can use freshly squeezed coconut milk as well as canned coconut milk for this recipe.I have used both and both taste equally good.If you are using freshly squeezed milk,milk of one big coconut will be enough.If using canned ones( I used dabur homemade tetra pack),use 2 packs by keeping one intact and by diluting the other.
2.Use brown/black jaggery to get a dark brown colour for the payasam.
3.Adjust the heat of the gas accordingly,preferably keep on medium heat and keep stirring to avoid the payasam from sticking to the bottom.Better still,use a non-stick kadai.
4.Moong dal payasam gets thicker as it cools down,so don't panic if its still watery after you add the thick coconut milk.Also,switch off the gas immediately after you add the thick coconut milk to avoid curdling.

Once again Wishing all of you a very happy and prosperous Ugadi/Samsar padavo.