Cherupayar Parippu Pradhaman/ Kerala Style Moong Dal Payasam ( Kheer )

          Happy Onam ! This festival is celebrated in the state of Kerala in India, celebrating the homecoming of King Mahabali. It's celebrated for 4 days with many cultural events and of course the special Onam Sadya. This special meal includes a variety of dishes, different curries, payasams, pickles and the list goes on. Today's dish, Cherupayar Parippu Pradhaman, this a Kerala style payasam/kheer made with moong dal/ husked green gram. I got this recipe from a Malyalam Cookery show, it's a very easy dish and it tasted very delcious..

Need To Have

• Moong Dal/ Husked Green Gram - 1/4 cup
• Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup
• Jaggery - 1/2 cup
• Cashews - 4. broken to pieces
• Finely Sliced Coconut Pieces - 1 tablespoon
• Ghee - 1 teaspoon
• Cardamom/ Elaichi - 2
• Cumin/ Jeera Powder - 1/8 teaspoon
• Dried Ginger Powder - 1/8 teaspoon

Method

          Add 1/4 cup warm water to the coconut, pulse it in a blender a couple of times, then squeeze out the milk from it, strain and keep, this is the first coconut milk. Again take the coconut, add another 1/2 cup water, blend once more, then squeeze out the milk, this is the second coconut milk. Heat 1/2 teaspoon ghee, saute the cashew pieces till golden, remove, add the coconut pieces, saute till golden, remove and keep.

          Dry roast the moong dal, then wash and cook with 1 to 11/2 cups of water, till done.

          Melt the jaggery with 1 cup of water, strain and add it to the cooked dal, keep stirring and cooking till it thickens.

          Now add the remaining ghee followed by the second coconut milk ( reserving 1 tablespoon ).

          Mix the elaichi powder ( remove the inner part of the cardamom and powder ), cumin powder and dried ginger powder in the 1 tablespoon coconut milk and add it to the payasam. Add the cashews and coconut pieces and mix everything together for a minute. Remove and then add the first coconut milk and serve it warm.

Note
You can cook the dal either in a pressure cooker or in a regular pot.
Add the jaggery only after the dal is cooked completely.
Add the first coconut milk only after removing the payasam from the stove, otherwise there is a chance of the payasam curdling,