Halwa actually means porridge, but that's not how it tastes. Indian desserts are unknown to Norwegians, in fact, a lot can be made without eggs, flour and milk. HURRAY for that! Halwa can be made from different things, previously I have taught you carrot halwa and halwa from chickpea flour and semolina .
This one is a little more work, as the shelled mung beans (the yellow ones) need to be soaked for at least 3 hours. I went the extra mile and used fresh coconut that I roughly grated, but you can use desiccated coconut.
MUNGDAAL HALWA / LENTIL HALWA
400 gr most daal (lentils)
300 g ghee
2 dl water
2 dl whole milk (or as desired)
250 g sugar
4 cardamoms
2 good pinches saffron
15 toasted almonds
4-5 tablespoons coconut pulp
Procedure:
- Fry the mung beans in ghee until the pulp gets some color.
- Heat milk, water and sugar in another saucepan until the sugar is well dissolved.
- Add ground cardamom seeds, slivered almonds and saffron to the liquid.
- Mix liquid and ground beans and let everything simmer over medium heat for 7-8 minutes. At least until all the liquid is well mixed.
- Stir regularly so that it doesn't burn at the bottom.
Served with a good sprinkling of coconut paste
