No one likes to get older, but I don't mind as long as I get to cook, serve and eat (of course) my favourites on my birthday. Any excuse to have something sweet GRIN. This year I made channa daal kheer using coconut milk . This uses my mum's recipe and is delicious each time. The crunchy fried coconut cuts add a special touch to the pradhaman.
A few things before we start:
- Frying the cooked daal for a few minutes in ghee adds a special flavour to the finished product.
- If you can't get spilt channa daal in stores, you can substitute with whole chickpeas, dried or from a can. Use same weight as split daal if using dried chick peas. If using pre-cooked ones from a can, use three times as much the weight of split daal. For eg: for this recipe use 750 g of cooked chickpeas from a can. When using whole chickpeas, make sure to remove the skin before mashing. They do come off pretty easy.
- Fresh coconut milk is the best and try to use fresh milk at all times.
- If using canned coconut milk, substitute as follows:
- For thick milk - use as they are direct from the can
- For medium milk - add 1/2 cup water to 1 cup canned milk to make 1.5 cups
- For thin milk - add 1 1/2 cup water to 1 1/2 cup of canned milk to make 3 cups
- If using coconut milk powder, substitute as follows:
- For thick milk - add 3 tbsp powder to 1 cup of warm water to make 1 cup of milk
- For medium milk - add 3 tbsp powder to 1 1/2 cup of warm water to make 1 1 /2 cup of milk
- For thin milk - add 3 tbsp powder to 3 cups of warm water to make 3 cups of milk
Ingredients
1- Kadalapparippu / Chana dal – 250 grams
Water - 3 cups
2- Palm sugar / Jaggery – 400 grams
Water - 1 cup
3- Coconut milk
Thick Coconut milk – 1 cup
Medium thick coconut milk – 1.5 cups
Thin coconut milk – 3 cups
4- Ghee – 2 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon of frying cashewnuts
5- Cardamom powder – 1/4 teaspoon
6- Cashewnut and coconut cuts - to taste
Method:
- Cook daal in a pressure cooker with 3 cups of water. Once done roughly mash and keep aside.
- Melt jaggery in a pan with 1 cup of water. Once melted, turn off heat and keep aside.
- Now bring a heavy bottomed pan to heat and add 2 tablespoons of ghee. Add the cooked dal stir to fry a little bit and add melted jaggery and mix to combine.
- Add thin coconut milk and bring to boil followed by medium thick coconut milk and cook till the payasam thickens and reduces to about half in quantity. Stir frequently to avoid burning. This will take about 8 -10 minutes.
- Now reduce heat add thick coconut milk. Bring it to a gentle simmer.
- Turn off the heat, add freshly ground cardamom powder. Mix well.
- In another pan, heat 1 tablespoon of ghee and fry the cashew and coconut cuts till golden brown. Add this to the payasam and mix well. Serve hot.
