Kadle Bele Paysa

Chana Dal Kheer, a sweet lentil dessert

• CuisineIndian
• CategorySweets
• CourseDessert

Ingredients

• 1 cupChana Dal
• 4 tbspSago
• ½ cupGhee
• 400 mlCoconut milk
• 1 cupJaggery, grated
• 4Cardamoms, crushed
• ¼ cupRaw cashews
• ¼ cupSultanas

Preparation

1. Soak chana in water for two hours, preferrably overnight
2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot
3. Fry cashews till slightly brown, remove
4. Fry sultanas till plump, remove
5. Add chana dal, sago, coconut milk, jaggery, crushed cardamoms with 2 cups of water
6. Close lid and pressure cook for 30 minutes on high
7. NPR (Natural Pressure Release) for 12 mins
8. Set to saute, add fried cashews amd sultanas and simmer

Almost anywhere else in India, a kheer made of lentils is outlandish. But in South India, it is pretty common. Most lentils may be used but chana dal and moong dal are common. The lentils used are dried, without the skin and halved. Chana dal kheer is common for Ganesh Chaturti. Though it can be made with milk, coconut milk is more traditional. Though you can use sugar, jaggery is commonly used, giving it a more complex taste. It is ironic, but probably makes a bit of sense that the north of India, for whom a savoury dal is a vital part of a daily meal uses rice for its kheer but the South of India, with rice in every meal and dish makes kheer using lentils! After all, dessert should be a break from your main meal.

Whether you are cooking lentils in a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot, it serves to remember that dal and pressure cookers are sworn enemies. The pressure cooker turns hard dals into soft mush and the dals will never forgive them for that. When the water starts boiling, it also starts foaming from the starch released by the dal. This foam, loaded with starch, rises up to the lid and gets into every nook and cranny. This indesctructible paste will gum up safety holes. As soon as you open the lid, wash it in hot water. See if you can clean out said nooks and crannies. A soak and a second round of cleaning can't hurt. Make sure the steam outlet is clean and not blocked. Once it dries, it hardens and will last as long as your pressure cooker. And a pressure cooker with blocked holes is as safe as a stick of dynamite!