What is Payasam? Payasam, also known as kheer, is a traditional Indian Sweet pudding made using milk, grains like rice, millets, broken wheat, tapioca, semolina, or lentils, and a sweetener like jaggery or sugar. It is one of the easiest, healthy desserts and is often prepared for festivals or special occasions. Some people like adding soaked and boiled sabudana/sago (tapioca) into this chana dal kheer recipe.
How to make Coconut Milk at home?
Blend ½ cup of shredded coconut (fresh or frozen) with 1 cup of lukewarm water. Strain the coconut milk in a strainer or nut milk bag, and this is the first and thick coconut milk. Grind again by adding 1 cup of water and extracting the milk, this is the second and thin coconut milk. You can use a mix of first and second milk for this recipe. Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate. You can save pulp for baked goods or add it to poriyal or coconut curries.
Chana Dal Payasam Ingredients
Chana dal: Chana dal, also known as bengal gram dal or split chickpeas, is used. It’s easily available in any Indian grocery store. Jaggery: I have used organic powdered jaggery, you may also use coconut sugar or brown sugar. Coconut milk: I have used full-fat coconut milk, you can also make it with almond milk or dairy milk. Ghee: (or coconut oil if vegan): is used for roasting dry fruits and chana dal. If you are vegan, use a neutral oil like coconut or avocado oil for roasting. Cardamom powder: I have used freshly ground cardamom from 3 whole green cardamom pods. Nuts: I have used cashews in this recipe. You can also use raisins, and almonds.
How to make Chana Dal Payasam in Instant Pot
Press SAUTE button on Instant Pot. Add ghee to the pot. Once hot, add cashews and stir fry till they are light golden brown. Remove and keep aside. Add the chana dal (split chickpeas lentils) and roast with leftover ghee in the pot until you get a nice aroma in about 2 minutes, also, you should not let it brown too much. Then add the water. Mix well & Deglaze the pot. Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes. Once the pot beeps, let it natural pressure release. Once done, mash it roughly when it is hot. Add powdered jaggery to this and turn on the SAUTE button. Boil in for 2-3 minutes until the jaggery melts. Pour in the coconut milk, cardamom powder, and stir well. Cook for only 1-2 minutes to avoid curdling. Serve instant pot chana dal payasam/kheer warm or cold and garnish with roasted cashews.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
Heat ghee in a pressure cooker pan. Once hot, add cashews and stir fry till they are light golden brown. Remove and keep aside. Next, add chana dal and roast with leftover ghee in the pot till you get a nice aroma in about 2 minutes. Add water to the pan and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. Once done, mash it roughly and add jaggery to this, and turn on the gas again. Boil in for 2 minutes until the jaggery has been melted, and then pour in the coconut milk, cardamom powder and cook for only 1-2 minutes to avoid curdling. Serve senaga pappu payasam warm or cold and garnish with roasted cashews.
Tips & Variations
If you feel your jaggery has impurities, first heat the jaggery with water just to immerse it and melt the jaggery. Strain it through a metal strainer and add this to the senaga pappu payasam. You can also add roasted coconut slices (fresh or frozen) or dry coconut slices. Chana dal texture is important for the payasam. It should not be mushy. You can replace jaggery with coconut sugar or brown sugar, but traditionally, this dessert is prepared with jaggery. If you don’t have coconut milk, you can add almond milk or full-fat dairy milk. I used store-bought coconut milk, but you can also use homemade coconut milk. You can follow the same recipe for moong dal as well.
More Chana Dal Recipes
Lauki Chana Dal Chana Dal Paratha Chana Dal Tadka Chana Dal Chutney Chutney Powder
More Instant Pot Dessert Recipes
Sweet Pongal Badam Halwa Carrot Halwa Rice Kheer Semiya Payasam (Vermicelli Kheer) Moong Dal Payasam Makhana Kheer
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