
Moong dal halwa is a flavorful Indian dessert made with split yellow lentils. It is a gluten-free dessert and is made on special occasions, celebrations, weddings, and Indian festivals like Diwali.
I love making moong dal halwa in the instant pot as it is very easy to make. The traditional way of making moong dal ka halwa is tedious involving continuous stirring, scraping, and roasting for long.
This instant pot moong dal halwa recipe is made by soaking moong dal for a few hours before making the halwa.
This decadent halwa recipe is a true delight and sure to please your family and friends.

Ingredients
Moong dal halwa is made with only a few ingredients. Yellow moong dal or split yellow lentils are the main ingredients. You will need ghee, sugar, and some dry fruits like raisins, cashews, and optionally sliced pistachios. Adding some spices like saffron and ground cardamom makes this decadent dessert very flavorful.
Instructions
The first step to making moong dal ka halwa is to rinse and soak the moong dal for about 5-6 hours. Once soaked, discard the water and grind the dal in a blender with minimal water. I use Vitamix at speed 5 and get a nice smooth batter by using just half the amount of water as dry dal.
Grease a small pot with ghee and add the moong dal paste to the pot. Add melted ghee at room temperature to it. It is important that ghee is not hot, else it can change the texture of the batter.
Mix the batter and ghee very well so that ghee gets well absorbed in the batter.
Place a trivet in the inner pot and pour one cup of water. Place the batter and ghee mixture on the trivet and cover it well with a lid.


Cover the instant pot with the lid and set it on high pressure for 10 minutes with the pressure release valve in the sealing position followed by a natural pressure release.
Once you open the lid and check the batter and ghee mixture, you will see it is nicely cooked. Take the pot out, remove the trivet and discard the water in the inner pot. Turn the Saute mode on for 20 minutes on "Normal".
While the time the pot is getting hot, break the mixture into pieces and scrape the sides if needed with a spoon. This is fairly simple, as the mixture is very soft and non-sticky.


Add ghee to the instant pot, add the dal mixture to it and continue roasting. Initial 8-10 minutes of roasting can be a bit tedious trying to ensure that it does not stick to the pot.
A stainless steel spatula helps scrape the mixture from the bottom but it is not tedious like the traditional method. After a few minutes, only occasional roasting is required.
Continue this until the mixture oozes out some ghee which is a sign that it is well roasted. It took me about 20 minutes total to roast it in a 3 qt. instant pot.


Add the water, cardamom powder, soaked saffron, cashew pieces, and raisins and mix well. Stir occasionally until all liquid evaporates.
Turn the saute mode off and transfer the halwa to a serving bowl else the heat of the instant pot can make it dry further.
Serving suggestions
Moong dal halwa is a dessert that is served warm. It is a true delight in cold weather. You can garnish it with some sliced pistachios while serving

Storage
Moong dal halwa can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for about a week. It can also be frozen for up to a month.
Refrigerated moong dal halwa will tend to harden. To soften hard halwa, simply reheat it in the microwave. If needed, you can add a few spons of milk or water to make it soft.
To reheat frozen halwa, allow it to defrost in the refrigerator or at room temperature, and then serve warm by reheating it in a microwave.

You may also enjoy other instant pot Indian dessert recipes
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📖 Recipe

Moong Dal Halwa in Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup Yellow Moong Dal (soak for 4-5 hours)
- ½ cup Organic cane sugar
- ½ cup Ghee
- 1 ¼ cup Water (¼ cup for grinding, 1 cup for cooking)
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- Few Saffron strands
- Cashews (split)
- 1 tablespoon Raisins
Instructions
- Soak the moong dal in enough water for 5-6 hours.
- Discard water once it is soaked well
- Grind the moong dal to a smooth batter using ¼ cup water. If using Vitamix, setting 5 works well for a smooth batter.
- Grease a small pot with ghee and add the batter to the pot.
- Add 5 tablespoon melted ghee at room temperature to the batter and mix it well until it gets absorbed in the batter.
- In the inner pot, add one cup of water and place a trivet. Place the batter on the trivet and cover with a lid.
- Pressure cook on "High" for 10 minutes followed by Natural Pressure Release.
- Take the pot out. Discard the water from inner pot and set on Saute mode on Normal for 20 minutes.
- Break the mixture into pieces with a spoon.
- Add 3 tablespoon ghee to the pot and add the mixture.
- Continuously stir, scrape and roast the mixture for 8-10 minutes. Later continue to roast intermittently until well roasted and you see ghee oozing out of the mixture.
- Add sugar, 1 cup water, cardamom powder, soaked saffron, raisins and cashews and mix well. (Turn Saute mode on if it gets turned off).
- Once the water evaporates, press cancel and transfer the halwa into a serving bowl.
Sejal says
Hello Alpa . I tried already . Came out very testy . Can I use milk or heavy cream instead water ?? Make like soji halwa ?
SEJAL
Alpa Jain says
Hi Sejal
Thankyou for the feedback. Yes you can use milk instead of water.
Regards
Alpa
Ranjini says
Love your take on Moong Dal Halwa. When you add the sugar. Nuts and raisins to the roasted dhal you have added that water needs to be added. The mixture looks wet after it has been sautéed and the ghee has oozed out. Can you please specify how much water to add. Thank you
Alpa Jain says
Hi Ranjini,
Glad you liked it. Yes, water must be added to the roasted mixture along with sugar and nuts. I see the confusion, 1/4 cup water is used while grinding and rest one cup is added to halwa. Please allow the water to evaporate to desired consistency of halwa. I have updated the recipe now. Thankyou for pointing it out.
Hope this helps
Regards
Alpa
Saif says
I tried Dal Halwa once in my friend's house who is from India. It taste really good. It's sweet but very flavorful.