Asoka

Asoka halwa has its originmainly in the Brahmin households of Thiruvaiyaru ( Thanjavur ) in Tamilnadu.

Tambrahms as they are popularly called certainly knew how to eat healthy while feasting too!

,Moong dal or paasi parup in Tamil is considered healthy dal but of course when made into a sinfully tasty delicious halva , am not sure how much the health factor counts..! All is fair during Diwali where the eyes must look for more pleasures and less on calories .

This is the simplest sweet served on many occasions and like kesari, made easily with fewer ingredients , procedure and fuss. It is often served during weddings as an additional sweet and of course considered a traditional must prepare sweet during Diwali.

My mom had this uncanny knack of making this halwa with left over cooked moong dal when we craved for a sweet as kids and I used to wonder how she managed at short notice. Moong dal being our preferred dal for consumption everyday, It was a simple procedure as the dal was already cooked and mashed, so add some roasted wheat flour, sugar and ghee and it was done .

ASOKA HALWA
Prep time10 minutes

Cook Time25 minutes

Total time35 minutes

Yield 1 cup

Recipe type Dessert south Indian

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Moong dal/ Paasi parup
2 tbsp wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted ghee
A pinch cardamom powder
A tiny pinch Food colour
10 cashewnuts
5 raisins

Instructions:

Dry fry the moong dal till light golden and aromatic

Pressure cook the roasted dal with little water
.Fry the cashewnuts and raisins in 1 tsp of ghee , keep aside
.Now fry the wheat flour with a tsp of ghee in same pan till a nice aroma comes. .
Keep it aside.
Mash the cooked dal or use blender to make a puree.
Take a wide heavy pan, add 1 tbsp melted ghee .
Add the mashed pureed dal in the pan and cook on low flame .
Add the sugar and keep cooking on a low flame .
When the mixture seems thickening, add the roasted wheat flour slowly while stirring to avoid lumps.
Add the cardamom powder, red or orange food colour and add the remaining ghee slowly till used up.
Add the roasted cashew nuts and raisins in the halva mixture.
The whole mixture should be thick but not lumpy, then remove from flame .
Serve delicious Asoka warm or chilled.