Wash and soak 1 cup dry yellow moong dal in 5-6 cups of water for 5-6 hours. This step is important to make sure the nutrients in lentils are easily absorbed by the body and they don’t trouble the stomach.
Once the dal is soaked, drain the water completely. Add the soaked dal to the medium jar of a high-speed blender and grind the dal to make a coarse paste without any water. Be careful to not grind the dal to a smooth paste. Keep scraping the sides of the grinder while grinding.
Heat 1 cup ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Make sure to use a non stick pan to make the halwa. It makes the process much easier as compared to a regular pan. Do not compromise on the quantity of ghee. This halwa will not turn out good if the quantity of ghee is reduced.
When the ghee is slightly hot, add the ground dal to the pan.
Fry the dal on medium heat till it turns light golden brown. Initially, the lentils will be pasty, then after a few minutes they will become lumpy and after a few more minutes of frying, they will become granular. It will take at least 15-20 minutes to fry the lentils to the desired color. Do not fry it on high heat otherwise, it will not cook properly. Keep stirring frequently.
Once the dal is golden brown in color, add 3 cups of whole milk and cook till all the milk is absorbed by the dal. It will take 8-10 minutes.
Crumble 200 g of khoya and add it to the pan. Mix well. Skip this process if not using khoya.
Add 10-12 chopped almonds and 10-12 chopped cashew nuts and mix again. Adding dry fruits at this stage makes sure they also get fried during the process and becomes even more flavorful.
Now add 1 and ½ cup sugar, 2 teaspoon cardamom powder, and 1 pinch saffron. You can use crumbled jaggery in place of sugar. Using saffron is optional.
Cook on low heat till the halwa turns brown and starts to leave ghee from sides. Keep stirring continuously during this process. This step will take 20-30 minutes. Cover the pan if the halwa is spluttering too much. Or else, fry the halwa in the microwave as my mom do. I have mentioned the process in the tips below.
Notes
This recipe is a labor of love, so repeat after me "there is no shortcut to making this recipe". Or maybe there is, try the Instant Pot version for a quick, smart way to make this halwa in less time and effort.Many recipes suggest to not soak the lentils and use them directly to make the halwa. Although this process saves some time but eating non-soaked lentils is really not good for the tummy and none of their nutrients are absorbed by the body. So I suggest taking some extra time and soak the lentils before making the halwa.Roast the dal in ghee on medium heat until it turns golden brown in color. This step takes 15-20 minutes but trusts me it makes or breaks the halwa.Use a non-stick pan to make the halwa. It is much much easier than making it in a regular pan.This recipe can be easily halved, doubled or tripled.My mom roasts the halwa after adding the sugar in a microwave. It reduces some of her muscle work. You can also try the method. Follow the process until adding sugar. Then transfer the halwa to a microwave-safe pan and micro for 10-15 minutes, stopping the microwave every 5 minutes and stirring the halwa. Do this until halwa becomes brown and ghee starts to ooze out from the sides.Add more or less sugar according to your taste. The amount I have mentioned suits us perfectly.The lentils WILL NOT cook once the sugar is added. So make sure to add the sugar only once the lentils are nicely softened.