Hesarubele (Moong/greengram dal) Payasa

Payasam is a common term for many types of sweet, gruel kind of dessert prepared for festivals and auspicious occasions in South India. Moong dal payasam is fat-free and protein rich and hence a healthy option for calorie conscious people. It can be made thick, gruel consistency or watery too. 

Payasa.jpg

Category : South Indian Dish

INGREDIENTS :

Green gram dal : 100 g, dry roasted till golden  

Jaggery : ~80 g

Coconut : 3-4 tbsp, grated

Cardamom : 1-2 pod, crushed

Saffron : few strands (optional)

METHOD : 

Wash and soak moong dal for about an hour (optional, to reduce cooking time). Meanwhile, prepare jaggery syrup in another vessel (add minimum water to coarsely powdered jaggery and boil till it dissolves). Cook dal in sufficient water in a vessel till the dal is soft and well cooked. Grind coconut and 1-2 spoonful of cooked, cooled dal and add to the dal. Add jaggery to the dal, coconut mix, using a tea strainer to remove any sediments. Add cardamom powder, saffron and bring it to boil. Serve chilled or hot with ghee. 

Preparation Time : ~45min to 1 hr

VARIATIONS IF ANY : You could make it thick and add fresh cream and garnish with fried nuts like cashews, raisins, etc

INFORMATION 

  • Vegan - YES
    Gluten Free - YES

Glycemic Index (GI) is the rate of release of glucose in to blood stream, GI of glucose equal to 100
- Beans (Mung bean) : 24-28 GI; Jaggery / White/table Sugar = 68 GI; Coconut : NA

Glycemic Load (calculated based on GI and carbohydrates in a serving size. 1-10 low GL; 11-19 med; 20 & above high GL food): 

  • Lentils 5 GL (for 150 g serving)

  • CALORIES : 1 Katori (150 g) =  217 Cal

 NUTRITIVE VALUE : 

  • Moong dal : 100 g of boiled mung beans contain: 7.02 g of protein, 19.15 g carbohydrate, including 2 g sugar, 7.60 g dietary fiber and Vit B9 or folate. In addition it contains many vitamins and minerals.

  • Jaggery : Depending on the source, 100 grams (half a cup) of jaggery may contain : Calories: 383; Sucrose: 65–85 grams, Fructose and glucose: 10–15 grams, Protein: 0.4 gram, Fat: 0.1 grams, Iron: 11 mg, or 61% of the RDI.

  • Coconut : 1 cup contains : Protein: 3 grams, Carbs: 10 grams, Fat: 27 grams., fiber, Manganese, Selenium, etc

HEALTH BENEFITS : 

  • Mung bean is known to have many health benefits including antioxidant/ anti inflammatory/ anti fungal properties, in reducing diabetes and hyper tension and anti-tumor properties.

  • Jaggery : According to some reports, jaggery is absorbed slowly in to the blood stream, it is good for lungs, and in treating throat infections, reduces migraine frequency, helps in bile disorder, to cure dry cough, reduces acidity (when taken along with dry ginger), and acts as a cleansing agent.

  • Coconut :

ORIGIN : Mung bean (Vigna radiata) belongs to the bean family, Fabaceae. Carbonized mung beans have been discovered in many archeological sites in India. Areas with early finds include the eastern zone of the Harappan Civilisation in modern-day Pakistan and western- and northwestern India, where finds date back about 4,500 years, and South India in the modern state of Karnataka where finds date back more than 4,000 years. Some scholars, therefore, infer two separate domestications in the northwest and south of India.

Jaggery is made from Sugarcane juice. Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) belongs to the grass family Poaceae. Sugarcane was originally domesticated around 8000 BC in New Guinea. From there knowledge about this plant reached Southeast Asia until it reached India, where the first organized production of sugar began during middle of 1st millennia BC.

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) belongs to the palm family (Arecaceae). Coconuts probably originated somewhere in Indo-Malaya and are one of the most important crops of the tropics with innumerable uses. They can be found all over the Pacific, the Indian Ocean regions and Africa. 

WATER FOOTPRINT (is litres of water needed to produce the food) :

  • Moong dal (Beans) : 2018 L/Kg

  • Jaggery : Raw sugar : 1666 L/Kg (data not available for jaggery)

  • Coconut : NA

GENERAL TIPS :

Mung dal can also be cooked in pressure cooker to just one whistle. Take care not to overcook it. 

Dry roast mung dal to extend its storage life. It will also save sometime while cooking mung dal dishes.

Add milk/cream to reduce the sweetness of payasa

DID YOU KNOW : 

Cellophane or glass noodles, also known as bean thread, harusame, are fine, dry transparent noodles made from green mung beans paste (starch). They are used in Chinese, Thai and other Asian cuisines. 

Jaggery contains more nutrients than refined sugar because of its molasses content. It contains many minerals such as Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium, Selenium, Manganese and Zinc and small amounts of B vitamins. 

Both sugar and jaggery are prepared from sugarcane or date palm. However, Jaggery has many health benefits and is less polluting than sugar. Sugar refining process utilises large amounts of water and chemicals and pollutes air, water and soil.  

REFERENCES :

https://www.healthline.com › nutrition › coconut-meat

https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Report47-WaterFootprintCrops-Vol1.pdf

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/1/glycemicindex.pdf

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/jaggery#section2

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