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Parippu Pradhaman (Moong Dal Payasam)
Kerala's Onam payasam: roasted moong dal simmered in jaggery and coconut milk, finished with ghee-fried cashews, raisins and coconut. This version lightens the coconut milk with dairy milk.
- Region
- Kerala
- Status
- Traditional; part of the coconut milk replaced with toned milk
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Prep 10 min · Cook 40 min
- Serves
- 4 (about 200 ml each)
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Good for
- Onam, Vishu, festive meals
- Tags
- Good source · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free*
- Allergens
- Milk, tree nuts (cashew); coconut
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Headline values are per serving, as written.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Added sugar | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As written | 290 | 9 g | 34 g | 13 g | 9 g | 3 g | 23 g | 17 g | 3.0 g |
Good source. This is the sweetest dessert in the chapter; traditional pradhaman uses about 50% more jaggery. Coconut milk and ghee supply most of the saturated fat. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 15 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 80 g yellow moong dal
- 80 g jaggery, melted in 60 ml water and strained
- 100 ml thick coconut milk · 300 ml toned milk
- 10 g ghee · 10 g cashews · 10 g raisins · 10 g thin coconut slivers
- ½ tsp cardamom powder · pinch of dry ginger powder
Method
- Dry-roast moong dal on low for 4–5 minutes until golden and fragrant. Pressure-cook with 300 ml water for 2 whistles until soft but holding shape.
- Add the strained jaggery syrup and simmer 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the dal absorbs it and turns glossy.
- Stir in the toned milk; simmer 5 minutes.
- Lower the heat to the minimum; add the coconut milk and heat through without boiling (boiling can split it). Add cardamom and dry ginger.
- Fry cashews, raisins and coconut slivers in ghee until golden; pour over. Serve warm.
Protein optimisation
- Moong dal supplies 5 g per serving, milk 2.5 g, cashews and coconut 1 g.
- Boost: increase moong dal to 120 g and use 400 ml milk (+3 g protein, +45 kcal per serving), keeping jaggery the same.
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Tamil paasi paruppu payasam — made with milk and jaggery only, no coconut milk.
- Substitution: all milk and no coconut milk (lower in saturated fat, less traditional flavour).
- Storage: 2 days refrigerated; it thickens — loosen with milk.
- Food safety: refrigerate within 2 hours.
- Meal prep: good.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com