• Dry roast the moong dal for 10-12 minutes. stir regularly. Roast until it turns from pale yellow to slightly golden brown in colour and leaves a nutty aroma.

Cook straight in the large thick bottomed pan:

• Now add 4 cups of water and stir it well. Cover and cook the dal on medium-low heat until it is soft but not mushy. Open the lid and using a spatula, stir a few times to mash the cooked dal into a coarse paste. If the dal looks dry, add ½ cup of hot water and stir it in.
• Now add the ghee and mix it well with the dal.
• Next add the sugar and stir everything together till combined well.
• Keep stirring at intermittently to prevent the halwa from sticking to the pan.
• Sauté until it turns light golden brown in colour and reaches a thick pudding-like consistency. And ghee starts separating on the sides of the pot.
• Stir in the ground cardamom and some chopped nuts and raisins if you desire.
• Serve the moong dal halwa warm.

Cook in a pressure cooker:

• Add the roasted and washed dal in the pressure cooker along with water. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes on high. Quickly release the pressure and open the lid.  If the dal looks dry, add ½ cup of hot water and stir it in. sing a spatula, stir a few times to mash the cooked dal into a coarse paste.
• Next add the ghee, sugar and give it a good mix until combined. Sauté until it turns light golden brown in colour and reaches a thick pudding-like consistency. And ghee starts separating on the sides of the pot
• Stir in the ground cardamom and some chopped nuts and raisins if you desire. Serve warm.