moong dal pitha recipe | mug daler bhaja pithe | bengali muger puli with detailed photo and video recipe. a classic bengali dessert recipe made with split green gram, rice flour and sugar syrup. the recipe is an extension to the popular pitha recipe which is basically made with rice flour or perhaps with wheat flour. it is generally made during the sankranti season, but can also be made as dessert for occasions or for guests.
while the recipe for moong dal pitha has a strong resemblance to the popular gulab jamun recipe. but from a taste and texture wise, it is completely different. moreover, i personally feel that pitha from moong dal turns out to be bit harder compared to gulab jamun and thus it has a longer shelf life. basically, more time any sweet is soaked and dipped in sugar syrup, it absorbs more juice and becomes less hard. and thus losing its shape eventually. however, moong dal has more viscosity and thus holds its shape. in addition, there isn’t any hard and fast rule to the shape the pitha has to be shaped. it is completely open-ended and can give any particular shape. i have tried to give a flower based shape and can be overwhelming to a novice cook. you can always fall back to gujiya or even use gujiya shaper too.
anyway, i would like to add few tips, suggestions and variations to the popular moong dal pitha recipe. firstly, make sure to form dough adding rice flour to moong dal paste. if the dough breaks while frying then add a tsp of plain flour to the dough. plain flour helps to stick together as it full of gluten in it. secondly, the batter of moong dal and rice flour has to be smooth to form a crack less shape before and after deep frying. you can even use the whisk or even blender to form a smooth batter. lastly, deep fry these in low or low to medium flame. the pitha has to be cooked evenly even and can be achieved only with low flame.
finally, i would like to highlight my other related indian sweets recipes collection with this post of moong dal pitha recipe. it includes recipes like rasgulla, rasmalai, sandesh, mishti doi, milk cake, chum chum, rajbhog, badam pista barfi, milk powder barfi and gulab jamun recipe. in addition, i would like to highlight my other related recipes collection like,
moong dal pitha video recipe:
recipe card for moong dal pitha recipe:
moong dal pitha recipe | mug daler bhaja pithe | bengali muger puli
Ingredients
for pitta:
- 2 tsp ghee / clarified butter
- ½ cup moong dal
- 1½ cup water
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup rice flour
- oil for frying
for sugar syrup:
- 1½ cup sugar
- 1½ cup water
- ¼ tsp saffron
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
Instructions
- firstly, in a pressure cooker take 1 tsp ghee and roast ½ cup moong dal.
- now add 1 cup water and 1 cup milk.
- pressure cook for 4 whistles on medium flame.
- whisk the dal smooth.
- add ½ cup water and stir well to form a smooth consistency.
- now add 1 cup rice flour and stir well.
- keep stirring until the mixture starts to separate from pan.
- add 1 tsp ghee and continue to mix.mix until a non-sticky dough is formed separating the pan easily.
- pinch a small ball sized dough and shape it.
- deep fry until it turns golden brown.
- drop them into warm sugar syrup and rest for 2 hours before serving moong dal pitha.
how to make bengali muger puli with step by step photo:
- firstly, in a pressure cooker take 1 tsp ghee and roast ½ cup moong dal. rinse the moong dal well.
- roast for 5 minutes on low flame or until it turns aromatic.
- now add 1 cup water and 1 cup milk. stir well.
- pressure cook for 4 whistles on medium flame.
- once the pressure settles down, whisk the dal smooth. you can alternatively blend to smooth paste.
- transfer the moong dal paste into large kadai.
- add ½ cup water and stir well to form a smooth consistency.
- now add 1 cup rice flour and stir well.
- keep stirring until the mixture starts to separate from pan.
- cover and simmer for 5 minutes, making sure the flour is cooked completely.
- add 1 tsp ghee and continue to mix.
- mix until a non-sticky dough is formed separating the pan easily.
- transfer the dough into a large mixing bowl.
- cool slightly, and knead to form a soft non-sticky dough. keep aside.
sugar syrup preparation:
- firstly, in a large vessel take 1½ cup sugar, 1½ cup water and few threads saffron.
- stir and dissolve sugar completely.
- boil the sugar water for 5 minutes or until it turns sticky.
- add ¼ tsp cardamom powder, cover and keep aside.
designing and frying pitha:
- pinch a small ball sized dough, roll and flatten it.
- now using a toothpick make a design.
- deep fry in medium hot oil.
- allow floating, keeping the flame on low.
- once it starts to float, stir occasionally and fry on medium flame.
- fry until it turns golden brown.
- drain off the pitha onto kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
- drop them into warm sugar syrup and coat both sides.
- cover and rest for 2 hours or until pitha absorb sugar syrup.
- finally, enjoy soft and juicy moong dal pitha garnished with dry fruits.
notes:
- firstly, adding milk while cooking moong dal makes pitha flavourful.
- also, cook the moong dal really well to have a smooth silky consistency.
- additionally, fry on low flame else it will not get cooked from inside.
- finally, moong dal pitha recipe stays good for a week when refrigerated.