Senaga pappu payasam or channa dal kheer – a festive kheer recipe. We at my mom’s house, make this on one of the navratris to offer to goddess. 3 main ingredients that go towards the making of this kheer are offered together in some form on one of these 9 days. The ingredients are channa dal, jaggery and coconut.

We make either this senaga pappu payasam or Poornam boorelu (with coconut and dal) or a sweet dish made of the same ingredients similar to pancha kajjaya. Those who do not have any such custom of offering these 3 ingredients can slightly modify the list of ingredients and can make this payasam at your ease and choice by adding sabudana or rice.
Preparation for channa dal kheer
1. Wash channa dal well. You can also soak for 45 minutes to reduce the cooking time.
2. This step is optional. Some sago needs to be soaked for longer. Some can be cooked instantly. So follow according to your sago. I cook instantly and it gets cooked well.
3. Add 1/2 cup water to jaggery and melt it on a low flame.

4. Filter the jaggery syrup to remove impurities.

5. Boil the jaggery syrup on a low to medium flame for 2 to 3 mins or till it thickens slightly. Do not burn it.

6. Set this aside to cool completely. You can transfer this to a small bowl and cool it by keeping the bowl in ice cold water. This way it cools quickly
How to make channa dal kheer
7. Add 1.5 cups of water to dal and cook it till it is half cooked.

8. Pour milk, add sago and cook till the sago and dal are fully cooked.

9. Add cardamom powder, cooled jaggery syrup and coconut. You can adjust the consistency by adding more milk if you prefer. Mix to blend well. Turn off the stove. Takes around 3 to 5 mins to bubble up.

10. Ghee fry the nuts and add to the kheer. If you do not prefer to use nuts, just add a tbsp. of ghee.

Offer chana dal kheer to Goddess Durga.

You can find more Kheer or payasam recipes
Wheat rava payasam
Bellam paramannam
Moong dal payasam
Pumpkin payasam
Badam payasam
Senaga pappu payasam or channa dal kheer recipe

Senaga pappu payasam | Channa dal kheer | Chana dal payasam recipe
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Ingredients for senaga pappu payasam
- 1/3 cup bengal gram or chana dal / senga pappu / kadle bele
- 1/3 cup Sabudana or sago or roasted semiya or rice (if using rice tips at the end)
- 3/4 cup jaggery grated
- 1 cups water
- 1½ cup milk
- ½ tsp cardamom
- 2 tbsps coconut (optional)
- ½ cup Water for Jaggery
- 1 tbsp cashews chopped
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- 1 tbsp raisins
Instructions
Preparation for senaga pappu payasam
- Add jaggery and 1/2 cup water to a pan, melt it on a low heat without burning. Filter the syrup and boil it for 2 to 3 minutes or till it becomes thick. Cool this completely.
- If using sabudana, soak them in water as needed. Some need long soaking time.
How to make pesara pappu payasam
- Wash chana dal and cook with 1 & 1/2 cup water until half done.
- Add milk, sago and cook till the sago and dal are fully cooked.
- Add cardamom powder, cooled jaggery syrup and coconut. Mix well and turn off the heat. Do not cook any longer as it can curdle the payasam.
- Fry nuts in ghee and add to the channa dal kheer.
Notes
If you add hot jaggery syrup to the kheer, it will curdle, so cool it completely before you pour to the boiling kheer
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Srivani says
Hi… Can I use coconut powder
swasthi says
Hi
I haven’t tried with coconut powder. Instead you may skip it
Ana says
dhall payasam recipi was so taste and very easy Iam trying this is very very taste
swasthi says
Thank you and good to know you liked it
Arthy Suman says
perfect payasam for navrathri….
Preeti Tamilarasan says
it looks perfect swasthi.. i like to add jaggery in payasam..
Vimitha Anand says
Kheer looks so yum
Priya Suresh says
Even i love to jaggery in my payasam, delightful kheer.
Wer SAHM says
super yummy payasam
Navaneetham Krishnan says
Any kind of payasam with any kind of ingredients will always lift me up. That much of liking I have for payasam.
ShravsCookBookBlog says
never heard about payasam with senaga pappu looks so yummy…….
Yes Cook says
Lovely shots and the payasam looks so tempting.<br />Thanks for sharing with detailed steps.