Dish #449 - Moong Dal Halwa or Split yellow gram dessert

A favorite at home...easy to make and today was the perfect occasion for this...."Mother's day"...
Of course my mom's moong dal halwa is the best...but I have made this using her own recipe so undoubtedly this is also very good :-)

Ingredients:
Yellow moong dal (split yellow gram) - 1 cup
Saffron (kesar) strands - a few
Milk - 1 tbsp - warm
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 cup - warm
Sugar - 1 1/4 cups
Cardamom (elaichi) powder - 1/2 tsp

For The Garnish:
Almonds (badam) slivers - 2 tbsp

Method:
Soak the yellow moong dal in enough water for 3 hours. Drain well and blend in a mixer to a coarse paste without using any water. Keep aside.
Dissolve the saffron in 1 tablespoon of warm milk and keep aside.
Heat the ghee in a deep non-stick kadhai, add the yellow moong dal paste and cook on a medium flame for 25 minutes, while stirring continuously.
Add the milk and 1 cup of warm water, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 7 to 8 minutes, while stirring continuously.
Add the sugar, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 3 minutes, while stirring continuously.
Add the saffron-milk mixture, cardamom powder, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 minute, while stirring continuously.
Serve warm garnished with almond slivers. You can even store it an air-tight container and refrigerate it and eat when desired. Can be stored for upto 1 month in freezer.