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Nei urundai (also known as pasi paruppu urundai or moong dal laddu, Nei vilangai in Tirunelveli) is a traditional South Indian Diwali sweet recipe made with roasted moong dal, sugar, cardamom and melted ghee. Learn how to make melt-in-mouth nei urundai easily with step-by-step photos and a video tutorial!

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Nei urundai / Payatham maavu urundai (Moong dal ladoo in English) is the one & only sweet my aachi (grandma) & mom makes for every diwali. This is one of the easiest & healthy sweets.. We call this as “Nei vilangai “in Tirunelveli . People from tirunelveli may know this name. But the common name is Payatha maavu urundai @ Nei urundai. Maa ladu is also similar to this. But Fried gram dal / Daliya (Pottukadalai) is used in maaladu whereas moong dal is used here. Otherwise its the same procedure.

It can be made in ten minutes. Include this easy, healthy, South Indian laddu in your diwali sweets menu. Try and let me know how it turned out. Do check out my Maa ladoo recipe too !

Quick Notes for US & Abroad Kitchens

Moong Dal Quality: Yellow moong dal (split mung beans without skin) from brands like 24 Mantra Organic, Swad or Laxmi works best. Dry roast on low heat until aromatic without letting it turn brown.
Fine Grinding & Sieving: For that melt-in-the-mouth texture, grind the roasted dal in a high-speed blender (like Vitamix or Indian mixer grinder) and pass it through a fine mesh sieve. Any coarse grits will affect the texture.
Ghee Temperature: Melt pure cow ghee until warm. Adding warm ghee helps dissolve the powdered sugar slightly and binds the ladoos without needing excess fat.
Storage: Store in an airtight glass container at room temperature. It keeps well for up to 10 days.

Nei Urundai Recipe (Pasi Paruppu Urundai / Moong Dal Laddu)

Chitra

Traditional South Indian Nei Urundai (Pasi Paruppu Urundai / Moong Dal Laddu) made with roasted yellow moong dal, powdered sugar, fragrant cardamom and pure ghee. Quick 10-minute festive Diwali sweet recipe!

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Course Sweet

Cuisine Indian

Servings laddus

Ingredients

1 cup = 250 ml

½ cup Yellow Moong dal / Pasi paruppu (approx. 100 g / 3.5 oz)
½ cup Sugar (approx. 100 g / 3.5 oz, ground into 3/4 cup powder)
2 Cardamom pods (powdered along with sugar)
¼ cup Melted ghee (approx. 60 ml / 2 fl oz, warm)
1 tbsp Cashew nuts (broken, fried in 1 tsp ghee)

Instructions

Dry roast moong dal in low flame till you get a nice smell. Powder it nicely. Sieve the flour. U’ll get 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp powder. Fry cashews in little ghee ( say a tsp ) and set aside.
Now powder the sugar along with cardamom. You’ll get around 3/4 cup. The ratio of powdered moong & sugar should be 1:1.5. If you like mild sweetness , you can add 1:1 too..
Mix & add the fried cashews. Melt 1/4 cup of ghee and add to the mixture. Make balls tightly when it is warm.. Enjoy!!
Store in a box and u can have it for 10 days.

Video

Notes

You can adjust the sugar quantity to your taste. A 1:1.5 ratio of powdered dal to powdered sugar gives medium sweetness. For milder sweetness, you can use 1:1 ratio.
Make sure to dry roast the dal on low flame until fragrant without browning too much.
Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days at room temperature.