HAYAGREEVA (HAYAGRIVA ) MADDI RECIPE / CHANA DAL HALWA

Since lot of festivals are lined up I thought of posting today something sweet . So here’s a simple humble traditional Karnataka dessert for you all called “ Hayagreeva / Hayagreeva maddi “. Hayagreeva is a very common sweet dish made in most Madhwa brahmin homes .It is offered as naivedyam everyday in Sodhe Vadiraj Mutt in Karnataka. For people who are wondering what this hayagreeva maddi  is all about .. its basically Bengal gram cooked in jaggery and flavored with clarified butter ,coconut,  indian spices etc  to get melt in mouth creamy rich dessert . Sounds simple,right ? Yes, it is a very simple & quick dessert and there isn’t anything that you can mess up here. I’m sure, this dish would turn yummy even when prepared by the newbies. 

There is an interesting Story behind this dessert . …

Lord Hayagriva or Hayavadana is an avatar of Vishnu. He is worshiped as the God of knowledge and wisdom, with a human body and a horse’s head .The name of the dish is synonymous with Lord Hayagriva. It is said that a Goldsmith was trying to make an Idol of Lord Ganesha but each time, The Idol ended up with a horse’s head. He tried melting and remolding the idol a number of times but still the idol ended up with horse’s head. Ultimately he got tired of the ordeal and threw away the Idol. On the same night Lord Hayagreeva appeared Sri Vadiraja’s dream, and asked him to retrieve the idol that was thrown away  by the goldsmith and worship it. Lord Hayagriva also appeared in the goldsmith’s dream and asked him to become the disciple of Sri Vadiraja. Since bengal gram is a favorite with horses, SriVadiraja, made an offering of chana dal cooked with jaggery and coconut. This mixture of lentils and jaggery is actually called as maddi in Kannada. Since then, the maddi is also called as Hayagriva.So are you ready to jot down the recipe.. here you go….

Check Out the Video recipe here :

HAYAGREEVA MADDI

Smitha Kalluraya

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Course Dessert

Cuisine karnataka

Servings 4 serving

Ingredients

 

• 1 cup Bengal Gram/ Chana Dal
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup Jaggery
• ¼ cup Ghee, ( little less also will do )
• 1-2 tbsp Poppy seeds / khus khus
• ¼ cup Grated Dry coconut/ copra, ( little less also will do )
• 1 tsp cardamom/ elaichi powder
• 1-2 Cloves/ Lavang, – slightly crushed (optional )
• a pinch Nutmeg/ jaikayi, ( optional )
• a pinch Edible Camphor, ( optional )
• Cashew Badam raisins, as much as you want

Instructions

 

• Wash Bengal gram,add enough water and pressure cook it for 3-4 whistles . Dal should be almost cooked but should hold its shape .It should not become mushy. Turn off the heat.
  
• Once the cooker cools , strain cooked dal over a strainer and separate dal from water completely .You can use dal broth to make rasam .
  
• Now lightly mash the dal such that 25 % of cooked dal has still retained its shape .
  
• Dry roast poppy seeds till aromatic . Keep aside
• In a heavy bottomed vessel /kadai,add a tea spoon of ghee and fry cashews till they change in color. Fry raisins as well in the same pan till they fluff up. Keep it aside
  
• To the same vessel ,add jaggery and little water (Just enough to cover the jaggery). Stir occasionally to melt all the jaggery. Strain the jaggery syrup to remove any impurities.
  
• Transfer the strained jaggery syrup to the same vessel  and add cooked dal to it.Mix well .Bring to a boil .
  
• Once the mixture starts boiling, keep the flame on sim and add grated dry coconut and little ghee. Mix well so that there are no lumps.
  
• Keep on stirring on low flame, so that the dal  absorbs the jaggery syrup. While continuing to stir, add ghee in intervals. Add
• When the mixture forms a lump and leaves ghee then it is done.This process may take around 10 to 15 minutes. Finally add , fried nuts,poppy seeds , cardamom powder,edible camphor,nut meg and cloves . Mix it well. Don’t over thicken the mixture it will get too dry once cool. Stop cooking when you  get a creamy kind of texture.
  
• Hayagreeva is ready to serve . Tastes wonderful  when served either hot/warm/cold. Choice is yours ..
  

Video

Notes

1. Cook the dal well before adding to jaggery syrup . Once you add the jaggery the cooking stops and you would end up with underdone lentils.
2. Don’t over thicken the mixture, it will become too dry
3. Addition of edible camphor,lavang nutmeg is optional but preffered . tastes very divine and like prasadam if you add those spices. but remember just a pinch .
4. Be liberal with ghee else it won't taste good.