‘Hayagreeva Maddi’, in the local lingo of South Canara means a mixture of cooked lentils and jaggery. It is also known as Bengal Gram Halwa or Channa Dal Halwa. It is a very simple recipe yet so delicious. For all the busy people out there, do you have some festival at home? Or some guests coming on a short notice? Or just that you want to have some home-made, pure ghee / clarified butter sweet? Then this one is definitely for you. I bet you will not just love eating it, but also love cooking it as however you cook, it will certainly be delicious. That’s the power of the lentils and jaggery combination. It melts like butter as soon as you place it in your mouth.
I have made small tweaks in this dish:
Addition of dates gives a unique flavour to this dish
Addition of a pinch of salt changes the entire definition of sweetness. I am sure you will love it.
What are we waiting for, let’s get started with the recipe:
Total time: 45 minutes
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
Bengal Gram: 1 cup
Jaggery: 3/4th cup
Cardamom: 5-6
Cashew: 10
Dry grapes: 10
Dates: 15-20
Pinch of salt
Desiccated coconut: Little
Ghee: 4 tbsp.
Method:
- Soak dates in water and keep it aside
- Wash, rinse and pressure cook Bengal gram for about 15 minutes in medium flame or 5 whistles in medium flame or till the Bengal gram is mushy / soft enough
- Gently mash the cooked Bengal gram and the soaked dates separately
- In a pan, dissolve and boil jaggery in little water
- Once jaggery dissolves, add the partially mashed Bengal gram and mix well
- To the above, add the soaked dates and mix again. Let it cook in medium flame for few minutes
- Add ghee in between the stirs and continue cooking in medium flame
- Once it starts to thicken add desiccated coconut and cardamom. Mix well. Continue heating
- Add roasted dry fruits and mix again
- Finally, add a pinch of salt. Here, salt gives a very unique taste to the entire dish. Trust me, sweet tastes sweeter with a pinch of salt
- Remove from heat, once the maddi is thick enough and not watery
Hayagreeva maddi story:
In Sanskrit, ‘Haya’ means ‘Horse’ and ‘Greeva’ means ‘Head’. Hayagreeva is a horse-headed avatar of lord Vishnu. This avatar of Lord Vishnu is a symbolical representation of the victory of knowledge and wisdom over the evil forces and darkness. Yes, you guessed it right, this dish has a direct connection to Hayagreeva avatar of Lord Vishnu. The story goes this way. As per the common belief of the Madhwa brahmins of Udupi mutt, there was once a very skilled Goldsmith in the region, who was working day and night to make an idol of Lord Ganesha, but everytime the face was not getting made the way he wanted. Instead, it appeared to be Horse’s face. He tried several times, but in vain. Finally, out of frustration, with a heavy heart, he gave up the work and discarded the idol. The very night, Lord Hayagreeva appeared in the dreams of the Mutt pontiff Sri Vadiraja and asked him to retrieve the idol that was discarded by the goldsmith and worship it. Later on the goldsmith became a disciple of Sri Vadiraja. As part of the worship, Sri Vadiraja offered cooked channa dal with jaggery daily to the God, as Bengal gram is a favourite to the horses.
In the local lingo, ‘Maddi’ is nothing but a mixture of cooked lentils with jaggery. It is one of the common dish usually prepared as an offering to God in the households of the Udupi Madhwa brahmins. Not just as an offering during worship, it is prepared as a sweet during festivities or any other special occasion.
First try was flop.. Should have waited for your recipe.. Now feel can do with this
Yes. Do try this. The key is, completely cooking the lentils. So, dont really bother about the time or the number of cooker whistles, just ensure that the lentils are properly cooked.