That is when I came across this recipe in Srividhya’s space and fell in love with it. Hayagreeva Maddi also called Hayagriva Maddi is an Udupi special recipe that is offered as a prasadam / neivedhiyam for Lord Hayagreeva. Lord Hayagreeva is an avatar of Vishnu in the form of a beautiful white horse. Chana dal is a favorite of horses and hence this prasadam made of chana dal and jaggery is offered. The Hayagreeva Maddi can be referred to as Chana dal halwa. It tastes just like the puranam that we stuff inside the poli. The texture is a little different from the poli as we have it thick and smooth for the poli. The Hayagriva Maddi though has a slightly more halwa-like consistency. I offered it as a neivedhiyam and then gave it to the kids. My little one really liked it and that was a bonus for me as it was his birthday. I had a little worry within me that I was making a new sweet on his birthday and what if he did not like it? I was so glad that everyone liked it at home. Preparation time - 10 minutes plus about 2 hours of soaking timeCooking time - 30 minutesDifficulty level - EasyRecipe adapted from - Vidhya’s Vegetarian Kitchen
Ingredients to make Hayagreeva Maddi - Serves 4
Chana dal / Kadalai Paruppu - 1 cup Jaggery / Vellam - 1 cup Cardamom - ½ tsp Cashews and Raisins - 2 tbsp Ghee - 4 tablespoon + 1 tsp Coconut - ¼ cup (grated)
Procedure to make Hayagriva Maddi-
Wash and soak the Chana dal for a couple of hours. This step is optional and ensures that the dal cooks quickly and evenly. If short on time, soak the dal at least for half an hour.
Drain the water and add enough fresh water to completely cover the dal. Cook it in a pressure cooker or instant pot until the Chana dal is completely cooked, but not mushy. I cooked it on Manual for 10 minutes in Instant Pot and let it naturally release.
Remove the cooked dal and drain it in a colander.
Mash the dal and keep it aside. I mashed it a little bit and left a few chunks of dal intact. Depending on how you like your texture to be, you can mash the dal completely and make it like a halwa or just mash it a bit and have some texture.
Fry the cashews and raisins in about a teaspoon of ghee until golden brown and keep it aside.
In a heavy bottom pan, add the measured jaggery and about ¼ cup of water and let the jaggery come to a boil. Strain the jaggery to remove any impurities and return it to the flame again. Let it boil for 3 to 4 minutes until it becomes slightly sticky and then add the mashed chana dal.
Mix well and add the ghee. The mixture will liquefy a bit and then start to thicken as we cook it.
Once the mixture reaches the desired thickness, add the cardamom powder, grated coconut, and fried nuts/raisins and mix well. Turn off the flame and serve warm.
Notes and Observation -
The color of the Hayagreeva Maddi depends on the kind of jaggery we use. The darker the jaggery, the darker the color we get.
I would recommend soaking the chana dal before cooking as it helps cook it evenly.
The consistency of the Hayagreeva Maddi is based on one’s preference. You can leave it on a slightly liquid side or cook it until it is solid.
Hayagriva Maddi solidifies a little upon cooling. So, take it out slightly before your desired consistency as it would thicken a little upon cooling.
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