How to prepare Hayagriva - Bengal gram / channa dal / kadalebele halwa

Hayagriva is a sweet recipe from Udupi (part of Mangalore - India). This is mostly served as prasadam in temples or made on festivals specially for the deity. My mind is still afresh with the memories of the very first time I had this sweet when I was still very young and my father had done this sweet on a festival day. It was beaming with the robust smell of ghee, mixed with dal, coconuts and jaggery. Recently on Varamahalksmi festival - the festival of Goddesses Laksmi I prepared Hayagriva, overwhelmed with the turn out thought I should blog this traditional recipe. I'm still wondering why the sweet I loved so much since childhood took so many years for me to try?. Never mind, now we shall proceed towards the ingredients required to make Hayagriva.

                               

Ingredients:

1 cup - Channa dal / Bengal gram dal / kadalebele soaked in water for at least 2-3 hours

1 cup - jiggery

1/2 cup - freshly grated coconut or you can use dry copra both works well

5-6 tsp ghee

Handful of nuts - cahews, badam, raisins

1/2 tsp - fresh cardamom powder

                                                  

                                       

      

Method:

Pressure cook the dal up to 3 whistles. The dal should become soft into mashable consistency

Once the cooker cools, strain the water and mash the dal. Don't make a fine paste, just mash it lightly

 In a thick bottom pan, heat 1 tsp ghee and fry all the dry fruits separately and set them aside

In the same pan, heat the remaining ghee, once hot pour the mashed dal and stir continuously.

 Allow it boil and thicken

 Once you see the dal getting thick, add jaggery. This recipe needs 1 cup of jaggery for 1 cup of dal. You can alter the sweetness as per your taste

 Keep stirring, else it will get burnt. After the jaggery gets fully mixed with the dal add in the grated coconut. You can use grated copra / kobbari which works fine too.

Stir it for about 2-3 minutes until there is not much of liquid as you see in the below pic. Then add cardamom powder and all fried dry nuts. 

 Hayagriva is ready to serve. Tastes best when served hot. 

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