Madgane With Chana Dal-Sabudana-Ripe Jackfruit.

Madgane With Chana Dal ~ Sabudana ~ Ponosu / A sweet payasam prepared with Bengal Gram Dal ~ Tapioca Pearls and Ripe Jackfruit …. A little bit of variation from the otherwise traditional Saraswat Madgane, this payasam has a lovely jackfruit flavour. I Prepared this for Naivedyam today. This one is for all of you who have been a part of this culinary journey with me. My heartfelt Thanks to each one of you …. Go ahead and enjoy the same … 

Madgane is a sweet dish prepared usually during Ugadi / Gudi Padwa or any other festival times in Konkani Saraswat homes. It is a sweet dish / payasam prepared by cooking Chana-dal and adding on to it jaggery and coconut milk. A very traditional dish that is loved immensely by young and old alike. Today however, I gave this dish a little bit of twist after tasting the same at a function I recently attended. It’s the season of Jackfruit and plenty of sweet ~ ripe jackfruit is available in plenty. Do try this out, tastes yumz. 

Ingredients :

Chana Dal / Bengal Gram Dal : 1 cup

Sabudana / Tapioca Pearls : 1 cup

Ripe Jackfruit : About 100-150 gms.

Jaggery / Gud : 200 gms grated or cut into small pieces.

Coconut Milk : 200 ml (I used readymade)

Cardamom Powder : a large pinch.

Yellow Colour : a small pinch.

** Wash and Soak the sabudana in plenty of water for about an hour. It will get doubled in size. Drain off the excess water and keep it ready.

** Clean and remove the inner seeds of the ripe jackfruit / ponosu. Do not discard them, wash well and let dry for a day or two and then you can store them in a freezer. It can be used in preparation of dishes. Check the correct procedure of freezing by giving search option. I have included it in the blog. 

Now cut the sweet flesh portion of the ripe jackfruit into cubes of say about 1 inch. Keep them ready aside. Do not make them very small. 

 ** Wash chana dal well and allow drain In a thick bottomed kadai, see to it that the water has completely been dried. Now put the chana dal in a thick bottomed kadai and roast it on medium flame till it's slightly browned. Do not add any ghee or oil. You have to roast this dry. But take care not to burn it. Now put it in a pressure cooker with about 2 cups of water and pressure cook to 5-6 whistles. Let the pressure fall on its own. When able to open the lid, remove and check if the dal is cooked. It should not be overcooked, but at the same time should be soft. 

** In a kadai add in drained sabudana, only the cooked water from chana dal and about another full glass of water and bring the sabudana to a boil, taking care to see that it does not stick to the bottom. Once it comes to a full boil, lower the heat and cook till the sabudana is cooked and becomes translucent and gets a mirror look. Now add in the cooked chana dal and the chopped ripe jackfruit pieces and mix well along with the pinch of yellow colour. If needed, add in some water. 

Add in the grated jaggery and bring all to a boil on medium heat. Keep an watch to see that it does not get burnt. Keep stirring in between. Now lower the heat and cook till the jaggery is fully melted. Add in the coconut milk and stir well. Once you see bubbles appearing on the surface of the payasam, it ready. Just add on the cardamom powder, mix well and remove from fire. Keep it covered aside for an hour or so. The flavours will all get mixed in properly. Serve hot after offering as Naivedyam to God, if prepared during festive times. Enjoy this payasam with family and friends. 

** Note : For the traditional Madgane, a thickening agent is added to make the payasam a little bit thicker. However, for this variation of Madgane, you need not add the same as we have added on sabudana which by itself thickens up. 

** For Coconut Milk : Instead of ready made coconut milk, you can extract coconut milk by grinding fresh one whole large sized coconut with water and straining the same. I always use store bought ones available in tetra packs.