Mangana

Mangana is a special sweet dish of Maharashtra and Goa.  This sweet dish is prepared during Ganesh festival and it is offered as naivedhya to Lord Ganesha. The preparation includes use of Chana Dal and Coconut milk. You’ll just love this Konkani dish. Here it goes…

Preparation Time –  15 Mins

Cook Time – 30 mins

Total Time – 45 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 bowl Chana Dal
• 2 bowl Coconut milk
• ½ bowl thin pieces of fresh coconut
• 2 bowl grated jaggery
• 5 green cardamom powder (Optional)
• 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ bowl dry fruits – Cashews, Raisins
• Water as required

Serves:  7 persons

Directions / Procedure :

1. How to make Coconut milk:
2. Take fresh 2 bowl grated coconut in blender jar and add one and half glass of water in a mixture, grind it roughly.
3. Take big strainer/sieve and place it in a big bowl and pour the blended coconut mixture in strainer/sieve and to collect the extract of mixture.
4. From strainer again collect grinded coconut residue in blender jar and grind it well and collect the second extract of mixture in a same bowl.
5. Repeat the step 3 again. The extract of mixture is the coconut milk.

How to Cook Chana Dal :

1. Wash the chana dal with water and soak the chana dal in water for 3-4 hours. If required again wash the chana dal and add double (means for 1 cup chana add 2 cup water) quantity of normal water in deep pan.

2. Keep the pan on high flame and add finely chopped thin pieces of coconut in it and cook this chana dal initially on high flame gas for 15 minutes and then cook it on medium flame.

3. Now add small pieces of dry fruits like almond, pista and charolya. Also add turmeric powder. Stir the all ingredients very well and cover with lid.

4. In between check the chana dal is cook or not, take the cooked chana dal on spoon and for your finger press the chana dal. If it crushed easily then add cashew, raisins and grated jaggery in pan, stir it well and add coconut milk.

5. Now keep the flame low, till the jaggery is dissolved completely and mixture become thick. On low flame continuous stirring is must, add cardamom powder and mix it well. Slowly the mixture starts thickening.

6. Here your Mangana is ready to serve.

Tips / suggestions:

• Instead of pan cook the chana dal in pressure cooker
• Use milk instead of coconut milk OR Use half milk and half coconut milk
• Use sugar instead of grated jaggery
• Instead of cardamom, use grated nutmeg
• Add dry fruits like Pista, Almond and charoli nuts/ Chironji (Optional)

Photographs for reference: