Manganem - A Hindu Goan treat

With Diwali around the corner, I recall with fondness my early Hindu ancestry. Quite often Catholic Goans forget that our history is rich with the combined culture and cuisine of our early Hindu ancestry pre-dating the Portuguese invasion. I thought it would be fitting to try a typical Goan Hindu sweet called Manganem on this auspicious Hindu festival.  Manganem is often prepared on religious feasts and is seen at temples and also served at home.  The Saraswat Goan Hindus used simple ingredients that were grown and easily accessible in Goa.  The ingredients like jaggery, coconut milk and Cashews were all local ingredients.

Diwali, the Festival of Lights  is one of the biggest holidays celebrated in India.  Diwali is also celebrated around the globe by millions of Indians who come together to remember this religious festival.  In Canada many houses are strung with lights and fireworks are seen and heard in joyous harmony across neighborhoods.

 As a child in Nairobi ( Kenya), I had a Hindu friend called Divya Sood who invited me to her house one Diwali so that we could celebrate together.  We lived quite far from each other so I had to cajole my dad into driving me there and picking me up later. I must have been 8 or 9 years old at that time but the memories are as vivid as if it were yesterday.  Divya wore a bright new Indian outfit that I gawked at and thought she was the most beautiful Indian girl I had ever seen.  Until then we had only seen each other in school uniforms. Divya's excitement was contagious and as she showed me around her home she would swirl occasionally so her dress would float around her like a cloud and we would both giggle endlessly.  Divya was an only child and her parents doted on her. Her house was filled with clay and brass Diyas aglow with flickering flames, and a sense of festivity abounded in every room. She led me to her bedroom where she displayed the many gifts her parents had given her, and then we headed to the dining room.  The table was covered with various treats, savory and sweet. I recognized some but many were new to me.  Divya took a plate and kept piling it up with treats and then handed it to me with a large quirky smile.  I told her that it looked like too much for me to finish and she said her mum would pack the remainder for me to take home.  Everything was so memorable and the flavors danced on my tongue and gave me a pleasure in the way that only good food can deliver.
Many years later I still recall the final climax to the evening as we went out onto the verandah of the house. As the sun set and darkness set in, Divya's dad handed out sparklers to us and lit them while we laughed and held on tight to our sparklers as they fizzled and sparkled with shots of bright light that got over all too soon.  Divya's dad then went out onto the grounds and lit the really big fireworks while we screamed with excitement. Truly a night for a young Catholic girl to remember with fondness!

Ingredients

1 cup of Bengal daal (Channa daal) refer to picture below
1/2 cup of tapioca ( I used the large balls)- Soaked overnight in water, and drained
125 grams of Goa jaggery ( or more if you like your foods sweeter, use about 200 gm)
1/4 cup water
1 can of coconut milk, 400 ml (do not use the light version)
1 teaspoon cardamon powdered
about 20-22 cashew nuts chopped.

Method

Rinse the daal in water until the water runs clear.  Soak the daal for about an hour.

Put the daal in a large microwave safe dish. Cover with water at least 1 inch above the daal.

Microwave on high for 10 minutes.  Stir and return for another 5 minutes.  The daal should be cooked and firm.  Taste one so that it has no raw crunch in it.  Do not let the daal become a mush.  If it is not cooked at this point, return for 1 minute increments.  Mine was perfect after 15 minutes.

Drain the daal and set aside.

Now chop the cashew nuts roughly

 Put them in a non stick pan on the stove and heat the pan on high heat.  Watch the cashew nuts and stir continuously because the nuts will brown quickly and have to be removed immediately. Keep aside.

Use another pan and add the jaggery and the water. Turn the stove on low and leave it until it melts and there are no lumps.  Keep an eye on the pan.  This is a slow process so be patient.

When the jaggery is melted, add the coconut milk to the pan and stir well.

 Now add the daal and the tapioca. 

Bring to a boil.  Let it cook on a low to medium heat till the tapioca is transparent and fully cooked.  Mine cooked for about 45 minutes on a low boil before my tapioca was done. ( Note: it will take less time to cook if the tapioca has been previously soaked, in this case I had not pre-soaked) I also added a little more boiled water when I thought it might dry, and continued the cooking process. Keep stirring every 5 minutes.
Add the cardamon and stir well.  Cover and leave aside for at least 25 minutes before serving.

When it is done the tapioca will be soft, and the finished product will be thick and have a nice shine to it. 

Serve warm with toasted cashew nuts on top (optional)


Approximate nutritional values based on 8 servings
Calories 244.9/total fat 7.7 g/ Total carbs 23.6 g/Protein 6.4 g