253 replies to this topic

[SAUCY]

Ganesh Chaturthi

An important 10 day festival and held widely in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh it is the celebration of the day on which Ganpati was born. Anant Chaturdashi day is the 10th day and idols of Lord Ganesh are bid goodbye by immersing in flowing waters.

On this very auspicious Hindu festival which starts today, I would like to start this new topic. We have so many festivals in India, what fun to share some yum recipes. I bring to you the very special Indian sweet (Mithai) for this festival, the MODAK.



MODAK

Ingredients :

Dough
3 cups Rice flour
6 cups Water
3 tsp Oil

Stuffing
4 cups grated coconut
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup Dry fruits
1/2 cup Milk

Method :

Boil water & oil, add the rice flour, cover and allow it to cool. Knead the dough well and keep aside. Mix the remaining ingredients, except the milk. Put this mixture on a medium heat and cook stirring all the time. Add the milk, mixing well and remove off the heat once it is totally dry. Make balls of the rice dough. Make a small hollow in the center and place the stuffing in the middle. Now join the open edges together and give it a shape like a garlic pod. Steam these modaks for 10 minutes, cool them and they are ready to eat. Store them in air-tight containers.

Other Mithais that we make during the festival are : Besan  Ladoo, Kaju  Barfi, Karanjia, Moong Daal Halwa, Motichoor Ladoo, Puran Poli, Rawa Ladoo, Panchkhadya, Basundi..

Enjoy

Saucy

To know more about Ganesh Chaturthi
http://www.sivananda...ions/ganesh.htm

[Suresh Hinduja]

From elsewhere on this site:

15th sept, thursday is the day for  Onam Festival with Recipes for BANANA ERUCHERRY, TOMATO PACHADI, CHANA DAL PAYASAM and AVIYAL.

The high point of the festival is the family or community lunch served on green, shining clean banana leaves arranged in a row. The feast is traditionally vegetarian and includes banana wafers, crisp popadams, pachadi, aviyal, kootu, payasam, rice and sambar, pickles of several varieties and puliinji - a ginger chutney.

Our member Ammini who is an authority on all aspects of Kerala tradition, customs and cuisine had parted with some of her recipes here

And some more stuff can be found on her website Peppertrail

[SAUCY]

And I came across this amazing website on Onam festival, it is truly comprehensive, http://www.onamfestival.org

[Peppertrail]

From elsewhere on this site:

15th sept, thursday is the day for  Onam Festival with Recipes for BANANA ERUCHERRY, TOMATO PACHADI, CHANA DAL PAYASAM and AVIYAL.

The high point of the festival is the family or community lunch served on green, shining clean banana leaves arranged in a row. The feast is traditionally vegetarian and includes banana wafers, crisp popadams, pachadi, aviyal, kootu, payasam, rice and sambar, pickles of several varieties and puliinji - a ginger chutney.

Our member Ammini who is an authority on all aspects of Kerala tradition, customs and cuisine had parted with some of her recipes here

And some more stuff can be found on her website Peppertrail

Suresh:

I can't say I am an authority on Kerala culture and cuisine; it is something very close to my heart. Thanks for posting the beautiful picture of onam sadya served on banana leaf. I couldn't find a whole leaf , but got cut pieces. Will post a picture of my onam sadya (feast) after I cook it on Thursday. In the meantime here is a picture of my Pookalam

[m_shefali]

"Ganesh Chaturthi

MODAK

Ingredients :

Dough
3 cups Rice flour
6 cups Water
3 tsp Oil "

Hi everybody,
Hope everyone is doing great!
Well...our recipe for making the rice dough is little different....1cup of rice flour, 1cup of water , 1 tbsp of Ghee with a pinch of salt. Boil the water and salt and ghe to it, then turn the gas off. Add rice flour mix well and cover it. Let it cool. knead the dough and make balls.

Regards,
Shefali

[Peppertrail]

My onam sadya-  pappadam, vruthupperi, sarkarapuratti, puliinji, maanagakari, erisseri, aviyal, kaalan, mezukkupuratti, rice with sambar poured over it and pazzapradhaman (plantain jam kheer) in the bowl.

[Suresh Hinduja]

Translation and explanation please.

[Ash]

Saucy,
what is a Panchakhadya?

Shefali,
What stuffing do you use?

Ammini,
I ameagerly awaiting your comments on the great spread, especially the plantain jam kheer. Is there a difference between a plantain and the regular banana?
TIA

[Peppertrail]

Translation and explanation please.

Suresh:

You quoted that "The feast is traditionally vegetarian and includes banana wafers, crisp popadams, pachadi, aviyal, kootu, payasam, rice and sambar, pickles of several varieties and puliinji - a ginger chutney". It is more or less the same curries in my picture too. Just as any other language Malayalam also has regional dialects and names may be different for certain dishes. Anyway here is the explanation. I am also including the names that were on your psot within brackets.

varuthupperi- (bananan wafers) plantain banana chips. For onam we cut plantains into quarters and then slice into thin pieces nd deep fry.
Sarkarapuratti- Again raw plantains peeld, halved lengthwise and then sliced into slightly thicker pieces, deepfried and then combined with jaggary syrup flavored with cardamom and dry ginger.
puliingi- (ginger chutney)ginger, tamarind and green chili pickle
maangakkari- mango pickle
erisseri (erucherry)- this curry can be prepared with different vegetables. I made it with moong dal and potatoes.
aviyal - prepared with a variety of vegetables, coconut, cumin and yogurt.
Kaalan- like erisseri this can be made with several different vegetables. I made it with ripe mangoes.
mezukupuratti - sauteed vegetable dish. This one was made with long beans and crowder peas.

[Peppertrail]

Ammini,
I ameagerly awaiting your comments on the great spread, especially the plantain jam kheer. Is there a difference between a plantain and the regular banana?
TIA

Yes, there is a difference. Plantains are longer and thicker and they have a thick skin. When raw they make golden crispy chips. When ripe, they are not very sweet. Plantains both raw and ripe are used in many different ways in Kerala cooking. Pazzapradhaman is made by first making a jam of ripe plantains, ghee and jaggery and then combining it with coconut milk and cooking until it gets a kheer-like consistency. It is seasoned with cardamom, ghee roasted cashews and thin coconut slices.

[m_shefali]

Hello,
Ash, the stuffing is made of Jaggery (3/4 cup) , Grated Fresh cocount (1 cup), some saffron and 1 tsp Elaichi Powder. Take 1 tbsp of ghee in a pan, mix all the ingredients and cook till the jaggery melts and mixes well with the coconut .

Does anyone know Kaju Modak's recipe?

Regards,
Shefali

[SAUCY]

Ash - Panchkhadya is a mixture of five elements, fried sesame seeds, slices of dried coconut, roasted bengal gram dal powder, cardamom and sugar powder. Some have it just as a mixture, some make a ladoo kinda thing of it.  

[Sneha]

Does anyone know Kaju Modak's recipe?

Regards,
Shefali

I think it is the same as kaju katli, cashewnuts ground finely with sugar and a little mawa.

[SAUCY]

Navaratri & Dassera

Navaratri is a festival of worship, dance & music starts from the 4th of October this year over a period of nine nights (maybe coinciding with Ramadan 4th-5th October this year). Nav = Nine and Ratri = Nights.
Idol of the Goddess Durga is worshipped, who it is believed exists in many forms like the Goddess Mahakali, Jagdamba, Bhavani etc. The nine nights worshipped are divided as follows, the first three nights for Goddess Durga (for Valor), the next three for Goddess Lakshmi (for Wealth) and the last three nights for Goddess Saraswati (for Knowledge & Art). It is celebrated in Gujarat in the west with the traditional Garba and Dandiya Raas dances, apart from Gujarat the Garba & Dandiya dances are also held in Mumbai, Pune and other parts of Maharashtra. The idols are immersed in the sea on the 4th day.

Durga Pooja is performed by the Bengalis in the east, it is celebrated with more fervour by the Bengalis than any other community in India. With the Bengali, Bijoya evokes sentiment. It is a time of renewal of ties of kinship with friends and relatives. In the south they call Navrathri, Bommai Kolu (Durga Pooja), the occassion is also used to invite all the friends, relatives and neighbours over to home to look at the Kolu (a shrine made of steps (kolu padi) with different statues / dolls of Gods & Goddesses and dance or other characters) that is arranged. Every year the young girls in the house along with their mothers help make a Kolu with a different look. All nine days are fun filled with songs and dances. In various parts of India the Ram-Leela is performed, the stage enaction of the Ramayana, the story of Lord Rama. The tenth day is called Dusshera /Dassera Dus = Ten. On this 10th day it is believed that Lord Rama killed the demon Ravana and people celebrate this day by burning effigies of Ravana and bursting crackers, signifying the good winning over evil.

Being a special festival period for the north, south, east & west of India there are so many nice dishes and sweets (mithai) that are made for these 10 days. Amongst the few are Sabudana Aloo Vada, Singhara Barfi, Rashogolla, Sundal

Singhara Barfi

Ingredients :

1/2 cup Singhara flour (water chestnut flour), 3 tbsp Ghee, 1/2 cup Khoya, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, chopped roasted almonds / cashews for garnishing.

Method:

Fry the flour in ghee in a heavy pan to a light pink color over low flame. Keep aside.
Next fry the Khoya in the pan till there are no lumps and it is of light pink color. Mix cardamom powder and flour to it. Set aside for cooling. Make a thick sugar syrup by boiling water and sugar. Mix the syrup immediately to the Khoya mixture, stir it in slowly and blend it well. Grease a plate and transfer the mixture to it. Level it, garnish with almonds / cashews, cool it. When cool and set, cut into pieces, using a sharp knife. The burfi is ready to serve.

Enjoy

Saucy

[Tomato]

Singhara Barfi

Ingredients :

1/2 cup Singhara flour (water chestnut flour), 3 tbsp Ghee, 1/2 cup Khoya, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, chopped roasted almonds / cashews for garnishing.

Method:

Fry the flour in ghee in a heavy pan to a light pink color over low flame. Keep aside.
Next fry the Khoya in the pan till there are no lumps and it is of light pink color. Mix cardamom powder and flour to it. Set aside for cooling. Make a thick sugar syrup by boiling water and sugar. Mix the syrup immediately to the Khoya mixture, stir it in slowly and blend it well. Grease a plate and transfer the mixture to it. Level it, garnish with almonds / cashews, cool it. When cool and set, cut into pieces, using a sharp knife. The burfi is ready to serve.

Enjoy

Saucy

Singara Barfi is one of my favs but somehow I cant ever make mithais at home, cant witness all the sugar and ghee going into it. I'd rather just buy some from outside and fool myself.

[SAUCY]

Tomato -  I agree, too much effort if you just want to have very little for your sweet tooth and if one has a small family, but when you have joint families with dozens of people who all have a sweet tooth and you have a "maharaj" in the house who cooks practically everything from wafers/ghantias to butter chicken/hyderabadi biryanis, then it works About the ghee they use outside, they probably use 'mobil ' which  has very little calories, I am sure

[Suresh Hinduja]

Navratri dandia raas.

[Tomato]

Tomato -  I agree, too much effort if you just want to have very little for your sweet tooth and if one has a small family, but when you have joint families with dozens of people who all have a sweet tooth and you have a "maharaj" in the house who cooks practically everything from wafers/ghantias to butter chicken/hyderabadi biryanis, then it works About the ghee they use outside, they probably use 'mobil ' which  has very little calories, I am sure

Mobil   I know there is a rumour that they recycle diesel and use it as a frying medium.  

You are so lucky to have an inhouse maharaj and am surprised that he does non vegetarian cooking too.

[Ash]

[quote name='Tomato' date='04 Oct., 2005, 11:12']Saucy[/quote]
Singara Barfi is one of my favs but somehow I cant ever make mithais at home, cant witness all the sugar and ghee going into it. I'd rather just buy some from outside and fool myself. [/quote]
Yeah me too, that's why I let my husband's family send us the mithais.  

[Suresh Hinduja]

Our member Monica writes in the Christian science monitor -Karva Chauth, an Indian fasting custom, has always fascinated me.

It takes place in October or November (Oct. 20 this year). Each year, as I was growing up, I would wait for it, to watch my mother perform all the rituals.Around 4:30 in the morning, she would eat puri (fried bread) and aloo (potatoes), and drink a cup of tea. While he went off to work, she began her fast. The fast would last all day and required complete abstinence from eating or drinking. It was a day in the Hindu religion for her to pray for her husband's long life.

Just then, as if on cue, the phone rang. My husband answered. As he talked, his expressions changed from a smile to giggles and then to laughter. "It's your mother," he said turning to me. "She wants to know if you are all set for the Karva Chauth fast tomorrow."

So Monica, who went wrong with the date?