Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi fell on 8th September this year (2010). I am a bit late in writing this blog. Nevertheless, I hope I have managed to capture the festive spirit that this festival brings about.

Exactly ten days after Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the fourth day of Bhadrapad (which falls around September) month.This festival is also celebrated through out India in every city, town and village. In some places, people come together and jointly perform this festival which is called “Saarvajanik” Ganesh festival.

Ganesh ( the Elephant God) or Ganapathi or “Vighneshwara” as he is also called means “Controller of obstacles”. Hence before the start of any auspicious activities, the first puja is performed for the Lord Ganesh.

Our Ganesha Puja is held in our ancestral home at Doddamane Katapady, Udupi district, Karnataka.

Decorated Ganesh idol

All our relatives from nearby towns and villages gather here on this occasion. The Ganesha idol is brought home in the morning around 8.00 and 9.00 am. We have a readymade Mantap for seating the idol. The Mantap is decorated with flowers and two full sugarcane plants which are tied to the front two pillars of the Mantap. This part of the decoration is a must.

108 coconuts halved

The Puja and the bhajans go on till around noon while the cooking of the prasadam and lunch preparations go on simultaneously. This year we had also made a special puja called “Mooda Ganapathy” which means offering of 108 coconuts and a specified amount of “Panchakajjai” with special ingredients - black sesame (til) sugarcane pieces, ghee, beaten rice, popped rice powder (Lhaai in Konkani) and honey.

Pooja being performed

The 108 coconuts are halved and stacked in a big container covered with a red silk cloth and decorated with flowers. Pooja is performed by the Vedic Brahman called “Bhat” (in Konkani).

Preparation of " Panchakatai" in progress

After the puja, sumptuous lunch prasadam is served on plantain leaves to all family members who have gathered and the special Panchkajjai prasadam is distributed along with the halved coconut to the whole village or anyone who visits the house for the “Darshan of Ganesha”.

The Lunch Menu consisted of :

1. Yellow pumpkin upkari
2. Bhuri Saaru
3. Channa Ghashi
4. Dalithoy
5. Six varieties of phodis
6. Patholi
7. Pathradau
8. Khotto
9. Phova Kheeri
10. Oondau
11. Rice
12. Nonche

Children performing the "Tiger Dance" in front of the temple

"Vaaga Vesu"

I actually missed their act and only managed to get this picture

As an entertainment, people paint their bodies resembling the bodies of tigers and dance to the drum beats. This is called “Vaaga Vesu” in Konkani which means “Tiger Fancy Dress”. Children too imitate the elders and have fun dancing to the beats which they perform in front of the temple where the Ganesh idol is kept.

Visarjan Puja being performed near the well

In the evening bhajans are sung and later on the “Visarjan Puja” is performed after which the idol is immersed in the well of our compound.

My camera batteries decided it had enough for the day, precisely at this moment and hence I could not photograph the actual immersion of Lord Ganesh.

In our house the idol is kept for one day only. In other places the festivities may go on for three, five, seven or ten days.

Sheera

This is a very simple, common, and a tasty Indian sweet dish. In earlier days, this used to be one of the first sweet dishes one would generally learn from their mothers. This is also made as “Prasadam” or “Naivedya” (offering to God) during festival time.

I remember during our childhood days when guests would arrive unexpectedly (of course, this is quite unheard of in todays world, what with mobile phones etc), my Mom would quickly prepare this sweet in honour of our guests as all the ingredients are generally available at home.

I had prepared this as "Naivedya" for the recent Janmashtami Puja.

Ingredients:

Fine Sooji (Semolina)	1 cup
Sugar	¾ cup
Ghee	4 tbsps
Cardamom powder	1 tsp
Raisins	1 tbsp
Kesar / Saffron (ground in a tbsp of hot water or hot milk)	A pinch / a few strands
Boiling water	1 cup

Method:

1. Fry the sooji/semolina with a tbsp of ghee for about 3-4 minutes on a low flame.
2. Add boiling water and stir well. Within minutes, all the water will evaporate and the semolina will be cooked and will turn soft.
3. Now add sugar. Stir constantly while the sugar melts and see that no lumps are formed.
4. Next add raisins and the ground kesar/saffron. Keep on stirring.
5. Add the remaining ghee and stir as before till it leaves the sides of the vessel.
6. Lastly add the cardamom powder and mix well. Remove from flame.
7. Pour the contents on to a greased plate (smeared with a little ghee) and flatten it evenly with a back of a spoon or ladle.
8. When cooled, cut it into squares or into diamond shapes.

Makes: around 30 pieces

Note:

• Sheera lasts only for a few days without refrigeration.
• A few chopped almonds or cashew nuts added to the above recipe also enhances its taste.
• A variation can be prepared by adding ripened bananas to the above.

Janmashtami Puja

As I mentioned in my previous post, Shravana month is a very busy month in India with a lot of festivals lined up which literally means, specific mouth-watering dishes apart from the religious aspect of it.

One such festival is Krishna Janmashtami which means Lord Shri Krishna’s birthday. All over India, this is an auspicious day and is celebrated with great pomp and devotion. In the olden days, on this day, the elders in the family will narrate stories of Krishna’s childhood activities to the children who will gather around them to hear with rapt attention.

We too celebrated this festival at home on Sept. 01, 2010. in a grand way starting with the decoration of the “Mantap” and collecting all the paraphernalia needed for the pooja like fruits, flowers, tulsi, the brass and silver lamps, aartis etc. Full credit goes to my daughter (spent a few hours to get it right) for the elaborate decoration of "Mantap".

The Puja is performed at night since Lord Krishna was born at midnight. During the day all members of the family observe fasting. In GSB Konkani community “fasting” means avoiding rice, onion, garlic and non-veg items. Partaking of fruits, milk and certain dishes made out of semolina are allowed before the “pooja”. Thank God for this small mercy as it would have been impossible for me to prepare so many items on an empty stomach !!

Varities of food preparation and prasadam etc are cooked during the day to be offeredto the Lord. After the puja, all the family members will eat served on plantain leaves.

Traditionally the following food items are prepared in GSB (Konkani) community on this day.

Tendle & Bibbe Upkari, Channa Ghashi, Dalithoy, Vul-Vul / Yogiratna, Soorna Thambude, patradau etc., varities of phodis and for “Naivedya” such as Panchkajjai, Madagane, Sheera /Oondau, Mooga Dali Usli etc.

The recipes for some of the above mentioned dishes have already been posted on my blog.

I shall start with the Panchakajjai recipe. “Panchkajjai” literally means a mixture of five ingredients. This is supposed to be one of Krishna’s favourite sweet dish. But believe me it happens to be everybody’s favorite prasadam! Its so tasty, that as soon as we start distributing, it vanishes in no time!

Ingredients:

Split Bengal gram (channa dal)	1 cup
Freshly grated coconut	1 heaped cup
Powdered Jaggery	¾ cup
Til (sesame) seeds	2 tbsps
Cardamom powder	2 tsps

Method :

1. Roast the channa dal (split gram) till brown and grind it like fine semolina (sooji) and keep aside.
2. Wash and roast sesame (til) seeds and keep aside.
3. In a bowl, mix together the freshly grated coconut, powdered jaggery and cardamom powder (preferably by hand).
4. Add to it the gram powder and the roasted til. Mix well.

Serves: 6-8

Note:

• A tablespoon of ghee if added to the above panchkajjai mixture, will enhance its taste further.
• Since freshly grated coconut is used, this dish should be consumed within 2-3 days.
• Quantity of jaggery powder can be increased according to one's taste.