Indian food questions and answers

Here is teh recipe for preparing modaks:

Ingredients: 1 cup maida Salt Oil for deep frying

Stuffing: 3/4 cup coconut 1/2 cup jaggery 1/2 tea spn cardamom powder 1 tea spn sesame seeds

Method: Heat 2 tbl spns of oil and add it to maida. Mix it very well till all the maida gets the oil. Add salt and water to make it a very stiff dough. Keep aside the dough for around 1/2 an hour. Roast the sesame seeds. Heat jaggery and coconut together till jaggery melts and forms a uniform mixture with coconut. Mix sesame seeds well. Remove from heat and add cardamom powder. Mix well. Take small balls of the dough, roll it into small puris (if the puri becomes too thick, the modaks get a rubbery texture). Keep a round ball of stuffing on the puri and cover with the dough to give modak shape.

Heat oil and deep fry the modaks.PS: Some people also use rice flour to make modaks.

Yet another recipe of making modak with rice flour is:

Ingredients:

For the Cover

· 1 Cup rice flour

· 1 tsp ghee

· 1 cup water

· ½ tsp oil

· A pinch of salt

For the Filling

· 2 cups shredded fresh coconut

· 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder

· 1 tsp. roasted poppy seeds

· 1 tsp. rice flour

· 1 cup Jaggery (Gur) or Sugar

Preparation:

For the Filling

To make the filling, combine and cook coconut and jaggery together on medium heat. Stir continuously until they are mixed properly. Do not overcook. Add cardamom powder, roasted poppy seeds and 1 teaspoon rice flour to it and cook for some time. The filling is ready now. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool. For the Cover

Boil 1 cup of water. When it has reached a steady boil, add ghee, salt and oil. Now immediately add the rice flour and stir quickly so as to remove all lumps. Cover with a lid for some time. Remove the lid & stir again & again, cover again. Note: This has to be done very carefully. The dough should be neither too sticky nor too dry. Now remove pan from the heat. Take off all the mixture on a flat plate. Knead it thoroughly while hot. Make soft dough. Divide this dough into small balls. To make the modaks

Note:It is best to make the modaks when the dough is slightly warm. Grease the palms of your hands well. Take a ball of dough. Flatten the dough to form a cup shape. Place about 3/4th teaspoon coconut filling into this cup. Dip thumb & index finger in the oil & make 5-6 small pinches side by side on the outside edges of the cup. Bring them together on top and join to form a peak. Your modak is complete. This should look like a whole garlic pod. Like this, prepare all modaks. Spread a damp cloth onto a flat round sifter and arrange all the modaks onto it. Place the sifter in a steamer and cover. Steam for about 15 minutes. Use a big size saucepan or pressure cooker if you don’t have a steamer. Do not put the whistle if you use the pressure cooker. Serve with ghee and tell us if you were able to stop after eating just one.

HAPPY VINAYAKA CHATHURTHI!!!

Top experts' rating:   (7 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Story of ganesh chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the fourth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapad.The legend behind the birth of Ganesha is perhaps the most fascinating in Indian mythology.

It is said that Goddess Parvati, before taking an elaborate bath, wanted someone to stand guard at the door. Not finding anyone, she created the idol of a child from the sandalwood paste that she had applied on herself, and breathed life into it. She told the boy she had created not to let anyone in, and went to have her bath. When her husband, Lord Shiva came home, the child could not recognise him and refused to let him in. Shiva was furious, and severed the head of the child. When she learnt that the child she had created was dead, Parvati was distraught and asked Shiva to revive him immediately. Shiva ordered his lieutenants to get the head of any creature that was sleeping with its head facing north. The servants returned with the head of an elephant. Shiva joined the elephant's head to the boy's body, and Parvati's child lived again. The legend also says that Shiva made the boy the leader of his armies. Hence, the name Ganesha, meaning 'god of the army'. Lord Ganesha is the god of learning, and bestows both worldly and spiritual success. He is Vighnaharta, or 'remover of obstacles'. Invariably, his blessings are sought before beginning any new venture. In fact, the first prayer is always to Ganesha even on a day sacred to other gods. It is considered inauspicious to look at the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi. The story goes that the Moon laughed at Ganesha's gait. The humiliated Ganesha cursed it, saying that anyone who watched it on that day (chaturthi, or the fourth day of the moon) would face a false accusation.

The Ganesh festival is incomplete without the offering of the Lord’s favourite food - the modaks. These are prepared in different ways, some can be the stuffed ones and some can be the ones made from khava/mava. The khava modaks are just khava put in moulds and comes in various flavours like amba modak, pista modak etc. The stuffed ones are more popular and can be normal fried modaks or the steamed ukadiche modak.

recipe1 for Modak Ingredients: 1 cup maida Salt Oil for deep frying

Stuffing: 3/4 cup coconut 1/2 cup jaggery 1/2 tea spn cardamom powder 1 tea spn sesame seeds

Method: Heat 2 tbl spns of oil and add it to maida. Mix it very well till all the maida gets the oil. Add salt and water to make it a very stiff dough. Keep aside the dough for around 1/2 an hour. Roast the sesame seeds. Heat jaggery and coconut together till jaggery melts and forms a uniform mixture with coconut. Mix sesame seeds well. Remove from heat and add cardamom powder. Mix well. Take small balls of the dough, roll it into small puris (if the puri becomes too thick, the modaks get a rubbery texture). Keep a round ball of stuffing on the puri and cover with the dough to give modak shape. Heat oil and deep fry the modaks.PS: Some people also use rice flour to make modaks.

recipe2 for Modak Ingredients

3 cups Rice flour 6 cups Water 3 tsp. Oil 4 cups Coconut, grated 2 cup Sugar 1/2 cup Dry fruits 1/2 cup Milk

Method For the Rice Dough * Boil the water & oil and remove from heat. * To it add the rice flour, cover and allow it to cool. * Later, knead well and keep aside.

For the Stuffing * Mix all the ingredients mentioned under stuffing except milk. * Put this mixture on a medium heat and cook stirring all the time. * Then add the milk, mixing well and remove off the heat once it is totally dry.

To Proceed * 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 whole garlic. * Steam these modaks for 10 minutes, take off, cool and keep in air-tight containers.

festivals.iloveindia.com/ganesh-chaturti/legends.html

Top experts' rating:   (6 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Ingredients

Rice flour – 2 cups Jaggery powdered – 2 cups Coconut gratings – 2 cups Cardamom – 4 Nos powdered Oil – 2 to 3 teaspoon Salt – ½ teaspoon

Method:

Put the jaggery in a heavy bottomed vessel and add ½ cup water and keep on low flame. When the jaggery completely melted, strain it and put it in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add coconut gratings and stir now and then till it blends well and become solid. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Cool it. (You can do it in microwave also).

Put the rice flour in a kadai and dry fry till nice aroma comes out. Remove from stove and keep aside. Boil 4 cups of water along with salt and a teaspoon of oil (preferably gingelly oil). Pour this boiling water in the fried rice flour slowly and mix it using a wooden spoon. When it is hot enough to touch, mix with your hands and make a dough. Take out small lemon size dough and make a ball. Using your thumb slightly press the ball in the middle and hold with your fingers and make a cup.

Put one tablespoon jaggery/coconut mixture in the cup and close the edges. It look like half circle. To make modakam, put the pooranam in the rice cup and bring all the edges to the centre and press slightly. Finish all the dough and coconut mixture like above. Arrange in a greased idli plate and steam it for five to seven minutes. You can use double boiler for steaming, which is having flat plate and hold more kozhukattai and retain the shape also.

Note: If you find it difficult to make rice cups, you can use Kozhukattai mould.

You can also make dhal pooranam or Ellu Pooranam for stuffing:

Dhal Pooranam:

Ingredients:

Bengal Gram Dhal - 1 cup Powdered Jaggery - 1 cup Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup Cardamon – 2 A pinch of salt

Method:

Soak Bengal gram dhal in water for about two to three hours. Cook the Dhal in water till soft, but not mushy. Drain the excess water. Grind the cooked dhal to a coarse powder (do not use any water - only dry grind).

Put the jaggery in a heavy bottomed vessel and add ½ cup water and keep on low flame. When the jaggery completely melted, strain it and put it in a heavy bottomed vessel and bring to boil again. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat and add dhal powder and mix well. Stir now and then and cook till it is solid. Add coconut gratings and cardamom powder and mix everything well. Remove from stove and let it cool.

Ellu(Sesame Seeds)Pooranam:

Ingredients:

White sesame seeds – 1 cup Powdered jaggery – 1 cup Ghee – 1 tablespoon Cardamom Powder – ½ teaspoon

Method:

Dry roast sesame seeds on a slow fire to a light brown colour. Cool it. Powder it in a mixie. Powder the jaggery well. Put it in a mixie and run for one to two rounds. Before removing, add ellu powder and cardamom powder and again run for one to two rounds. Remove it, add melted ghee and mix well.

Top experts' rating:   (7 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Ganeshji is very fond of 'Modak'. Mod means happiness, who likes joy is liked by Ganeshji. Modak comprises coconut, jaggery, cardamon powder, poppy seeds, and rice flour. Ganeshji likes Panchkhadya modak which consists of dry dates, raisins, cashewnuts, powdered sugar and candy. These 5 Panchkhadya symbolised 5 types of pleasures.

1) Subjective pleasures

2) Worldly pleasures

3) Meaningful pleasure

4) Joy of enamampication

5) Bliss Celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi is incomplete without Modak. These days as the festival has spread from Maharastra to other parts of the country, in the same way Modak has ceased to be a Maharastrian sweet. Here is a simple recipe to make your own Modaks during the festival time!

Ingredients for about 15 Modaks

For Stuffing:

250 gm Coconut (grated) 250 gm Jaggery 1 1/2 tbps Sesame 1 tbps Ghee

For Modak Covering

Maida or All purpose Flour 400 gm 3 tbps Oil Salt to taste

Method:

Make a soft dough of the flour by adding oil and salt. Heat ghee in a vessel, add jaggery, coconut and sesame seeds. Keep stirring continuously on medium flame. The jaggery dissolves and a sticky solution is formed. Leave it to cool for 30 minutes.

Make small balls of dough and roll it, let the diameter be 3-4 inches approximately.

Put 1 tbsp of the above stuffing in the dough and pack it by taking all the corners up giving it a shape like a cone on top. This is called a modak.

Take oil in a kadai and deep fry the Modaks till brown.

Top experts' rating:   (7 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Ukadiche_modak

Ingredients

Makes approximately 25 modaks

Filling

* 2 coconuts grated fine. * 1 ½ cups pale yellow jaggery grated * 1/2 cup sugar * 2 tbsp raisins * 1 ½ tsps elaichi powder, freshly ground. * 2 tbsp cashew nuts chopped * 1 tsp ghee

Dough

* 2 cups of rice flour, ready made or make your own in a grinder. I use two scented rices : Chinor and Ambemohr . This rice should be just harvested, young rice so that the dough becomes more pliable. * 2 tbsps flour/ maida * 2 tbsps ghee * A pinch of salt * 2 cups of water * Pinch of saffron

Fry the chopped cashew nuts in a teaspoon of ghee till golden brown. Grate the coconuts and gur. Put both in a kadhai along with the sugar and raisins and cook stirring continuously till the mixture becomes soft and sticky and fairly dry.. Take off the fire, let it cool and then add the elaichi powder and the cashewnuts . Mix well and set aside while preparing the dough.

Mix the rice flour and maida. Heat two cups of water with the ghee and as it comes to the boil add the salt and the rice and flour mixture. Let it come to the boil twice, mixing all the while to dissolve any lumps and then remove from the fire. Now knead well till the dough becomes soft.

Roll out into circles of 3” diameter. The circles should be not more than 3mm in thickness like a fine chapathi. Grease hand with a drop of oil and place the circle on the centre of the palm. Fill each circle with a teaspoon of the coconut and jaggery mixture. Now gather the outer edges of the circle as if pleating cloth and swivel the modak in the palm as you close the edges. This takes some practice to get right.( You can also get little modak makers in metal or plastic but I cannot vouch for their effectiveness.)

Place the prepared modaks on a muslin swathed plate in a steamer, top with a bit of butter paper to prevent them from getting soggy, then cover tightly with the lid and cook for 10-12 minutes till done. Make in batches according to the size of your steamer. You can use a colander over a trivet in a cooker if you do not own a steamer.

Soak a few strands of saffron in a bit of melted ghee. Put a droplet of saffron infused ghee on top of each modak for colour and essence.

Now you are ready to bring Lord Ganesha home.

Top experts' rating:   (8 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Story of Ganesh Chathurthi An interesting story associated with Ganesh Chaturthi and its significance. It so happened that all the Gods worshiped Ganesh. Kuber, the wealthiest among the residents of paradise hosts a feast in honor of their new lord. A joyous Ganesh feasts himself to his heart's content. But he grows very restless and feels that his stomach would burst out. In order to prevent the stomach from bursting out, he ties one snake around it and goes to pay obeisance to his parents. But his stomach has now acquired a huge shape. With the tiny stature and a round belly, he is unable to prostrate before his parents. When he tried to bend, he turns into a turtle. The moon watched the scene from the sky and laughed at Ganesh. Parvati detests this ridicule and cursed the moon that whoever sees him on Vinayak Chaturthi will be accused of wrongdoing. According to another version of the story, Ganesh falls down from the rat much to the amusement of the moon, which bursts out laughing and invites Parvati's wrath.

The curse was so powerful that even Lord Krishna could not escape from it. He was accused of stealing the Samantak Mani, a very precious gem of Satrajit. The possessor of this stone is said to acquire tremendous prosperity and peace. The story goes like this - Lord Shri Krishna was born and brought up as a cowherd. Once, on the Bhadrapad Chaturthi day, while Krishna was milking his cow, he accidentally catches the reflection of the moon in the vessel.

Krishna wonders as to what disaster awaited him and that he may be blamed for a wrongdoing. And indeed, he was accused of stealing the Samantak Mani - worn by Prasen, the brother of Satrajit. Prasen wears the Gem and goes for hunting. In the forest, a lion kills him. A bear called Jambavant watches that attractive red gem lying on Prasen's chest, which he mistakes it for a piece of flesh. He takes the gem to his home. He had a daughter named Jambavati, who is yet a child. Jambavanti, later realises that the object which he had brought is not a piece of meat. So he ties it over the cradle of his daughter, as a toy.

Here in Dwaraka, when Satrajit comes to know of his brother's death, he accuses Krishna of the deed. Satrajit was aware of Krishna's wish to possess the gem. His suspicion is strengthened by this knowledge.

However, Krishna tries to convince Satrajit of his innocence, the latter is not to be convinced. To prove his innocence, Krishna goes in search of the Samantaka Mani, in the forest. There he finds the gem hanging on the cradle of a child. Krishna takes it quickly and comes out of the house. Jambavant had a governess to look after his daughter. She screams aloud upon seeing Krishna. Hearing that, Jambavant rushes to the place and challenges Krishna. A war breaks out between the two for 10 days.

Jambavant cannot compete with a skilled warrior like Krishna. He gets badly injured and bruised in the battle. At that moment he realised that the enemy is not any ordinary person but Shri Rama, from the Treta Yuga!

Lord Krishna returned the precious gem to Satrajit and Jambavant offered his daughter in marriage to Krishna. From then on, to avoid the evil effects of the curse, Parvati declared that the curse will not affect those who worship Lord Ganesha on the Chaturthi day and also listens to this story.

RECIPE FOR MODAKS Lord Ganesh's favorite sweet is the Ukadee che modak. These are like steamed rice (flour) dumplings filled with a mixture of jaggery and coconut. It is customary to make these on the very first day of this festival. They are very delicate and tender.

Modak:

First these special sweets are prepared and offered to god as "naivedya" and then distributed as "prasad" to family and friends.

Prepare the filling first.

For the filling

2 cup shredded fresh coconut 1 cup jaggery or sugar 1/2 cup a mixture of unsalted pistachios and unsalted cashews. 1/2 cup Milk 1/2 a pinch of cardamom powder To prepare the filling, mix the coconut, milk & jaggery or sugar together and cook on a medium flame. Stir continuously until they are mixed properly. If you are using sugar the mixture will start to caramelize and bubble. Add the cashews and pistachios. Cook for another minute. Lastly ad the cardamom powder. Mix well. Let it cool. Set aside. For the outer cover

1 cup rice flour 1 cup water 1 teaspoon ghee 1/2 teaspoon salt

Boil 1 cup of water. When it has reached a steady boil, add ghee, salt and oil. Now immediately add the rice flour and stir quickly so as to remove all lumps. Cover with a lid for some time. Remove the lid & stir again & again, cover again.

Note : The dough should be neither too sticky nor too dry.

Now remove pan from the heat. Take off all the mixture on a flat plate. Knead it thoroughly while hot. Make a soft dough. Keep covered aside.

To make the modaks It is best to make the modaks when the dough is slightly warm. Grease the palms of your hands well. Take a ball of dough. Flatten the dough to form a cup shape. Place about 3/4th teaspoon coconut filling into this cup. Dip thumb & index finger in the oil & make 5-6 small pinches side by side on the outside edges of the cup. Bring them together on top and join to form a peak. Your modak is complete. This should look like a whole garlic pod. . Place the modak on a pre greased plate.

Make the rest of the modaks. Place them on a pre-greased plate. Steam for about 15 minutes. Serve with ghee.

Top experts' rating:   (9 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

It is said that Goddess Parvati, before taking an elaborate bath, wanted someone to stand guard at the door.

Not finding anyone, she created the idol of a child from the sandalwood paste that she had applied on herself, and breathed life into it. She told the boy she had created not to let anyone in, and went to have her bath. When her husband, Lord Shiva came home, the child could not recognise him and refused to let him in. Shiva was furious, and severed the head of the child.

When she learnt that the child she had created was dead, Parvati was distraught and asked Shiva to revive him immediately. Shiva ordered his lieutenants to get the head of any creature that was sleeping with its head facing north. The servants returned with the head of an elephant. Shiva joined the elephant's head to the boy's body, and Parvati's child lived again.

The legend also says that Shiva made the boy the leader of his armies. Hence, the name Ganesha, meaning 'god of the army'.

Lord Ganesha is the god of learning, and bestows both worldly and spiritual success. He is Vighnaharta, or 'remover of obstacles'. Invariably, his blessings are sought before beginning any new venture. In fact, the first prayer is always to Ganesha even on a day sacred to other gods.

It is considered inauspicious to look at the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi. The story goes that the Moon laughed at Ganesha's gait. The humiliated Ganesha cursed it, saying that anyone who watched it on that day (chaturthi, or the fourth day of the moon) would face a false accusation.

ceremony is rounded off with people tucking in toothsome modaks, in keeping with Ganesha's style. Hindu mythology has a story to tell even about Ganesha's modaks. It is said that Ganesha loved modaks and simply could not stop himself from eating them. In fact he devoured them by the hundreds. Amused by Ganesha's obsession with modaks, once the beautiful moon made fun of the chubby God. Ganesha was so furious with the moon that he cursed him, saying that his beauty would never remain constant. Since that day, way back in time, the moon reveals itself in all its magnificence only once in 28 days

Only a few people observe a fast on this festival as, for the most part, the general feeling is that Ganesha's birthday should be an occasion for pigging out and not for fasting. The few who do keep a fast are allowed to eat various sweets like til ka ladoo (a round sweetmeat made of sesame, flour and sugar), gajak, rewari (sweets made of jaggery and nuts), along with tea and coffee

modak recipe

Ingredients: 1 cup maida Salt Oil for deep frying

Stuffing: 3/4 cup coconut 1/2 cup jaggery 1/2 tea spn cardamom powder 1 tea spn sesame seeds

Method: Heat 2 tbl spns of oil and add it to maida. Mix it very well till all the maida gets the oil. Add salt and water to make it a very stiff dough. Keep aside the dough for around 1/2 an hour. Roast the sesame seeds. Heat jaggery and coconut together till jaggery melts and forms a uniform mixture with coconut. Mix sesame seeds well. Remove from heat and add cardamom powder. Mix well. Take small balls of the dough, roll it into small puris (if the puri becomes too thick, the modaks get a rubbery texture). Keep a round ball of stuffing on the puri and cover with the dough to give modak shape.Heat oil and deep fry the modaks or steam those and serve.

other modak recipe:

200g (7 oz, 2 US cups) shredded fresh coconut 175g (6 oz, 1 US cup) brown sugar 1 tsp roasted poppy seeds 3-4 cardamoms 140g (5 oz, 1 US cup) rice flour 250ml (8 fl oz, 1 US cup) water 1 tsp ghee (clarified butter) ½ tsp oil a pinch of salt

Stir coconut and sugar together over a medium heat. Keep stirring until the mixture starts to thicken up and is a good brown colour. Don't let it overcook.

Stir in the cardamoms, poppy seeds and 1 teaspoon rice flour. Cook for another couple of minutes, stirring continuously.

Remove from heat and leave to cool.

Mix rice flour, water and salt together to make a dough.

Divide into small balls about 4cm (1½?) in diameter. Make a hollow in each ball and put some of the filling in it. Oil your thumb and index finger and use them to pull the edges of the modak together, pinching together and pulling upward until the completed modak looks like a whole garlic bulb.

Repeat until the dough and filling are used up.

Spread a damp cloth onto the top layer of a steamer and arrange all the modaks on it. Put it into the steamer, cover and steam for about 15 minutes. If you don't have a steamer you will have to improvise with a sieve or colander in a large saucepan or a pressure cooker (without the weight).

Serve warm with the clarified butter.

in telugu we call modak as undrallu which is prepared as follows:

Ingredients:

Coarsely powdered rice 2 cups Bengal gram(chana dal, senaga pappu) 1/4 cup salt to taste oil 1tbsp

Method of preparation:

Rice can be ground coarsely or rice ravva can be used in place. Soak 1/4 cup of chana dal for 10 minutes.

Boil 4 cups of water. Now add coarsely oil, powdered rice, chana dal and salt. Cooked covered on a slow flame until done.

Cool it under room temperature. Now shape them into circular balls using some oil. Now ready to eat. They are favourite food of Lord Ganesha and a must recipe on Vinayaka chavithi.

and another one we make sweet modaks called undrallu and kudumulu in telugu

undrallu and kudumulu recipe:

soak rice for 4,5 hours and take it from rice and dry it on cloth inside the house and take that rice andgrind it as powder and keep this powder and water on stove and stir till it thickens. remove and add add gur(we call bellam)in equal quantity mashing gur in it. see this mixture should be like chapathi batter.if u feel it is thin batter than chapathi batter ,u can add dry rice powder to it and make it as chapathi batter. with this prepare some balls (lemon size)with half dough and with remaining dough prepare as vadas and these two should be steamed in pressure cooker or idli cooker. serve hot or cold.balls are called 'undrallu' and 'vada type' is called kudumulu. these we prepare specially for vinaka chaturthi or chavithi.these two are famous in our andrapradesh.

Top experts' rating:   (9 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Recipe for the best modak as prepared by ne in the Tamilian (applies for even Andhra and Kannada type):

Ingredients: 1. 1 cocunut for 30 modaks 2, 1/4 kg jaggery 3. Elakki-3 4. Rice floor 1 heaped medium sized cup

Method: -Scrape the coconut -place the jaggery chopped into finer pieces, in a thick kadai/banali or non stick pan, add quarter cup of water to it and add elakki. Allow the jaggery to melt completely, boil for two minutes -Add coconut to the boiling jaggery, mix well under mid heat. Allow the mixture to cook for two minutes till it leaves the vessel without sticking and into medium thick paste. Now switch off the stove and allow the mixture to totally cool. -Now separately in a thick vessel, boil one glass of water.- Under reduced flame, add the rice floor gradually to the boiling water stirring the content constantly giving no scope for lumping. Add two to three spoons of oil on the sides. Just stir constantly. When it thickens to a paste (takes only two minutes) take it out of the stove and let it cool. - Now applying oil to your palms, dividie and roll the rice floor dough into half-inch thick balls. -Using your thumb and other fingers, make the rice balls into small vessel like concave dumplings (a small cup size) dampening your fingers with oil dips. Place one spoon of jaggery/coconut paste into it. -roll the sides of the rice dough cups over the jaggery filling into a cone. -Prepare the entire stuff into similar fillings for about 30 modaks. -Apply oil to your idly plates and place the modaks on the greased idly plates side be side without each touching the other. -Like for idly, pour water into the cooker, place the idly stand with the modaks. -Allow the contents to cook just like idly without placing the weight, just for 3 minutes. Your modak is done. Best of luck for your pooja. Gowri

Top experts' rating:   (9 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

For the filling

2 cup shredded fresh coconut 1 cup jaggery or sugar 1/2 cup a mixture of unsalted pistachios and unsalted cashews. 1/2 cup Milk 1/2 a pinch of cardamom powder To prepare the filling, mix the coconut, milk & jaggery or sugar together and cook on a medium flame. Stir continuously until they are mixed properly. If you are using sugar the mixture will start to caramelize and bubble. Add the cashews and pistachios. Cook for another minute. Lastly ad the cardamom powder. Mix well. Let it cool. Set aside. For the outer cover

1 cup rice flour 1 cup water 1 teaspoon ghee 1/2 teaspoon salt

Boil 1 cup of water. When it has reached a steady boil, add ghee, salt and oil. Now immediately add the rice flour and stir quickly so as to remove all lumps. Cover with a lid for some time. Remove the lid & stir again & again, cover again.

Note : The dough should be neither too sticky nor too dry.

Now remove pan from the heat. Take off all the mixture on a flat plate. Knead it thoroughly while hot. Make a soft dough. Keep covered aside.

To make the modaks It is best to make the modaks when the dough is slightly warm. Grease the palms of your hands well. Take a ball of dough. Flatten the dough to form a cup shape. Place about 3/4th teaspoon coconut filling into this cup. Dip thumb & index finger in the oil & make 5-6 small pinches side by side on the outside edges of the cup. Bring them together on top and join to form a peak. Your modak is complete. This should look like a whole garlic pod. . Place the modak on a pre greased plate.

Make the rest of the modaks. Place them on a pre-greased plate. Steam for about 15 minutes. Serve with ghee.

Ukadi Che Modak #2

2 cups of rice flour 2 1/2 cups of water A pinch of salt

For the filling: 1 cup grated fresh coconut 1 cup of jaggery 2 tablespoons raisin 2 tablespoons cashew nut - chopped 1 tea spoon cardamom - grinded

Preparation of the filling:

Put 1 tablespoon of ghee in a kadhai and heat it. Fry the chopped cashew nut till it becomes golden brown. Remove from the kadhai. Put the kadhai on the gas stove again and put the grated coconut and jaggery into it. Mix well till the coconut becomes soft and till the jaggery melts and well blend with the coconut. When the mixture is well cooked and becomes quite dry, take off the kadhai from the heat Allow the mixture to cool. After cooling add the raisins, fried cashew nut and the cardamom powder to the coconut and jaggery mixture. Mix well. The filling is ready.

Preparation of the modak:

Now for the modak heat 2 cups of water in a vessel. Add salt to the water. As the water starts boiling, add rice flour to the water. Lower the flame. Mix well. See that lumps are not formed. It should be a smooth paste. If you find the mixture is becoming too dry add the remaining 1/2 cup of water Keep the vessel on the gas stove till the rice flour is cooked. Take the cooked dough from the vessel and put on a wet cloth. Cover the dough with the cloth and mash it with any metal tumbler base. This will make the dough softer.

Rub little ghee on you palms and take small portion of the hot dough. Make a ball out of it. At one portion, press the ball with your finger to make a ditch into the ball. From inside the ditch press side-wise to make a small round vessel-kind thing out of the ball. Put 2 teaspoons of the filling in the small vessel-shaped dough. Merge all the sides of the vessel to make in the shape of a fresh fig. Take a colander spread little ghee in it. Place the modak in it.

Make such 10-12 modak out of the remaining dough and place all in the colander. Place the modak in such a way that they don't touch one another. Take a big vessel. Pour 4 glasses of water in it. Put the vessel on the heat. As the water starts boiling, cover the vessel with the colander full of modak. Now cover the colander with a tight lid so that the steam should not come out from anywhere. The modak should be steamed for 10 minutes. Serve hot modak with a teaspoon of ghee on it.

The reason behind preparing Modaks on the eve of Ganesh Chaturdhi is that Lord Ganesha is very much found of Modaks. So as to please him. We offer modaks to the lord.

Top experts' rating:   (10 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Modak is a famous Indian sweet prepared in Maharashtrian houses, especially for Ganesh chaturthi. Here is a simple recipe to make your own Modaks during the festival time! myself we call it as jilledu kayalu which is made up of rice flour and coconut burfi(filling)

Ingredients for about 15 Modaks

For Stuffing:

250 gm Coconut (grated) 250 gm Jaggery 1 1/2 tbps Sesame 1 tbps Ghee

For Modak Covering

Maida or All purpose Flour 400 gm 3 tbps Oil Salt to taste

Method:

Make a soft dough of the flour by adding oil and salt. Heat ghee in a vessel, add jaggery, coconut and sesame seeds. Keep stirring continuously on medium flame. The jaggery dissolves and a sticky solution is formed. Leave it to cool for 30 minutes.

Make small balls of dough and roll it, let the diameter be 3-4 inches approximately.

Put 1 tbsp of the above stuffing in the dough and pack it by taking all the corners up giving it a shape like a cone on top. This is called a modak.

Take oil in a kadai and deep fry the Modaks till brown.

Serve hot or cold, as you like!

2)NextPreviousModak Recipe

in south india we always make it with rice powder rather than anything else, now The easiest way to make modak:

Soak rice for half hour and then dry them on a cloth and grind them to powder in your mixie and sieve through, now this powder as it is still wet is great to make it soft modak, one can use the ready made rice powder too but have to soak for sometime…

Measure the required amount of powder add a pinch of salt and add water to make it to dosa consistency and now leave it for sometime, keep in a kadai some water with a little bit of coconut oil and once it comes to boil, add this dosa batter like rice mixture and stir well until it gets cooked, pl keep your gas at simmer once it is clumped up now cut across and roll it until all portions are well cooked and you get a very shiny white lump, now remove from fire and close this with a wet cloth and leave it.

Sweet coconut filling:

Coconut well scraped and if you do not find it fine in scrapping try to blend it without water to get an even mixture while blending do add your elaichi 2 or 3 according to the amount of coconut, and add equal amount of jaggery. Now this jaggery please keep it on fire with a tablespoon of water and let it all melt and strain this mixture for any sand or stone and then wash the vessel to drain out all stones or sand and then reheat the mixture along with coconut and once it leaves the sides add a teaspoon of ghee and mix well and bring this down to cool…

Urad dhall filling:

Soak the required amount of urad dhall and once u r able to pinch it easily strain and run in the blender until you have lost its shape not like vada, but just enough to loose out all dhall inshape..grind it along with ginger, green chillies, karuveppilai and a little salt no water pl, now as u get this coarse mixture make it into a large vada with a centre opening and steam cook for sometime, then once cooled crumple this out into a powder with hand or run in blender you will get a smooth even powder, keep some oil, add mustard and then this mixture just stir enough to mix well as it is already steamed no need to wait to cook it again, now keep this mixture to cool. And go ahead making the modak..

Till filling:

Wash the till and dry fry in a kadai, until all the till pops up to shape remove from fire powder it with a little bit of elaichi and jaggery and now this is ready for filling.

Chanadhall filling:

Boil chana dhall in a pan of hot water and once you are able to pinch through the dhall remove and strain now blend this mixture once it is cool along with elaichi, equal amount of jaggery needed, remove stone or sand and bring to boil once it is well into thickness add this chana dhall powdered mixture and within two minutes or so it will start to crumble as u keep mixing bring this down once it has lost its clumbed state to a powder state, do not keep this too long on fire other wise it would be stiff and not soft to taste..

Vegetable filling:

Chopped beans one cup

Chopped carrots ½ cup

Chopped cabbage 1 cup

Ginger chopped 1 tsp

Green chillies chopped, as required,

Now just heat some oil olive oil if you want to give a chinese effect here and add the ginger and chillies and add the vegetables and stir them well with a little white pepper powder and salt as needed and a tsp of soy sauce stir and bring this down to cool.

Now you have all the fillings ready just take small balls of rice cover and dip your fingers in oil and shape them into cup and fill the items and arrange and steam cook until a shiny finish comes on top remove and do the neivedyam…

3)here u can find somemore recipes for modaks

http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2006/08… http://padmaskitchen.blogspot.com/2… http://www.tarladalal.com/recipe.as…

http://www.euroandhra.com/ganesh/Re…

enjoy the recipes and haver a happy ganesh chaturdi

Top experts' rating:   (8 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Vinayaka Chathurthi :

The first prayer of a Hindu is always to Vinayagar. Vinayagar is invoked at the beginning of all ritualistic worship. He is invoked before a family moves into a house.

Vinayagar or Ganesha or Ganapati is otherwise called as Vigneshwara or Vighnaharta, the Lord of and destroyer of obstacles. When we do evil things or when the time is not right, He places obstacles in our path. When we take the correct path, He removes the root of our troubles.

Chathurthi Festival:

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Ganesha (Vinayaka), the God of Wisdom and Prosperity. God Vinayaka is the Son of God Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. The principal annual festival of 'Vinayaka' or 'Ganesha' falls on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of 'Bhadrapada' (August-September).

Vinayaga - Master of Knowledge :

Vinayaka is one who drives away all sorrows, difficulties and miseries. He is the enemy of all obstacles. He will not allow any obstacle to come in the way. He is the destroyer of obstacles. He confers happiness and peace (on his devotees). He is the master of all those powers (Buddhi and Siddhi). What is this Siddhi? When there is purity of mind, you achieve peace (which is Siddhi). Vinayaka is thus the Lord of Buddhi and Siddhi (the Intellect and Self-Realisation). Hence, every human being should acquire control over the mind.

The Modakam :

In representations of Vinayagar, He is depicted as holding the modakam, a sweet cake, in one hand. There are usually modakam placed in a tray in front of him or held by His trunk. This is to show that the spiritually wise man always finds the world and life sweet as it enables him to be of service to his fellow beings of God. It also affords him an opportunity to improve himself and progress towards Sivagati.

The modakam consists of the outer flour portion and the inner sweet portion. The inner sweet portion represents the Supreme. The message is that man must dive within himself, transcend the outer, in order to find the inner treasure.

Vinayagar Chaturthi helps us realize the unity of all life. It teaches us to drop off our ego-centric, individualism for God-centered universalism.

(http://www.nilacharal.com/news/reli…)

Please see http://www.bawarchi.com/festivals/r… for the Recipe of Kozhakattai

Ingredients :

Rice Flour - 1 cup Coconut scraping - 1 cup Jaggery (gur) - 1/2 cup Cardamom powder - 1 tea spoon

Method :

Boil half cup of water with a pinch of salt and mix rice flour. Stir well, remove from fire. Keep a deep pan on fire with coconut scraping and jaggery. Stir well and remove after it leaves the sides of the pan; keep it aside for cooling.

Knead the rice flour mixed with hot water and make small cups with the dough. Make small balls with coconut scraping and jaggery (Purnam) Keep the purnam balls inside the cup of rice dough ;close the cups

Arrange the Kozhakattai (5-6)in a plate and steam cook in a cooker for 10 minutes

You can also see these India Food Blogs for Recipes of Kozhukattai

http://www.kamalascorner.com/…

http://akshayapaatram.blogspot.com/…

http://bhagavathy.blogspot.com/2006…

http://akshayapaatram.blogspot.com/…

http://manjutalkies.blogspot.com/20…

You can also see

http://www.angelfire.com/ultra/indi… for the Recipe of Kozhukattai

Ingredients :

To make about 40 Kozhukattais, take: Rice Flour: 1 measure in a 200ml cup Coconut: One coconut Jaggery: 200 gms.

Kozhukattai consists of an outer cover and an inner filling.

First for the outer cover:

Wash and soak raw rice for an hour. Drain the water completely and spread the rice on a cloth and allow it to dry. The rice can be allowed to dry in the shade itself. Grind the raw rice to a smooth flour.

For 1 measure of rice flour take 2 measures of water. Boil this water in a kadai (a shallow thick bottom vessel). Add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of seasame oil. Allow the water to boil. When the water starts boiling add the rice flour to this, stirring continuously without allowing any lumps to form.

When the mixture has formed into a smooth thick batter, remove from the fire. The batter must be thick enough like chappathi batter.

Now for the filling...

Grate fresh coconut. Add a teaspoon of milk to the grated coconut and grind it in a mixer grinder lightly. (This is optional).

For one measure of grated coconut you need one measure of powdered jaggery.

Add a little water to the powdered jaggery and keep on low fire and stir for some time. When the jaggery has dissolved completely in water add grated coconut to this and keep stirring for some time. Then remove from fire and add powdered cardamoms to this.

Now for the making of Kozhukattai cups...

Smear your hands with a little seasame oil. Smoothen the prepared rice flour batter with your hands. Make small balls (the size of a lemon). Make cups out of these balls.

Filling the cups...

Fill these cups with the prepared coconut-jaggery filling. Put these filled up cups on an idli-plate and pressure cook them.

Now the Kozhukattais are ready.

You can also see http://www.panchangam.com/recipe/00… for Recipe of Ellu Kozhakattai Rice Dumplings with Sesame Filling

Ingredients :

For Dough

2 cups rice flour 1 tbsp oil A pinch of salt

For Filling

1 cup white sesame seeds 1 cup jaggery (powdered) 1 tbsp ghee

Method:

Preparation of dough :

Heat 2 cups of water in a pan. Add salt, oil and flour, then stir continuously till dough leaves the sides of the pan. Allow to cool and knead well.

Roast sesame seeds till pink. Grind to a fine powder along with jaggery. Add ghee and mix well. Now take a small portion of dough and with greased palms, pat into a disc. Put a small portion of filling in the centre. Fold over the edges and make a half circle. Press the edges well. Similarly make all Kozhakattais and steam.

You can also see these links

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/a…

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/1…

Top experts' rating:   (9 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Ganeshji is very fond of 'Modak'. Mod means happiness, who likes joy is liked by Ganeshji. Modak comprises coconut, jaggery, cardamon powder, poppy seeds, and rice flour. Ganeshji likes Panchkhadya modak which consists of dry dates, raisins, cashewnuts, powdered sugar and candy. These 5 Panchkhadya symbolised 5 types of pleasures.

1) Subjective pleasures 2) Worldly pleasures 3) Meaningful pleasure 4) Joy of enamampication 5) Bliss

The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak (modagam or modakam in South India). A modak is a dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments. It is either steam-cooked or fried. Another popular sweet dish is the karanji (karjikaiin Kannada) which is similar to the modak in composition and taste but has a semicircular shape.

The Ganesh festival is incomplete without the offering of the Lord’s favourite food - the modaks. These are prepared in different ways, some can be the stuffed ones and some can be the ones made from khava/mava. The khava modaks are just khava put in moulds and comes in various flavours like amba modak, pista modak etc. The stuffed ones are more popular and can be normal fried modaks or the steamed ukadiche modak.Ganesh is depicted with an elephant’s head.Ganesha is known as Vighnavinayaka or one who removes all obstacles. He is considered to be the god of wisdom, prudence and prosperity.Because of his role as protector of Parvarti's door he is associated, in Hindu culture, with protecting entrances.

Lord Ganesha or the elephant god has an elephant face and a huge belly, due to his fondness of sweets. He is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. He is the benevolent protector of the innocent, yet the ruthless destroyer of all evils. His mount is a rat. The size of his mount tells us about the significance of even the very smallest of beings.

Top experts' rating:   (7 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Ingredients: 1 cup maida Salt Oil for deep frying

Stuffing: 3/4 cup coconut 1/2 cup jaggery 1/2 tea spn cardamom powder 1 tea spn sesame seeds

Method: Heat 2 tbl spns of oil and add it to maida. Mix it very well till all the maida gets the oil. Add salt and water to make it a very stiff dough. Keep aside the dough for around 1/2 an hour. Roast the sesame seeds. Heat jaggery and coconut together till jaggery melts and forms a uniform mixture with coconut. Mix sesame seeds well. Remove from heat and add cardamom powder. Mix well. Take small balls of the dough, roll it into small puris (if the puri becomes too thick, the modaks get a rubbery texture). Keep a round ball of stuffing on the puri and cover with the dough to give modak shape.

Ingredients For the filling: 2 cup shredded fresh coconut 1 cup jaggery 1 teaspoon roasted poppy seeds 1 teaspoon rice flour 3-4 cardamoms

For the outer cover: 1 cup rice flour 1 cup water 1 teaspoon ghee ½ teaspoon oil a pinch of salt Preparation Filling:

1 Combine and cook coconut and jaggery together on medium heat. Stir continuously until they are mixed properly. Do not overcook. 2 Add cardamom, roasted poppy seeds and 1 teaspoon rice flour to the mix. Cook for some time.

3 Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.

Outer Cover:

4 Boil 1 cup of water. When bubbles rise on top, add ghee, salt and oil and immediately add rice flour. Stir well. Cover for some time. Remove the lid and stir and cover again for a minute. 5 Remove from heat. Take all the mixture in a flat plate. Knead it properly while hot (You can use a flat bowl for kneading to keep the hands from burning). Make a soft pliable dough. (Do it very carefully. The dough should be neither too sticky nor too dry.) Method: 6 Divide this dough into small balls. Roll each ball into 1.5 inch diameter circle. Hold it in a hand and make a small bowl of it. Put some coconut filling into this bowl shaped dough. Dip thumb and index finger in the oil and make 5-6 small pinches side by side on the edges of the bowl. Bring them together, join to form a peak. It should look like a whole garlic. Prepare all other modaks like this. 7 Spread a damp cloth onto a flat round sifter and arrange all the modaks onto it. Place the sifter in a steamer and cover. Steam for about 15 minutes. (Use a big size saucepan or pressure cooker if you don't have a steamer. Do not put the whistle if you use the pressure cooker.) 8 Serve with the ghee.

The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak ([modagam]or modakam in South India). A modak is a dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments. It is either steam-cooked or fried. Another popular sweet dish is the karanji (karjikaiin Kannada) which is similar to the modak in composition and taste but has a semicircular shape.

Top experts' rating:   (11 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

MODAK RECIPE BY TARLA DALAL. (http://www.tarladalal.com/recipe.as…)

MODAK

Makes 6 modaks.

Ingredients 1 cup rice flour 1 cup water 1 teaspoon oil oil for greasing a pinch of salt For the filling 1 cup grated jaggery (gur) 1 cup greated fresh coconut ½ teaspoon cardamom (elaichi) powder 1½ tablespoons ghee Method

1.For the filling, in a non-stick pan, add grated coconut and jaggery and cook over a slow flame till the jaggery melts and the mixture comes together. Add the cardamom powder and mix well. 2.In another non-stick pan boil the water. Add 1 teaspoon oil and a little salt in the boiling water and stir. Reduce the flame, add the rice flour while stirring continuously. 3.Whisk well so that no lumps remain. Cover with a lid and keep aside for about 5 minutes. 4.Grease your palms with a little oil and knead the dough while it is still warm; if the dough cools it will get lumpy, if it is not kneaded. You could even use a hand blender to knead the dough. 5.Make even size small balls of the dough (2 inch in diameter) using oil. Then roll each of them into a round shape, 3½" in diameter. 6.Make 8 to 10 folds in rolled dough with 1 cm. distance in between. To make a fold pinch the outer line of rolled dough a little bit ahead making 1-2 mm thick fold. 7.add a spoonful of the filling into the dough. 8.Bring all the ends together and press to seal. Prepare a steamer by adding water, a teaspoon of oil and heat it till the water comes to a boil. While the water is simmering, place the modaks on a greased steamer plate and steam for 6 to7 minutes.

9.Once the modaks are cooked they will turn translucent. Serve hot drizzled with pure ghee.

STORY ABOUT MODAKS

Ganeshji is very fond of 'Modak'. Mod means happiness, who likes joy is liked by Ganeshji. Modak comprises coconut, jaggery, cardamon powder, poppy seeds, and rice flour. Ganeshji likes Panchkhadya modak which consists of dry dates, raisins, cashewnuts, powdered sugar and candy. These 5 Panchkhadya symbolised 5 types of pleasures.

1) Subjective pleasures 2) Worldly pleasures 3) Meaningful pleasure 4) Joy of enamampication 5) Bliss

Top experts' rating:   (9 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

The mouse is nothing but our ego. Ganesha, using the mouse as a vehicle, exemplifies the need to control our ego. One who has controlled the ego has Ganesha consciousness or God-consciousness.

MODAK Ingredients:

For the Cover

· 1 Cup rice flour

· 1 tsp ghee

· 1 cup water

· ½ tsp oil

· A pinch of salt

For the Filling

· 2 cups shredded fresh coconut

· 1 tsp. cardamom powder

· 1/4 cup crushed pistachio nuts

· 1/2 tsp. saffron

· 1 cup Jaggery (Gur) or Sugar

Preparation:

For the Filling

* To make the filling, combine and cook coconut and jaggery together on medium heat. Stir continuously until they are mixed properly. Do not overcook. * Add cardamom powder, pistachios and saffron to it and cook for some time. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.

For the Cover

* Boil 1 cup of water. When it has reached a steady boil, add ghee, salt and oil. * Now immediately add the rice flour and stir quickly so as to remove all lumps. Cover with a lid for some time. Remove the lid & stir again & again, cover again. Note: This has to be done very carefully. The dough should be neither too sticky nor too dry. * Now remove pan from the heat. Take off all the mixture on a flat plate. Knead it thoroughly while hot. Make soft dough. * Divide this dough into small balls.

To make the modaks

* Note:It is best to make the modaks when the dough is slightly warm. * Grease the palms of your hands well. Take a ball of dough. Flatten the dough to form a cup shape. Place about 3/4th teaspoon coconut filling into this cup. Dip thumb & index finger in the oil & make 5-6 small pinches side by side on the outside edges of the cup. Bring them together on top and join to form a peak. Your modak is complete. This should look like a whole garlic pod. * Like this, prepare all modaks. Spread a damp cloth onto a flat round sifter and arrange all the modaks onto it. Place the sifter in a steamer and cover. Steam for about 15 minutes. Use a big size saucepan or pressure cooker if you don’t have a steamer. Do not put the whistle if you use the pressure cooker.

Top experts' rating:   (8 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Here is the receipe for Modak.

Ingredients: 1 cup maida Salt Oil for deep frying

Stuffing: 3/4 cup coconut 1/2 cup jaggery 1/2 tea spn cardamom powder 1 tea spn sesame seeds

Method: Heat 2 tbl spns of oil and add it to maida. Mix it very well till all the maida gets the oil. Add salt and water to make it a very stiff dough. Keep aside the dough for around 1/2 an hour. Roast the sesame seeds. Heat jaggery and coconut together till jaggery melts and forms a uniform mixture with coconut. Mix sesame seeds well. Remove from heat and add cardamom powder. Mix well. Take small balls of the dough, roll it into small puris (if the puri becomes too thick, the modaks get a rubbery texture). Keep a round ball of stuffing on the puri and cover with the dough to give modak shape. Heat oil and deep fry the modaks.PS: Some people also use rice flour to make modaks. I have not tried that version any time.

Food preparations Modak, maande, nevri, panchakajjaya are the most basic offerings to Ganesha. Many people add other sweets to this list as well.

On the day of Ganesha Chaturthi, we go to the Gudigar (or the one who makes the clay Ganesha idol) to whom we’ve ordered to make idol for us as per our liking. Normally we like Ganesha sat on a seat with right leg folded on the left one and colored skinny pink. After giving the price of idol wrapped in panna veedo(betel leaf with the betel nuts) to the maker, we bring home the idol carefully. At any point in time, care is taken so that no part of the idol gets broken in any way. This is very important. As per tradition, if this happens (Its called ‘bhagna‘ -in sanskrit) the tradition of Ganesha pooja at home is discontinued from that year. Before the idol is taken inside the home, at the main entrance, the idol is shown what is called as kumkum water (water mixed with kumkum) in a copper plate.

Then the Ganesha idol is placed inside the mantapa. Divli, a lamp with cotten threads in oil, is lit from 5 different sides in this. Then as per the Ganesha pooja proceedings, the prana pratishtha is carried out. It means to bring the Ganesha idol to life. There are mantras which go along with different proceedings. Usually this is done by the priest who goes to different homes. But in our place we do it ourselves after the priest instructed us how to perform the pooja. During the pooja all the various offerings are offered along with the meals which consists of dali thoy, rice, mooga randayi, biscuit Ambode (udid vada), khotto/hittu(idli batter cooked in jackfruit leaf basket), payasam, pancha kajjaya and various fruits. During the pooja, five different aarti are performed. We play the ‘Jayadeva Jayadeva Jaya Mangala moorthy‘ aarti song in the background during the pooja. Ghantaanaad is also done.

After the pooja is over people who are invited as well as the people in the home sit for lunch served on banana leaves. After the Vayasa (meal offering to crows) and Gogras(meal offering to cows), the lunch begins.

Thus pooja is performed twice everyday until the day of visarjana - Ganesha idol immersion in either a well or a lake/river. Normally we keep the Ganesha at home for two days, meaning the next evening the visarjana is carried out. Many Sarvajanika (public) Ganesha are kept for 5 or 9 days. Some even 11 days

Top experts' rating:   (10 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Lord Ganesh's favorite sweet is the Modak. These are like sweet steamed rice (flour) dumplings. It is customary to make these on the very first day of this festival.

The recipe for preparation of Modak is as follows:-

Ingredients:

For the Cover :

1 cup rice flour 1 tsp. ghee 1 cup water 1/2 tsp oil a pinch of salt

For the Filling :

2 cups shredded fresh coconut 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder 1 tsp. roasted poppy seeds 1 tsp. rice flour 1 cup jaggery (Gur) or Sugar

Preparation:

For the Filling :

To make the filling, combine and cook coconut and jaggery together on medium heat. Stir continuously until they are mixed properly. Do not overcook. Add cardamom powder, roasted poppy seeds and 1 teaspoon rice flour to it. and cook for some time. The filling is ready now. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.

For the Cover :

Boil 1 cup of water. When it has reached a steady boil, add ghee, salt and oil. Now immediately add the rice flour and stir quickly so as to remove all lumps. Cover with a lid for some time. Remove the lid & stir again & again, cover again. Note : This has to be done very carefully.The dough should be neither too sticky nor too dry. Now remove pan from the heat. Take off all the mixture on a flat plate. Knead it thoroughly while hot. Make a soft dough. Divide this dough into small balls. To make the modaks

Note :It is best to make the modaks when the dough is slightly warm.

Grease the palms of your hands well. Take a ball of dough. Flatten the dough to form a cup shape. Place about 3/4th teaspoon coconut filling into this cup. Dip thumb & index finger in the oil & make 5-6 small pinches side by side on the outside edges of the cup. Bring them together on top and join to form a peak. Your modak is complete. This should look like a whole garlic pod. Like this, prepare all modaks. Spread a damp cloth onto a flat round sifter and arrange all the modaks onto it. Place the sifter in a steamer and cover. Steam for about 15 minutes. Use a big size saucepan or pressure cooker if you don't have a steamer. Do not put the whistle if you use the pressure cooker. Serve with ghee.

Cook's Tip :

Prepare the filling first.

The proportion of water and rice flour for the cover should be accurate as written above. It is advisable to sieve the flour once

Top experts' rating:   (8 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

Modak's are considered as the favourite food of Lord Ganesha.

The recipe of Modak is as under:-

Ingredients

3 cups Rice flour 6 cups Water 3 tsp. Oil 4 cups Coconut, grated 2 cup Sugar 1/2 cup Dry fruits 1/2 cup Milk

For the Rice Dough

Boil the water & oil and remove from heat. To it add the rice flour, cover and allow it to cool. Later, knead well and keep aside.

For the Stuffing

Mix all the ingredients mentioned under stuffing except milk. Put this mixture on a medium heat and cook stirring all the time. Then add the milk, mixing well and remove off the heat once it is totally dry.

Method

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 whole garlic. Steam these modaks for 10 minutes, take off, cool and keep in air-tight containers.

Top experts' rating:   (9 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

For the Cover : 1 cup rice flour 1 tsp. ghee 1 cup water 1/2 tsp oil a pinch of salt For the Filling : 2 cups shredded fresh coconut 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder 1 tsp. roasted poppy seeds 1 tsp. rice flour 1 cup jaggery (Gur) or Sugar

Preparation:

For the Filling : To make the filling, combine and cook coconut and jaggery together on medium heat. Stir continuously until they are mixed properly. Do not overcook. Add cardamom powder, roasted poppy seeds and 1 teaspoon rice flour to it. and cook for some time. The filling is ready now. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool. For the Cover : Boil 1 cup of water. When it has reached a steady boil, add ghee, salt and oil. Now immediately add the rice flour and stir quickly so as to remove all lumps. Cover with a lid for some time. Remove the lid & stir again & again, cover again. Note : This has to be done very carefully.The dough should be neither too sticky nor too dry. Now remove pan from the heat. Take off all the mixture on a flat plate. Knead it thoroughly while hot. Make a soft dough. Divide this dough into small balls. To make the modaks

Note :It is best to make the modaks when the dough is slightly warm. Grease the palms of your hands well. Take a ball of dough. Flatten the dough to form a cup shape. Place about 3/4th teaspoon coconut filling into this cup. Dip thumb & index finger in the oil & make 5-6 small pinches side by side on the outside edges of the cup. Bring them together on top and join to form a peak. Your modak is complete. This should look like a whole garlic pod. Like this, prepare all modaks. Spread a damp cloth onto a flat round sifter and arrange all the modaks onto it. Place the sifter in a steamer and cover. Steam for about 15 minutes. Use a big size saucepan or pressure cooker if you don't have a steamer. Do not put the whistle if you use the pressure cooker. Serve with ghee. Cook's Tip :

Prepare the filling first. The proportion of water and rice flour for the cover should be accurate as written above. It is advisable to sieve the flour once.

Top experts' rating:   (6 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)

2 cup shredded fresh coconut 1 cup jaggery or sugar 1/2 cup a mixture of unsalted pistachios and unsalted cashews. 1/2 cup Milk 1/2 a pinch of cardamom powder To prepare the filling, mix the coconut, milk & jaggery or sugar together and cook on a medium flame. Stir continuously until they are mixed properly. Add the cashews and pistachios. Cook for another minute. Lastly add the cardamom powder. Mix well. Let it cool. Set aside.

For the outer cover

1 cup rice flour 1 cup water 1 teaspoon ghee 1/2 teaspoon salt

Boil 1 cup of water. When it has reached a steady boil, add ghee, salt and oil. Now immediately add the rice flour and stir quickly so as to remove all lumps. Cover with a lid for some time. Remove the lid & stir again & again, cover again.

Now remove pan from the heat. Take off all the mixture on a flat plate. Knead it thoroughly while hot. Make a soft dough. Keep covered aside.

To make the modaks It is best to make the modaks when the dough is slightly warm. Grease the palms of your hands well. Take a ball of dough. Flatten the dough to form a cup shape. Place about 3/4th teaspoon coconut filling into this cup. Dip thumb & index finger in the oil & make 5-6 small pinches side by side on the outside edges of the cup. Bring them together on top and join to form a peak. Your modak is complete. Place the modak on a pre greased plate. Steam for about 15 minutes. Serve with ghee.

Top experts' rating:   (9 ratings)

Public rating: (click on stars to rate)

1 2 3 4 5

(0 ratings)