Magaja Laddoo ( Ganesh Chaturthi Colab with A Dollop Of That & Delish Potpourri )

It's time to welcome home the 'Vighna Harta', the Hindu God endowed with the power to remove all obstacles. He is the God of new beginnings, of wisdom, success and prosperity. Hence for many of us, Ganesh Chaturthi is the right time to begin something new. However, the festivities surrounding this occasion vary with various parts of the country. In Odisha, it is just a one day affair whilst in states like Maharashtra, the celebrations last 10 days on such a grand scale that everything else almost comes to a standstill.

With just 3 days to for the festival, it is high time to get the grocery shopping done for the various kinds of Prasadam to be prepared on the day. Except for the perishables, which of course have to wait for the last day. Different regions swear by their own version of the elephant God's favorite. But 'Laddoos' are onething that remain a constant. Almost every image of Ganesha is depicted with a laddoo in his hand or a plateful of these placed right in front of him.

Hence, my special recipe for this day had to be some kind of a laddoo. And I finalized on the 'Magaja Laddoo' or'Atta laddoo', which is quite popular in Odisha. When I was a child, these laddoos were made by my grandmother who absolutely adored them. She used to dot them with roasted charoli seeds and the combination of flavors was just heavenly. These are a specialty of the cold winter months when the hilly regions of Odisha can turn quite cold. As expected, quite a bit of ghee goes into the making of these laddoos which are said to keep the body warm.

My version of these laddoos is however low in ghee. And I have further fortified their nutritional quotient by adding powdered almonds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, charoli and pumpkin seeds.

Do not forget to scroll down to the bottom of this post for more amazing laddoo recipes from my blogger friends !!

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 40 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 cups whole wheat atta (flour)
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 tsp flax seeds
• 2 tsp charoli 
• 2 tsp pumpkin seeds
• 10-12 almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup ghee
• 2-3 cloves (powdered)
• 1 green cardamom (powdered)

Preparation - Dry roast the sesame seeds, flax seeds, charoli, pumpkin seeds and almonds separately.

Keep them aside to cool down. Transfer all these nuts into a mixer jar (chutney jar is fine) and powder them. Do not overdo the grinding as these the natural oils tend to seep out.

Cooking - Dry roast the whole wheat atta on a very low flame on a skillet. Gradually it will start turning a few shades darker and giving off a heavenly aroma.

At this stage, add the ghee, powdered nuts and sugar . Cook for a while to bring everything together.

Finally sprinkle the powdered cardamom and cloves. Mix in and remove from the flame.

Let it cool a little till it becomes bearable to touch. Take small amounts of the mixture and press tightly to bind them into laddoos. Shape them while they are still warm as they tend to be fragile and difficult to mold once cooled down.

Store in airtight containers once completely cool. Stays fresh for over two weeks.

That's not all !! Check out these fabulous recipes -

Parinaaz's Dink Che Laddoo / Dry Fruit Laddoo with edible gum

And

Saswati's Carrot Cottage Cheese Truffles / Gajar Paneer ke Laddoo !!

Once again, wishing everyone "A very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi " !!

Ganesh Chaturthi Special Recipes

Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi falls on 17th September this year (2015). It is celebrated starting from Shukla chaturthi in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada and stretches for 10 days in some parts of the country.

Here is a list of some of the popular prasadams/neivaidyam (offerings) made to the elephant headed God in various parts of India -


Andhra Pradesh (also Telengana)

1. Kudumulu (Modak)
2. Pulihora
3. Undrallu
4. Annam Payasam
5. Chickpeas Sundal

Karnataka (similar to Andhra)

1. Undrallu Payasam
2. Groundnut Sundal


Maharashtra

1. Modak
2. Puranpoli
3. Coconut Laddoo
4. Karanji
5. Patholi


Odisha 

1. Chuda ghasa
2. Chuda Kadamba
2. Rasi laddoo (Sesame seed laddoo)

Milkmaid Coconut Laddoo

After the Ganapati festivities were over, I realized that I had quite a bit of leftover coconut in the fridge. But I was feeling a little bored of eating dosa/idli chutney every other day. And not being too fond of desiccated coconut, preserving it for later use was hardly an option. Then I remembered my 'bua' or father's sister making these Milkmaid laddoos during my childhood days. Those were the days of DD and there were hardly any cookery shows on the telly. She used to patiently note down the recipes from magazines or any other books if she found them interesting. And boy.....she had an amazing repertoire of recipes. I wondered what she would have done if she had the power of the internet at her disposal.

Coming back to the recipe, these laddoos are as simple as it can get. Made with just two ingredients, they are just plain addictive. Read on for the easy recipe -

Preparation Time - 15-20 mins

Ingredients -

• 3 cups grated coconut
• 1 cup milkmaid (or any other condensed milk) (approx)
• 1/2 cup grated coconut for rolling the laddoos (optional)

Cooking -  Heat a wok. Add the grated coconut and milkmaid. Keep stirring continuously till the mass begins to leave the sides of the wok. Remove and keep aside till it is bearable to touch.

Take small portions and shape into balls. Sprinkle the grated coconut on a plate or a working surface. Roll the balls lightly over the coconut. Keep in the fridge for half an hour to set.

Serve cold or at room temperature.


Note - These stay fresh up to one week when refrigerated.

Puran-Poli ( Ganesh Chaturthi special )

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi !!!

This is the last of the 'Ganesh Chaturthi special' series. Puran-poli is perhaps the most popular neivaidyan (offering) on Ganesh Chaturthi alongside the 'Modak' which is primarily consumed in Maharashtra. But one can also find the Puran poli in some parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh too. The Kannada name is Holige or Obbattu . I was a little scared to attempt it at first but the valuable inputs that I got from my South Indian neighbors helped me get it right at one go.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 1 hour plus

Ingredients -

For the puran (filling) -

• 1 cup chana dal
• 1 cup powdered jaggery
• 2 green cardamoms (powdered)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1 tbsp ghee

For the poli -

• 3 cups all purpose flour or wheat flour
• 1 tbsp ghee
• salt to taste
• water for kneading

Others -

• Extra flour for dusting
• Ghee for frying the puran poli

Preparation - Wash and soak the chana dal for 3-4 hours. Transfer to a pressure cooker along with 1 1/2 cups water and cook for 7-8 whistles.

Keep aside to allow steam to escape. Strain the dal and allow it to stand in the strainer for 1 hour or till all the water drains off.

Take the flour in a mixing bowl. Add salt and ghee. Mix in. Then add sufficient water to make a smooth yet firm dough. Rub a little ghee over the dough and cover it. Keep aside for 1 hour.

Cooking - Heat ghee in a pan. Add the cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.

Add the cooked chana dal after 10 seconds. One can add the powdered jaggery at the same time or at a later stage.Mix everything together and cook for 6-7 minutes or till you find that the mixture is turning powdery. Remove from flame and keep aside to cool down.

Transfer the cooled mixture to a mixie jar and buzz for a few seconds. It will become like a smooth dough.
Remove from the mixer jar and keep aside. Divide it into lemon sized balls.

Similarly, divide the dough into balls which are 25-30 percent larger than the chana dal balls. Lightly roll out each ball into a small circle. Place the puran ball at the center and close it by bringing the ends of the dough together.

    

Dust more flour on the working surface and roll out the puran-poli ball  into a thin circle.

Heat a tawa and sprinkle a little ghee. Place the puran-poli on it . Cook on one side till small brown spots begin to appear. Flip it over and cook it on the other side as well.

Once done on both sides, rub a little ghee over it. Remove from the tawa and keep aside.

Repeat the same process for the remaining dough and puran.

Serve hot/warm with milk (or even some ghee).

Note - Excuse me for the badly taken pics. Will change them as soon as possible.

Uppu Undrallu ( Ganesh Chaturthi Special )

Another popular offering on Ganesh Chaturthi is the Uppu undrallu or salted and steamed rice balls. Spiced with some cumin (jeera) and black pepper, these are easy to make and quite healthy too. They are very popular in Andhra and one can find lot many versions/variations over the net (some sweet ones too )!!!

Read on for the easy recipe -

Preparation Time - 20 mins ( plus 10 mins standby )

Ingredients -

• 1 cup jeera rice 
• 2 tbsp chana dal
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 7-8 peppercorns (coarsely ground)
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp ghee

Preparation - Wash the rice and soak for 5 mins. Drain off the water and spread on a cloth to dry.

Once it has dried, grind into a coarse paste.

Wash and allow the chana dal to soak for 2-3 hours.

Cooking - Heat the ghee in a wok. Add the cumin seeds and allow to splutter.

Add 2 cups of water to the wok along with the soaked chana dal. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil.

Add the rice flour and cook on medium heat till it forms a dough like mass. This takes about 5-6 mins.

Keep aside to cool it is bearable to touch. Pinch small portions out of the dough and roll into balls.

Steam the balls for 7-8 mins in a idli cooker.

Serve warm.

Sweet Appams

With Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner, cleaning the house in in full swing. Replacing/washing the sofa covers/curtains/bed-sheets, dusting, removing the cow-webs, throwing out/giving away the old clothes/toys and cleaning out my pantry is what I plan do achieve by Wednesday. That would give me ample time to make the sweets/delicacies for the big day, i.e., 29th August (friday). People from Odisha do not celebrate the Gowri-Ganesh puju that is being observed on Thursday by folks from down South.

Unlike Maharashtra and some of the other states where it is a ten day long festival, Ganesh Chaturthi celebration in Odisha is a comparatively low key affair. Mandaps/Pandals of varying sizes come up in most schools, colleges, offices and market places. The most common prasad distributed at such Pandals is the 'Chuda Ghasa' and 'Khaee ukhuda' ( scroll down to the bottom of this post for more recipes ). In western Odisha, the harvest festival of 'Nua khai' is observed on the following day. It also heralds the beginning of the festive season in  Odisha. It is closely followed by festivals like Vishwakarma Puja, Dwitibahana Osa, Durgashtami, Kumar Purnima/Lakshmi Puja and Diwali/Kali Puja, and the holy Odia months of Karthik and Margasira.

Sweet appams happen to be one of the important offerings/Neivaidyam made to Lord Ganesh in Southern India. While it is traditionally made from rice flour, I have made these with store bought batter. Saves time and the taste is also preferred by toddlers/kids. Read on for the easy recipe -

Preparation Time - 10-15 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 cup idli/dosa batter (should be thick)
• 1 tbsp wheat flour
• 1 ripe banana (peeled)
• 2 tbsp grated coconut
• 2 pinch cardamom powder
• 1/3 cup jaggery powder
• a pinch of salt
• oil/ghee for deep frying

Preparation - Take all the ingredients (except for oil/ghee) in a mixing bowl. Blend into a uniform mixture using a hand blender. Allow to stand aside for 20 mins.

Cooking - Heat oil in a wok. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil. Take 4-5 teaspoons at a time. Deep fry on both sides to a light brown. ( Alternately cook in a nonstick appam pan or even a tawa. It tastes as good and absorbs much less oil )

Remove from wok and keep aside to drain on a paper towel.

Repeat for the remaining batter.

Serve hot/warm.

Note - If you wish to make the appams with rice flour, use about 1 cup water for about 1 1/3 cups of rice flour.

Other popular Ganesh Chaturthi recipes -

Chuda Ghasa
Chuda Kadamba (avalakki laddoo)
Paal Undrallu ( Attakali )
Modak (Manda pitha)
Pal Payasam
Channa Sundal

Chuda Kadamba ( Avalakki/Poha Laddoo )

Chuda santula (Poha). Chuda Kadali Chakta. Chuda khera. Chuda payas. While there are many ways of consuming beaten rice ( or 'Chuda') in  Odisha, I came across this one very recently. 'Chuda Kadamba' or laddoos made of powdered beaten rice are not only easy to make, they taste great and are super healthy too!! They do sound like manna from heaven for folks on a strict diet regimen ( one can cut down on the quantity of ghee by half and use skim milk instead ) .

I was inspired to make this for my kid who is on a snacking spree these days. Store bought stuff can be unhealthy at times ( MSG, too much sugar, artificial sweeteners) and he is always looking for more variety. Hence I tried these laddoos which did not call for much effort and are low on white/refined sugar too !!! While I have added some cashews and raisins to my version but one can also omit the same. Read on for the quick recipe -

Preparation time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 cups thin poha/chuda (beaten rice)
• 5 tsp brown sugar/jaggery
• 2 green cardamoms (powdered)
• 1 tsp ghee
• 4 tbsp freshly grated coconut
• 4-5 tsp warm milk ( or as needed for binding )
• a pinch of edible camphor (optional)
• 3-4 tbsp broken cashews (optional)
• 2 tbsp raisins (optional)

Preparation - Heat 1/2 tsp ghee in a pan. Add the cashews and raisins and fry for 10-15 seconds. Keep aside to cool down.

Grind the beaten rice to a fine powder.

Next add the cardamom and brown sugar/jaggery to the same blender jar and buzz till mixed.

Add freshly grated coconut, ghee, fried cashews and buzz for 1-2 seconds.

Finally add the milk little by little and give it a buzz. All the ingredients should come together like a dough. If not add more milk by the teaspoon ( be careful at this stage ).

Rub ghee on your hands, take a little of the mixture and try to form a ball/laddoo. If it is binding well, remove the mixture from blender jar into a mixing bowl else add more milk . Add raisins and camphor. Mix well.

Make into small balls. Pop into the fridge for a few hours. Keep refrigerated and consume with 2-3 days.

Kala Chana Sundal

A very easy and tasty snack, it hardly calls for any effort. Commonly sold on the beaches and roadsides, sundals have now become the staple 4'o clock snack in my home.

For those unaware of the benefits of eating chana, a single cup of boiled chana provides you with 1/3rd of the day's protein requirements. Plus it is loaded with dietary fiber which helps lower cholesterol,  regulates blood-sugar levels and also prevents constipation. It is a good source of potassium, sodium, iron, calcium and folate. But for those who have been advised for limit their sodium intake, go easy on the salt please.

Read on for the easy recipe -

Preparation Time - 15 mins ( includes a lot of standby time )

Ingredients -

• 1 cup kala chana
• 2 tsp urad dal (skin removed)
• 1-2 sprig curry leaves
• 2-3 green chillis (slit or chopped)
• 1/5 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 pinches of asafoetida
• 1 1/2 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• a pinch of turmeric (optional)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• freshly grated coconut (optional)

Preparation - Wash and soak the channa overnight.

Cooking - Take the drained channa in a cooker with 1 1/2 cup water. Add salt to taste and turmeric. Close lid and cook for 3-4 whistle (till it is soft but not mushy).

Allow the steam to escape before opening lid.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds and green chillis. Fry for 10 sec before adding the urad dal.

Once it urad dal turns light brown, add the curry leaves and asafoetida.

Add the boiled channa and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Remove from flame and serve with a dash of lemon juice and grated coconut.

Pal Payasam

A yummy payasam 'rice pudding' recipe from Tamil Nadu. Made on auspicious occasions like Gokulasthami, it takes hours to get it right when done in the traditional method. And the added danger in this method it that one cannot leave it unattended as the rice and milk mixture tends to catch/burn easily.

I felt that this one is very close in preparation method to the 'Bhaja Chaula Kheeri'. However, people in Odisha usually add some sugar in the beginning which gets caramelized and adds a distinct flavor to the kheer. Also, it it more fluid as compared to the Kheer made in Odisha or in the North. And the rice grains in payasam remain conspicuous  in comparison to kheer wherein the grains almost melt and become indistinguishable. ( I tend to remember the last bit in a very clear manner as it had led to an embarrassing situation. One of my Tamil neighbors had offered me some still hot kheer and i promptly blurted out after tasting it ." G...,I think it needs to be cooked for some more time. Did you switch off the gas because the baby woke up ??", I said. It was a bit awkward as she stared at my face. It took some explanation from her side to make me realize what payasam would actually taste/appear like.


Read on  -

Preparation Time - 40-50 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 liter full cream milk
• 1/4 cup basmati rice or any fragrant rice ( I have used Seeraga Samba rice )
• 1/2 cup sugar (adjust to taste)
• 1/4 cup condensed milk
• 2-3 green cardamoms (crushed)
• 2 tsp ghee
• few cashews
• few raisins

Preparation - Wash and soak the rice for 1 hour. Strain through a thin cloth to drain off excess water .

Cooking - Heat the ghee in a thick bottomed vessel. Add cashews and raisins. As the raisins swell up, remove and keep aside. Next add the rice and fry till fragrant. Switch off the flame.

Add about 1 1/2 cup of milk to a pressure cooker and stir in the rice. Switch on the flame. Cook on low till the rice gets cooked (3-4 whistles).

While the rice is being cooked, boil and reduce the remaining milk to half in a separate vessel.

Add the reduced milk to the rice, stir in sugar, crushed cardamoms, cashews and raisins. Cook for another 6-7 minutes. (DO NOT LEAVE IT UNATTENDED AT THIS STAGE)

Finally stir in the condensed milk and switch off the flame. Allow it to cool down a bit before serving (It can also be served chilled).

Garnish with some cashews and serve.

Note - Use of condensed milk is optional but it gives a nice texture and richness to the payasam. (And if you have wondering why it takes 3-4 whistles to cook the rice, cooking with milk takes a little longer when compared to cooking with water.)

Chickpeas Sundal

This is another popular variation of the 'Peanut Sundal' recipe posted earlier. Unlike the peanut sundal which is an instant variety, this requires overnight soaking of the chickpeas or garbanzo beans. However one can use the canned variety to omit this step.

A perfect snack for the summers with its high protein content, this is a hit with kids. Read on for the super easy recipe:

Preparation Time - 15 mins ( including 10 mins standby time )

Ingredients -

1 cup chickpeas/kabuli chana/garbanzo beans
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp skinless urad dal (black lentil)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 dry red chilli
4-5 curry leaves
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
1-2 tbsp grated coconut ( though I have skipped it )
a dash of lime juice
coriander leaves for garnishing
a few slivers of raw mango (optional but it really adds a lot of flavor)

Preparation - Wash and soak the chickpeas for 8-9 hours or overnight.

Cooking - Boil the soaked chickpeas in salted water till tender. (I used a pressure cooker and gave 3 whistles on medium flame). Drain off excess water and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add mustard and urad dal. Fry till urad dal starts to turn a little brown.

Add curry leaves, broken red chilli and asafoetida. Fry for 10 seconds.

Add the boiled chickpeas and stir fry for 4-5 minutes.

Add the coconut, mix in and remove from flame.

Add coriander leaves and lime juice when serving.

Attakali ( Gaintha pitha )

Gaintha pitha or Attakali is a special pitha that is usually prepared during the oriya month of 'Margasira'. The thursdays that fall in this month are celebrated as 'Manabasa Gurubar', the worship of a vessel filled with rice grains that symbolizes Goddess Lakshmi. The married women keep a fast, eat only arwa or raw rice, prepare a variety of pithas from rice/rice flour and read a text called the 'Manabasa' Bahi. In some parts of Orissa the 'Lakshmi Hathi', brass figurines that symbolize Goddess Lakshmi are also worshiped on this day. These figurines are usually a family heirloom and are passed down by the lady of the house to her daughter in law. Check the snaps below:

In the left hand side corner of the above picture one can see the 'Dhana Benti', long stands of harvested paddy which also form an important part of this Puja. This year the first Gurubar of Margasira Masa falls on 21st November. But since Prathamasthami falls after this date (26th November), it will be celebrated in some parts of Odisha on 28th November.

The Kalasa ( on the left corner ) and the Manaa ( on the right corner behind the Deepam ) being worshipped in the above picture. The manaa is filled with paddy/rice and covered with a new cloth.

The special stone vessels known as 'Pathuri', used to offer the prasadam to Goddess Lakshmi.

Read on for the recipe for Gaintha pitha:

Preparation Time - 30-40 minutes

Ingredients - 2/3 cup arwa rice ( Sita bhog, Gobindo Bhog or even Sona masuri raw rice will do ), 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper, 2-3 green cardamon, 2-3 tsp ghee, (1/2 cup + 2-3 tsp) sugar, 3 cups milk, 1/5 tsp salt.

Preparation - wash and soak the rice for 2-3 hours. Drain all water and spread on a plate to dry (preferably in the balcony or under a fan) for 1-2 hours.

Take the rice in a grinder jar and grind into a smooth powder.

Cooking - Heat 2 cups of water in a wide base non-stick vessel. Add salt, pepper powder and 1-2 crushed cardamon to the boiling water. Add 2-3 tsp sugar.

Use a sieve to gently sift the rice flour into the boiling water. Keep stirring all the time to prevent formation of lumps.

Cook the rice flour till it turns into a stiff dough and leaves the sides of the vessel.

Allow to cool down for 10-15 minutes till it is bearable to touch.

Add the ghee to the dough and knead for 3-4 minutes to smooth/even it out. Take small lumps out of the dough and roll into small balls (smaller than a lemon).

Bring the milk to boil in a deep vessel. Add the sugar and remaining cardamon. (One can also add a little condensed milk at this stage).

Add the balls. Initially the balls will sink to the bottom. Boil for 5-7 minutes or till the ball begin to rise to the surface. This is now done. (Do not boil any longer or the balls will melt/break)

This recipe can also be prepared with suji (semolina).

Note - I recently came to know that they make a very similar recipe down south called Pala Undrallu.

Doodh Peda

Ganapathi Bappa is known to be partial to laddoos, his favorite sweet. 'Til ke laddoos in particular' retorted my MIL. But since i did not have any til or sesame in stock, I decided to offer something different to the Lord on this Ganesh Chaturthi. One quick recipe that came to my mind was 'Doodh Peda'. Not the traditional variety which takes hours but an improvised version with condensed milk and milk powder. Here is the recipe:

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients - 1 cup condensed milk ( milkmaid/mithai mate ), 2 cups milk powder, 2 tsp ghee, 14-15 almonds, almond essence.

Preparation - Take the condensed milk and milk powder in a heavy bottomed vessel ( preferably non-stick ). Mix well till no lumps remain.

Cooking - Put the vessel on a low flame. Add the ghee. Stir continuously for 9-10 minutes till the mixture thickens and just starts to leave the bottom and sides of the vessel. ( if the mixture is cooked for longer time, the peda turns hard )

Remove from flame and allow to cool down till it is bearable to touch.

Take small balls of the dough. Roll into small balls without any cracks and flatten with the thumb. ( If it is too hard, add 5-6 drops of warm milk and knead well. If it is still hard, repeat the process till dough is pliable enough )

Stick a almond into the middle of each peda. Allow to cool down.

Store in a airtight container in a fridge. Stays fresh till one week to ten days.

Panchamrit

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi To All !!! Ganapathi Bappa Moriya!!

Panchamrit can be literally translated as 'five nectars'. It is used as an offering during pooja. After doing the abhisekha with it, it is distribute among the devotees as prasadam.

Preparation time - 5 mins

Ingredients -  2 tsp milk, 2 tsp curd, 1 tsp ghee, 1 tsp honey , 1 tsp jaggery/sugar.

Preparation - Take a clean vessel and add milk, curd, honey and jaggery/sugar. Mix well. Add ghee at the last.

Note - Tulsi leaves can also be added to the above prasadam.