Navratri - Sep 29 to Oct 7
Dasara - Oct 8
Special Dishes
Ugadi Pachhadi/Bev
The dish represents the beginning of the new year. This is a unique recipe and combines sweet, sour and bitter flavors in one dish, just like all flavors of life. Basically, this marks the beginning of a new year with the anticipation that the year brings all flavors.
Alternate recipe. Courtesy of vahrehvah.com
Instructions:
In a serving bowl, mix all the ingredients together.
Serve.
This dish is served with very small servings. General servings is a few spoons per person.
Ingredients (serves 4):
Neem tree dried flower - 1 oz
Puthani/Putnalu/Chana Powder - 2 tbsp
Kuskus powder - 2 tbsp
Black Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind Juice - 2 tbsp
Jaggery - 2 oz
Green Mango - 1/2
Banana - 1
Grapes - 10
Water - 1 cup
Mango Panaka (For Sri Rama Navami Naivaidya)
Mango Panaka is a special dish made during Srin Rama Navami for naivaidya.
Ingredients (serves 4):
Green Mango - 1 Large
Water - 3 cups
Sugar/Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Cardamom - 1
Instructions:
Boil Mango in pressure cooker.
Peel the mango skin.
Pour water in a wide brimmed vessel.
Smash mango in the water and throw away the seed.
Add sugar and salt.
Add cardamom powder.
Stir.
Serve
Beli/Moong Dal Kosambari (For Sri Rama Navami Naivaidya)
Kosambari is a special dish made during Srin Rama Navami for naivaidya.
Ingredients (serves 4):
Moong Dal - 1 cup
Cut Green Chilli - 1
Grated Mango/Lemon Juice - 1
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 10
Rd chilli - 1
Hing - pinch
oil - 2 tsp
Grated Wet Coconut - 2 tbsp (optional)
Instructions:
Soak Moong dal in water for 1 hour.
Drain all the water using a strainer.
Add green chillies, salt, grated mango or lemon juice.
Add grated wet cocunut (optional)
Add Vagarni
Add coriander leaves
Vagarni Instructions:
In a small vessel, add oil.
Turn on the heat.
Add mustard seeds and let crackle.
Add cumin seeds and hing.
Add curry leaves
Add red chilli
Turn off the heat.
Modaka (For Ganesh Chaturthi)
Modakas is a special dish made during Ganesh Chaturthi for naivaidya. Its Lord Ganesha's favorite dish and mentioned in the "Ganesha and the moon story"
Ingredients (serves 4):
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Ghee/Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - pinch
Stuffing (serves 4):
Jaggery/Sugar - 1 cup
Poppy Seeds - 1 tbsp
Green Cardamom Powder- 5 - 6 pieces
Wet/Freshly Grated Coconut - 2 cups
Nutmeg powder- 1 tbsp
Cashews cut into medium pieces - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Take a flat pan and heat on a medium flame.
Add ghee
Add poppy seeds and cashew nuts
Fry for a minute
Add Jaggery/Sugar
Stir for 5 minutes
Add green cardamom powder, nutmeg powder
Stir for 2 or 3 minutes
Add grated coconut.
Stir for 2 minutes
Take the pan off the heat.
Instructions:
Boil water in a pan. Add salt and a tbsp of ghee.
Add rice flour slowly to the boiling water
Reduce the flame
Immediately stir and keep stirring until the rice flour blends in well without any lumps.
Remove from the heat and close the pan with a lid for 10 min.
Stir from time to time and make it sure the dough is not dry by sprinkling water.
After 10 minutes, while the dough is still hot, add a tbsp of ghee and kneed the dough until its one cohesive and soft dough (like wheat dough)
Make 7 to 10 portions of the dough
Take one portion and make it into a soft ball and flatten it little bit with your hand
Apply little bit of oil or ghee on the palm of your left hand (t0 not to feel the heat of the dough).
Hold the dough on the palm of your left hand.
Make a dough bowl by using your right index and middle fingers, slowly make a hole into the dough while rotating the dough (analogous to pottery)
Add a tbsp or 2 tbsp of stuffing (according to the size of the dough bowl)
Close the bowl by bringing the slowly closing the top and rotating at the same time. To make it more presentable, pinch the top edges of the bowl in 3 to 5 places before following the closing process.
Finally, close the modaka elongating the last part to have the final look of a modaka.
Place the modakas in a steamer.
Steam for 15 minutes.
Serve as Naivaidya to Lord Ganesha