Five festive recipes to try at home for Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi is a 10-day long festival that is celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Ganesha. The festival begins on the fourth day of the Bhadrapada month (Chaturthi), usually falling in the month of August-September. This year Ganesh Chaturthi is on the 31st of August.

Lord Ganesha is celebrated as the God of New Beginnings, the Remover of Obstacles and as the God of Knowledge and wisdom. It is believed that the elephant-God loved sweets, especially Modaks and hence a lot of traditional sweets and other dishes are prepared during the festival and offered to the Lord Ganesha.

Here are five traditional recipes that you can make at home for the festival and offer as prasad too!

1. Ukadiche Modak
Modak is a word used to describe anything made in a conical structure. Modaks can be either sweet or savoury depending on the filling. Modaks are usually offered as a part of Naivedya (prasad) on Ganesh Chaturthi. The Ukadiche Modak is the traditional modak made with rice flour that is steamed and stuffed with a filling of grated coconut and jaggery (Ukadiche means steamed in Marathi).

Ingredients

For Stuffing
1tsp Ghee
2 cups grated coconut
1 cup jaggery
½ tsp cardamom powder

For Dough
2 cups water
2 cups rice flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ghee 

Method

Stuffing:
Take a kadhai, add the ghee and saute the grated coconut until it starts to leave an aroma.

Add the jaggery in it and mix well until the jaggery melts.
Continue to cook it until the mixture thickens but remains moist.
Add the cardamom powder, mix well and keep aside.

Prepare the dough:
Take a kadhai, add water, salt and ghee. Mix this well and bring the water to a boil
Add the rice flour and mix in gently until the flour absorbs all the water and takes the form of a dough
Cover the kadhai and let the dough rest for some time.

Transfer the dough to a large bowl and knead the dough until it softens
Take a ball-size of the rice flour dough, flatten it, and with the help of both thumbs, start pressing the edges of the circle to create a dent in the centre to form a cup
Start creating pleats on the outside of the dough with your index finger and thumb
Add a tsp of the coconut-jaggery mixture to the centre of the dough and close all the pleats together to form a bundle. Close the top by pinching the pleats together and giving it a pointed shape.
Place the modak in a steamer and steam for 10 mins.

2. Puran Poli
A popular dish made in Maharashtra during Ganesh Chaturthi, the Puranpoli is a type of flatbread that is stuffed with a sweet filling of chana dal and jaggery. In Marathi, the filling is known as Puran and the outer covering of the flatbread is known as Poli. Puran Poli is one of the most popular bhog dishes that is offered to Lord Ganesh during the festival.

Ingredients
For Stuffing
1 cup jaggery powder
1 cup chana dal/ split Bengal gram
3 cups water
2 tsp ghee  
1 tsp fennel powder
1 tsp dry ginger powder
½ tsp cardamom powder
¼ tsp nutmeg powder

For Poli
1.5 cup whole wheat flour  
½ cup all-purpose flour  
4 tbsp oil/ghee  
¼ tsp turmeric powder
Water as required

Method
Preparing the Puran

Soak the chana dal for 30 mins. Take a pressure cooker and cook the dal for 6 to 7 whistles
Once the dal is cooked, strain it well and keep it aside
Take a pan, heat the ghee, and add the ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and fennel powders. Mix well
Add the chana dal and jaggery, stir the mixture well, and cook on a low flame until the mixture becomes dry
Let it cool, mash the Puran mixture well and keep aside

Preparing the Poli
Take the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl. Mix well
Add some water and ghee and knead the dough well
Cover and keep the dough aside for 15-20 mins

Preparing Puran Poli
Take a medium-sized ball from the dough and flatten it
Place a portion of the Puran mixture in the centre of the flattened dough
Bring the edges together towards the centre. Join all the edges and pinch them together to close the ends
Flatten out the filled dough once again
Take a tawa, spread some ghee and cook the dough on the tawa from both sides

3. Coconut Laddoo
Made with desiccated coconut, condensed milk and almonds, this coconut laddoo is a great sweet to make for Ganesh Chaturthi.
Ingredients
½ can condensed milk
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup almond flour
½ tsp cardamom powder
½ tbsp ghee
2 tbsp desiccated coconut (for rolling)

Method
Take a pan, add ghee, add the condensed milk and cook for two minutes
Add the almond flour, cardamom powder and mix it with the condensed milk
Add the desiccated coconut and mix well
Cook the mixture well while stirring it continuously. The mixture should be thick enough to be rolled with the hand
Take the pan off and let the mixture cool
Grease your hands lightly with oil, take a small amount of the mixture in your hands and roll it like a ball
Roll the ball over desiccated coconut that has been kept aside.

4. Patholi
Patholi is a steamed rice roll that is stuffed with a mixture of fresh coconut and jaggery. Patholis are specially made during Ganesh Chaturthi. The rolls are steamed in fresh turmeric leaves which make them aromatic.

Ingredients
For the outer covering of the patholi
8-10 turmeric leaves
2 cups rice flour  
½ tsp salt
2 cups water
For the inner filling
2 cups freshly grated coconut
2 cups powdered jaggery
1 tsp cardamom powder
1-2 pinch grated nutmeg

Method
Preparing the batter
Mix the rice flour, salt and water to form a thick batter and keep aside for 30 mins

Preparing the filling
Mix all the ingredients for the filling and keep them aside

Making Patholi
Wash and dry the turmeric leaves well, and cut the base stalk of the leaves
Spread the rice flour batter evenly on the leaf
Add the filling in the centre of the leaf and fold the leaf gently horizontally or vertically. Press down the edges.
Steam the patholi on a medium flame for about 10-12 mins
Remove the cooked turmeric leaves and serve the patholi with milk or ghee

5. Shrikhand
Shrikhand is a creamy yoghurt-based dessert that is mixed with sugar and cardamom and garnished with saffron and pistachios.

Ingredients
2 cups plain yoghurt or greek yoghurt
6 tbsp powdered sugar
¼ tsp cardamom powder
1/8 tsp saffron
1 tbsp warm milk
1 tbsp crushed pistachios

Method
Place a strainer in a large bowl. Line a cheesecloth over the strainer. Pour the yoghurt onto the cheesecloth, gather the corners of the cloth and tie it into a bundle
Either hang the cheesecloth or place a heavy weight on top of it. Straining the yoghurt for 3-4 hours is enough. If using plain yoghurt, strain at least overnight or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Preparing Shrikhand
Add saffron to the warm milk and keep aside
Add the thickened yoghurt to a large bowl. Whisk it well for 3-4 minutes to make it smooth
Add the sugar, cardamom and saffron soaked in milk to the yoghurt. Mix for 3-5 minutes until combined and smooth without any lumps. Then add the pistachios and fold them in
Chill for 1-2 hours before serving. Serve in bowls and optionally garnish with crushed pistachios and saffron strands

Hope you have found the above recipes interesting. Do try making them at home this Ganesh Chaturthi and enjoy them with your friends and family!