5 popular Indian recipies for a traditional Ganesh Chaturthi

One of the much-awaited festivals, Ganesh Chaturthi, is finally here. As you bring Ganesha home, we have something special for you. Since the lord’s arrival is celebrated with various savouries and sweets, we are here with popular Indian recipes for a traditional Ganesh Chaturthi.

Five popular Ganesh Chaturthi recipes:

#1 Panasaku Buttalu

Ingredients:
2 cups urad dal
4 cups fine rice rava
Salt to taste

Method: Soak urad dal in water for 45 minutes. Wash the rice, drain and dry for an hour. Make fine rava out of this and sieve. Take out the fine flour and soak rawa in enough water. Wash and grind urad dal to a fine batter. Squeeze the rava, mix in urad dal and add salt. The consistency should now be like idly batter. Leave it covered over-night.

Wash jack fruit leaves and keep them pressed under something heavy for half an hour to one hour. For making the buttalu (tokri), take four equal-sized jack fruit leaves and staple them together as shown. Make 20-25 buttalu (tokris) and wash them before pouring the batter into them.  Steam them for 10-15 minutes now, with the stove on 3/4 flame. Let them cool and remove the leaves.

Serve with green tender tamarind chutney or tomato chutney.

Tomato Chutney
Ingredients:
¼ kg ripe tomatoes finely chopped
2 green chillies slit into pieces
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
4 red chillies cut into pieces
1 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafoetida
¼ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1 spring coriander finely chopped
3 tsp oil

Method: Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok and fry the fenugreek seeds, red chillies, asafoetida and mustard seeds. Remove from the flame, drain the oil, cool and grind the seeds to a fine powder. Heat the remaining oil in the same wok and fry the chopped tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric and salt on a low flame. Stir well and cover. Let it cook for a few minutes, stirring once in a while till the tomatoes are well cooked. Cool it. Grind the cooked tomatoes with the spices powder and coriander leaves. Serve as an accompaniment or as a tangy dip.

#2 Jilledu Kayalu (Steamed Modak/Kodakattai)

Ingredients:
2 cups rice
4 cups water
A pinch of salt
One medium-sized coconut grate(or)

1 cup til
One cup sugar
¼ tsp cardamom powder
½  cup sugar or jaggery

Method: Blow water on low flame and add rice flour. Stir well so lumps don’t form. Cover with a lid and set aside.
For the coconut filling, take grated coconut and sugar in a pan and mix it. Put a pan on flame and keep stirring till the sugar melts and the walls of the pan get coated with sugar. Remove from flame and add cardamom powder.

(or)

For the til filling, roast the til and grind into power. Add in powdered sugar and jaggery and mix well. Add in some cardamom powder. Take the rice flour dough and make into 25-30 equal, medium, lemon-sized portions. Take each portion and press them flat with your thumb. Fill them with coconut or till filling and close squeeze the dough closed. Steam them for 10 minutes. Cool and serve.

#3 Undrallu

Ingredients:
2 cups rice
1 tsp of channa dal
¼ tsp of jeera
Salt to taste.

For tempering:
1tbsp oil
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of hing
2 green chillies cut into small pieces
10 curry leaves

Method:
Wash rice, drain and dry on a cloth for two to three hours. Make fine rava from the rice, there is no need to sieve. Take a pan, heat some oil and temper urad dal, mustard seeds in a pinch of hing. Add green chillies and curry leaves.

Add 4 cups of water and salt. When the water is boiling, add channa dal. Let it cook on low flame for 10 minutes. Add rava and stir well. Cover it with a lid. Stir on and off. Leave it for 10-15 minutes. Remove from flame and let it cool. Make equal, big, lemon sized balls with wet or greasy hands. Steam for 10 minutes. Serve with coconut or coriander chutney.

#4 Paramannam (Kheer)

Ingredients:
1 litre milk
1/2 cup rice
1 tsp unmelted ghee
1/4 tsp of cardamom powder
1 level cup sugar
Small coconut pieces fried in ghee
6-8 rice flour balls cooked on steam[method done for jilledu kayalu in gooseberry size

Method:
Mix in unmelted ghee with rice. Boil the rice and cook on low flame by stirring on and off. When the rice is done, add sugar and stir without stopping for ten minutes. Add elaichi, coconut pieces, and riceballs, cook for a while.

#5 Tamarind Pulihora

Ingredients
Rice – 3 cups
Tamarind – Size of a lemon
Peanuts – 1/4th cup
Cashew nuts – 1/4th cup
Curry leaves – 10-12
Slit green chillies – 2-3
Red chillies – 3-5
Groundnut oil -1/2 cup
Salt – As per taste
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder – 2 pinches
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Bengal gram – 2 tbsp
Black gram – 2 tbsp
Sesame (roasted and powdered) – 4tbsp

Method:
Cook rice and allow it to cool down so that the rice grains stay separate. Add warm water to the tamarind and squeeze it to get the tamarind pulp. Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the peanuts, Bengal gram, black gram, red chillies, cashew nuts, mustard seeds, asafoetida powder and turmeric ( to be fried in the mentioned order). Keep it aside. Now heat the remaining oil, add green chillies, curry leaves, salt and tamarind paste. Cook for a few minutes till the pulp thickens.

Pour the above mixture on the rice. Add the tempered ingredients, sesame powder and mix gently and thoroughly. Ensure that all the rice grains are coated by the mixture.

Comment down the recipes of favourite dishes made on Ganesh Chaturthi and share the eternal love for food and the festival.