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Food & Ganesh Chaturthi

Food is an integral part of any Indian festival. It is hard to imagine any Indian religious festival without its iconic food associated with it. Ganesh Chaturthi is also no different. This festival is one of the largest in the country and celebrated on a grand scale. People bring idols of their beloved Lord Ganesh and sing hymns in his praise, shower him with flowers and the traditional ‘bhog’, but this is just one side of this magnanimous festival. The other side consists of gorging on sweet delicacies like modaks, barfis and other dishes of both sweet and savoury kind. The iconic platter of Ganesh Chaturthi is both dynamic and delicious. Besides the ardent devotees of Lord Ganesh, foodies eagerly wait for this festival to arrive.

4 Signature Delicacies of Ganesh Chaturthi

It is hard to imagine Ganesh Chaturthi without the traditional modak and motichoor laddoo. Vinayak Chaturthi food usually consists of the eatables that are favourites of Lord Ganesh and much more. There are both sweet and savoury dishes in this 10 day festival. Though modaks take most of the limelight, there are other delectable dishes that are sure to enthral your taste buds.

Modak

Ganesh Chaturthi without modak is like having Christmas without the Christmas tree. Modak is said to be the favourite food of Lord Ganesh himself and is a part of the Naivedya or offering to Lord Ganesh. Modak can be both sweet and savoury, with or without fillings. They have a conical structure and ingredients used to prepare it can range from the traditional jaggery and coconut to the modern-day chocolates.

Sheera

This is a sweet delicacy which is another favourite of Lord Ganesh. It is a type of halwa that is easily made with ingredients that are found in almost every kitchen; ghee, milk and rava. You can also use semolina and flavour it with pineapple or banana to give it a delicious twist. This is a simple and delicious sweet dish that everybody loves.

Puran Poli

Pooran Poli is another sweet dish that is made during Ganesh Chaturthi. It is a flatbread made of all-purpose flour that is stuffed with lentils and jaggery. It is served piping hot with a generous dollop of ghee. It looks like paratha and can be termed a sweet paratha in jest.

Motichoor Laddoo

Motichoor Laddoo is a favourite sweet dish all across India. It is associated with almost all festivals of India and can be purchased in any sweet shop. It is made from fine tiny balls of besan that is molded into a round shape and fried in ghee.

10 Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes You Can Try Making at Home

During Ganesh Chaturthi, the sweetshops and other eateries get flooded with the dishes of this festival, but like always, there is nothing like homely food. Preparing Vinayak Chaturthi dishes together will also give family members time to spend with each other. The menu will be fresh and delicious, all the more because it is a fruit of your labour. Also, preparing food at home gives you the liberty to use healthy substitutes of ingredients that aggravate lifestyle diseases. This enables everybody to enjoy the dishes without health concerns. There are endless dishes associated with Ganesh Chaturthi, and some of the recipes are too complicated and time consuming to make at home. Follow this BP Guide and try these 10 Ganesh Chaturthi recipes at home.

Modak

Ingredients

  • 1 cup grated coconut fresh or frozen
  • 3/4 cup jaggery grated or broken into small pieces
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
  • 1 tbsp roasted poppy seeds
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp ghee
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup fine rice flour

Procedure

Filling: In a heavy bottom pan, add grated coconuts and roast it in medium flame for 2 minutes. Add poppy seeds, jaggery, and cardamom to the coconut and cook it for 2-3 minutes until it blends well and oozes out a little liquid. Take the pan off the flame and let the mixture cool. Cooling the dough is an important step. You can also add raisins, almonds, and cashew to this filling mix to make more interesting and give it texture.

Covering: Put some water to boil in a pot and add some salt and 1 tablespoon of ghee in it. Add the rice flour to it and gently mix the flour with a spoon. Then turn off the flame and cover the pot for 3-5 minutes and let it cook in the enclosed chamber. After cooking, cool the mixture until it’s warm. Apply some warm water and ghee to your hands and proceed to knead the mixture for 5-7 minutes while it still warm. The dough must not crumble or look patchy. Cover the dough with a damp cloth. Then make lemon sized balls from the dough. Press those balls in your palm, put some filling in an appropriate ratio, and wrap the dough around it. Mold it according to the shape you prefer for your modak. Steam them for 10 minutes and serve hot.

Puran Poli

Ingredients

  • 2 cups split chana dal
  • 2 cups powdered jaggery
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom powder
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tsp ghee
  • pinch of salt
  • water as needed
  • 1/2 cup oil

Procedure

Filling: Boil chana dal in 3 cups of water in a pressure cook (about 3 whistles). Mash the chana well. Place the chana in a pot over a low flame and add jaggery, cardamom powder and saffron in it. Mix them well and cook them until the mixture turns dry. Leave the dough out to cool.

Covering: Add a sufficient amount of ghee and water to refined flour and mix it well until it becomes a soft dough. Pour oil on the dough and let it soak for an hour. Remove the dough from the oil bed and knead until the oil gets completely absorbed in the dough. Divide the dough into balls of equal proportion. Flatten them against your palm and add filling according to proportion. Wrap the dough around the filling then roll them into flat pancakes. Heat a frying pan and add the pancakes to it. Cook each side until the bubbles erupt on the surface.

Amti

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of toor dal
  • 2 tsp of oil
  • 1 tsp of mustard seeds
  • 1/4 tsp of hing
  • few curry leaves
  • 2 green chillies
  • 1 tsp of tamarind paste
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 tsp of goda masala
  • 1 tsp of jaggery
  • 3/4 tsp of salt
  • 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

Procedure

Wash and soak toor dal overnight. Place a beetle nut size tamarind in water and soak it overnight to extract the juice. Add goda masala, salt and jaggery to this juice and mix well. Place a pot on low flame and add mustard seeds, chopped green chillies and hing in it. Saute them for 2 minutes and add the tamarind juice mix, washed dal and turmeric powder. Mix them well and cook them well, cover lid and cook them for 12 minutes in low flame. When done, mash the dal and serve hot.

Varan Bhaat

Source www.instarix.net

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp of cumin seeds
  • 1 green chilli pepper sliced into 2 pieces or chopped
  • 6 curry leaves
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1/2 onion finely chopped
  • 1 tomato finely chopped
  • 1 cup washed toor dal
  • 3 cups of water
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp hing

Procedure

Soak dal overnight. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pot and add cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chillies and asafoetida in it. Saute them for 2 minutes in low flame. Let the garlic turn brown and add chopped onions in. Cook until the onion turns golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes, coriander powder, chilli powder, and turmeric powder and mix well. Cook them for 2 minutes or until the raw smell of the tomatoes go. Add the soaked dal to it and cook for 2 minutes. Add water to the mixture, cover the lid, and cook it for 5 minutes in high flame. Remove the lid and stir the mixture lightly now and then. Before taking it off the flame, add salt according to taste and stir once.

Batata Curry

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp of oil
  • 1 tsp of cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tbsp hing
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • 1 cup chopped tomato
  • 3 potatoes cut into small cubes
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp of garam masala
  • 1 tsp of dried mango powder
  • 1/2 tsp of coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp of salt

Procedure

Boil medium-sized cut potatoes either in a pressure cooker or a pot and set aside to rest. Place a pan on low flame and 1 tablespoon of oil and heat. Add cumin seeds and chopped ginger and saute for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes, coriander powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and saute for another 3 minutes. Add a cup of water and the boiled potatoes in the mixture and stir well. Cook for 1 minute. Add dried mango powder, garam masala powder, and salt and mix well with the potatoes. Cover the lid and cook for 5 minutes in low flame.

Masala Bhaat

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • 1/4 teaspoons of cumin seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoons black mustard seeds
  • 1 cup chopped vegetables of your choice
  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoon of goda masala
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoons of turmeric
  • 1/4 cup of roasted peanuts

Procedure

Cook basmati rice and boil vegetables and set aside. The rice must not be over boiled, or the ultimate product will be a mush that would not be appetizing. Same goes with the vegetables. Place a pot on high flame and heat it. Add ghee, cumin and mustard seeds and saute for 30 seconds. Add the vegetables and coat them with the ghee and the spice seeds. Add rice, peanuts, salt, goda masala, and turmeric and mix everything well. Cover the lid and cook over low flame for 3 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve it hot.

Kala Vatana Amti

Source hungryforever.com

Ingredients

  • 1 cup black peas
  • 1 large diced tomato
  • 2 cups of grated coconut
  • 1 large sliced onion
  • 1-inch ginger slice
  • 2 red chillies
  • 6 garlic
  • 2 tsp of malvani masala
  • 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp of chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp of oil
  • Salt and water as required

Procedure

Wash a cup of black peas and soak overnight. Drain the water and boil it in a pressure cooker with salt and 3 cups of water for 10-12 minutes. Put a frying pan over a high flame and heat 1 tablespoon of oil in it. Add sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Add chopped ginger, garlic, grated coconut, and red chillies. Fry in low flame until the masala turns brown and doesn’t stick to the pan anymore. Cool the masala and transfer it to a grinder. Add 3 tablespoons of boiled chana and half a cup of water to it and grind into a smooth paste. Put a deep bottomed pan on low flame and add 1 tablespoon of oil in it. Add chopped onions and fry till transparent. Add Malvani masala, a little bit of salt and turmeric powder and saute for 1 minute. Add fried masala paste and stir for 1 minute. Add the boiled chana and broth to the mixture. Mix well, cover the lid and cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Add water according to the consistency you prefer. Serve hot.

Patholi

Source mysecretplate.com

Ingredients

  • 1 cup grated coconut
  • 2 cups of jaggery powder
  • 1 tsp of cardamom powder
  • 2 pinches of grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup of chopped dry fruits of choice

Procedure

Filling: Mix grated coconut, cardamom powder, jaggery, a pinch of grated nutmeg and choice of dry fruits in a bowl and set aside.

Batter: Mix rice flour, salt, and water and make a smooth rice flour paste. Let this mixture rest for an hour.

Take the turmeric leaves, rinse them in water, and then wipe them dry. Cut the base of the leaves and along the line of the vein. Make sure not to break the vein of the leaf. Place the rice flour mixture like a sheet on a leaf and add a bit of filling on it. Fold the leaf in a small pocket and seal the ends. Steam them for 10-12 minutes. Discard the turmeric leaves and serve the cooked filling with ghee.

Aloo Methi

Ingredients

  • 6 bunches of methi stalks
  • 2 medium-sized potatoes cut in cubes
  • 1 medium-sized onion finely chopped
  • 1 tsp of oil
  • 6 large garlic finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
  • salt to taste
  • 1 green chilli

Procedure
Remove the leaves from the methi stalks and chop them into fine pieces. Wash the leaves and make sure there are no sand particles or other impurities on it. Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions to it. Saute until the onions turn transparent. Add chopped garlic and green chilli and saute for 30 seconds. Add cubed potatoes and saute for 3 minutes. Add methi leaves and turmeric powder and mix it well. Add water and salt, mix well and cover the lid. Cook until the water drains.

Shrikhand

Ingredients

  • 1 bowl of hung curd
  • 1 pinch of saffron
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder
  • 2 tsp of powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup of chopped nuts

Procedure

Warm some milk and add crushed saffron in it. Stir gently to make saffron milk. Take hung curd in a bowl and powdered sugar to it. Pour the saffron milk in it and mix gently. Do not whisk vigorously or the mixture will become runny. Add cardamom powder and chopped nuts and mix. Cool the mixture then put in the refrigerator to chill. Shrikhand tastes best when served chilled.

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Go Eco-Friendly This Ganesh Chaturthi

This Ganesh Chaturthi, if you're going to visarjit (let go) of Lord Ganesha's idol, we recommend you going for eco-friendly options. Instead of using plastic figurines, go for the ones which are made from organic material and wouldn't harm the water bodies and aquatic life in any way.