beyond modaks for bappa

Ukadiche Modak (steamed) is the most popular Maharashtrian delicacy prepared on Ganesh Chaturthi. It is known as the favourite sweet of Lord Ganesha, made on the very first day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Modak has a soft, white steamed outer covering and the delicately spiced jaggery and coconut filling inside & has a peculiar shape.

Although most people associate only modaks with Lord Ganesh, there’s more savouries what the festival has to offer.

Gharge - It is a traditional Maharashtrian sweet that is slowly getting lost in time. Its not very sweet and even people with a limited sweet tooth will enjoy this. Gharge is basically a sweet puri that has pumpkin as one if its major ingredient which makes it a healthy and filling snack. The outside of the gharge is crisp and the inside is quite chewy.

Ingredients:
1 cups grated/minced pumpkin
1/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup rava
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 cup grated jaggery
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp warmed ghee
Oil/ghee for frying

Method:
Combine grated pumpkin and jaggery in a saucepan and cook together on medium heat till pumpkin is cooked and the mixture is a thick sticky mass.To the warm mixture, add the warmed ghee, cardamom powder, salt and all three flours. Knead to make dough. The dough should not be too tight nor too elastic.Make small balls & roll out puris on a greased plastic sheet.Deep fry the gharges till golden-brown in ghee /oil. 

Panchamrut- All religious Hindu Pooja  are incomplete without the Panchamrut which is a milk and curd based offering to the Gods and is considered auspicious and highly pleasing to the deities. On Ganesh Chaturthi the Ganesh idol is bathed with it before performing the pooja.

Ingredients:
Cow’s milk – 500ml
Curd – 250gm
Honey – 2tsp
Melted Ghee(Saturated Fat) – 1tsp
Sugar – 50gm (As per the sweetness desired

Method:
Mix all together and Panchamrit is ready.

Ninav -  is a Maharashtrian sweet dish made for Anant Chaturthi. Its a blend of flours with coconut milk, sweetened with gul. This pudding is a rare sweet known by few communities among Maharashtrians as well.

Ingredients-

1/2 kg besan

1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup of jaggery

2 cups of coconut milk

salt to taste

1/2 tsp of cardamom

1/4th tsp of nutmeg

2 tbsp of ghee

Method:

Mix all the ingredients well. Put this mixture on low heat, keep stirring it to avoid lumps till you get a consistency of a porridge. Then take a baking pan, smear it with butter & pour this mixture into it. Preheat the oven to 150C & keep the above batter for 20 min till u see it getting a brownish tinge.