Ganesh Chathurti.

 Ganesh chaturti or Ganesha Habba is here and we Indians are fond of this Festival.

We do prepare varieties of Modakas, Laddu, Chakkuli, Kadubu, Pancha Kajjaya etc, for this festival.

Lord Ganesh Idol is prepared with clay soil, this idol is brouhgt home with pomp and paegentry.  Pooja is done with Naivedyam and then some do this ritual for three days and some people do Visarjan of Ganesh on the same day in water. Visarjan is done in ponds, rivers, sea or even in well. This shows the human is born, spent his life time and at the end is death.

ಗಣೇಶ ಬಂದ 

ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ ಮೇಲೆ ಗಂಧ 

ಕಾಯಿ ಕಡುಬು ತಿಂದ

ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಕೆರೇಲಿ ಎದ್ದ

ದೊಡ್ಡ ಕೆರೇಲಿ ಬಿದ್ದ.

 The meaning of the above words are 

Ganesha has come, 

He ate Kayi Kadubu. ( Sweet delicacy made of rice, coconut and jaggery)

He was prepared by smalll pond soil

and he was taken and dipped in the big water way. (May be the river, sea etc).

Lord Ganesh is prayed first in the beginning of any of the pooja. Prathamam Ganesha.

There is a story that on Ganesh Chathurthi we should not see Moon. (Chaturthi moon).

You avoid seeing Moon on this day evening. or might get a bad label as thief even though that you have not done that theft.

There is a story for this.  

On this Ganesha festival day, Ganesha had eaten lots of eatables like Laddu, Unde, Pancha kajjaya, Kayi kadubu et. 

He was travelling back on his vehicle Mooshika that is Rat. When they were passing the field, the rat saw a snake and pushed Ganesha on the earth and ran away and hid in a bush.

Becarus of the fall Ganesha;s stomack broke and all the edibles came out. 

Ganesha got angry and pulled that snake and turned around his stomach. Seeing Ganesha falling Moon laughed. Ganesha got angry and gave him a Curse. that he will turn as a thief.

Moon pleaded him to take away the curse. So Lord Ganapa said who ever sees the moon will have to face the theft  crime, even though they do not do it. 

And by listening to Shamanthaka Mani Story, the curse does not harm much .

Shamantaka Mani is one of the precious stone given to King Sathrajit and his brother Prasenajith wore that and went for hunting to forest. In the forest a lion killed the Prasenjit and took it. A bear Jambuvantha fought with lion and he took that Shamanthaka Mani and gave it to his daughter. 

Shree Krisha had seen the Moon on Ganesha Chuthurthi and the theft lebal was put on him.

Though he did not take that Shamantaka Mani, he was labeled as thief. So Shree Krishna went in search of Shamantaka Mani to a forest and found it on Jambavathi, Jambavanta's daugher. 

He fought with Jambavantha, Jambavantha did not realize that is Shree Rama who has taken a birth as Shree Krishna. When he realized he was surrendered and gave the Mani to Shree Krishna. Shree Krishna brought the Shamantaka Mani and gave it to the king Satrajit.

So who ever hear this story of this Shamantaka Mani , will escape from that curse. 

Om Shree Krishnaya Namah.

 

Ragi & Dry Fruits Laddu.

 Ragi is finger millet and one of the millet family grain. It is said to be the healthiest grain on the earth.

Here I have tried Ragi and dry fruits like almonds and cashews. Used some jaggery and dried coconut which are very good for out body.

This Laddu/ Unde can be eaten or munch at any time of the day.

It is good for kids snack box and travelling. This laddu is healthy and good for people who are diet concious. 

Now we will get to know about benefits of eating Ragi/ finger millet in our diet. 

There is a proverb sayig " The one who eats Ragi is Nirogi", ರಾಗಿ ತಿಂದವ ನಿರೋಗಿ".

It does mean that the person who eats ragi is free from any sickness. 

Ragi/ finger millet is gluten free and filled with protein and other minerals and vitamins. It is fiber rich. It has antioxidannt properties. It is good for diabetes. It helps  to prevent our skin from ageing. Ragi is good for our hair health. It is good for digestion. It is rich in calcium.

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• Now let us see the procedure of preparing Ragi/ Finger Millet & Dry fruits Laddu.
• Things Needed :
• Ragi flour : 2 Cups.
• Almonds : 1/2 Cup
• Cashews : 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs.
• Dry Coconut/ Copra : 1/2 of 1 coconut.
• Jaggery : 1/2 Cup. Powdered.
• Cardamom : 4 to 5 Pods.
• Ghee : 2 to 3 Tbs.

Method :

1. Remove cardamom outer layer and keep it aside.

2. Cut 2 tbs of cashews into small pieces.

2. Dry fry cashews 1/2 cup and almonds for 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Take it out to a bowl.

4. Dry fry Ragi/ finger millet on low flame till the raw smell goes off.

5. Cut dry coconut into small pieces.

6. Dry grind dry roasted almonds, cashews and cardamom seeds and put it to a big bowl.

7. Dry grind copra pieces. 

8. Now add every thing together to the big bowl. Dry roasted Ragi flour, dry grindied cashews and almonds, dry grinded copra. Mix it nicely.

9. Keep a pan on fire and add powdered jaggery. Add 1/4 cup of water and stir continuously.

10. When jaggery turns one string consistency stir little more and pour this jaggery syrup to Ragi flour mix. Add cashew pieces 

!1. Add 2 to 3 tbs of ghee. Mix every thing quickly.

12. Prepare Laddu by taking handful of Laddu mix and giving it to a round ball shape. 

13. Prepare all the laddu and keep it in a tray.

14. Let it cool. Store it in a glass jar or steel box.

The above pics of Laddu is clicker later after serving during our little grand daughter Urivi's Birthday..

Note : 

Dry fry Ragi flour nicely till the raw smell disappear.

Adding more ghee is optional.

jaggery can be cleaned by sieveing when it turns liquid completely and then use it.

If you find difficult to prepare laddu add some ghee or jaggery syrup.

Do not allow the jaggery syrup to be very thick. 

I have used organic jaggery which I got from my native.

Time : 30 Minutes.

25 Small laddus can be prepared.