Hayagreeva on Varmahalaksmi Puja

Var Laxmi Puja is an important pooja observed in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and some places of Maharashtra. Var Laxmi Vrata is observed on 2nd Friday during the Shravana mas. Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Worshipping Goddess Laxmi during Shravan month is highly auspicious because the whole month is dedicated to the divine couple, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi. Friday is the most auspicious day for Laxmi Devi. Hence, worshipping Lakshmi Devi on Shravan Shukravar is highly meritorious. Elder people says that Ashtalakshmi showers their blessings on Vara Laxmi Vratha performers. As the eight forces of the world, known as Ashta Lakshmi – primeval force (Aadi Laxmi), wealth (Dhana Lakshmi), courage (Dhairya Laxmi or Veera Lakshmi), wisdom (Vidhya Laksmi), Children or family development (Santana Laxmi), success (Viajaya Lakshmi), food (Dhanya Laxmi) and strength (Gaja Lakshmi) are dedicated to Goddess Laksmi. Puranas described that observing Vara Laksmi Vratham would bless a woman with all eight energies for life. On the day of Pooja or Vrata, women clean their homes and decorate their front yards with rangolis. Later, they take a bath and deck wear pure silk saree and jewellery. The lady performing the pooje makes a mandala with the drawing of a lotus upon it. A kalasha filled with rice and topped with fresh mango and betel leaves, a coconut smeared with haldi and kumkum and cloth are placed on the mandala and Lakshmi is invoked therein.
After the worship of the kalasha, follows the worship of Ganesha, then the worship of the sacred thread. Now the main worship of Vara Lakshmi begins and the scared thread is worshipped a second time. It is then tied to the right hand of the lady. After the worship thamboola is given to 5 married ladies. The same evening, we invite all the neighboring ladies(married women) and offer them tamboola; also called veeledele Adike, which is an offering of betel leaves, fruits, betel nuts, kumkum, haldi and dakshine. At this point the ladies also sing songs in praise of goddess .

In our home we make Puran Poli or any varieties of it on Shravan mas Friday. So today I have prepared Hayagreeva. Hayagreeva is an authentic sweet from Karnataka. This is done on special occasions and can be done very easily. It is basically of Chana dal, jaggery and pure ghee. The major ingredient of this dish is Channa Daal. Avery interesting fact about Channa Daal is that it is great for diabetics. It has been shown to be one of the foods having a very low glycemic index, ie, it does not increase blood sugar levels. There are a lot of articles on the internet which talk about this, for all interested.

Ingredients

Channa Daal- 1 Cup
Grated Jaggery - 1 cup
Khus Khus - 1 tablespoon
Grated Dry coconut- 2 tablespoon
Cashewnuts - 8-10
Cardamom Powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee- 1/4 cup


Procedure

Wash chana daal neatly. Pressure cook it with water upto 3-4 whistles. Let the pressure of cooker get release. Drain the water on top of the dal into another vessel. It is called 'kat' in Marathi . It is used in a "Katachi aamti", It is a special daal which served with Puran Poli. . Now take a thick bottom pan and add jaggery and 'Kat' into it. Cook until jaggery get fully dissolved. Now ad chana dal to it and cook for two minutes. In a seprate pan fry dry coconut, cashewnuts and khuskhus in ghee till it turns slightly brown. Now add all this in chana dal mixture. Add cardamom powder. Add the remaining ghee. The consistency should be not very thick or not very watery. Offer Goddess Laksmi prasad of hayagreeva with Tulsi pan on it.



This is for Sia's RCI-Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine and also to Lakshmi’s RCI announcement page.

And Nithya's Food in Colors(FIC)- Express your Mood which is a brain chils of Sunshinemom

And for MLLA-13 of Tongue Ticklers... initiated by Susan of the "Well-Seasoned Cook

Onion chutney for Bi Colour (Click)

This is one awesome chutney, I took the recipe from Curry In Kadai. It is called as 'Erra Pachadi'. I have not make any changes in her recipe while making it so you can get the recipe here...

I liked this picture very much. So I am sending this to 'bi-colour' click - the Click theme for July 2009. by Jugalbandi.


Erra Pachadi

One more Award........Kreativ Blogger award

EC has passed me this Kreativ Blogger award.. Thanks a lot dear. It mean a lot to me. I am really honored. It's like booster to me.


The Kreativ Blogger award are having some rules …

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated
   

So 7 things about myself.. Ab main apne hi muh se apni baat kya karu….but rule is rule

• I love to make friends.
• Love to eat street chaats and vada pav …. But I'm really missing it here.
• Now a days I am adict of chating on phone with my niece Aadyaa.
• Listening Hindi and Marathi gazals and soft music is enrgy of my life.
• My favorite weekend plan is to go on long drive with my husband…. Mostly on bike.
• I love to celebrate each and every festival with traditional way and with full of fun.
• My favorite time pass is window shopping. I can move around in market or in malls without spending a rupee in shopping.

7 creative friends to whom I am passing the Award….

1. Jaya Wagle of Jayaspace
2. Priti of Indiankhana
3. Priya of Priya's easy and tasty recipes
4. Lakshmi of Taste of Mysore
5. Sharmi of Neivedyam
6. Srivalli of Cooking for all seasons
7. Manasi of A cook at heart

Congratulations gals and enjoy the Award......

Dadpe Pohe

Another variety of Pohe from Maharashtra. It's very quick to make . A simple and spicy and non fried snack at any time. When we get bored of regular meal and have something tasty , filler and quick to make, We have it as lunch or dinner also. In Marathi "Dadpane' means giving pressure. While soaking Poha, we cover it with plate and keep some weight on it. So it is called as 'Dadpe Pohe' Just try it …….


Ingredients
Patal pohe (Thin poha) - 2 cups
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 small
Raw peanut - 2 tablespoon
Lemon juice - 1 table spoon (optional)
Green chillies - 2
Curry leaves - 4-5
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Salt and sugar for taste

For tempering
Oil - 2 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Asafetida - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Procedure
Grate onion and tomato. Take it in a bowl. Add grated fresh coconut. Now soak Poha in the water of onion, tomatoes and coconut. My aaji used to add little coconut water to make Poha soft. She used to cover it with a plate and used to put some weight on it and keep aside for 10-15 minutes. It is call as 'Dadapne', means to give pressure. Now add salt, sugar, lemon juice and mix well. Heat oil and fry peanuts to crispy brown. Then add mustard seeds, after they splutter add chopped green chilies, curry leaves, turmeric powder and asafetida. Let it get a little cool. Add tempering on Poha mixture. Mix well and serve with a garnishing of coriander leaves. If you like and you are not diet cautious, can add more grated coconut into it.


My contribution for PJ's ‘Let’s go nuts..’

Yadni

Yadni, is a variety of dosa. After shifting to Bangalore, when we first time visited Sudha Aatya's place, she made this yadni for us and we liked the taste very much. It is very healthy too. You can get all the daals and rice in one dosa only. You can eat it with coconut chutney or any other chutney you like.

Ingredients

Dosa Rice - 1 cup
Channa Dal - 1/2 cup
Mung Dal - 1/2 cup
Urad dal - 1/2 cup
Toor Dal - 2 tablespoon
Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon
Chopped onion - 1 small
Chopped Green chilies - 1-2
Curry leaves - 5-6
Chopped coriander leaves - handful
Oil to make dosas
Salt - To taste

Procedure

Mix rice,all dals and fenugreek seeds. Wash neatly and soak in a water for 3-4 hours. Grind it in mixer. Consistency of batter should be like uttappa. Now ferment it for 2 hours only. Then add chopped onion, green chilies, coriander leaves, curry leaves and salt as per taste. Now heat a iron pan (or a nonstick pan), sprinkle some oil and add one small cup of batter and spread circularly to make a round shape. Spread 1 teaspoon of oil and cook it on low flame. Now turn the yadni to other side and cook for some time. The yadni is now ready to serve. Enjoy hot yadni with coconut chutney.

This post is for MLLA-13 of Tongue Ticklers... initiated by Susan of the "Well-Seasoned Cook

And

Padma's "Dosa Corner" event