Happy Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi-(Ganesh Festival) is a day on which Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chavithi in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, is widely worshiped as the supreme god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune.




During the Ganesha festival, Indian household worships a statue of Shri Ganesha. The worship lasts an odd number of days from 1 to 11 days, sometimes 13.

This festival starting with the installation of beautifully engraved (sculptured) Ganesh idols in colorfully decorated homes and mantapas (small stage). The idols are worshiped with families and friends.



The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak (modagam or modakam in South India). A modak is a dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery and some other condiments. It is either steam-cooked or fried. Another popular sweet dish is the Karanji (karjjikai in Telugu & Kannada) which is similar to the modak in composition and taste but has the shape of the 4th day moon.
(Source Wiki)

This is how we celebrated. Usually a Ganesh idol made of clay is bought home and is worshiped for 10 days. Being here in US, I made a Ganesha at home out of Turmeric. It gave us immense pleasure to worship an Idol made with my own hands.




After Pooja and Nievedyam



We worship him with different kind of leaves, flowers, fruits and Grass.
I had made Modaks (Kozukattai) and Channa (sundal/ sanegalu) for neivedyam.


Being a first timer to make modaks, I was not very perfect at it. So no recipes please:(


So how did you all like my little handmade Ganesha??

Paneer Pizza

This was my first attempt to make a pizza right from scratch and it was a great success.
I have used my own imaginations from the sauces to the topping and it came out really well.

Making the pizza dough

Ingredients

Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas

1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups bread flour (can use all-purpose but bread flour will give you a crisper crust)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar



Preparation

In half the cup of warm water dissolve the pack of yeast. Add a tsp sugar to feed it. let it sit for a few minutes until it foams up. Add flour, salt, water and yeast mixture to your electric mixer or a mixing bowl to make a smooth and elastic dough.
The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. I used my hands to knead the dough.
Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you don't have a warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Place the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise.





This dough can be kept in the fridge for a week if you want to make it ahead. I had some dough left which I saved for the week ahead.



Pizza Topping

Ingredients

1/2 cup medium chopped oinons
1/2 cup Paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
1/2 cup medium chopped pineapple chunks (I used dole chunks)
1/2 cup meduim chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup meduium chopped capsicum
3-4 tbsp tomato puree or sauce
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1/2 tsp ginger/garlic paste
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp Bombay sandwich spread (found at the Indian store)
1 tbsp Samosa Chutney (found at the Indian store)
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese



Preparation

Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
Once the pizza dough has raised, as seen in the picture, Remove the plastic cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in half. Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.

Take a ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker.
Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Use your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest another 5 minutes.


I used a normal baking tray, transfered the pizza base to the tray with very little flour on the bottom of the tray, so that the dough does not stick.
Now add the topping. Mix up the tomato puree/sauce (store brought), ketchup, ginger/garlic paste, Italian seasoning, sandwich spread, chutney in a bowl. I wanted a little Indian flavor on my pizza, so I added some different varieties of chutneys to my pizza.
You can create your own tomato base or buy a ready made one. Spread the sauce on the pizza base evenly. Now top it with onions, cottage cheese (paneer), pineapple chunks, tomatoes, capsicum and finally sprinkle it with mozzarella cheese.
Bake pizza until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, for about 10-15 minutes.
Enjoy!!!

Janmashtami

Lord Krishna with Mother Yashoda

Lord Krishna lifting Govardhana Hill

Radha & Krishna

Mother Yashoda chasing Lord Krishna

Janmashtami is the birthday of Lord Krishna. According to the Hindu lunar calendar, Lord Krishna was born on the eighth day (ashtami) of the second (dark) fortnight of the month of Shravana. Read more about it Here.

I made 2 varieties of Seedai (Tamil). It is called Paalakayalu in Telugu. Seedai are small rice flour balls deep fried in oil. One is a sweet version known as vellam(jaggery) seedai and the savory version is called the uppu (salt) seedai.
The uppu seedai is inspired from Menu Today's blog.

Uppu Seedai

Ingredients

1 cup Rice Flour
1 tbsp Urad Flour
2 tbsp Butter
dash of asafoetida
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp Sesame seeds
1 tbsp Grated Coconut
Salt
Water to knead
Oil to deep fry

Preparation

Dry roast the rice flour in a deep bottomed pan for 10 minutes on medium low heat. Keep tossing it continously so that it does not get burnt. Let it cool. Add all the other ingredients except oil and make a pliable dough.
Make small balls as shown in the picture. Deep fry them till golden brown.

If you are trying this for first time please be careful as the seedais burst out in the oil. Be away from the oil. If the dough is soft and has enough butter it will not burst.

Vellam Seedai

Ingredients

1cup rice flour
1tbsp urad flour
3-4 tbsp jaggery

1/2 tsp crushed cardamom
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp grated coconut
1tsp sesame seed
water to knead
oil for deep frying

Preparation

The procedure is same as that for uppu seedai. Except that, jaggery is melted and mixed to the rice flour. You can see the picture of both the dough. The light colored is the uppu seedai dough and dark colored is the vellam seedai.Deep fry till golden brown.

Neivedyam to Lord Krishna, Butter, Uppu and vellam seedai.

I was not able to do this post in time because of the JFI hangover:)

I have been showered with so much of love from my fellow bloggers in the form of awards. I thank you all so much for giving it to me. I am honoured.

The Rockin girl award is given to me by Kajal, Archana, Tee, Sukanya, Saju, Manasi and Seec.

This award is given by Raaga, Chandrika, Tee, Archana, Laavanya, Kajal, Srivalli, Pravs and Sandeepa.

This award is given with lot of love by Sobila. Thanks so much again!!

This post goes to Janmashtami event hosted by Latha of The Yum Blog.