Maharashtrian Receipes

I would like to share easy and some traditional Maharashtrian receipes.

You will find nice dishes that you can prepare daily or on occasions.

Festivals

I would like to share some traditional festivals of Maharastrians.

In this busy world we are not able to follow all the customs elaborately.Persons who are interested in doing their customs and rituals without fail this will be very useful.

Gudi Padwa

In Maharashtra, the new year is celebrated as Gudi Padwa - a festival that heralds the advent of spring.Gudi Padva or Ugadi is one of the biggest events of the year.

Early on the morning of the first day of the Chaitra month, people finish their ablutions, wear new clothes and decorate their houses with colorful "rangoli" patterns. A silk banner is raised and worshipped, and greetings and sweets are exchanged. People hang "gudis" on their windows on this day to celebrate Mother Nature's bounty. A "gudi" is a decorated pole with a brass or a silver vessel placed on it.deepam is lit and show karpoora aarthi and neivedhya to the gudi and its mainly for the sun god.

Believed to the day that Lord Brahma created the world, it is viewed as one of the most auspicious days of the year and is a time to wipe the slate clean and make a new start.

Main dish on that day will be Puranpoli.

Akshaya Trithiyai

Akshaya Trithiyai falls on the third day after the new moon in the month of Vaishag(Suklapaksha Trithiyai ). On that day the sun, Surya, and the moon, Chandra, are simultaneously at their peak of brightness.Akshaya Trithiyai is a day when one finds happiness in giving.

The word Akshaya means that which never diminishes, hence beginnings made or valuables bought on this day are considered certain to bring luck and success. All over India people celebrate weddings, plan new business ventures, purchase gold, long journeys and other events on this day. Akshaya Tritiya is traditionally the birthday of Parashurama, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu.

There is a tale in the Mahabharata to highlight the importance of Akshaya Thrithiyai.When the Pancha Pandavas along with their spouse Draupati were in exile, a bowl (Akshaya Pathram) had been given to Draupati by Lord Krishna, with the help of which she was able to serve food to the Pandavas. It was just sufficient to satisfy their hunger."One day, Sage Durvasa, who was known for his short temper, wanted to test the Pandavas. He along with all his followers reached the forest where the Pandavas were living and asked Draupati to keep food ready for them when they would return after a bath in a nearby river. By then she and the Pandavas had already finished their lunch, and the 'bowl' was almost empty, with just a grain of rice left in it."Fearing the wrath of the Sage, Draupati prayed fervently to Lord Krishna, her saviour. Her prayers were answered. Lord Krishna ate the one grain of rice that was still there, and lo! Durvasa and the other guests returned from the river just to tell the Pandavas that already they felt as if they had had a good lunch and their stomachs were full." No wonder, Draupati heaved a sigh of relief! The belief is that, it is good if we buy something like gold, silver or new clothes.

Puranpoli

Ingredients

For making Puran:

• 2 cups bengal gram dal
• 2 cups grated jaggery, (take 2 1/4 cup if jaggery is less sweet)
• Cardamom powder

• Nutmeg grated

For making dough:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, a pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil
• some rice flour for rolling puran polis.

Sieve all purpose flour and salt twice. Make a soft and pliable dough with water and some oil. Keep it under a wet cloth for an hour.

Boil bengal gram with plenty of water. Drain it while it is still hot. Use colander for this purpose.This water can be used to make Katachi Aamti .Now add jaggery to this hot boiled bengal gram and cook over medium heat. Keep stirring constantly so that it will not burn or stick to the vessel. The exact consistency is reached when it leaves sides of the vessel and gets thicker. Remove from the heat now. Allow it to cool and grate in a puran machine or a grinder. This helps remove the lumps.Then add cardamom powder and nutmeg. Now Puran is ready.

Knead the dough with hands. Use oil as well as water for kneading.Make round balls of this dough. Roll one ball a little bit and make a flat disc. Place some puran (about twice the quantity of outer dough) in the center of this flat disc.Seal the ball tightly. Roll again to make thin puran polis . Use rice flour for smooth rolling.Heat a flat griddle. On a medium flame, roast one side. Flip it and roast another side. Do not flip the sides over and over. Roast till golden brown.Smear ghee on top and serve hot.

Variation:you can use sugar instead of jaggery.