Traditional festive spread

From modakas to holige, Ganesha Chaturthi sees dishes that offer a slice of history too

The 10-day long celebration of Ganesha Chaturthi has officially begun. Most of South India and Maharashtra are embracing the celebration with family, friends and loved ones.

While there are a number of religious rituals that take place, it’s the food that brings everyone together. From modakas to holige, this festive season has a lot of sweet treats to offer.

The preparation of these dishes varies in terms of technique and ingredients according to geography. Thanks to ready-made items and innovative cooking styles, the traditional ones sometimes tend to take a backseat.

History

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha loved to eat. He was particularly fond of dishes made with coconut, jaggery, peanuts and banana.

All of these ingredients are used during the festival rituals in some form or the other.

It’s believed that coconut and banana are considered to be the purest for their seeds cannot grow into a tree. In addition to that, bananas cannot be eaten without peeling off the skin.

These are some of the reasons why banana and coconuts are offered during the puja.

Sweet offerings

An idol of Lord Ganesha is always seen carrying a modaka or sweet dumpling in his hand as it’s believed to be one of his favourite items.

Different communities use different stuffings to prepare this. Coconut, jaggery and cardamom flavour, and peanut, jaggery and kalkand are the most common ones used.

As per the ritual, you should give 21 modakas as offering. It’s generally offered to the idol and then served as prasadam to the devotees. Steamed modakas are also known as ‘Ukadiche Modak’ (in Marathi) and are slathered with hot ghee before serving it.

Traditional method

The casing of the modaka is the most important bit. It is raw rice soaked in water, dried and powdered. The flour is then cooked along with water to form the dough to help it activate the desired stickiness/glutinous texture.

There are commonly two types of stuffing — sweet and savoury. The sweet one usually comprises coconut, jaggery and cardamom. Some also use sesame seeds instead of coconut.

The savoury one is called ‘uppu kozhukottai’. It’s made with a filling of black gram, green chillies, mustard seeds and lemon, or instead of urad dal/ yellow moong dal.

Southern specials

The flat sweet bread ‘holige’ is a Ganesha Chaturthi favourite. However, different states use different stuffing. In Karnataka, chana dal is used. Tamil Nadu likes the coconut filling while Maharashtra likes wheat flour with peanuts and jaggery.

When it comes to Karnataka, rice items like ‘chitranna’ and ‘puliyogare’ are a must. In the case of ‘chitranna’, aka lemon rice, lemon is one of the items that’s available throughout the year. The turmeric used for taste and colour is considered sacred and auspicious.

It’s also believed that the citrus and tamarind will keep the dish fresh for a while.

With much to do on the day, these are the tasty, easy dishes that can be prepared and kept on the side for binging. Back in the day, when there were no refrigerators, this was a good way to store food for longer period.

(With inputs from Rupa Balachandar, cooking show host)