Mom's Recipies

 
 Krishna Janmashtami , the birthday of Lord Krishna is celebrated all over India. Major celebrations of Janmashtami takes place at midnight as Lord Krishna is said to born at midnight.
We worship bal gopal  at home and temples and  prepare his favorite dishes which include sweets and savory dishes. Then on the midnight of Janmashtami, we offer these dishes to Lord Krishna in order to welcome him on the earth. It’s believed that Gopalkala is one of his favorite treats.Gopalkala is an extremely nutritious and scrumptious dish, generally prepared on the occasion of Janmashtami .Gopalkala is prepared with Poha, ghee,curd and cucumber it’s very easy to prepare and just take few minutes to be ready and tastes heavenly.

 

Ingredients:

250 gms Pressed Rice  /Beaten Rice (Poha)
1/2 cup Fresh Coconut (grated or scraped )
1/2 inch Ginger (finely chopped)
50 gms or1/2 cup Curd
1/2 tsp Sugar
2 Green Chillies (finely chopped)
100 gms or 1 mediumCucumber   (finely chopped)
1 tbsp Ghee
1 tsp  Cumin seeds (Jeera)
Salt to taste
 Few Coriander leaves ( finely chopped ) for garnishing (optional)


 Method:-
 
1) Wash the poha under running water. Keep in a colander so that the excess water drains away.
2) Separately beat the curd, salt, sugar and finely chopped  cucumber.
3) Mix Poha with scraped coconut  and beaten curd mixture.
4) Now heat ghee in a frying pan.
5) Saute jeera, ginger and green chillies in the ghee.
6) Pour the tempering over the poha and mix well. 
7) Garnish with chopped coriander
8) Gopalkala is ready to be served.

Tip:-

If the poha is soaking up too much of moisture then you can add butter milk.

Janmashtami / Krishna Jayanthi /Gokulasthami is the celebration of Lord Krishna's birth. It is a festival celebrated throughout India. Major celebrations of Janmashtami takes place at midnight as Lord Krishna is said to born at midnight.On this auspicious occasion, temples and homes are beautifully decorated and people visit temples till late mid night .
                 Janmashtami is celebrated differently in different parts of india. e.g.Janmashtami or Gokulashtami, popularly known in Mumbai and Pune as Dahi Handi, is celebrated as an event which involves making a human pyramid and breaking an earthen pot (handi) filled with buttermilk (dahi), which is tied at a convenient height.Whereas in north india, devotees place images of krishna’s infancy  in swings and cradles in temples and homes.

In north India people celebrate Janmashtami by fasting and staying up until midnight.

Devotees observe strict fasting during the festival. While some keep nirjal or waterless fasts, others eat fruits. With the changing times,some people no longer observe stringent fasts, they eat curd, certain other vegetables etc during the day.

During religious fasting, only certain flours & grains can be used:


1. singhare ka atta (water chestnut flour)
2. kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour)
3. rajgira ka atta (amaranth flour) 
4. Sago (Sabudana)

We use rock salt or sendha namak instead of normal salt. during fasting.All the rules which applies for navratri fasting applies for  the recipes which you can have for janmashtami fasting.

Here are some recipes that are suitable for Janmashtami Fasting and which you can prepare easily during the occasion.

Janmashtami / Krishna Jayanthi is the celebration of Lord Krishna's birth. It is a festival celebrated throughout India. Major celebrations of Janmashtami takes place at midnight as Lord Krishna is said to born at midnight.

On this auspicious occasion, temples and homes are beautifully decorated and illuminated.We perform poojas during the sunset,  offering Lord Krishna with lots of prasadams and Neivadyams.Lot of sweets & snacks are prepared for this function.Gokulashtami is on August 17th and with the date nearing I am posting my collection of Janmashtami recipes which would be useful for the festival preparations.

Butter and Aval /Poha recipes are a must for Neivadyam as Lord Krishna likes it very much.

Here is an array of easy & delicious Janmashtami / Krishna Jayanthi / Gokulashtami / Krishnashtami Neivadyam recipes  that will help you to choose as per your preferences.!!!

Please Click on pic or Names for recipes:

Sweets

 1)  Aval Payasam



2 ) Sago Payasam


3) Rava Payasam
                                                                

4) Chana Dal Payasam
                                                         

5) Rava Kesari
                                                          


6) Besan Ladoo



7)  Groundnut Ladoo
                                                    

8) Til /Sesame Seeds Ladoos
                                                       


9) Kalakand
                                                        

10) Doodh Peda
                                                        

11) Adhirasam
                                                        

12) Karanji / Kajjikayalu
                                                       

Savories

1)  Sev /Omapodi /Sana Karapusa
                                                       

2)  Chakali /Murukku
                                                       

3) Poha Chivda
                                                       

4) Spicy Shankarpali / Namakpara
                                                       


5) Atukula Pulihora / Aval Puliyodharai



Along with this Fruits, Butter,  Poha  /Aval / Atukulu ,  curd ,  Milk  (Paal)  are offered for Neivedhyam. On festival day you can also prepare items like  Poha /Atukula upma ,  Atukulu Pulihora  , Atukulu Payasam , Atukulu Dosa / Set Dosa along with home made butter.     

WISH YOU ALL HAPPY JANMASHTAMI !