The auspicious Ganesh Chaturthi celebration is quickly approaching. It commemorates the birth of Lord Ganesha and is observed for ten days with great fervor and excitement. It started on September 19 and end on September 28 this year. Like any other Indian celebration, Ganesh Churthi would be lacking without mouthwatering treats.

Here are some special recipes curated by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa, New Delhi.

LAUKI KESAR KHEER

Ingredients       

. Grated Lauki     

. Milk                                                                      

. Kesar   

. Rice                                                                       

. Sugar                                                                    

. Crushed Almond, Cashews,Raisins

. Green Cardamom                                           

. Kewra   Water  

Method

. Heat a heavy bottom pan. Add a tablespoon of ghee. Add chopped almonds, cashews, and raisins, and fry till golden brown. Remove the nuts onto a plate and set it aside.

. In the same pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of ghee and grated lauki. Sauté the lauki over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or till it turns translucent. Keep stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, Soak rice in water for sometime. Then drain water and grind rice in to smooth paste.

. In a non-stick sauce pan, boil milk over a moderately low heat and add rice, cooked lauki, sugar,kesar and cardamom. Stir constantly till milk turns thick or of a desired consistency.

Remove from heat and chill.Add kewra water for flavor(optional). Garnish kheerwith almonds or nuts of your choice and serve

SOOJI-CASHEW BARFI

Ingredients

. Sooji     

. Ghee    

. Coarse Sugar (bhurachini)           

. Cashew Nut      

. Cardamom powder

Method

. Take wok, heat ghee on medium flame.

. Add sooji and roast it on low flame. Saute nicely. Stir continuously until becomes aromatic flavor. Turn off the gas. Keep aside the roasted sooji dough for cooling on room temperature.

. Add coarse sugar, cardamom powder and cashew nuts in a mixer. Take it out in a bowl. Now, add the sooji dough to the mixture and mix all well either with spatula or hands.

. Greaselittle ghee/oil/butter on a small tray and spread the mixture. Make shape of Barfi on flat tray

. Garnish with nuts or as per your choice and enjoy with friends and family!

COCONUT LADDOO

Ingredients

. Condensed Milk                                

. Coconut Powder, desiccated               

. Cardamom Powder                              

. Gram Flour 1 cup (optional/ as per liking for binding ladoo)

Method

. Take a mixing bowl. Add condensed milk,gram flour,coconut powder (300g), and cardamom powder to it. Mix well to make a smooth mixture.

. Divide the mixture into 10-12 portions, and make tight balls out of them.

. Now roll each ball in remaining coconut powder.

. Let the balls settle for 15 minutes.Instant coconut laddoos are ready to be served. Enjoy the flavourful laddoos!

CHOCOLATE LADDOO

Ingredients

 . Dry Roasted Peanuts 

. Dry Roasted Sesame

. Dry Roasted Desiccated Coconut

. Dark Chocolate, Chopped Fresh Juicy Dates Deseeded

. Almonds

. Raisins

. Vanilla Extract

. Honey

. Rose petals or nuts (for garnishing)

Method

. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend well. Your mixture should look sticky at this point. If your mixture seems too dry to shape, squeeze in a little more honey.

. Make lemon size balls. Add few sliced almonds and roasted peanuts, roasted sesame or any one of these depending on your liking to the mixture for the crunchy bite.

. When the laddoo is still sticky, garnish it with dried rose petals or nuts of your choice, ina way that it covers the laddoo. You can skip garnishing, in case you don’t want to.

. Leave them aside for about 30 minutes to stick well together.Once set, enjoy the flavorful Chocolate laddoo!

BEETROOT MODAK

Ingredients

. Besan/Gram Flour

. Fine grainedRava/ Semolina/Sooji         

. Beetroot Color Or Two Oven Cooked Beetroot Paste

. Water

. Oil for frying

For sugar syrup:

. Sugar

. Water

. Cardamom Powder

. Lemon Juice                                         

. Cashew/pistachio or nuts of your choice chopped

Method

. Take a bowl and mix the above ingredients with water, let it sit for 30 mins.

. Prepare oil for frying and use perforated spoon to jerk and make small globules

. Make sure it is slow cooked and deep fried, remove from the oil and place it in paper towel to remove extra oil. Let it cool down to mix it with sugar syrup

. Keep a pan on low flame, to prepare sugar syrup, add sugar, water, cardamom powder and lemon juice. Stir continuously to avoid burning.

Now, to the hot sugar syrup add aboveprepared modak mixture

. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes or until sugar syrup thickens and you get the desired consistency.Cover and keep aside for 10 mins

Once, sugar syrup is completely absorbed by the mixture, add cashew and pistachios. Mix well. Prepare modak by taking a small amount of mixture. Add milk, if required to moisten modak. Once set, enjoy!

Source - IANS