Vinayaka Chathurthi

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This festival is celebrated in the month of avani on chaturthi (4th) day which comes after the new moon. It is celebrated all over India. People celebrate this day in a variety of ways. For anything to go well, we pray Lord Vinayaka. He is the first to be worshipped whenever we start anything. He relieves us from all our difficulties. He solves our problems. In our houses we celebrate this pooja in a grand manner. We decorate the floor with kolams using rice flour. On that day we buy a new Vinayaka idol(made of clay). We also buy a decorated umbrella to place

behind the idol. On a wooden plank, plantain leaf is placed and raw rice is spread over it. We place the idol on this and decorate with flowers and perform pooja. Vinayaka likes a dish called mothagam(kozhukkattai). So different varieties of kozhukkattai are prepared and offered to the lord on this day. It is the special item on this day. Sweet Kozhukkattai Rice flour - 1 cup, water 1 cupHeat water to boil. Pour 2 tsp sesame oil in it and add rice flour with constant stirring so that it becomes thick. Cover and keep aside for 1/2 hour.Then take even sized balls of this and shape it into a hollow hemisphere.

Grease the hand with sesame oil to get the shapeInner stuffing(Poornam): Mix 1 cup grated coconut, 1 cup powdered jaggery, powdered cardomoms - 4 and leave for 5 min.Heat this mixture in low heat with constant stirring until it comes as a paste. At this time add a tsp of ghee and remove from the stove and makeTake uniform balls of the poornam and stuff the poornam in the hemisphere and close it by extending the covering flour.Place these in a plate and steam in a pressure cooker or a large vessel until fully cooked. Salt Kozhukkattai Soak 100g urud dal for 1 hour. Add 3 green chillies, 1/4 tsp salt, a pinch of asafoetida and grind it into a thick coarse paste. Place this on idli plates and steam. Remove and when it cools a little separate them gently.Heat 4 tsp of oil in a fry pan, add mustard seeds. When it pops, add 6 tsp of grated coconut, cooked urud dal mix. Add a bunch of curry leaves.Using this as stuffing, make kozhukkattais as described in kozhukkattai Pidi Kozhukkattai Rice - 250 gms , Salt - 1/2 tsp , grated coconut - 1 cup , mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp , asafoetida - 1/4

tsp , gram dal - 1 tsp, urud dal - 1 tsp , red chillis - 4 , curry leaves - 1 twig, oil- 1/4 cup optional - cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp , toor dal - 2 tsp , black pepper corn - 1/2 tsp - GrindGrind rice coarsely like rava . Heat oil and Roast red chillis. Add mustard seeds. Whn it pops add urud dal and gram dal. When they are roasted curry leaves and crated coconut and roast slightly. The coconut should not become too red. Add 4 cups of water and salt to this mix and bring it to boil. Add the rava and stir untl it is cooked well and the mix becomes thick. When it is hot and when the hand can withstand the heat make this mix into a desired shape. Place these shapes on idli plates inside a cooker and steam them. Sesame Kozhukkattai Outer cover:Rice flour - 1 cup, water 1 cupHeat water to boil. Pour 2 tsp sesame oil in it and add rice flour with constant stirring so that it becomes thick. Cover and keep aside for 1/2

hour.Then take even sized balls of this and shape it into a hollow hemisphere. Grease the hand with sesame oil to get the shapeStuffing: white seasame seeds - 1 cup , jaggery - 1/2 cupRoast seasame seeds until it burns. when it cools powder it. Add grated jaggery and blend once.Take uniform balls of the poornam and stuff the poornam in the hemisphere and close it by extending the covering flour.Place these in a plate and steam in a pressure cooker or a large vessel until fully cooked. Kaara

Kozhukkatai Outer cover:Rice flour - 1 cup, water 1 cupHeat water to boil. Pour 2 tsp sesame oil in it and add rice flour with constant stirring so that it becomes thick. Cover and keep aside for 1/2 hour.To this flour, add red chillie powder, salt and asafoetida and knead well. Make very small balls of this and steam it on a plate inside the idli cooker. In 1 tsp oil, add mustard seeds. When it bursts, add these ball and fry well.

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