Lord Ganesha: Sweet Offerings
PILLAIYAR HAS A SWEET TOOTH, JUST LIKE everyone else. For each special puja to Him, goodies are carefully prepared in a worshipful mood while chanting mantras. Modaka balls are presented, among other sweets, on trays before Lord Ganesha in temples and home shrines in over 120 countries, especially during festivals. Of course, foods for puja are never tasted or smelled during preparation or before being offered. They are enjoyed only after the puja, as prasada. The spirit of modaka offering is captured in the following poem by one of Ganesha’s dearest devotees, Tirumati S.K. Jagadeswari of Bangalore, South India.
Mudakaratta Modaka
Aum Ganapati Aum.
Aum Gam Ganapataye Namah.
Vinayaka! — What is dear to Thee,
That will I offer Thee! With what fondness
Thou hold kolukattai in Thy Hand!
I know Thou like it. Thou art sweetness.
Mudakaratta modaka, with smooth rice dough,
Will I envelop and wrap
Jaggery sweet mix with sesame powder,
Cook in steam — that I serve Thee with devotion.
Recipe One: Modaka – Indian Ball like Sweets
The following recipe will make approximately 20 lime-sized modakas, a treat for the children and a traditional offering in the temple. It takes about two hours to make them.
Ingredients and Utensils
1 lb. rice flour
2 cups jaggery (or 2 cups brown sugar
with four tbsp. dark molasses added)
2 cups raw sesame seeds
2 grated coconuts (optional)
2 cups melted ghee or drawn butter
1 tsp. salt
banana leaf or waxed paper
a flour sifter or fine sieve
an iddli or vegetable steamer
Directions
Roast the sesame seeds in a pan, without oil, until golden brown (5 to 10 minutes). Crack the seeds by rolling with a rolling pin or pounding. Add 4 tbsp. ghee to the jaggery to soften it, then mix in the sesame seeds and coconut thoroughly. (This mix may be refrigerated in jars for making quick sweets simply by adding a bit of ghee and shaping the dough into balls.)
Next sift the rice flour and toast it without oil until it browns slightly — about 5 to 7 minutes. Spread it out on a tray or table top when done, and allow to cool completely. While the rice flour is cooling, bring approximately a half gallon of water, with a tsp. of salt, to a rolling boil. Put the cooled, toasted rice flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Slowly pour a small amount of the hot water into the well and begin working it into the rice flour with your hands. Keep adding small amounts of the hot water, and work the flour into a ball of dough. It should be moist but not wet when you put it out on the table or breadboard. Knead the dough thoroughly so it is even in moisture and texture.
Next, place water in the bottom of the iddli steamer and bring to a full boil. Spread a thin coating of ghee or oil on a piece of banana leaf or waxed paper. Take a lump of dough half the size of a lime and work it in your hands for a moment to remove the air and then pat it out flat and round on the leaf, about as wide across as your palm. Make it a uniform thickness so it will cook evenly. Place a lump of the sesame-jaggery-coconut mixture into the center and wrap the dough up around the mixture. Pinch the dough into a cone-shape over the stuffing and wrap the leaf or paper up around it. (The modakas can also be round if desired.) Repeat until you have enough to fill your steamer. Place the assembled modakas in the steamer, spaced so as to not touch one another. Cover and steam until done (15 to 20 minutes). While they cook you can prepare the next batch. When cool enough to handle, dip the modakas in melted ghee. Now they are ready to offer.
Recipe Two: Pudi Kolukattai – Sweet Rice Flour Roll
Ingredients and Utensils
2 cups rice flour
1 cup jaggery or brown sugar
1 shredded coconut
1 tsp. salt
an iddli or vegetable steamer
a pan for toasting the flour
banana leaf or tray
Directions
Heat the rice flour in a dry skillet until lightly toasted, then spread it out on a tray or table top to cool. Sprinkle a little water on it and add the salt, jaggery and coconut. Mix together, adding water only as needed. When it is well kneaded and firm, pinch the dough off into as many lime-sized balls as it will make. Roll into balls, or squeeze in the right hand to create a fist-shaped kolukattai. Bring water in the steamer to a boil and arrange the kolukattais in it, wrapped in banana leaves as in recipe #1. Steam until the balls are a light brown in color. Arrange on a banana leaf or tray and serve to Lord Ganesha.
Recipe Three: Yallu Kolukattai – Sesame Seed and Sweet Rice Roll
This type of kolukattai is commonly prepared in South India for Ganesha Chaturthi festivals.
Ingredients and Utensils
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup jaggery or brown sugar
4 cups rice flour
1 tsp. salt
oil or ghee
8 cups water
a steamer with flat rack
a skillet for toasting flour
a small piece of cheesecloth
a mortar and pestle, rolling pin or blender
banana leaf or tray
Directions
Fry the sesame seeds, without oil, until light brown, then mix with the jaggery. Then, using a pestle and mortar, rolling pin or blender, powder this mixture and set it aside. Heat the rice flour until lightly toasted, and spread it out on a tray or table top to cool. While it cools, add the salt to 8 cups of water in a pan and bring to a strong boil. Gather the cooled, toasted rice flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Slowly pour a small amount of the hot water into the well in the rice flour and begin working it into the rice flour with your hands. Keep adding small amounts of the hot water, working it together into a ball of dough. It should be moist but not wet when you put it out on the table or breadboard. Knead the dough thoroughly so it is even in moisture and texture. When it can be handled, squeeze the dough into lime-sized balls and set them aside.
Smear a bit of oil or ghee on a banana leaf, tray or table top and roll or knead one of the dough balls out on it to a patty about 3 inches in diameter. Place a full tablespoon of the sesame and sugar mixture in the middle and fold the patty over in a crescent shape, pinching it closed where the edges meet. Repeat the process for the rest of the balls.
Bring the water in your vegetable or iddli steamer to a boil and insert the steaming rack or a plate with small holes in it. The rack should be fairly flat and be covered over with a layer of cheesecloth or cotton weave. Arrange the kolukattai on the flat rack, as many as will fit without touching. Cover and steam for 15 to 20 minutes, or until done, depending on the size of your steamer. When finished, transfer them to a plate or banana leaf and allow to cool. Serve to Ganesha as His fondest sweet. With any remaining sesame-sugar mixture you may make small Ganesha figures. Keep them along with the cooked ones for puja. Betel leaves, nuts and fruits may be offered with these.
**Credits to and published by Himalayan Academy