"21~Pumpkin Seeds Churmundo (Laddoos)" ... Wishing all my a friends ... A Very Happy and Prosperous Adhikamas Sankashti Chaturthi that falls once in around 32.5 months ... Prayers to Lord Ganesha on this auspicious day to bless every home with good health, peace and save the world from running crisis ... here is my Naivedyam offered to Gampapa today ... tried out a twist in our traditional churmundo by adding in ground pumpkin seeds to make it healthier ... Stay Safe~ Stay Blessed ...
** If there is God’s Grace then nothing seems impossible is what I firmly believe in and there are definitely no if’s and but’s about it where there is faith. Sankashti Chaturthi an auspicious day that falls every month in Krishna Paksha ie the second face of lunar month which happens to be today. Etymologically, Sankhashti is a Sanskrit word which means freedom from all pain and miseries while Chaturthi means the fourth day. Lord Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom, virtue and knowledge. Hence, the supreme deity is known to bestow you with health, wealth and happiness. It is believed that all the wishes and dreams come true if one pray on this auspicious day with pure heart and soul. Hence, observing fast and performing rituals, offering prayers, singing bhajans on Sankashti Chaturthi proves to be highly beneficial and today being Adhikamasa Sankashti it is that much more auspicious as it comes around once in 32.5 months only and is considered to be very holy. It gives us peace of mind when the mind is disturbed and you really don’t know how to tackle situations.
** It is evident that our minds are today bogged down in misery about the pandemic Covid-19 crisis that somehow keeps rising and does not look like getting ended soon enough. What a mess the whole world is suffering from, Why??? Is a question that none of get answers too. The only solace now is that the supreme strength should intervene and provide with an vaccine so that this beautiful world he himself created can still be saved. In unity lies the strength and when all of us join together and pray to God he cannot but say no, he will surely show us a way out. Till then try to keep yourself safe and go out only if necessary and please ensure you do not forget to wear your mask, wash hands often, sanitize your home and work place and keep a watch on children who are innocent and cannot understand the gravity of the situation. Prepared Naivedyam of Laddoos as an offering to Lord Ganesha as they are his favorite. I gave it a slight twist from the traditional churmundo which we prepare by adding on some finely ground pumpkin seeds, just to make it a sort of healthier version.
** Here is my very own recipe for "21~Pumpkin Seeds Churmundo (Laddoos)" … which I tried today giving a twist to the traditional Churmundo's that my mother makes by adding on pumpkin seeds, making it healthier …
** Ingredients:
Ghee/ Toop : ¾ to 1 cup (melted)
Besan/ Gram Flour/ Chane Peeta : ½ cup
Rava/ Rulav : ¼ cup
Wheat Flour/ Atta/ Govan Peeta : 2 cups.
Pumpkin Seeds : 1 cup
Cardamom/ Ellaichi/ Yellu Powder : ¼ tsp.
Sugar Powder/ Sakkre Pitti/ Pitti Shakkar : 1.5- 2 Cups.
Raisins/ Sukkale Draksha/ Kishmish : 21-25 (Optional)
** In a mixer grinder add in the pumpkin seeds and grind to fine powder. Remove and keep it ready aside to be added.
** Heat ghee (should be thinned/ melted by heating before measuring), remove some and keep at aside to be added on later only if necessary.
** Add in dry grapes into the ghee and fry till the color changes slightly and they blow up. Remove and keep it aside to be added on later.
** Now add besan to the same ghee and fry well till there is a nice aroma on medium heat, this takes about 10 minutes. Then add in the rava and fry for another 5-10 minutes.
** Now add wheat flour little by little mixing well and fry till the color changes to a bit brownish. The kitchen should be full of aroma. Takes about another 5-7 minutes.
** Add in the powdered pumpkin seeds to the above mixture and mix well and fry for about 2-3 minutes only, do not fry more or there are chances it will turn bitter. Add in cardamom powder, mix well and remove from heat.
** Add powdered sugar and mix well with spatula, let cool for 2-3 minutes and then with hands further mix well till the sugar powder has been blended evenly (be careful as this is hot).
** Now you can directly add in the fried and kept aside raisins or do so while binding the laddoos so that each laddoo is topped with the same, that is what I do as it looks beautiful and also gets evenly distributed.
** Check that the sugar has been well mixed in and there are no lumps. Take a handful of mixture and press it hard in hand to get it closely bound then bind the laddoos by gently pressing and putting pressure on it from other hand.
** Keep one fried raisin on top of the laddoos, press it in slightly and then go about making them into laddoos by applying pressure evenly to get it round.If you find difficulty in binding add in little bit of ghee kept aside, mix well and continue.
** "21~Pumpkin Seeds Churmundo (Laddoos)" are done and ready to offered as Naivedyam to God and there by served to family and friends. I used a small glass, so got exactly mediums sized 21 laddoos to my surprise to be offered to Lord Ganesha on the auspicious occasion of Adhikamasa Sankashti Chaturthi.
** Always make a habit of preparing traditional dishes on festive occasions so that the habit of preparing them remains and gets continued over generations. There is nothing much tastier than our own traditional Indian dishes that we should continue with preparing so that it is not lost forever.
** Note : It takes a little bit of practice to be able to bind ladoos a bit dryer ie with less quantity of ghee. So if you find the mixture too dry and are not able to bind the ladoos you can add some hot thinned ghee and mix well. This will help in binding of the laddoos.
** I have prepared a few varieties of Churmundo before and posted in the blog to which I am sharing a common link. It includes the traditional way my mom prepares too, do browse through the same, they are all delicious in taste and tried many times in my kitchen …
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