Poha Payasam- Gokulashtami Special

Poha Payasam- Gokulashtami Special 

Sri Krishna Jayanthi or Gokulashtami is the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna and is celebrated all over India. I prepared 'Poha Payasam' as an offering for Lord Krishna. It is a very healthy & easy to make recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup Beaten Rice (Poha)
• 2 cup thick Coconut Milk
• ½ cup Jaggery 
• Few Cashew Nuts, Almonds and Raisins
• 5-6 Saffron strands
• 5-6 Green Cardamoms, peeled and seeds crushed to fine powder

Method:

1. Place poha or beaten rice in a sieve and give it a quick rinse under running water. Keep it aside.
2. Take a pan and heat about 1 cup of water and add jaggery to it. Once the jaggery completely dissolves,  pass it through the sieve to remove any impurity.                                                       
3. Transfer the jaggery water back into the pan and add rinsed poha. Let it cook for two minutes on medium flame.
4. Next add coconut milk and give it a good stir. Let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring in between, on medium flame. 
5. Now add crushed cardamom powder and cashew nuts, almonds and raisins. I had used (almond, cashew nut, pistachio grind powder).
6. Add little more water, if needed, to get the required consistency and let it simmer for a minute or two.
7. Offer it to the Lord Krishna on Gokulashtami. J   
8. Serve this quick, delicious Poha Payasam hot or warm or at room temperature or chilled and enjoy! 

Gopalkala for Janmashtami

GOPALKALA

Janmashtami, birth of Lord Krishna is celebrated all over India. In Maharashtra, people make a human pyramid, the person on top breaks the earthen pot filled with curds. This is called Dahi Handi. On the occasion of Janmashtami, the devotees of Krishna prepare every favorite dish of the Lord. Then on the midnight of Janmashtami, these delicious dishes are offered to Lord Krishna in order to welcome him on the earth. These include varieties of sweets and dairy products. One of them is the luscious Gopalkala. Prepared from beaten rice, curd, ghee and cucumber, this salty recipe is generally prepared in every home where the festival of Janmashtami is observed. It is extremely easy to prepare and hardly take few minutes to be ready to serve.
Check out the recipe for this extremely nutritious and scrumptious dish. Ingredients

1 cup poha ( beaten rice) washed and drained

1/2 cup murmura ( puffed rice)

1/2 cup Lahiya (this is used during Laxmi Puja during Diwali)

1 cup grated Coconut (fresh)

1 chopped Cucumber

2 Green Chilies

1 tbsp Ghee

1 tsp Jeera

1/2 tsp grated Ginger

1 & 1/2 cup Curd

1/2 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

some finely cut coriander leaves

Method
1. Soak beaten rice for 10 minutes.
2. Take a big bowl and add soaked poha, lahiya, murmura, grated coconut, chopped cucumber. curd, sugar, salt and chopped corriander. Mix well.
3. Melt ghee in a small pan for the tempering and add the jeera, green chilies and grated ginger.
4. Pour over the above mixture. Mix well and serve.