Celebrate the new year with the sweetness of this delectable Rawa Kesari, which has classic flavors of Saffron ( kesar) , fresh flavors of cardamom and crunch of nuts.
HAPPY UGADI EVERYONE!!!
Ugadi marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar. It is a day when mantras are chanted and predictions made for the new year. Joy, enthusiasm and gaiety are seen spread across all around in the air and social gatherings become a part and parcel of the celebrations. Leaving the past behind and starting afresh with positive expectation is one of the key aspects of Ugadi.
Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a thorough wash. Shopping for new clothes and buying other items that go with the requirements of the festival are done with a lot of excitement. On Ugadi day, people wake up before the break of dawn and take a head bath. The bath is supposedly to be taken after massaging the entire body using sesame oil.
Entrance of the houses are decorated with fresh mango leaves. People also splash fresh cow dung water on the ground in front of their house and draw colorful floral designs. This is a common sight in every household. People perform the ritualistic worship to God invoking his blessings before they start off with the new year.
The celebration of Ugadi is marked by religious zeal and social merriment. It is believed that the creator of the World, Lord Brahma started creation on this day
The day also marks the beginning of spring season, which is considered to be the first of all seasons, with plants, shoots, and leaves coming to life and therefore, the day is believed to set things rolling for a fresh and successful new beginning. Devotees perform ritualistic pujas and seek blessings from God for health, wealth, prosperity, and success in businesses and work as well. It is for this reason that it is considered the best time to take on new ventures or personal goals for betterment of oneself.
Ugadi is mostly celebrated in the Southern Parts of India, and since I belong to the northern part of India, had only heard about it but never celebrated it. It was only few years ago, when I came to know about Ugadi celebrations from few of my south Indian friends.When a our blogger friend Jayashree T Rao of Evergreen dishes asked all the fellow bloggers to post for Ugadi, I quickly agreed because I wanted to know and explore more about this special occasion.
I am bringing Rawa Kesari ( Semolina Dessert) for this special occasion.
Here is the recipe
- 1 cup Semolina ( Sooji)
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 cups water
- few strands of saffron
- 4-5 green cardamom powder
- few cashews
- few raisins
- 2.5 tbsp of clarified butter or Ghee
- 2 tbsp of warm milk
- In a small bowl soak the saffron in 2 tbsp of warm milk and keep aside for 20 minutes.
- In a deep bottomed pan or Kadai, heat 1 tbsp of ghee and once ghee is warm, add sooji or semolina to the pan.
- Roast Sooji for about 10 minutes on medium flame until it turns pinkish. Keep stirring while roasting so that it doesn't burn.
- Once sooji is roasted, take it out and now add a tsp. of ghee to the pan, roast raisins and cashews for few minutes and take it out.
- In the same pan now add 2 cups of water and let it boil. Once it is boiled, add roasted sooji to water. keep stirring continuously to avoid forming lumps.
- Immediately add saffron milk also and once sooji is completely mixed and absorbs water, add sugar to the pan. Add the remaining ghee also.
- Keeping the flame low, cover with lid and let this cook for 5 minutes. Open the lid and add powdered cardamoms and mix well.
- Add few drops of ghee all over. Garnish with roasted cashews and raisins and serve hot or cold and enjoy!
Source of Information
http://festivals.iloveindia.com/ugadi/significance-of-ugadi.html
www.yahoo.com/
Wikipedia
Delicious rava Kesari Swati..Wonderfully prepared and presented..:)
Thanks !