10 September

Ganpati Bappa Morya! Wishing you all a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi. May Lord Ganesha as the harbinger of happiness dispel all distress and obstacles from your lives and shower you with his blessings.

सुखकर्ता दुखहर्ता वार्ता विघ्नाची
 नूरवी पुरवी प्रेमा कृपा जयची
 सर्वांगी सुंदरा उति शेंदुराची
 कंठि झलके माला मुक्ताफलनि

 जय देव जय देवा जय मंगलमूर्ति
 दर्शनमत्रे मनकामना पूर्ति

Welcoming Bappa home is always a joy. Somehow the elephant headed god feels more like a family than a God figure. Amidst the pantheon of Indian deities, Gannu Baba is probably the only one who has an innate boyish cheekiness. You will really be hard put to find faults with a God who loves his ‘modak’ more than anything. The ever smiling God feels like the child of the household and we love spoiling him with an overdose of Modaks and all the goodies we can think of on his birthday. 

Ganapati Bappa has been a part and parcel of my life from the time I stepped into the soil of Maharashtra. He he simply omnipresent here. Be it the vehicle dashboard, office desks, temples in the nooks and corner of the streets, bollywood songs, restaurant names or in the grandeur of the iconic Dagduseth Mandir. Even in the most unexpected places you will find him in some form. That's how much he is loved in here.

When I first joined my workplace in Mumbai more than a decade and half ago, Mumbai was a unknown city for me. It was the first time I was going away from my home state. Everything seemed alien and scary at first. On top of that we had a very tight schedule during the training period. Infinite assignments, exams, long hours at the office, the local food made me feel the city of dreams was becoming a city of depression for me. I almost started feeling as if I needed to be back in my comfort zone away from all the craziness.

A month after I joined, it was the time of Ganesh Chaturthi. My company had a huge building in Mahape and they set up a big Ganpati Idol in our premise on the occasion. The office bus used to bring us to office at sharp 8.30 AM. We got out of bus and immediately used to line up before the Ganapati Idol as the aarti would start. Again before leaving office the evening aarti would happen at 8 PM sharp. The evening time felt more surreal, as the surrounding would be absolutely calm and the aarti would reverberate all around the premise creating a dolby effect. "Sukhkarta Dukhharta" - this aarti was the first one I learned during that time and while chanting the same with 100 other trainees in the same room it felt liberating. As if all the negative thoughts I was getting before vanished in that moment. I think it was those 10 days of Ganesh Chaturthi that helped me brave the hardships of the training phase in my company. After all these years, I fondly remember those evening aartis - they are embedded in my memories forever as one of the most cherished moments in Mumbai. This aarti still continues to be my favorite one. You feel so much power and positivity form inside when you chant this, even when you are alone. 

On this occasion today, I made Unniyappam for the naivedya. Unniyappam-Unniappam, is a traditional recipe and popular snack from Kerala. It is a fluffy deep-fried rice sweet fritter similar to Dutch Aebleskiver. Unni in Malayalam means small, Ney/Nei means ghee/clarified butter, and Appam means small rice cake. Unniyappam-Unniappam is also used as a ritual offering, in temples in Kerala (South India). Check out the recipe below. 

• Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
• Banana - 1 medium size
• Baking Soda - a pinch
• Jaggery - 3/4 cup
• Salt - a pinch
• Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
• Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Oil + Ghee - as required for frying

Garnish:

• Roasted sesame - 1 tsp

Equipment:

• Paniyaram Pan / appachatti
• Toothpick

Method

2. Now add the rice flour to the mixing bowl

3. Take the jaggery and break it into pieces or grate it using a grater. Add about 1/2 cup water or as required. Microwave it for about 30 seconds to one minute till the jaggery is completely melted. Strain it to remove impurities. 

Note: If you do not have microwave you can melt the jaggery in a pan over the gas as well.

4. Dry roast the grated coconut till slightly browned and fragrant.

5. Mash the banana with a fork.

6. Now add the mashed banana, melted jaggery, cardamom powder and grated coconut to the dry mix in the mixing bowl. Fold in and the batter should be of a idly or pancake consistency. Let the batter rest for 20 minutes or more.

Note: You can store the batter overnight in a fridge also at this point.

7. Now add the baking soda and salt and give it a stir.

8. Heat a Paniyaram pan and fill each cavity with about half oil + ghee mixture. When the oil is hot, add about 1 tbsp of batter into each cavity. At this point keep the gas at high heat for 1 minute. Then lower the flame to medium and cover the pan. Cook covered for another minute then turn the unniayappam while the center is still soft. This will ensure they have a full round shape. Cook for another minute till a toothpick inserted comes out clean and they have a nice brown color.

Tip: fill the cavity with batter leaving a little space at the top. Once the Unniyappam starts getting cooked it will fill the whole cavity and it will be difficult to turn if there is no space.

Note: Unniyappams store nicely in the refrigerator. You can store them for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Enjoy it hot or cold.