KRISHNA JANMASHTAMI

                            KRISHNA JANMASHTAMI

This  festival is observed on the eigth day of Krishna Paksha (the darker phase of the moon) in the month of Shravana.

     

 

               


"Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati Bharatha|
 Abhyutthanam adharmasya tadatmanam sujamyaham||
Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya dushkrutham|
    Dharma samstharpanaya sambhavami yuge yuge||'
                                                             (Bhagavat Gita-Ch.4)
'Whenever there is a decline in Dharma, O Bharatha,  and a rise in Adharma, I then manifest myself.

For the protection of the good,  for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of Dharma,  I am born in every age.(Yuga)

Thus,  Krishna was born as the eigth avatar(incarnation) of Lord Vishnu with the object of destroying wicked demons like Narakasura and also Kamsa who was his maternal uncle and playing a leading role in the battle of Kurukshetra between Pandavas and Kauravas.  His birth is celebrated as Krishna Janmashtami  throughout India.  It is the most popular and widely celebrated festival not only in this country but throughout the world.  In the South,  it is popularly known as Gokulashtami or Krishna      Jayanthi.  Since Lord Krishna was born at midnight,  people who observe the festival keep awake till   midnight and observe fasting.  They chant shlokas from Bhagavata  and sing songs describing his childish pranks.  At the stroke of midnight, arathi is performed to the idol of  Krishna.   Fasting concludes after the arathi  by taking prasadam.

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In the South, people worship Krishna in the form of  Bala Gopala(baby Krishna).   The preparations for the festival starts much before the actual festival.  This is because of the different varieties of eatables that are offered to Lord Krishna that day.    On the day of the festival,  the house is decorated and a rangoli is drawn in front of the house. Small footprints of  Baby Krishna are drawn   from the entrance to the pooja room to indicate the Lord's visit to the house.  A small cradle made of silver is kept in the pooja room and is decorated with flowers. A small idol of Baby Krishna is placed in the cradle. At the time of the pooja, it is common practice for the women to sing lullabies praising the lord.  The most popular songs in Karnatka are--Aadisidale Yashodey Jagaddoddarana and Krishna  nee beganey baaro.  In Tamil,  Thaaye Yashoda undan aayar kulathudittha and Theerada vilayaattu pillai are very popular.

     

 The highlight of the festival is the preparation of the various varieties of eatables offered to the Lord.  Various kinds of sweets,  laddus and fried dishes are prepared on this day   It is believed that Krishna was particularly fond of beaten rice. So, beaten rice prparations are also offered to the Lord.  In some households, some of the eatables are prepared beforehand and stored.   Some people prepare the flours required for making the eatables and use them on the day of the festival.  Some of the savoury items that are prepared include  Chakkili(murukku),  Thengolu(thenkuzhal), Muthsorae(Mullu Murukku),  Seedai(both sweet and savoury), etc. For making the first three savoury items,  a gadget shown above is required.  This is called Murukku Press. It is provided with different types of plates with holes.   For each item a different plate is used.    

The basic flour mixture for all the four items mentioned above is prepared by mixing  3 1/2 cups of raw  rice flour  and 1 cup of raw urad flour(black gram flour).    Make the required amount and keep aside.  Both rice flour and urad flour are available in any big grocery store.

 THENGOLU:   

Ingredients:  Basic mixture----- 1 cup
                       Jeera(cumin seeds) 1 tsp
                       Asafoetida(hing)---1 pinch
                       Butter(unsalted)--- 2 tbsp
                       salt to taste
                       water for mixing,   oil for frying                                                                                                                                                                                 

Mix the first five ingredients thoroughly.  Using water,  prepare a dough with the consistency of chappathi  dough.   Using the plate with plain holes,  squeeze the dough in a circular motion on a damp cloth into desired size.  Heat oil in a kadai,     Fry the raw murukkus till  they turn golden brown.

CHAKKALI (MURUKKU):

Ingredients:  Basic mixture------------------------ 1 cup                 - 
                       White Til(sesame seeds)----------1 tbsp
                       Asafoetida------------------------1 pinch
                       Butter---------------------------- 2 tbsp
                       Salt to taste
                       Water for mixing,   oil for frying

Mix the first five  ingredients thoroughly.  Using water,  prepare a dough stiffer than the thenkuzhal dough.   Using the plate with a single starshaped hole, squeeze the dough neatly into spiral shaped murukkus on a damp cloth.  Lift them carefully and fry them in hot oil till golden brown.

MUTHSORE(MULLU MURUKKU):

Ingredients:   Basic mixture------------------------1 cup
                       Chutney dal -----------------------   1/4 cup
                       Chilli powder----------------------   1 tsp
                        Ajwain(omam) seeds--------------  1/2 tsp
                        Hing------------------------------- 1 pinch
                        Butter-----------------------------  1 tbsp.
                        water for mixing.
                        oil for frying
Grind the chutney dal into  a fine powder  and mix it with the other ingredients  thoroughly.  Using the water, make a dough similar to that of  Murukku.  Using the plate with three star-shaped holes,  squeeze the dough in a spiral motion directly into the hot oil,  fry till done.


SEEDAI(SWEET  & SAVOURY)

Sweet Seedai:

Basic Mixture---------------1 cup
Coconut(scraped)---------- 1/2 cup
Jaggery---------------------1/2 cup
Butter-----------------------1 tbs
Cardamom powder---------1/4 tsp
White Til(sesame seeds)----1 tbsp
Water

Grind the coconut into a smooth paste using a small quantity of water.   Dissolve the jaggery in quarter cup of water  in a kadai using a low flame.Strain it  using a clean cloth to remove sand particles  To this,  add the basic mixture, coconut paste, butter and mix thoroughly .Keep on stirring the mixture on a low flame till it forms a lump.  Add the white til and cardamom powder and mix thoroughly.  Keep aside till the mixture cools down.

Savoury Seedai:

Basic Mixture------------------1 cup
Coconut (scraped)-------------1/2 cup
Butter--------------------------2 tbsp
Asafoetida(Hing)---------------1 pinch
White Til-----------------------1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Water for mixing and oil for frying

Grind the coconut into a smooth paste.  Using the water,  make a dough similar to that of murukku by mixing all the ingredients.  Make small marble sized balls using the dough.  The balls should be placed on a clean dry cloth.  After making all the balls,   heat the oil in a kadai.  Fry the balls in two or three batches,  on a low flame.  The seedais should be fried till the hissing sound stops and they are golden brown in colour.


For making sweet seedais,  make slightly bigger sized  balls and fry them in the same way.  These are slightly darker in colour because of  the jaggery.

BEATEN RICE(AVAL ,  AVALAKKI  OR ATUKULU) PREPARATIONS:

 Three or more varieties of beaten rice are prepared.  They are Huli Avalakki(using tamarind),  mosaravalakki(using curds or yoghurt, and bellada avalakki(using jaggery)   For Huliavalakki,  see the recipes under Ramanavami

Thayir aval or mosaravalakki or perugatulu:

Beaten rice(thick variety)---------------1cup
Yoghurt(curds)-------------------------2 cups
Buttermilk------------------------------1 cup
Chana dal(chick pea dal)---------------1/2 tsp
Urad dal(black gram dal)---------------1/2 tsp
Mustard--------------------------------1/2 tsp
Green chillies-------------------------- 2 or 3
Ginger root(cleaned & grated)              1 tsp
Curry leaves--------------------------- 1 sprig
coriander leaves(cilantro)finely chopped 1 tblsp
oil.........................................................1 tblsp
Salt to taste.

Wash the beaten rice, drain and add the yoghurt , butter milk and salt and mix thoroughly.   Soak the chana dal and urad dal in water for about 10 minutes and drain well and keep aside.   Cut the green chillies into small pieces.  Heat the oil in a kadai and add the mustard.  After it splutters, add the dals and fry till they are brown in colour.  To this add the green chillies, ginger and curry leaves and stir for half a minute.  Pour this mixture over the beaten rice soaked in curds and mix thoroughly.  Garnish with  chopped coriander.

Vella aval or bellada avalakki or bellam atukulu:For this preparation., the thin varaiety of beaten rice is used.  It is called Paper aval  or paper avallakki.


Beaten rice-------------------------------1 cup.
Jaggery powder--------------------------3/4th cup
Grated coconut---------------------------1/2 cup
Ghee(clarified butter)---------------------1 tbsp
Cardamom powder-----------------------1/2 tsp

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and press the mixture tightly in a container and keep aside for an hour or so.  Again mix it well and now it is ready for use.

Coconut Mysorepak:

Besan(chickpea flour)---------------------1 cup
Sugar-------------------------------------2 cups
Grated coconut---------------------------1 cup
Ghee(clarified butter)---------------------1 1/2 cups
Cashew nut(cut into pieces)---------------1 tbsp
Vanilla essence--------------------------- a few drops
Water-------------------------------------1/2 cup
Milk-------------------------------------- 1/2 cup

Heat about 2 tbsp of ghee in a kadai and fry the cashew nut pieces till they give out a nice aroma and turn golden brown. Remove them and keep aside.   In the same ghee, add the besan and roast for a few minutes taking care that no lumps are formed.  Keep aside. Keep a plate smeared with ghee ready for pouring the cooked mixture.

Now dissolve the sugar in the water and milk and keep on stirring on a  low flame till the syrup attains one string consistency.  Add the coconut scrapings  and allow it to cook for 2 or 3 minutes.  Now add the besan slowly.  Keep on stirring the mixture so that no lumps are formed.  Cook the mixture on a medium flame, adding  2 or 3 tbsp of ghee at a time and keep on stirring so that the mixture does not get burnt.  When all the ghee is added,  keep stirring till the mixture starts leaving the kadai and forms a porous lump in the middle.  Now add the vanilla essence and cashew nut pieces and pour the mixture immediately on the greased plate.  Level it evenly and allow it to cool a little.  Cut into squares or diamonds with a greased knife.

Peanut Burfi or Laddu:

Peanuts(roasted and pealed)----------------1 cup
Jaggery------------------------------------ 3/4th cup
Copra(dry coconut)grated----------------- 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder------------------------1/4 tsp
Water--------------------------------------1/4 cup
Rice flour

Dissolve the jaggery in water by using a low flame.   Strain the syrup using a clean muslin cloth.  boil the syrup on a low flame till the syrup reaches the correct consistency.  (To test whether it has reached the correct consistency,  keep a bowl of water ready,  put a few drops of the syrup in it. If the syrup dissolves in the water completely,  it has not reached the correct consistency.  If the syrup forms a lump in the water, it has reached the correct consistency.)  Now,  add the roasted peanuts, grated copra and cardamom powder, mix thoroughly and remove the mixture from fire.  Smearing a little rice flour on the palms,  take out a small  quantity of the mixture and roll it into a small lemon-sized ball.  Make the other laddus also similarly.  If you cannot handle the hot mixture,  you can pour the mixture on a greased plate, ad cut it into squares.

BESAN  LADDU OR BESAN & MUNG  LADDU:

Besan  -----------------------------1 cup
Sugar(powdered)------------------ 1 cup
Cashew nut pieces------------------1/8 cup
Raisins------------------------------1/8 cup
Ghee(clarified butter)----------------1/2 cup
Grated copra(dry coconut)----------1/4 cup

Heat a tablespoonful of ghee in a kadai and fry the casewnuts till they are golden brown.  Add the raisins and fry till they puff up.  Remove and keep aside.  In the same ghee,  roast the besan till it gives out a sweet aroma.  To this add the powdered sugar, nuts and raisins,  melted ghee,  and cardamom powder and mix thoroughly.  Make lemon-sized balls out of this mixtrure.

For Besan and mung laddu,  take half a cup each of bengal gram(chick pea) dal and mung(green gram) dal.   Roast them separately,  and grind into a smooth  powder.   Add the sugar, clarified butter, nuts and raisins and cardamom powder and mix thoroughly.  Make lemon sized balls out of this mixture.
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