Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious occasions for the Hindus,
and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural
forms, with great devotion, fervour and gaiety. It is a harvest
festival. Makar Sankranti is perhaps the only Indian festival whose date
always falls on the same day every year on. the 14th of January (with
just a few exceptions when it is celebrated either on 13th or 15th of
January)
Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God
begins its ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere and thus it
signifies an event wherein the Sun-God seems to remind their children
that 'Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya'- may you go higher & higher, to more
& more Light and never to Darkness.
To Hindus, the Sun stands
for knowledge, spiritual light and wisdom. Makar Sankranti signifies
that we should turn away from the darkness of delusion in which we live,
and begin to enjoy a new life with bright light within us to shine
brighter and brighter. We should gradually begin to grow in purity,
wisdom, and knowledge, even as the Sun does from the Day of Makar
Sankranti.
In West Bengal, Sankranti, also known as Poush Sankranti named after
the Bengali month in which it falls, is celebrated as a harvest festival
Poush Parbon . It always falls on 14 January on the English calendar.
The freshly harvested paddy along with the date palm syrup in the form
of Khejurer Gur and Patali is used in the preparation of a variety of traditional Bengali
sweets made with rice flour, coconut, milk and 'khejurer gur' (palm
jaggery) and known as Pithey . All sections of society participate in a three-day begins on the
day before Sankranti and ends on the day after. The Goddess Lakshmi is
usually worshipped on the day of Sankranti. In the Himalayan regions of
Darjeeling, the festival is known as Magey Sakrati. It is distinctly
associated with the worship of Lord Shiva. Traditionally, people were
required to take a bath before sunrise and then commence their pooja.
The food that is consumed consists primarily of sweet potatoes and
various yams.
Millions of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar (the point where the river Ganges meets the Bay of Bengal). Ganga Sagar falls in West Bengal.
Poush Sankranti is Meaningless Without the Sweet Heavenly Taste of PITHEY !!! So for all of you here are Some Recipe of Delicious Pithey :D For My Lioness & Everybody Enjoy !! :D <3<3<3 .
1. Patishapta
Preparation time: 10min Cooking time: 25mins Makes 10 patishapta
Ingredients:
For the filling-
Grated Coconut (Narkel Kora): 3cups
Jaggery (Gur): 1cup
Cardamom powder (Elaich): 1/4 teaspoon
For the crepes-
Wheat flour (Maida): 1cup
Seomlina (Suji): 1/2 cup
Rice flour (Chal guro): 1/2cup
Milk (Dudh): 1cup
Sunflower oil for frying
Preparation:
For the filling-
In a wok heat the jaggery, as it start melting add the coconut
Put in the cardamom powder and stir till the coconut mixes well with the jaggery
Cook till the coconut feels sticky
Take out of flame and keep aside
For the crepes
Add all dry ingredients together and mix well
Pour the milk with constant stirring to avoid lump formation, the
batter should be smooth and freely flowing (add excess milk if required)
Heat a frying pan (preferably non-stick) and pour in 1 tablespoon on oil, spread it with a kitchen paper
Take a small bowl of batter and spread it evenly on the pan to make a round shape, do it quick before the batter sets
Place the filling lengthwise at the center of the crepe
Fold the crepe from both sides and wait till it turns light brown .
2. Puli Pithey
Ingredients:
1 coconut.
1 cup sugar.
2 cup Rice flour
2 tblsp.plain flour(Maida)
1 litr milk.
10 gms raisins
10 gms cashewnut
1 tsp. cardamom powder.
Method:
1 Grate coconut and mix with sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well and keep it aside.
2.Heat
a Pan and add Rice flour.Stirr for about 5 minutes. Take it out in an
bowl and add plain flour to that. Now add Hot water and knead well to
make a dough.
4. Make small balls from the
dough, spread each ball with hand and stuff the coconut sugar mixture
into it. Fold it and seal the edges so that filling doesnt come out to
get the shape
of 'Puli' as in the picture.
5.
Heat a pan and add milk. boil the milk for some time so that it get
reduce to half. Add sugar and cardamom powder. cook for a couple of
minutes. Now add the pulies to the milk slowly.cover it and let it cook
for about 15 minutes with stirring in between. Add raisins and cashew
nuts. Take it out in a serving tray. Serve cold.
3. Gokul Pithey
Make the Stuffing
Grated Coconut(I used frozen pack) ~ 2 cups
Khoya ~ 12oz almost 2 cups. Note: Ideally home made khoya/kheer is best but store bought khoya works fine.
Sugar ~ 1 cup
Heat a Kadhai.
Add coconut and sugar and lower the heat.
Mix the grated coconut with the sugar slightly pressing with your fingers till sugar melts and mixes with the coconut. Note: You can add add some cardamom powder. I didn't.
Now add the Khoya. Keep stirring till mixture
becomes light brown and sticky. It should easily come off from the sides
by now. At this point take a little of the mix and see if you can
fashion a flat disc out of it. If it is too sticky you may have to cook a
bit more, else you are good.
Take a little of the mix, roll a small ball
between your palms and then flatten between your palms to make a disc
about 1" in diameter and thickness of a 1 Rupee coin. Make equal sized
discs. I made about 30.
Make the Batter
In a wide mouthed bowl add 2 Cups of AP Flour 1 tsp of Ghee 1/4 tsp of Baking Soda Mix lightly
Now add 1 cup of Whole Milk + 1 Cup of water. Mix scraping the sides to form a batter. You will need about 1 more cup of water but add this gradually till you get a batter thick enough like a pakodi batter. To the batter I added a generous pinch of saffron
Make the Syrup
Bring3 cups of water4&1/2 cups of sugar
to boil till you get a syrup of one string consistency
Add a few drops of Kewra or Rose water to the syrup to get a sweet smell
Frying
Heat enough oil for deep frying in a skillet.
Dip the discs in the batter so that they are well coated. Now fry them
in the hot oil like a fritter. Remove with a slotted spoon when both
sides are golden brown. Dunk in the syrup and remove when they become
little soft.
In one version of Gokul Pithe you can make the sugar syrup thicker and
then coat the fried pithe with the syrup instead of soaking them in it.
JANUARY 1st: THE DAY OF SRI
RAMAKRISHNA'S SELF-REVELATION
Kalpavriksha also known as kalpataru, kalpadruma and kalpapādapa, is a mythological, wish-fulfilling divine tree said to fulfill all desires. It was mentioned in Sanskrit literature from the earliest sources onwards. Sage Durvasa meditated under the Kalpavriksha.
The kalpavriksha originated during the Samudra manthan or "churning of the ocean of milk" along with the kamadhenu, the divine cow providing for all needs. The king of the gods, Indra returned with this tree to his paradise.
A kalpavriksha is mentioned in the Sanskrit work Mānāsara as a royal emblem. In Hemādri's work Caturvargacīntama, the kalpavriksha is said to be a tree of gold and precious stones.
One Kalpavriksh is believed to be have been planted by Jagadguru
Shankaracharya himself at Jyotirmath, Badrinath, Uttaranchal in the
cradle of the Himalayas. It has been preserved and protected by Armed
forces by installing a wire mesh around the tree. The unique property of
the tree is that it never loses a single leaf by itself, it is
evergreen and is said to be emanating the deep seated devotion of
Shankaracharya for the Supreme Godhead Vishnu.
Kalpvriksha has many spiritual, religious and environmental values. It's a divine tree on the earthplanet. Himalaya Vahini is conducting mass movement to planting the sapling of Kalpvriksha at the all pilgrims like a mission, mission started from Haridwar. Due to planting world's first Kalpvriksha forest at Daksh island Kankhal, now Haridwar has been complete pilgrim. Conveyor of this mission Vijaypal Baghel is planting more and more saplings of this wish fulfiller, spiritual and endangered species around the world as a holy tree.
'Kalpataru' is a tree that finds mention in Hindu mythological texts as
the wish-fulfilling tree!!! In fact, it is a very rare species of trees.
According to a report in Ranchi Express, there are only five alive
'kalpataru' trees in the world. Four of them are in Ranchi, located near
Doranda college. It is sad how ignorant we are that these trees stand
so neglected. Even if they are not the mythological ‘kalpatarus’, they
are definitely very old, historical trees, which must have seen
generations of Ranchi. Indeed, they need attention. By: Dr Himanshu.
"'I shall make the whole thing public
before I go,' the Master has said some time before. On January 1, 1886, he felt better and
came down to the garden for a little stroll. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon.
Some thirty lay disciples were in the hall or sitting about under the trees. Sri
Ramakrishna said to Girish (Ghosh), 'Well Girish, what have you seen in me, that you
proclaim me before everybody as an Incarnation of God?' Girish was not the man to be taken
by surprise. He knelt before the Master and said with folded hands, 'What can an
insignificant person like myself say about the One whose glory even sages like Vyasa and
Valmiki could not adequately measure?' The Master was profoundly moved. He said: 'What
more shall I say? I bless you all. Be illumined!' He fell into a spiritual mood. Hearing
these words the devotees, one and all, became overwhelmed with emotion. They rushed to him
and fell at his feet. He touched them all, and each received an appropriate benediction.
Each of them, at the touch of the Master, experienced ineffable bliss. Some laughed, some
wept, some sat down to meditate, some began to pray. Some saw light, some had visions of
their Chosen Ideals, and some felt within their bodies the rush of spiritual power."
From the Introduction to THE
GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA,
by Swami Nikhilananda
"Those words words of profound blessing, untouched by the slightest tinge of
selfishness, directly entered the devotees' hearts where they raised high billows of
bliss. They forgot time and space, forgot the disease of the Master and forgot their
previous determination not to touch him till he recovered, and had the immediate feeling
that sympathizing with their misery, and heart overflowing with compassion, had come down
to them from heaven and called them affectionately to Him for protection, like a mother
sheltering her children against all ills."
From SRI RAMAKRISHNA, THE GREAT MASTER
by Swami Saradananda
A COURTESY OF www.ramakrishna.org & Wikipedia.com
COME LET'S MAKE A WISH !!! :D ALL OF YOU ARE WELCOME GOD BLESS US !!! <3 <3 <3 :)
Stan Laurel (16 June, 1890 – 23 February, 1965) and Oliver Hardy (18
January, 1892 – 7 August, 1957) are an early 20th century comedy
double-act famous for visual-slapstick humour. Among the most enduringly
famous of Laurel and Hardy's works are The Music Box, which features two workers' Sisyphean attempts to move a piano up several flights of stairs, and Babes in Toyland.
Laurel
and Hardy got their start as a duo with director Hal Roach's Hal Roach
Studios in the late 1920s, and occasionally worked with bigger studios
such as RKO and MGM. They are notable for their successful transition
from silent-era film to "talkies", and were extremely prolific
throughout the late '20s and the '30s. In later years they also toured
extensively as stage performers.Though the pair's sketches were
often the result of a team of writers, Stan Laurel was something of an
"idea man" who rewrote segments of scripts and did a lot of improvising.
THE DUO OF REEL! WHO MAKES LIFE REALLY LIVELY !!! <3 :D ENJOY EVERYBODY !! :D
