Modak Recipe for Ganesha Chaturthi

Ganesha Chaturthi is the Hindu festival celebrated on the birthday (rebirth) of Lord Ganesha the son of Shiva and Parvati, which will be September 9.

It is believed that Lord Ganesh bestows his presence on earth for all his devotees during this festival. It is the day Shiva declared his son Ganesha as superior to all the gods, barring Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shiva and Parvati. Ganesha is widely worshipped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune and traditionally invoked at the beginning of any new venture or at the start of travel. The festival, also known as Ganeshutsav ("festival of Ganesha") is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period). The date usually falls between 19 August and 20 September. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Anant Chaturdashi (fourteenth day of the waxing moon period).

The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak (modak in Marathi modakam/kudumu in Telugu, modaka  in Kannada and modagam in Tamil). A modak is a dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments. It is either steam-cooked or fried.

Here is a Modak recipe to celebrate Ganesha Charturthi:

Modak

For the dough:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup rava (cream of wheat)

2 tbsp transfat-free vegetable shortening

Enough soymilk to knead

Mix the ingredients together into a stiff but pliable dough. Cover and set aside at least half an hour.

For the filling:

In a heavy bottomed skillet, mix together:

1 cup shredded coconut (I used the pre-shredded kind from Whole Foods)

1 cup finely grated jaggery (found easily at Indian grocery stores)

Toast on a low flame until the jaggery is almost melted through. Keep stirring because coconut burns very easily.

Now add:

3 tbsp canned coconut milk

1/2 tsp ground green cardamom seeds

1/4 cup finely chopped cashew nuts

Stir together well, mashing in any lumps of jaggery that might remain. Once everything is well-mixed add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice, then turn off the heat and set the mixture aside to cool.

Break off a piece of the dough, about 1 inch in diameter. Roll into a ball and then, using very little flour, roll into a disc as thin as possible, about 3 inches in diameter.

Place a tablespoonful of the filling in the center. Now gather the edges of the on the top and pinch to seal into a pointed tip. Moisten with some water if needed to ensure a tight seal because you don't want the modak to come apart while it's frying.

Heat enough oil to cover the modaks in a skillet. Once the oil temperature reaches 375 degrees, deep-fry the modaks, a few at a time, until they are golden-brown all over. (Frying at this temperature ensures that the food will absorb almost no oil.)

Remove to a dish lined with paper towels to absorb any excess grease. Cool to lukewarm before eating.

What Are You Wearing?

As the big clothing season begins, full of shopping for school clothing, special clothes for religious holidays and festivals, buying clothing gifts for holidays like Christmas, or just your everyday clothing...What are you wearing (or buying)?

Veganism isn't just about food. Veganism is also about what we wear (and items we use in any way in our life, like body care, cosmetics, and household cleaning products). 

With clothing, it's about wearing apparel and accessories that are created without the use of any animal materials, which includes not wearing clothing made with animal fur (like angora), wool, leather, any animal skin (like snake, sheep, lamb, suede), or silk.

Even if the animals are not killed (to make items like leather or silk), there is still cruelty involved. With down materials, starting at 9 weeks old, baby geese are strung upside down and their feathers are ripped out. This happens every 6 weeks until they are sent to slaughter. With fur, it comes from anal electrocution, by sticking a metal rod in animals' rectums and electrocuting them from the inside, or by catching an animal in a steel-jaw leg-hold trap, which often leads to the animal trying to bite off their own limb to escape before the trapper finds him/her. With wool, weeks after birth, most lambs have their ears punched and tails chopped, and most males are castrated--all without anesthetics. When shearing, it's done with speed and often results in bloody slashing and mutilation. 

Vegan fashion is not all expensive. Actually, vegan clothing comes at many different price points, depending on the label that makes it. Whether you're in the market for a $30 vegan bag or a $1,000 vegan coat, you can and will find something on any budget. A small, independent label using cutting-edge fabrics will have higher costs per piece because they aren't spreading out a large production run. Also, vegan fashion isn't difficult to find. It's likely you've already came across vegan fashion items at your favorite stores. Target, Bakers, and Payless all sell vegan shoes for instance. If you seek it out--and even if you don't--you'll find it! From feminine pleated-skirt peacoats to beautiful bronze metallic T-strap pumps, vegan fashion isn't just animal and eco-friendly, it's also stylish, sexy and chic from head to toe!

According to a report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, animal agriculture (raising animals for production) is the number one cause of global warming. It's the largest contributor of greenhouse gases--more than all transportation combined. By opting for vegan fashions, you're doing your part to make a difference for the world beyond your clothing. 

You don't have to throw out all your clothes with animal materials all at once restarting your style from scratch; you can simply make more vegan choices moving forward, like from now on, avoiding anything with fur (even trim). In addition, next time you're out shopping at the department store or mall, look out for vegan bag and shoe options--they're everywhere. 

Read labels. The way one would read labels on food containers, always read the labels on clothing and accessories to make sure what you're buying is truly without animal materials. For example, sometimes labels plainly state, "all man-made materials" on the inside of shoes and bags. Many shoes have leather soles and were made overseas, so you also want for words that mean "leather" in other countries. This includes "cuero" (Spanish), "cuoio" (Italian) and "cuir" (French). 

To keep your budget well-balanced with all of these fashion temptations, invest in good quality vegan clothing items that you know you'll wear often. The goal is to create an edited closet rather than a pile of clothes, so think about the true price of clothing in terms of how often you will wear it.