GLOBAL VIPASSANA PAGODA

The Global Vipassana Pagoda was built out of gratitude to the Buddha, his teaching and the community of monks practicing his teaching.

The Pagoda is the ancient structure of Buddha temples. Monks stayed there for all seasons, meditated and worshipped Buddha. Buddhist temples are the Pagoda. At this place, you will definitely find peace. You will not see any beggars near these Pagoda. No coconut seller, no sweet shops, no flowers, no garland nothing. There is no such kind of market nearby any Buddhist Pagoda and that is the speciality of Buddha temples.

WHAT IS GLOBAL VIPASSANA PAGODA? 

Global Vipassana Pagoda is the place where you can meditate under a special course of meditation. The course and code of conduct are prescribed by Sri Goyanka Sir.  In this  residential meditation 10-day course you have to follow a special code of conduct and rules. You will find transformations in yourself after finishing this Vipassana. 

WHAT IS THE SPECIAL THINGS ABOUT  GLOBAL VIPASSANA PAGODA?

Global Vipassana Pagoda is one of the seven wonders of Maharashtra. 

Global Vipassana Pagoda is a notable monument in Mumbai, India which serves for peace and harmony. 

The monument was inaugurated by Pratibha Patil, President of India on 8th February 2009. 

WHERE IS IT LOCATED?

It is located in the North of Mumbai on a peninsula between Gorai Creek and the Arabian Sea. 

THE STRUCTURE OF THE GLOBAL VIPASSANA PAGODA 

⛩️ It is a traditional Burmese design that is an expression of gratitude towards the country of Myanmar for preserving the practice of Vipassana. 

⛩️ The shape of the pagoda is a copy of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar.

⛩️ Inside of the Pagoda is a hollow large meditation hall where 8000 people can meditate at one time. 

⛩️ The centre of the Global Vipassana Pagoda contains the world’s largest stone dome built free spanning (without support).

The full details of the structure can be read here 

THE PURPOSE OF THE PAGODA:

The main purpose of Global Vipassana Pagoda is to express gratitude to Gautam Buddha for his teaching to eradicate suffering. 

To educate the people about the life and teachings of Buddha.

To provide a place for meditation for the public. 

WHAT IS VIPASSANA ?

➡️ Vipassana is the one way to achieve inner peace. Vipassana is the mediation technique discovered by Gautam Buddha. It was taught by Gautam Buddha to eradicate the illness from our life. 

➡️ It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body. It is a deep breathing technique.

➡️ This technique is taught by the teacher at a 10-day meditation course during which participants have to follow prescribed code of conduct, learn the basics and practice to achieve the result. 

➡️ Vipassana is a self-transformation through self-observation. 

➡️ The entire process is mental training to develop a HEALTHY mind. 

➡️ This technique is taught free of cost. No commercial fees or remuneration charges are here.

➡️This technique was taught by Goenka Guruji. It is an insight meditation that includes scientific, non-sectarian, results-oriented techniques of self-observation and truth realization. 

WHO IS TEACHER S. N. GOYNKA? 

Satya Narayana Goenka was an Indian Teacher of Vipassana meditation. He was born in Burma to an Indian Family and he moved to India in 1969 to teach meditation.

He became an influential teacher and played an important role in establishing non-commercial Vipassana meditation centres globally. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2012, an award given for distinguished service of high-order

(Info: Wikipedia) 

WHAT YOU WILL SEE HERE ? 

The Global Vipassana Pagoda is itself. The 7 Wonders of Maharashtra. 

The construction, the hollow meditation hall, peace, Giant statue of Gautam Buddha, Giant Ashokstamb, Rotating Dhamma Chakra, beautiful Guruji Niwas, and in overall the whole Global Vipassana Pagoda.

HOW TO REACH TO GLOBAL VIPASSANA PAGODA ?

If you are coming from Thane, Navi Mumbai then you can come by road. Prefer to have your own vehicle. You can take the bus from Thane station too. It is a 3-hour journey. 

If you are coming from Mumbai. Then get down at Borivali West station and reach the creek. You have to cross the creek by Ferry. And then you can take an auto or bus to reach this destination. 

Public transport like bus No 4, Ferry and auto rickshaw are available. 

Bus fares cost Rs.5 - 55 and Ferry costs Rs. 50 

The nearest landmark to Pagoda is Essel World or Gorai Beach. 

If you are coming with kids I will suggest taking the road route which is easy. 

And if you are coming with friends and want to do something adventurous then take the ferry ⛴️ route.

GLOBAL VIPASSANA PAGODA TIMING AND ENTRY FEE 

There is no entry fee. It is free of cost.

It is open from  9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

No external food is allowed here. 

CONCLUSION : 

Global Vipassana Pagoda is one of the 7 wonders of Maharashtra. The structure is beautiful. You must visit the place to experience the giant beauty of the construction. It is fully worked on donation. 

Global Vipassana Pagoda serves as a monument of peace and harmony.  Global Vipassana Pagoda is the meditation hub where you can do a meditation course.  It is a 10-day residential course and free of cost. Once in a lifetime, we have to do this Vipassana. It is most needed in our stressful life. Do visit once and take the magnificent experience of 10 days Vipassana. 

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.

--------------------------------------

Follow Memory Flies on Social Media 

Instagram 

Facebook 

------------------------------------------

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorised use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

--------------------------------------

VERMICELLI KHEER

Vermicelli Kheer is one of the Indian deserts which is mostly prepared for festivals and birthdays. I made it whenever I carved it. 😜 Vermicelli kheer is our family's favourite desert. It tastes awesome when chilled. It is served with a whole meal or sometimes after dinner dessert. 

Vermicelli Kheer is like the sheerkurma. But sheer kurma is a Shahi dish where you will add more dry fruits and full-fat milk.  I don't like full-fat milk. Most of the time I prepared it with cow milk. The vermicelli Kheer is made up of whole wheat vermicelli, milk, sugar and dry fruits. I prefer to use cashew, almond, kismis and cardamom powder. You can add pista, dates, and more dry fruits to make it rich and more tasty aka Shirkurma.

WHAT IS VERMICELLI? 

Vermicelli is also known as seviyan. There are different varieties available in the market. Whole wheat, semolina and durum wheat. Seviyan kheer is generally made with whole wheat vermicelli. There are different types of recipes as per each state. The South Indian and North Indian versions are different. It is my version and I want to store it on my blog.

SIMPLE AND QUICK WAY TO PREPARE 

Kheer mostly tastes best in full-fat milk. But in my family, we don't like full-fat milk at all. So I prefer to make any kheer in low-fat milk only. 

Though nowadays we get roasted vermicelli but I prefer to roast slightly in a ghee before making kheer. It enhances the taste. 

I roast the vermicelli in ghee till it changes colour and then in the same pan add boiled milk. Here I used cow milk. Stir for a while and then add sugar. And then again stir and let it boil for some time. Lastly, add fried dry fruits and cardamom powder. Let the kheer boil for some time or until the vermicelli cooks.

Maybe it is not new for you as a reader. But still, check out my simple and quick recipes of Vermicelli Kheer 😋

VERMICELLI KHEER RECIPE 

Cuisine: Indian             Type: Desert

Quantity: 2 people 

Cook Time: 15 minutes 

Author: Neeta Kadam 

INGREDIENTS : 

Vermicelli : 1 small cup 

Milk: 500 gm

Sugar: 2 Tbsp  or (as per your taste)

Dry fruits : 

cashew 1 tsp

almond 1 tsp

kismis 1 tsp 

Ghee  

Kesar (a few strands)

Cardamom powder: 1/4 tsp 

Pre- preparations:

Soak saffron strand in 2 Tbsp milk. 

Fry dry fruit separately.

Make cardamom powder in the grinder.

DIRECTION 

1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan and roast the vermicelli for a few seconds if you are using a roasted one. 

If you are using non-roasted then roast the vermicelli till it changes the colour.

2. Now add boiled milk to this pan and stir continuously. 

3. Let the milk boil for 5 minutes. Then add sugar as per your taste. Stir it continuously. 

4. In another pan take 1 tbsp ghee and fry all dry fruits one by one. 

5. Check out the consistency of the kheer. 

6. Now add fried dry fruits to the kheer and saffron milk and stir continuously.

7. Lastly add cardamom powder and mix it very well.

8. Let the kheer boil for some time. And then switched off the flame. 

Your delicious vermicelli Kheer is ready to serve. You can serve it hot, warm or chilled. It tastes awesome in any form. 

Check out video of the vermicelli kheer recipe here. 

Tips : 

# Fry dry fruits one by one only. If you put everything together it might get burned. 

# Soak saffron strand in milk at least 15 minutes before. 

# Do not add too many vermicelli. Keep the quantity low because once it cools it will thick and you may not get kheer.

# Add cardamom powder in the end only it enhances the taste. 

# This can be served to your toddler too. 

My twin toddler loves it. I generally made it on Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti and on birthdays. It tastes awesome with Puri too. We prefer to have it after dinner as a dessert. 

QUESTION OF THE DAY: 

Do you like Kheer? Which one is your favourite?

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.

-----------------------

Follow Memory Flies on Social Media 

Instagram 

Facebook 

-------------------------

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorised use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

--------------------------------------

नो स्क्रीन डे ( ७ आणि ८ मे २०२४) नो SCREEN DAY

दोन दिवस झाले आमचा टिव्ही बंद होता. कारणं रिमोट बंद होता आणि म्हणून आम्ही नो स्क्रीन डे साजरा केला अगदी आनंदाने 😄

तसाही माझ्या घरी स्क्रीन लिमिटेड वेळेसाठी असतो. जर माझ्या ट्वीन खूपच त्रास देत असतील आणि किचन मधे जर जेवण बनवायचे असेल तरच काय तो अर्धा पाऊण तास टीव्ही चालु असतो. त्यातही दोघी सुरुवातीची दहा - पंधरा मिनिटे मन लावून बघतात आणि नंतर खेळणी सोबत खेळतात. पण टिव्ही चालु असतो. (Background) Not a whole day

(तुमच्या माहितीसाठी माझ्या twins २४ महिन्याच्या आहेत आणि मोठी १० वर्षाची मुलगी. )

या दोन दिवसात खूप छान अनुभव आला. त्यांनी एकदाही टिव्ही लावं असे सांगितलं नाही. Infact त्या दोघीही खेळणी सोबत समरसून गेल्या होत्या. वेळेत breakfast, lunch and dinner हि केले आणि खेळा मुळे त्यांना झोपही चांगली लागली specially दुपारची झोप. उठल्यानंतर आम्ही खाली ग्राउंड वर पण गेलो. सहसा मला एकटीला त्यांना नेता येतं नाही पण त्यादिवशी पप्पा घरी होते म्हणूनच आम्ही गेलो. तिथेही त्या खूप दमल्या. धावून धावून दोघींनी पप्पांची सुद्धा exercise केली.

तर दिवसभर आम्ही नक्की काय केले. ना, मी किंवा दिदी सारखे त्यांना entertain नाही करत. खेळ खेळताना सोबत बसतो आणि थोड्या वेळाने हळूहळू त्यातून बाहेर पडतो. दिदी त्यांच्या जवळच असते कारण सतत तोंडात काहीही टाकण्याची सवय अजून आहे. But mumma येत जात असते.

माझ्याकडे लिमिटेड खेळणी आहेत. त्यातला त्यांना आवडणारे blocks. टॉवर बनवणे हा त्यांचा आवडता खेळ. उंच असा टॉवर बनवतात दोघीही माझ्या मदतीशिवाय. I am proud of it.

व्हेजिटेबल आणि फ्रूट हे सुध्दा आवडतात. सगळ्यात जास्त सियाला pretend Play आवडतो. तिचा छोटा बाबू डॉल आहे. त्याला जेवण भरवणे, त्याला अंघोळ घालणे, त्याला झोपवणे हे तिचे फेवरेट टास्क. ती स्वतः खुप एन्जॉय करते. त्याला झोपवताना आम्हाला शू शू करून शांत बसवते आणि बोलते baby is sleeping, shuuu! ...it melts my heart. 

इरा स्वतःच्या दुनियेत जास्त मग्न असते पण सहसा ती ही सियासोबत खूप छान खेळते. डान्स हि दोघी मिळून खुप छान करतात. तर पूर्ण दिवस आम्ही कलरिंग, ब्लॉक्स, आणी खूप सारी पुस्तके वाचली. पकडा पकडी आणि लपाचुपी खेळलो. खूपच मज्जा केली घरातच. आणि म्हणूनच एक किंवा दोन दिवस तरी नो स्क्रीन डे साजरा करायचा असे ठरवले. ईथे स्क्रीन म्हणजे फक्तं मोठा स्क्रीन टिव्ही हाच आहे. मोबाईल अजून मी देत नाही त्यांच्या हातात. 

तुम्ही सुद्धा महिन्यातून एकदा असा नो स्क्रीन डे कराच आणि मुलांसोबत कनेक्ट राहा. 

CR : MemoryFlies 

--------------------------------------

Follow Memory Flies on Social Media

Instagram 

Facebook 

---------------------------------------

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

Is it True

They said,

You are just 

One call away,

One text away,

From your loved one,

Is it true?

They said, 

Share your happiness 

Share your down time,

Be with your loved one 

Is it true?

They said,

Do not expect too much,

Do not respond too much,

Just be there whenever they need u

Is it true?

They said,

Being loved is not important,

Loving them is important,

Show your feelings,

Show your action 

Is it true?

Does only this matter ?

 

Author 

MemoryFlies 

बीच पिकनिक 🧺

बीच  पिकनिक 🧺 : ३० मार्च २०२४

बीच, समुद्रकिनारा आणि सूर्यास्त ह्या दोन गोष्टी माझ्या जवळच्या. लग्नानंतर बरेच फिरलो आम्ही, जसे कन्याकुमारी, केरळ, अंदमान आणि निकोबार, अगदी गोवा सुद्धा. इथले beach खूप स्वच्छ आणि पाणी नीळभोर असते. ती स्वच्छता आपल्या मुंबईत नाही. आणि कदचित त्याचमुळे मुंबईचे beach कधी फिरलोच नाही. म्हणजे लहानपणी फिरलो जुहू बीच, आपले शिवाजी पार्क पण घान अजूनही नाही किंबहुना वाढलीच आहे.

असो हा वेगळा विषय...

सूर्यास्त खूप सुंदर असतो. आधी पिवळा आणि मग हळूहळू नारंगी , लालसर अशा रंगाची धुळवड होते आणि मध्यभागी जी चमक असते ती तर खूपच अप्रतिम असते. ते दृश्य शब्दात मांडता येने कठीण. 

बरेच वर्षाने माझ्या दोन चिमुकल्या सोबत आणि माझ्या मोठया समजदार मुलीसोबत गेलो. मुंबईला राहतो म्हणूनच की काय हे पॉसिबल झाले. समर वेकेशन - उन्हाळी सुट्टी आणि मग काय मुलांना बोर होणे साहजिक आहे. 

ह्या वेळेस मज्जा आली. म्हणजे लहान मुलांसोबत अनुभवलेला किनारा. 

त्या ओल्या वाळूत चीमुकल पाय उमटत होते. दोन लहान हात कोरड्या वाळूत खेळत होते. माझी twins toddler खूप वेगळ्या आहेत. एकीला तर मैत्री कशी करायची हे बरोबर कळते. आम्ही toys गाडीत विसरलो आणि मग दुसऱ्याचं खेळणी बघून रडारड सुरू झाली. पण थोडा वेळेचं. तिने जाऊन दादा ला hi करून टॉईज शेअर सुद्धा केली. अणि मनसोक्त मातीत खेळली. अशी माझी चिमुकली. 

मग दीदी सुद्धा खेळत होती. दिदीला फारसे पटले नव्हते दुसऱ्याच्या toys सोबत खेळणे पण काय करणार ती सुद्धा एन्जॉय करत होती.

आता सगळ्यात लहान तर खूपच डेंजर. आम्ही बेडशीट अंथरूण, चप्पल कादून शांतपणे बसलो होतो. मग हिला भूक लागली आणि तिने तर वाळू खायला सुरुवात केली.😄 त्यानंतर तीला फक्त बॉल दिसला आणि तो मिळेपर्यंत त्याच्या मागे त्या वाळूत ती धावत होती. सगळीच मुले खेळणी शेअर करतात असे नाही पण हिला कोण समजवनार. ती बॉलच्या मागे तर मी तिच्या मागे. बऱ्याच वेळ आमची मायलेकची रंनिंग चालू होती. नंतर पप्पाला दया आली आणि तो तिच्या मागे किंवा तिच्या सोबत धावू लागला. बऱ्यापैकी फोटो अंड व्हिडिओ घेतले त्याने. स्मार्ट पप्पा !

First time सई (मोठी मुलगी) beach वर आली होती. सगळीकडे पाणी च पाणी बघून खुप खुश होती. त्या बीचवर बऱ्याच activities होत्या. त्या बघून तिला भीती पण वाटली आणि बरेच प्रश्न पण विचारले. मी insist केले जाते का राईड वर तर नाही बोलली. पण तिने सगळ्या activity पाहिल्या आणि त्या किती सुरक्षित आहे ह्याचे observation केले. तसेही ती थोडी घाबरट आहे. आणि एका दृष्टीने ते आमच्यासाठी चांगलेच आहे. हो ना, parents? 

शेवटी आम्ही पाण्यात गेलो. आधी तिघी बहिणी घाबरत होत्या पण आमच्यासोबत त्यांनीही एन्जॉय केला. कारण आजूबाजूला बरेच लहान मुले, मोठी माणसे, आणि मोठ्या मुलीसुद्धा समुद्रात पोहत होत्या. ते पाहत पाहत आम्ही थोड्याफार अंतरावर गेलो. अगदी गुडघ्याच्या खाली एवढ्या पाण्यात होतो. मोठ्या मुलीने शूज घातले होते आणि सगळी वाळू त्यात गेलीं त्यामुळे चांगली वैतागली होती. पण नंतर शांत झाली कारण आमच्या ही शूज मधे वाळू गेली होतीच ना. 

कधी नव्हे ते फोटोग्राफर कडून फॅमिली पिक काढला. अंधार झाला होता पण तरीही पिक छान आला.

तर अशी ही आमची समर वॅकेशन ची बीच पिकनिक. आवडली का तुम्हाला? 

--------------------------------------

मी प्रथमच मराठीतून लिहायचं प्रयत्न केला. आवडला असेल तर कमेंट करा. 

---------------------------------

माझ्याशी कनेक्ट होण्यासाठी 

Instagram 

Facebook 

----------------------------------------

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorised use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

--------------------------------------

HEALTHY DINNER FOR WEEK : MARCH 2024

How are you ? April is started already and how life is going? Steady or with full speed? Mine is going with full speed. Mini vacation are over and school has started. Again we are busy with school, study little bit and toddlers play time.

Healthy dinners are the most important part of our Indian houses. We Indian families have everyday dinner together because it is the time where we meet each other and we talk with each other. 

This was the scene of our childhood lives. Many of you agreed with it. 

But, 

In my house dinner time is where we strictly off the screens whether it is big or small screens and talk over the meal.  Dinner is the special time where we all have meals with discussion and laughter so we did it mindfully. 

A healthy dinner has always been my goal. Earlier there was a house help when my baby was small but now we don't have any help. So the goal is to cook food at home and have a meal with the family, which is sometimes very difficult. But with meal planning I managed to cook as much as possible. So that swiggy and Zomato expense will come down. 😁 

Anyways, it is possible to cook a variety of healthy food for the family though I am the solo person handling everything. The answer is "Yes" !  Motherhood's hidden talent which we all mothers have. 😎

Last year I shared healthy kids approved an easy breakfast which we actually have for a week. This year I wanted to share a simple and healthy dinner for a week - what we actually eat. We generally eat same kind of meal for the month with little bit of mix and match using shortcuts and meal prep. Goal is to incorporate seasonal vegetables in the diet. 

It may inspire you to make a healthy meal at home for a family. Comment down your family meal ideas it will helpful for me. 

I am Maharashtrian. Every culture has its own rituals and food eating habits. I wanted to transfer the same good eating habits which we had in our childhood to our kids. I am trying to keep it very simple according to everyone's liking so that making a yummy meal will not feel like a daunting task. 

HEALTHY DINNER FOR A WEEK : MARCH 2024

No professional photography, bear that 😇

MONDAY : SIMPLE DAL RICE 

Monday is the most difficult day for me. To make it  easy I have a simple meal. We are non vegetarian but eat non veg food only on somedays of the week and not everyday. Sunday was filled with a heavy meal so I prefer to have a simple meal on Monday.  We had Dal, Rice, bhendi and roti. We are Maharashtrian, so rice is mandatory.

Toddlers ate the same dal without tadka with  1 spoon of ghee and rice. 

TUESDAY : SIMPLE FRIED RICE SOYBEAN MASALA 

With toddler tantrums and endless play time I hardly have time to cook elaborate meals. I blessed to have understanding Hubby and daughter who ate whatever I managed to prepare 😇 My attempt to give healthy and nutritious meal as much as possible and not repeated things. 

We had this simple fried rice and soybean gravy. With lots of papad too. But I forgot to take pictures of the papad.

This simple fried rice did not have any veggies because both Mr. Hubby and daughter picked up vegetables and removed it from the plate. So I tried not to add vegetables and keep it simple. With minimum tadka of Mustards, Jeera, onion and basic dry masala.

Whenever I made masala paste for any non veg dish I made it a little bit extra so that  I can prepare at least two three meals from that. Soyabean gravy is one of those masala. The meal took only 30 minutes to prepare. 

Toddler ate daliya upma. 

WEDNESDAY : FISH CURRY 

Fish curry takes only 20 minutes to prepare.  My family loves sea food. And we can eat at any time of the week whenever we carve for that. A simple fish curry with rice is heaven. 

The toddler ate a fish piece with a little bit of curry and rice.

THURSDAY : PITHALE & BHAKARI 

After eating fish on Wednesday we wanted to have a simple dinner. So I made authentic traditional dishes like pithale and bhakri. It tastes awesome with onion and green chilli.

Pithale is a traditional dish of Maharashtra. Pithale taste awesome with bhakari only. Bhakri is made from jowar and bajra flour.

Toddler ate : Chapati with shreekhand.

FRIDAY : AMATI, JEERA RICE, METHI, ROTI, PAPAD and PICKLE 

Because it's Friday and we were in relaxed mode. So able to make elaborate meal. I am trying to make this kind of whole meal once a week. Methichi bhaji is my favourite and papad are kids favourites. Dinner was amti which was made from sprouts, green leafy vegetables was methi, rice and chapati. 

The toddler ate ghee rice and many papads.

I hope you all liked my simple yet healthy dinner and got inspired to have fresh home cooked meals. Many people ask me how I managed to cook and do everything. Here is my trick to have simple meal - not time consuming because I have my twin toddler who are constantly revolving around me in every 15 minutes 😇

Top 10 recipes of the year 2023

Festival Easy Menu for busy moms

Easy way to have eggs in your breakfast 

Important points : 

We never count calories from our meal. We didn't have that habit. 

We both are healthy and not on any weight loss mission.

Wanted to  follow traditional eating habits which we had in our childhood and indulge everything mindfully. 

Followed these so that our children should eat everything without counting any calories. My motto is children should learn to enjoy the food. 

Question of the day

What is your favourite meal options? Do you repeat the same meal or cook different. 

We basically have same like dal, rice or amti but side dish keep on changing, trying to make varieties of dal and amti. I don't like to eat same kind of food and not feeding to the family too. 

--------------------------------

Follow Memory Flies on Social Media

Instagram 

Facebook 

---------------------------

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

HOLI - PURANPOLI - CHRONICLES

Holi is the festival of colours. It makes us feel refreshed and we welcome Spring. Holi is celebrated all over India within each society. Holi is a social gathering for joy. People enjoy bonfire, music, food ( puranpoli and mawa gujiya) and colours. 

Holi is one of my favourite festivals. Though we didn't follow any rituals but had a delicious meal at home. Preparing puranpoli and playing with colour is our joy of Holi.

This year my twins witnessed Holi for the first time.  We  dressed them very well and took them down to our society to see what Holi is? They didn't understand anything but both were very happy and ran all around the ground. Both of them wanted to touch that bonfire. Mr. hubby and I were running behind them to drag them from that bonfire ( Poor us)! And this way we enjoyed our Holi .

As per the rituals I made the puranpoli. we had simple thali with Puranpoli katachi Amati and Rice. 

Anyway, back to the post,

Holi is known as SHIMGA for us who belongs to KONKAN region. We are Maharashtrian and PURANPOLI is the main attraction of every Marathi household. Generally puranpoli is served with milk, katachi Amati, rice, any leafy vegetables, pickle and kurdai - one kind of papad. 

Very few are able to prepare this puranpoli as it requires lots of patience and hardwork. 

Since I was a kid I saw how my aai prepares puranpoli. It was quite hard to grind that purana on stone. (Pata and varavanta). I also liked to grind. Though my tiny hands was paining after a small portion 😇 but tried to help Aai little bit as per my capacity. My wish when I was small was to grind the puran and learn to make delicious puranpoli without tearing it. 🤣

And guess 😄

I didn't like to eat puranpoli at all when I was a kid. But I enjoyed the preparation of the puranpoli. We generally made it on Holi only once a year and so it was special to me. As I grew and  became adults I started to like it. I especially like to eat stale puranpoli ( shili poli) it tastes awesome with ginger tea rather than milk. ( My choice 😁) I always asked my Aai to keep at least 3, 4 puranpoli to eat in the morning. Till date my Aai kept it for me whenever I went there for holi. Blessed to have her in my life.

I haven't liked milk since my childhood. I feel yuk when my family eats puranpoli by mixing it in milk. (Dudhat churun Ani Varun tup takun khane) Pouring ghee on top of that. I hated it. But to my surprise when I grew I like to have it only with ghee. Puranpoli loaded with ghee is my special dish. I still don't like to eat it with milk. 

Yes!

I love to eat now. I learnt how to make pouranpoli And over the years I made it very well ( Mr. Hubby feedback) 😎

They said, once you become a mother you can do anything for your kids - here ( in terms of feeding the kids). I am blessed that my kiddo loves to gobble it too.

So what were the difficulty levels? 

1) Preparing the dal -  

Boiling chana dal at perfect consistency - Not too mushy and not too hard. 

Earlier I was unable to understand how to boil. With lots of tips from my aai , with lots of mistakes and our beloved teachers from Youtube I learnt purana poli in an easy way. 

2) How to knead a dough ?

I made it purely from whole wheat flour ( aata flour). People used to make it from maida because of the elasticity of maida there are low chances of tearing of poli.  Since my childhood I ate puranpoli made from aata which is healthy and tastes delicious. 

The main trick is - knead a soft dough. I didn't use too much oil. I used lots of water to knead soft dough and Just 1 tsp of oil cover up the dough so that it will not have any cracks. Cover the dough with cotton clothes and leave it for at least 15 minutes. 

Flour + turmeric + salt and water to knead the dough. You can roll the perfect puranpoli. 

3) Preparing Puran

It is tedious work. To make the perfect puran you should have patience. You have to continuously stir the dal and jaggarry mixture till it reaches the perfect consistency. If your spatula stands on that puran means your puran is perfect to make the puranpoli. 

These are all difficulty levels which you mastered with practice. The whole process of making puranpoli is lengthy. You have to work in batches. I prefer to have preparation so that my patience level is maintained. 😇

The first step is soaking chana dal.

Second step boiling and separating water from dal.

Third step to knead the soft dough.

Fourth step to make puran - mixture of dal, jaggarry, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.

Fifth step : rolling out roti (poli) with stuffing of puran. 

Sixth step : Roasting on tawa with ghee. 

And your delicious puranpoli is ready. 

Now you understand why I said to work in batches. 😞 If you have toddlers revolving around you then you must do little bit of pre- preparation.

Finally I learnt perfect puranpoli.😁 

I started to learn since my first kid was 5 years old. It took 5 years to make perfect puranpoli. 

Take away points, if you love to make it.

1) Traditional dishes are not always easy but we have to restore our delicacy for our future generations.

2) Practice makes you perfect. Start with 1/2 cup of chana dal. And then slowly increase the amount.

3) Don't mind if anyone demoralises you. Motivate yourself and then only you can learn.

4) There is lots of video on Youtube Stick to one which is comfortable to you and practice.

Disclaimer : This was my experience from disliking puranpoli to preparing it and feeding it to my family. My intention is not to take any class 😜 

Hope you enjoyed today's post - My chronicles of Puranpoli. And learnt something.

Questions of the day 

Do you like to eat puranpoli? 

Which traditional dishes from your culture are your favourite? 

------------------------

Follow Memory Flies on Social Media

Instagram 

Facebook 

---------------------

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.