Satyanarayan Pooja - 2013

Satyanarayana Pooja is a ritual performed by the Hindu community. Most people perform it during special occasions like wedding, thread ceremonies, house warming etc but it can be performed anytime during the year.

We have been doing it once every year for over a decade now. The priest starts with Lord Ganesha Pooja followed by Navagraha Pooja consisting of Surya, Chandra, Shukra, Shani, Rahu, Ketu, Budha, Guru, and Angaaraka. Navagraha dhanya (9 kinds of grains) are used -- Rice, Toor dal, Wheat, Chana dal (Bengal gram), Urad dal (Black gram), Val, Til (Black sesame seeds), Green Moong Dal (Green gram) and Kulithu (Horsegram).

The priest then starts the Sri Satyanarayana pooja. "Panchamrit" is made with sugar, ghee (clarified butter), milk, yogurt and honey. He narrates the Satyanarayan Katha (story), which we always request in English so that all kids understand the reason behind the pooja.

"Sapaath", which is the prasad,  is traditionally home made early in the morning after shower, before eating or drinking and first offered to the Lord during the Satyanarayan Pooja. Sapaath is made with butter, cream of wheat, sugar, milk and banana's.

The pooja is concluded with Arti. Panchamrit and Sapaath is distributed to all the attendees.

We had about 175 close friends and family members throughout the whole day for pooja and prasad. Although, most of the cooking is traditionally done on the day of the pooja, I cooked most of the food on the previous day with the exception of White rice, Dalitoy, Doodpak,and Sapaath. By the Grace of God, the weather turned out to be great and the day went very smoothly. With the list of invitees increasing every year, we try to invite in groups at different times through out the day. I was hoping to take pictures of the food on the day of the pooja to post on my blog but the day got extremely busy. This year, I had very little left over which was just enough to plate the next afternoon. More details on menu and cooking for a crowd can be found here.

Clockwise: Tendle Batate Upkari, Pickle, Khaman Dhokla, Val-Val, Jalebi, Chana Gashi, Matar Paneer, White Rice with Dalitoy, Lemon Rice (Center). 
Not pictured: Tomato Rasam, Roti, Papad, Phanna Tak and Doodpak.

Food for a crowd

Cooking for a crowd can be challenging. I admit it's a little nerve racking but I like the challenge. How much is enough is the biggest question. I personally think that it all depends on the time of the event and age group of people attending the event. But the most important factor that I personally consider, is the head count as well as the number of dishes to be served for a particular event. A lot of planning and thinking goes into cooking in bulk. My goal is not to have left overs to feed an army!
The recipes mentioned below worked well for this years Satyanarayana Pooja. We had about 175 attendees. With an array of dishes, I cooked some dishes enough for 80-100 people and some upto 150 people, depending on popularity. A rough estimate is half size aluminum disposable tray feeds approximately 25-30 people (again, if you are serving just fried rice/vegetable biryani with one side dish - a half tray will feed 10-15 people only). Matar paneer and Val-Val, were the two dishes that I cooked enough to feed an army since it has always been a favorite. Tomato Saar and Doodpak was almost done before the last 3-4 families arrived and I didn't fret on it! I had enough of Dalitoy and Jalebi.
The menu has been almost the same with slight variation every year. The menu this year was Chana Gashi, Tendle Batate Bibbe Upkari, Val-Val, Matar Paneer, Dalitoy, Tomato Saar, White Rice, Lemon Rice, Doodpak - all home cooked. Khaman Dhokla, Jalebi and Roti were store bought. Pickle, Pappad and Phanna Tak on the side.

Sapaath (Satyanarayana Puja Prasad)

This is a recipe that serves approximately 50-70 people.

Ingredients:

4 cups sooji (cream of wheat)
4 sticks butter
5 cups sugar
5 medium ripe bananas, peeled and diced
6 cups milk

How it's made:
To cook this proportion in one go, you will need a fairly large wok. If you don't own one, cook in 2 batches.
In a large deep wok, melt butter. Add sooji and roast 10-15 minutes on medium heat until sooji is well roasted. Stir frequently in between to avoid scorching. Add sugar and bananas. Keep stirring and cook until the mixture comes together and bananas soften. In the meantime, boil milk in a saucepan.
To the sooji-banana mixture, add 1/2 cup of boiled milk at a time. Keep stirring until well combined. Then cook on medium-low flame for 30 mins until butter begins to separate. (Since the last step takes a very long time, I always start with prasad first thing in the morning. By the time, all the cooking is done, prasad will be ready).

Phanna Tak (Seasoned Buttermilk)

While we were discussing the menu for Satyanarayan pooja, my husband came up with this idea of Phanna tak. This drink being more popular during summer, I didn't think people would enjoy with temperatures in the 30's (F). This was the first time that I had tried this and made just one pitcher. Even before lunch was served, this was all gone and everyone was asking for refills! I assured everyone that they would get a pitcher of "Phanna Tak" for every potluck if we were invited!

Ingredients:

1quart buttermilk
1 1/2 quart water
8 green chillies
2"ginger
salt to taste
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
2 tsp oil
2 tsp black mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp hing (asofetodia)


How it's made:

In a pitcher combine buttermilk and water. Blend green chilies, ginger and salt in a blender with 1/4 cup water. Strain and add liquid to buttermilk. Stir with lemon juice and coriander leaves.
In a "Phanna Davlo"or skillet, heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add curry leaves and hing. Add seasoning to buttermilk.

Refrigerate for minimum of 2 hrs. Serve cold.

Makes: 8-10 servings