Guru Purnima falls on Friday July 27, 2018, and it is very auspicious and important day in the Hindu calendar. In the recent years, Guru Purnima has found a significant place in the list of Hindu festivals and is mostly associated with spiritual believes rather than religious.
It is also called as Vyasa Purnima emphasizing the importance of a teacher in all our lives.
Guru Purnima is celebrated as a part of worshipping your ‘Guru’ or the ‘teacher’ for helping us to lead on to the right path of spirituality, being a guide in making right choices both at physical and soul levels, for teaching us to be humane and forgiving, finally setting the example of ‘Guru-Sishya Parampara.’
Finding a Guru and following their path is one’s own personal choice, yet the mode of celebrations, worshipping is quite common in many parts of India. Many those who celebrate Guru Purnima start their day with deep meditation, followed by chanting of versus from various books. While few choose to go on fasting, simple dishes are offered to their ‘Guru’ as an offering.
Recipes:
Sooji Halwa or Seera:
Ingredients:
½ cup Semolina or Sooji Rava
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tsp Ghee
Dry fruits like cashew, almonds and raisins
1 cup of water
½ tsp cardamom powder
Method:
Boil the water with sugar, and cardamom powder in a pan over low medium heat, set aside.
Melt ghee in deep bottomed pan on medium heat.
Add semolina and roast it turns golden in colour and aromatic. Add the sugar syrup slowly to roasted semolina, keep stirring without lumps.
Reduce the heat to medium low and cover the pan with a plate.
Let it cook for 3 minutes until all the Semolina gets absorbed by the water.
Garnish with dry fruits.
Panchamrut:
Ingredients:
4 tsps. sweet, thick and fresh yogurt
1 cup milk
1 tsp honey
1 tsp pure ghee
1 tbsp sugar, finely powdered
1 Banana, thinly sliced
Few bits of saffron strands
Pinch of cardamom powder
Method:
Take a bowl, add all the ingredients. Whisk it.
Add a bit of cardamom powder, garnish it with thinly sliced banana, saffron strands.
Serve chilled.
