What is Vesak Poya Festival in Srilanka?
When is Vesak Poya Festival in Srilanka?
Vesak Poya is a religious and cultural festival celebrated in Sri Lanka on the full moon of Vesak month (April-May) every year. In 2021 Vesak Poya is estimated to be on 26 May- Wednesday. It's also popularly known as "Buddh Poornima " in India.
Is Vesak Poya Festival in Srilanka a Global event?
Vesak Poya is celebrated globally all over the world by Buddhists. Countries like India, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore also celebrate this festival though the dates can differ as per the calendar they follow.
How people of Srilanka celebrate Vesak Poya Festival?
For people in Srilanka, it's a time of big celebration which continues for a week. People in Sri Lanka celebrate this big day for the birth and nirvana of lord buddha. It's the best time for tourists to observe and enjoy the colors of Sri Lanka. Many cultural and religious activities like bodhi pooja, devotional songs, pandals happen during these days in the whole country. Homes, streets, and shops across the islands in each and every town will be lit up with beautiful lanterns and decorated with flowers. The nights of the entire week are mesmerizing for the people.
On this auspicious day, Buddhists ensure a visit to the monastery to meditate and collect the knowledge of the great Buddha. They lit up the incense sticks and offer flowers to thank him for teaching the importance of existence.
Dansalas( free food and drinks) are also offered on a great day for sharing love and joy.
Food preferences for festivals are always on top everywhere. Isn't it?
Any celebration is incomplete without sweets. To grace this big celebration I thought of preparing something colorful and delicious sweet that melts in your mouth and refreshes all your taste buds.
"Kaju Paan" or "Cashew Betel" is an innovation to regular sweets. It's a sweet prepared with cashew powder infused with fresh flavors of betel and related ingredients like Gulkand, Nuts, Tutti-Frutti(candid raw papaya). Kaju paan is made up of the same ingredients as Indian Sweet Kaju Katli but an infusion of paan leaves gives it a totally different flavor.
This sweet will be great to share and relish on big festivals like Vesak Poya, Diwali, Holi, and Christmas. So let's see the step-by-step process of making Kaju Paan for Vesak Poya Day.
Overview:
Preparation time: 20 mins. Cooking time: 20 mins. Serve: 12 pcs. Course: Sweet
Ingredients:
For cashew paan
- Cashew- 75gm
- Milk powder- 75gm
- Musk melon seed- 75gm
- Sugar- 1/3 Cup
- Water- 1/3 Cup
- Betel (Paan) leaf- 1
- Green Food Color- 1 drop
- Edible Silver Sheets (Vark)- Optional
For paan filling
- Gulkand (Rose Petal Jam)- 2 tablespoon
- Saunf Powder/ Sugar Coated Fennel Seed -1 tablespoon (optional)
- Dried Rose Petals- 1 tablespoon
- Mawa/Khoya (Reduced milk)- 3 tablespoon
- Tutti Frutti- 1 tablespoon
- Silvered Almond- 5 pieces
- Green Cardomom (Elaichi) Powder- 1 teaspoon
- Edible Red Food Color- 2 drops
Recipe Preparation Process
Cashew Paan Making
Step-1
Grind cashews into a fine powder.
Tip: Take frequent pauses while grinding so that the cashew doesn't release its oil.
Step-2
Grind musk melon seeds into a fine powder.
Step-3
Sieve both the powders. Grind the leftover coarse powder again and sieve it. Only a fine powder that is without any accumulated crumb should be used.
Step-4
Make betel (paan) puree by blending the betel (paan) leaf with 2 tablespoons of water/milk. Sieve once to remove thick pieces if any.
Step-5
In a mixing bowl, combine the cashews, melon seeds, and milk powder.
Step-6
In a wok (non-stick kadhai), add equal portions of water and sugar (as mentioned). Keep stirring and boil it for about 10 minutes to form a sugar syrup (chashni) of 1 tar.
Tip: To check the consistency of the perfect sugar syrup for this recipe- take a drop of syrup on your thumb and press it with your index finger. If it shows a single string (tar) then it's ready. If not, cook it for a while.
Step-7
Add the mixed powder to the sugar syrup (Chashni) in the wok (kadhai) and keep stirring on a very low flame.
Step-8
Add the paan puree with a drop of green color and keep stirring to cook it.
Step-9
Cook till it starts leaving the corners of the pan and forms a dough consistency. Switch off the gas and put it on parchment paper to cool it down.
Tip :
- Use a non-stick kadhai/wok otherwise it won't leave the corners of the pan and you won't get the desired results.
- When it's cooling down, dab it with a little ghee (saturated butter) to avoid the formation of a crust on it.
For Filling
Step- 1
In a mixing bowl, take all the filling ingredients as mentioned.
Step-2
Step-3
Portion the mix into parts and roll into an oval shape.
Making of Kaju (Cashew) Paan
Step-1
- Portion the dough into 3 equal parts and roll into balls.
- Place a ball on parchment paper and cover it with another sheet of paper.
- Roll it into a circle with the help of a rolling pin or rolling/papad maker machine.
- Its thickness should be about 0.5 centimeters.
Note: Sheet may become soft after rolling if the weather is hot. In that case, you can keep them in a freeze for 5 minutes then move ahead for the next step.
Step- 2
Cut the rolled sheet into four equal parts.
Step- 3
Pick each part of the sheet and fold it to make a cone. Stick the end by overlapping and pressing the edges gently.
Step- 4
Take filling mixture and place inside the cone and press well.
Step- 5
Roll cones on an edible silver sheet (vark) for decoration and serve.
Note: These cashew/Kaju paan can also be refrigerated in a closed box for a week.
This looks amazing...
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