It’s Mahashivratri tomorrow and yes like any another Lord Shiva too has his favourites when it comes to gorge on something and one such is Bhang. There are lot’s of traditions that we see in our country that’s around festivals and celebrations. One such exciting custom is having bhaang during MahaShivratri (apart from Holi). Bhaang, the edible form of cannabis that is also made into a drink and chutneys from hemp leaves, bhaang has been but talked about.
Mahashivratri is the day when Lord Shiva married Parvati. And Bhang holds a much greater cultural significance on this day. At many temples Bhaang distributed amongst all the other prasad as “Shiv Prasad.” From the grinding of bhang seeds to making the Thandai, this is considered as an art. Though often referred as a narcotic drug bhaang is known as Vijaya in ancient Indian scriptures. In Vedic scriptures, the cannabis plant is seen as something that is sacred and is something that helps you liberates and find happiness.
Chef Ravish Mishra, Executive Chef, The Westin Goa shares a recipe of a bhog that are offered to Lord Shiva on this day.
HEMP HURIGADALE TAMBITTU
INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup Split chickpeas
• ½ cup Desiccated coconut (Dry)
• ½ cup Jaggery (Grated)
• ½ cup Clarified butter (Ghee)
• 1 tbsp.Poppy seeds
• 2 large pcs Cardamom
• 20 Gms Hemp seed
• 5 Gms Dried Hemp leaves (Opt.)
PROCEDURE:
• Roast the chana dal until it exudes a sweet aroma.
• Grind the roasted dal along with the cardamom into a fine powder.
• Roast the poppy seeds until they splutter, giving out a nice aroma. Take care not to burn the seeds with overheating.
• Roast the dry desiccated coconut until crisp. Let it cool down a bit. And then grind it into a coarse powder.
• Heat the ghee in a thick pan.
• Stir in the Jaggery. Keep stirring on medium flame until the Jaggery dissolves, forming bubbles.
• Add the coarsely ground coconut, followed by the poppy seeds. Give it a quick stir.
• Finally, empty the powdered chana dal into the pan and put off the flame. Mix it thoroughly adding the roasted hemp seeds and dried hemp leaves. Add some extra ghee in case you feel the mixture is too dry. Take small portions of the mixture make the Tambittu or ladoos.
• Garnish well in rolled chopped flaky dry fruits and serve well with Thandai!
The NEIVEDYAM is ready to be offered to Lord Shiva!
TIPS & TRICKS:
• Traditionally, these Tambittu are entirely bound by ghee and Jaggery only. This improves their shelf life on the counter without refrigeration and also provides much-needed warmth during the colder months.
• If you would like to cut down on the amount of ghee used, replace it with an equal quantity of ghee and milk.
• If using milk, bring it to a boil along with ghee before adding Jaggery.
• Also, note that using milk in making Tambittu means these will need to be refrigerated.
