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Ganesh Chaturthi is just a few days away and the whole of India is eagerly waiting to bring Bappa to their homes. This year, Ganesh Chaturthi falls on the 19th of September, and on this day, devotees will welcome Lord Ganesha to their homes. For the next 10 days, devotees will worship Ganesha and on the 11th day, they will bid adieu to the deity by immersing his idol in a water body. These 11 days of Ganesh Chaturthi bring a lot of happiness, celebration, and joy to the lives of people.
Even though Modak is the most popular when it comes to offering prashad to Bappa, there is one more food item considered quite auspicious. We are talking about bananas. Bananas are often offered as prashad but have you ever wondered why? There are several fruits offered to the deity but as per legends, Bappa loves bananas the most. Did you know that Lord Ganesha and bananas have an interesting connection too?
The story goes that when Bappa was getting ready for his wedding, he realized he had forgotten something, So, he went back in. It was then he saw his mother, Goddess Durga eating one bowl of rice after another. Upon finding his mother in a distressed state as she wanted to finish all the rice of the house that day itself, he asked what was wrong. Ganesha learned that his mother was stressed and worried if the new bride would feed her properly.
On listening to his mother’s worry, Ganesha went out into the garden and broke the trunk of a banana tree. He then proclaimed the banana tree as his new bride and Durga’s daughter-in-law as she would never go hungry as long as she was surrounded by banana trees. This is the reason that in many Ganpati pandals, a bedecked banana tree trunk is placed right next to Lord Ganesha and is decorated with flowers, vermillion, and sandalwood paste. Not only do bananas have a mythological significance but they are best known for their versatility too.
This Ganesh Chaturthi, here are five unique and delicious banana-based prashads that you can offer to Lord Ganesha. Have a look:
Banana Ladoo
Banana ladoos are an easy, healthy, and tasty dessert that gets ready in no time. To make banana ladoos, all you need to do is blend roasted matta rice and cook the ground rice powder with ghee and bananas. Add jaggery for flavouring and garnish these ladoos with cinnamon powder. Offer these unique ladoos to Lord Ganesha and seek his blessings.
Banana Kheer
Who doesn’t like kheer? Kheer being the most popular sweet dish in India is also offered to gods and goddesses. This Ganesh Chaturthi, add a hint of bananas to the kheer and serve it to Lord Ganesha. Just blend ripe bananas into a creamy, milk-based kheer. Garnish with roasted nuts and cardamom for extra flavour.
Banana Modak
Lord Ganesha is also known as “Modakpriya” and this clearly depicts his love and fondness for modaks. Also known as Kele Mulik, these banana-based modaks are traditional sweets that are deep fried and specially made on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. They are flavourful and have a melt-in-mouth texture.
Banana Sheera
Sheera, a popular dessert in India, can be made with ripe bananas to add a unique flavour on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. The bananas are mashed and cooked with semolina, ghee, sugar, and cardamom until they reach a halwa-like consistency.
Banana Barfi
Banana barfi is a sweet and dense fudge-like dessert made by cooking mashed bananas with khoya (reduced milk solids) and sugar. The mixture is flavored with cardamom and then set and cut into square or diamond-shaped pieces. This is easy to make and is super tasty.
