Dasara

Dasara is my favorite festival, not only because of all the dolls -Bombe mane but also because of 9 different sweets-savory prasadas that is made as offerings each day. My grand mother used to make the two different prasada-offerings each day of Navratri one for the morning pooja the other for evening pooja. It used to be fun to go be eating so many goodies. Back during our school days, Dasara vacations always started with the festival. So no school, lots to goodies to eat, going to temples each evening and eat some more prasadas there and return home to blissful sleep dreaming of my grandmother's kitchen what more could we ask for!!!
One word about the temples during Dasara; In old Mysore region of Karnataka, Dasara means various Alankaras. Deities are dressed up differently and of course splendidly indeed on each the nine days of the festival. It is a feast for the eyes. It is a practice to visit various temple every day of the festival.

Bombe habba as we used to call Dasara is not a joke. I do not know the background of the tradition, but once the dolls were installed along with the Kalasha they are not to be disturbed. We were not supposed to touch it, Pooja was performed twice a day and the concept of 'madi' (means something like unpolluted) associated with the dolls, the slightest deviation from practice leading to pollution!!!So we used to extra cautious and steer clear from the dolls and of course our grandmother. She is known for her short- temper mostly for the madi-gods and the holiness associated with it!!!

At the heart of the bombe mane is the Pattada Bombe the royal couple bedecked with jewels and silks. A picture of the pattada bombe my grand mother gifted me to carry on the tradition is in the picture below. They say, now a days it is very difficult to get good pattada bombes. They no longer make stuff like these any more!



After receiving the pattada bombe, I started collecting dolls for my bombe mane. And now i do own a substantial collection. Here is a sample of my collection. It includes a complete set of Dashavatara, musicians, assorted gods and goddess miniature Veena etc.

Coming back to today, miles and miles away from home and far away from my doll collection, we indeed managed to go for a toned down version of Bombe mane minus the pattada bombe. This is our bombe mane for this season. The best part however is I managed to get very cute porcelain dolls which i will add to my collection once we move back home! Until then, it is just a toned down version!!!


On Saraswati Pooja I prepared sweet dosa for prasada. Sweet Dosa is supposed to be very auspicious for Dasara and in my family it is made only during Dasara. Thats what is in the plate! I forgot to take a close up picture of the sweet dosa and now they are all gone :)
Here is the recipe

Jaggery upto 1/4 cup ( I generally use a little less)
Rice flour 1/4 cup
Wheat flour 1 tbsp
Salt 1 pinch
Saffron a few strands
Water 1/2 cup
Ghee melted

Method

Combine jaggery, salt saffron and water in a saucepan and heat it. Dissolve the jaggery completely and set it aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, stir in the two flours little by little making sure there are no lumps. The mixture should be sufficiently thicker than normal Dosa batter but should have a dropping consistency. Set it aside.
Heat a non stick tawa. Grease it with some melted ghee. Ladle a tablespoon of batter on to the tawa to make small Dosas. If the tawa is large enough to accommodate more than one dosa, go ahead by all means. Once the edges turn golden brown, flip the dosa. Cook till it turns golden brown. Remove and Serve it hot.
This is my entry to Navratri Food Festival .
We ate the Dosas last night and tonight I am making Kadale Kalu Usli another popular prasada.
Before I forget, Wishing you all a very very happy Narvatri.