This
festival is celebrated throughout Rajasthan with great devotion by women who
worship Isarji and Gaura- Lord Shiva and Parvati respectively. Goddess Gauri is
considered as the goddess of marital bliss and happiness. Colorful images of
Gauri, beautifully dressed and bejeweled are taken out in procession
accompanied by the town band.
Gangaur
is celebrated every year during the Hindu month of Chaitra (march/april). It
commences on the day following Holi and continues for 16 days.
In
Marwari culture, unmarried girls as well as married women celebrate Gangaur
festival and observe fast on this day. Unmarried girls worship gauri for being
blessed with good husband, while married women worship to seek her blessings
for the happy married life. During this festival, women put mehendi (heena) on
hands and dress up beautifully and usually gets gift from their husband.
Women
observe fast during this festive time and eat only once at lunch right after
the Gangaur puja. On the conclusion of Gangaur festival, girls enjoy feast with
different variety of festive food like Ghewar, churma, feeni etc.
Apart
from halwa-puri or kheer-puri, Gune
or Guna are specially made for
Gangaur to offer during puja on main day. After the puja, women and girls break
their fast with guna first, followed by lunch.
There
is a lot to write and share about this festival, but let me share with you the
recipe of main bhog/Prasad offered during the puja- Guna/Gune. This sweet has a
long shelf life, so it can be consumed and enjoyed as a snack later after the
festival as well. There are two types of guna – one made with sugar and other
with jaggery. Both of them are equally delicious.
Step by step recipe of
Guna/Gune:
Take 2 cups Maida/refined flour in a wide mixing bowl and add ¼ cup ghee to it.
Mix them together until it looks like bread crumb.
Mix them together until it looks like bread crumb.
Let
the dough rest for about 20 minutes. Cover it and keep aside.
After
resting, knead the dough once. Divide the dough into two equal parts and roll
it. Place the dough ball over a rolling board.
Take
one of the strip and roll it against your finger giving it a round shape of
guna. The extra dough left after the finger
round should be removed. Apply a bit of water at the ends and join them to form guna shape. The leftover strip can be used to make another guna.
Take
ghee in a pan or wok. When it is medium hot, gently and carefully place the
gunas in the wok. Fry the gunas from all
the sides until they are golden brown in color. Keep the flame on medium low.
Sugar
syrup-
After
cooking 4-5 minutes on low flame, check the syrup. The syrup should have stick
and gooey consistency. Take a drop of the cooked syrup in a plate. Then using
your index finger and thumb pull apart the syrup. If there is formation of 1-2
threads, the syrup is ready. Turn off the flame.
Meanwhile
the gunas have been cooled. Dip them in the syrup. The syrup should coat the
gunas from all the sides.
After a minute or so, take them out in a separate plate. Similarly coat all the gunas with sugar syrup.
After a minute or so, take them out in a separate plate. Similarly coat all the gunas with sugar syrup.
Let
the gunas cool sown for a while. It can be stored in an airtight container and
consumed upto 3-4 weeks.
Guna recipe below:
Guna
recipe
Guna-
A sugar coated Indian sweet, offered to God during the Gangaur Puja.
AUTHOR:
Monali
RECIPE
TYPE: Snack, Indian sweet
CUISINE:
Indian, Rajasthani
SERVES:
20 Guna
INGREDIENTS
(measuring cup used, 1 cup=237 ml)
2 cup Maida/Refined flour
¼ cup Ghee
Ghee
for frying
Sugar
syrup-
1 cup Sugar
1/3
cup Water
DIRECTION
NOTES
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