Panchmewa Paag recipe-Mawa Paag- Janmashtami special recipe- Kali Mirch by Smita

Panchmeva Paag is an authentic and traditional preparation that is prepared in some pockets of Uttar Pradesh (Agra/Vrindavan) on the occasion of Janmashtami and is specially offered to Lord Krishna who is known by several names like Shyam, Mohan, Banke Bihari, Bansidhar and my favorite name- Ladoo Gopal.

In the temple town of Vrindavan, in thousands of Lord Krishna’s temple spanned across the length and breadth of the town, festival of Janmashtami has a greater significance. Panchmeva Paag and Panjiri are two of the most popular food offerings that are prepared specially on this occasion and these are also considered to be Lord’s favorite. Many of these temples have their own kitchens and the special offering of Panjiri- Dhaniya Panjiri and Methi Panjiri, and different kinds of Paag- Migi Paag, Gola Paag, Meva Paag are prepared during the day which is then offered as a food to Banke Bihari and as a Prasad to his devotee after his birth that happens at the midnight. The ingredients that are used for making Paag are considered to be Lord’s favorite.

As I referred earlier in this post, Lord Krishna has many names each fascinating in its own right, and Ladoo Gopal is my favorite one. Now is the time when I must share the fascinating tale that I have grown up listening to about this equally fascinating name.

Situated along the banks of river Yamuna, in the region of Braj- The Land of Krishna, resided a man named Kumbhan Das. He lived in Braj with his son Raghu Nandan and he was a devotee of Lord Krishna. His love and affection for his Lord was such that he remained engrossed serving his lord’s idol and would resist leaving his home for the fear of missing out on his daily rituals.

He was invited to the town of Vrindavan for a Pooja that would last for few days. Initially, he did not want to go for this Pooja but on being insisted upon he accepted the offer. He thought he would perform the Pooja in Vrindavan daily and would return back to his home in the evening to serve his deity. He entrusted his son with the responsibility of Kishanji in his absence. While leaving his home, he explained his young son that he needs to serve food to Lord at a designated time. The innocent boy served the food in front of Lord and began imploring Thakur ji (another name for the Lord) to come and have food but lord never appeared. On being denied, young boy began crying inconsolably but he never stopped imploring. It was then, something magical happened and Thakur ji came in child’s avatar and ate all that was offered to him. Kumbhan Das, upon his return from Vrindavan, enquired his son about the food and did he offer it to Lord. Young boy replied in all his innocence that Lord ate the offering and did not leave any for the Prasad. Kumbhan Das found it difficult to believe and thought this to be his son’s mischief.

However, he grew worried when similar events kept unfolding every day and he felt concerned about his son lying to him. He decided to wait and see what exactly transpires every day in his absence. He made Ladoos for the Lord and left his house. Raghu Nandan, began to plead Thakur ji to appear and have Ladoos, while his father waited stealthily to see what his son would do.

Then the magical event happened again and Lord appeared in his child’s avatar and started having Ladoos. Kumbhan Das, found it difficult to believe his eyes and came out of hiding. He began pleading the Lord to forgive his mistake. Lord in his child’s pose had one Ladoo stuffed in his mouth and had another one in his hand when he froze. It is said, since that day, this child avatar of Thakur ji was called Ladoo Gopal.

Panchmeva Paag is an authentic and traditional preparation that is prepared in some pockets of Uttar Pradesh (Agra/Vrindavan) on the occasion Janmashtami and is specially offered to Ladoo Gopal.

Celebrate this Janmashtami with this delicious preparation of Paag and share your feedback with us in the comment section below.

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Panchmewa Paag recipe-Mawa Paag- Janmashtami special recipe- Kali Mirch by Smita

Ingredients

• 1 Cup=20gms Fox Nuts/Lotus Seeds
• 1 Cup=80gms Grated Dry Coconut
• ¼th Cup=50gms Almonds
• ¼th Cup=50gms Cashewnuts
• ¼th Cup=50gms Melon Seeds
• ¼th Cup=50gms Tragacanth gum/Gond
• ½ Cup=125gms Khoa/Mawa
• 2 Cups=400gms Sugar
• ½-tsp Cardamom Powder-coarsely crushed
• Ghee

Instructions

1. Heat 2-tbsp Ghee in a Pan. Roast Fox nuts in the pan for 3-4 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat.
2. Add 1-tbsp Ghee and roast Cashewnuts, Almonds, Melon Seeds separately for 2-3 minutes each.
3. Add 1-tbsp Ghee and roast Tragacanth gum until it puffs nicely and gets cooked. Roast on low heat.
4. In the same pan, roast dry coconut for couple of minutes until it loses its moisture and becomes light crisp.
5. Now, finally we will roast Khoa on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan.
6. Now we will coarsely ground roasted fox nuts, almonds, cashewnuts and tragacanth gum separately.
7. For Sugar syrup, put 2 cups sugar in a pan. Add 1 cup water and let it melt completely. After 2 mins sugar melts completely. Now cook for 12-15 minutes on low heat to make syrup of single thread consistency.
8. After 15 minutes, add powdered Foxnuts, powdered gum, powdered almonds and cashewnuts, roasted coconut, roasted melon seeds, roasted khoa and cardamom powder. Mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes on low heat.
9. Remove from heat after 4 minutes. We will spread this mixture in a container and set it in a large slab.
10. Allow it to cool down for 30 minutes. While it is warm cut it into shape of Barfi and let it sit for another 2 hours.
11. After 2 hours, remove from the container and Paag is ready to be served.

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