Recipes for Buddha's Birthday
In April & May Buddhists & many Hindus around the world celebrate the Buddha's Birthday with prayers, sparkling lights, delicious vegetarian food & acts of kindness. Buddha's Birthday celebrates the birth, enlightenment (nirvana) & death of the Buddha.
Buddha's Birthday has many different names around the world...
Wesak.Sa Ga Dawo.Buddha Purnima.Phat Dan Vesak.Hana-Matsuri.Buddha Jayanti.Vesak.
In Japan the festival is called Hana-Matsuri, The Festival of Flowers. A sweet hydrangea tea called ama-cha is poured over statues of the baby Buddha.
In South Korea the festival is called Seokga Tansinil. The temples are decorated with special lotus lanterns. Every year there is a famous lantern parade.
In Sri Lanka the festival is called Vesak. Every year people decorate their homes, streets & temples with beautiful dazzling lanterns, candles and lights. As the tropical sun sets & the full moon rises people make their way to the temple.
People in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Indonesia, Thailand, America, Canada & Europe all have their own slightly different ways of celebrating Buddha's Birthday. Check out their customs & recipes online.
A Very Delicious Buddha's Birthday.
Dansala - The sharing of delicious vegetarian dishes, puddings & sweets with the monks & poor people is an important part of Vesak in Sri Lanka.
Let's make two super yummy Sri Lankan puddings. Let's get ready for some measuring-stirring mixing-pouring-dunking-squeezing-mixing-layering & chilling! One recipe is fruity, fresh & zingy, while the other is rich, chocolaty & decadent!
Recipes. Mmmmmmm Yum!
1. Fruity, Fresh & Zingy Papaya Salad with a Jaggery Dip!
Ingredients:
Papaya
Limes
Jaggery (palm sugar)
Limes make papaya taste totally amazing!
Jaggery is delicious. It tastes like fudge!
Method:
1. Papaya
Ask a grown up to help you cut open the papaya & remove the bitter skin.
With your fingers scoop out all the round & beady black seeds.
Use a blunt plastic knife to cut the soft & juicy papaya into strips or cubes.
Feeling extra creative? Use a biscuit cutter for cute shapes.
Arrange the papaya on a large dish.
2. Jaggery Dip
Use a mortar & pestle to grind the jaggery.
Bounce the limes on the kitchen floor. Have a quick game of lime catch in the garden! This makes them easier to squeeze.
Ask a grown up to cut the limes in half.
Squeeze the limes.
Mix the jaggery & lime juice together.
Enjoy & Share.
2. Rich & gooey Sri Lankan Chocolate Biscuit Pudding
Ingredients:
3 packets of semi sweet biscuits. (Many Sri Lankans use Marie milk biscuits)
1 Small bowl of plant milk
250 g icing sugar
100 g plant based butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
Jaggery chunks, cashews or fruit for decoration
You also need some parchment paper to line your mould.
Method:
Sieve the icing sugar into your mixing bowl
Add the cocoa powder & a pinch of salt
Mix well
Add the soft plant based butter
Mix well
Choose a mould & line with parchment paper
Put one big dollop of chocolate mixture into the mould
Save some chocolate mixture for later
Method:
Dunk a biscuit in the milk for 10 seconds
Put a layer of dunked biscuits on top of the chocolate dollop
Cover the biscuit layer with another dollop of chocolate
Add another layer of dunked biscuits
Add another dollop of chocolate
Add more layers until your mould is full
Put the mould into the fridge for 4 hours or overnight
Tip out onto a plate
Cover the top with your chocolate mixture
Decorate with cashews, fruit or jaggery chunks
Enjoy & Share
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Collect recipes from your friends & family
Take photos of your cooking
Cut out recipes from magazines
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Thank you for reading. See you soon!
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