Sapatha is a sweet Semolina pudding which is prepared as prasad for Sathyanarayana puja. We at home prepare Sheera from Semolina but we donot add bananas and milk , the two special ingredients of Sapatha. A little background on the Puja itself is due.
Satyanarayana Puja is a ritual performed by Hindus before/on any major occasion like marriage, house warming ceremony etc. It can also be performed on any day for any reason. The Satyanarayana Puja is unique in that it does not require a priest to perform. The Satyanarayana Puja is usually done on the Poornima day of every month (the day of the full moon). It is also done on special occasions and during times of achievements as an offering of gratitude to the Lord. These occasions include marriage, graduation, and the purchase of a new home to name a few.
The puja starts by a prayer to Lord Ganesha, the elephant God and remover of all obstacles that may occur as a result of incorrectly performing the puja. This is done by chanting all the names of Lord Ganesha and offering prasad (a food offering, usually consisting of one of Lord Ganesha’s favorite foods – modak, a sugar and coconut mixture, or [lhadu]) and the showering of flower petals. Refer wickey.
What you need to have:
- Wheat semolina (Thin) - 1 Cup
- Pure ghee – 1 Cup
- Milk – 2 and 1/2 Cups
- 5 Bananas – 250 grams
- Sugar – 1 Cup
Ingredients of Sapatha(prasadam)
What you do with what you have:
1. Place a thick bottomed bowl on medium flame with the above mentioned quantity of ghee. On melting add semolina and fry it till you get a pleasant aroma as you fry for upma.
2. Meanwhile heat milk and bring it to boil. Add boiling milk slowly to the fried Semolina and stir it well in such a way that there are no lumps. Make sure that semolina is cooked well. If Semolina is not cooked some more milk can be added and cooked properly.
3. Add Banana pieces to the cooked semolina and stir it for a while on a low flame till it is cooked for about 3-5 minutes depending upon the quantity one prepares.
4. Add sugar to it and stir it well till the dish releases ghee on the side of the bowl as shown in the image below. Do not drain it and it will seep into it gradually. It should be done on a low flame only. Offer it to the almighty and distribute it as prasad to the gathering.
Ready to serve Sapatha(Puja prasad)
What to remember:
1. Fry semolina in ghee so that it is not raw.
2. Add warm/hot milk only so that there are no lumps. The quantity of milk depends upon the thickness of the semolina. If semolina is not cooked , the dish will turn hard.
3. Cook it on medium/low flame only. For this prasad only 5 ingredients is as per the rituals. The flavour of this dish is unique and awesome. Hence please do not add any dry fruits , Cardamom, saffron etc.
How long it takes: 45 Minutes
Serves 30-40 people
May 24, 2008
prathibalrao
12 responses to “Sapatha (Sathyanarayana puja prasadam)”
Niki
September 1st, 2009 at 02:54
This is the first sweet dish i have ever made in my life and it is awesome. Thanks for the recipe. I did offer this to Lord Ganesha. Thanks.
prathibalrao
September 1st, 2009 at 07:53
Hi Niki,
This could also be a prasad for Lord Ganesh and Lakshmi as well and also for goddess Durga during Dussera!!!!!!
Laavanya Ballal.
July 11th, 2010 at 14:04
Wow….Yummeeeeeeee..Yummmmeeeee….I don’t know if Lord Ganeshaa likes it or not, but, me, certainly, and so much that I can eat it forever…Hats off to Mrs. Pratibha ji. If you keep posting your recipes, it’s like you sending us your choicest blessings.
prathibalrao
July 11th, 2010 at 21:43
Hi Lavanya,
Thanx a lot for ur comments. I also stay with my family on Manipal-Parkal main road near the water tank two buildings next to the water tank. It is a real coincidence . As there is saying that earth is round and the world is small isn’t it?????????????
Laavanya Ballal.
July 12th, 2010 at 12:09
Very true, dear Pratibha ji, the latest technology, indeed, has made the world become so small that it doesn’t even take much time for a person to find and re-connect with his/her long lost people/relatives, who may be living in some other corner of the world and even oblivious of his existence, as well.
While in Parkala, we lived very close to Bassel Mission Elementary School, where I studied until grade 7. I also attended Parkala high school, before proceeding to continue my education in Manipal Junior College. Soon after that, I left the place only to visit it like once in every 2-3 years.
Visiting India, ofcourse, in the recent years, has become a privilege to me, since I have settled in a far away country and travelling long routes makes me fall sick to the stomach, owing to which, I try to avoid long journey, unless it becomes obligatory.
The settlement area you have refered to as ‘near Water Tank’, is located just after Gururaj Joish’s house if we are proceeding towards MIT, am I right?
Meanwhile, I must admit, I am so glad to have met you as a person from my native place, which makes me feel nostalgic, nonetheless. I immensely thank the technology for giving me an opportunity to chance upon a meet and chat with you [ although virtual], which otherwise would not have been possible for both of us even to grasp that we were born and raised very close to each other, yet not knowing eachother. How very strange is that, ain’t it?
Anyway, dear Pratibha ji, I would certainly like to stay in touch with you, but only if you are comfortable about it. Then again, we may have to resort to interacting via our E-mail addresses to protect our privacy. I guess, you have my E-mail address which I had printed here along with my comments during one of my initial visits. So, do drop a line on the same whenever you have time.
Looking forward to receiving your messages. My love and regards to you and your people at home. You take good care of yourself, may all your endeavours come to fruition, you be well, bye now,
Your’s,
Laavanya.
prathibalrao
July 14th, 2010 at 20:24
Hi Lavanya,
The land mark mentioned by you as Gururaj joish’s house is exactly right. So do mail me and lets keep in touch.
prathibalrao
July 12th, 2010 at 20:37
Hi Lavanya,
Thanx a lot for ur long , instant and informative reply. Going thru the same i felt as though we are som close to each other from a loong time. Any way once again thanx a lot for your comments. I will surely mail you soon and hope to keep in touch. Bye for now.
Laavanya Ballal.
July 15th, 2010 at 13:24
Thanks for confirming the receipt of my message, dear Pratibha ji. And, ofcourse, yes. I would love to stay in touch with you, if you could kindly E-mail your address. You take care, bye now,
With kind regards,
Laavanya.
prathibalrao
July 15th, 2010 at 20:49
Hi Lavanya Ballal,
I will mail u shortly.
Romi
October 17th, 2010 at 11:59
Thank you for sharing your recipe. We had a Satyanaryan katha at our house today and I wanted to make something special for it. I looked this up and make it exactly as the recipe was written. It was very tasty! Enjoyed it alot. I do have one question. After the prasad sat for awhile, the top started turning dark. I’m guessing it was because of the bananas. Is there any way to avoid this? It doesn’t really change the taste, just the presentation. Again, thanks for such a great recipe. The guests and my family enjoyed this simple yet delicious dish immensely.
prathibalrao
October 17th, 2010 at 12:41
Hi,
The reason for turning the dish dark is unknown to me. One more question is which Banana did you use for the dish??I have not experienced this problem with this dish at all.So try it out with either Elaki balehannu(Puuta bale) or Rasa balehannu which we normally use in this preparation.
Shree
April 23rd, 2012 at 21:53
I tried this recipe & it came out great.but the only change I made is added sugar then put bananas @ the end.Thanks a lot it was superb & all had praises for it.Thank You