How to Make Paag For Janamashtmi

Dry Fruits Fudge - a  specialty dessert on Krishna Janmashtami

Krishna Janmashtmi is the celebration to mark the birth of Lord Krishna and is enjoyed all over India especially in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. On the occasion of Janmashtmi  most people fast all day and the celebrations start at midnight. There are some special sweet and savory dishes usually offered as prasad and are characteristic of Janmashtmi celebrations.

Paag are different from Paak/Pak. Paags are made only on Janmashtmi and are similar in some ways to Chikkis. Different types of paag are made with ground or crushed nuts, coconut, melon seeds, dry fruits, lotus seeds etc. These ingredients are added in thick sugar syrup and no oil or ghee is used in the making of most Paags.

There are so many childhood memories of making and eating these paag at my grandmother's house and my mother's house. They used to make huge trays of these paags and distribute among our neighbors and relatives. Peeled Melon seeds today are easily available in stores, but at that time my grandmother used to wash and collect melon seeds from the melons we used to eat at home all summer, peel them with her friends during summer afternoons and store them to make Paag on Krishna Janmashtami. My mom still does this as her favorite past time during summers :) .

So today I am sharing all the different paag which I've learnt from my grandmother. Hope you all will try these paags on this Krishna Janmashtmi

 
1-Lotus Seeds Paag (Makhana Paag)

Ingredients-

• Lotus Seeds (Phool makhana),powdered- 1/2 cup
• Lemon juice - 5 drops
• Khoya or ghee- 2 tsp *
• Sugar - 3/4 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup

Procedure:

1. Heat 1 tsp of ghee in a a pan and add a cup of whole lotus seeds (makhana)
2. Stir fry on low flame till they become crisp.
3. Grind in the mixer and make a powder(use 1/2 cup of this powder )
4. Add sugar and water in a pan and cook on medium heat .
5. Add lemon juice and cook till it becomes a 2.5 string consistency sugar syrup.
6. Switch off the flame and add the powdered makhana and grated khoya.
7. Quickly stir and mix well.
8. Immediately spread on a well greased plate and let it set completely.
9. Cut into pieces .

2-Mixed Nuts Paag (Mewa Paag)

Preparation time - 10 min
Cooking time - 5 min
Ingredients:

• Lotus seeds (Phool makhana),powdered-1/4 cup*
• Chiroli /Chirongi - 1tbsp
• Almonds, crushed - 12
• Cashews, crushed - 8
• Pistachio, crushed - 8
• Khoya or ghee - 2 tsp
• Sugar - 3/4  cup
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Lemon juice - 5 drops

Procedure:

1. Roast the phool makhana -add 1/2 tsp of ghee in a pan and add around 3/4 cup of phool makhana and roast on low flame till they become crisp.
2. Grind the roasted makhana in a grinder/mixer and keep aside (you need 1/4 cup of ground makhana)
3. Mix all the nuts with the phool makhana and grated khoya and keep aside.(total mixture of nuts 3/4 cup)
4. Add sugar and water in a heavy pan and cook on medium flame till it becomes a thick syrup of 3 string consistency.
5. Switch off the flame and add the ghee(if using) and nuts mixture in the syrup and stir quickly to mix well.
6. Immediately spread it on a well greased steel plate.
7. Let it cool down for around 10-15 minutes.
8. When it sets properly then cut into pieces or put the plate upside down and tap it on the work surface with pressure then it will come out in a single piece.

3-Melon Seeds Paag (Beej ka Paag)

Ingredients:

• Melon seeds -1 cup
• Lemon juice- 5 drops 
• Khoya or ghee- 2 tsp
• Sugar- 1cup
• Water-1/2 cup

Procedure:

1. Take 1/2 tsp of ghee in a pan and add the peeled melon seeds.
2. Stir fry on low heat till they start crackling.
3. Cover the pan with a lid  to avoid splattering all over and keep stirring frequently for around a minute.
4. Remove the seeds from the pan and let them cool down a bit.
5. Separate 1/3 seeds and coarsely grind the rest of the seeds in the mixer - do not make a fine powder.
6. Now mix both the seeds and khoya in a bowl and keep aside.
7. Take sugar and water in a pan and cook till it becomes a thick syrup of 3 string consistency.
8. Switch off the flame and add the seeds and ghee(if using)in the syrup and quickly mix it.
9. Immediately spread the paag in a well greased plate.
10. Let it cool down then cut  into pieces or invert the plate on a surface by tapping with pressure.

4-Coconut Paag (Naariyal Paag)

INGREDIENTS-

• Grated Dry Khopra/Dessicated coconut - 1 cup*
• Lemon juice - 5 drops
• Khoya or ghee- 2 tsp 
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup

PROCEDURE-

1. Add sugar and water in a pan and cook on medium heat.
2. Add lemon juice and cook till it become a syrup of 3 string consistency
3. Switch off the flame and add coconut and grated khoya and mix well.
4. Spread on a well greased plate and let it set completely before cutting.
   *You can either use grated dry coconut/khopra or use dessicated coconut, but fresh coconut cannot be used to make this.

Note-

1- Paag are very easy to make, its just the consistency of sugar syrup that should be perfect otherwise either the paag will not set at all or become so hard that it will set in the cooking pan itself.
2- The mixing and spreading of paag should be done quickly otherwise it may harden before spreading .

3-The ratio of sugar and nuts should vary according to the nut used - as phool makhana absorbs water quickly so we have to make the syrup little less thicker then all other paags.

4- You may make any combination of nuts to make mewa paag - the ratio of nuts, sugar and water should be -2:2:1

5- Lemon juice is added to clear the sugar syrup and to prevent crystallization.
6-* Addition of khoya is optional(I have not added it),you can either use khoya or ghee in it.
7-Khoya/ mawa is dried solidified milk,which looks like cottage cheese and is easily available in Indian stores and sweet shops