“But Tatha, what about those who are left hander, how can you ask them to perform rituals with right hand?” I heard my son arguing with his grandfather who insisted that he use right hand to offer flowers during a Puja at home.

After the Puja rituals were over their grandmother took a little bit of all the food offered to God and went backdoor. She then placed the food on boundary wall and started calling the crows..Caa..Caa…

“Why do you always offer food to crows granny, why not a sparrow or a parrot?” questioned my daughter.

“Tatha, I read it somewhere that tradition is an explanation for acting without thinking, is it so?”  And the argument between grandparent and grandchildren continued.

“Grandson, I have been there and done that, but now I don’t question traditions anymore. A tradition doesn’t have to be logical. It only emphasizes the everlasting bond of love that exists between many generations.” said their grandfather.

“These festivals and traditions are priceless and have given us some of the best moments of our lives. At our age we anxiously wait for these festivals when all our children come and celebrate the joy with us.” He continued and asked their grandmother to bring the festive goodies.

“And remember ‘food‘ brings a real good feeling about festivals…did you taste your grandmother’s jaggery Puran Poli”…..

And all that I could hear after that was…nom…nom..nom.. 🙂

I love to listen to these banters between my children and their grandparents. Sometimes it ends abruptly while at other times it teaches them a good lesson of life, deepening the bond of love that they share.

Recent Puja performed at home and the offerings to God.

After the Puja we planned for a weekend trip to a nearby place for which I baked these Granola bars and packed them individually in parchment papers. These bars are really easy to assemble and can be eaten as a filling breakfast or a healthy snack.

1. Banana Cornflakes Flapjacks or Granola bars

Ingredients;

• 1 cup cornflakes
• 1/4 cup Oats
• 1 large banana
• 4 tbsp chopped Almonds
• 50 gm or 1 bar of Chocolate
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp. cinnamon powder

Method; Heat oven to 180 C and line a flat baking tray with parchment paper overlapping the sides.

Chop almonds and chocolate bar finely.

Dry roast the quick cooking oats and cornflakes on medium heat for about 5 minutes and crush the flakes slightly with hands.

Peel and mash banana and blend it with honey in a blender.

Take a large vessel and pour the banana and honey mixture in it, add rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Empty the granola in the baking tray and spread it evenly.

Bake for 180 C for 30 minutes and take out the tray from the oven. Let it cool completely before slicing them into granola bars.

2. Sesame Flapjacks or Granola Bars

Ingredients;

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup groundnuts
• 1/4 cup chopped Apricots/prunes
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp butter

Method; Heat oven to 180 C and line a flat baking tray with parchment paper overlapping the sides.

Dry roast sesame seeds and quick cooking oats for 5-6 minutes in a pan.

Roast groundnuts separately till they turn brown in color or use pre-roasted nuts. Crush groundnuts with a rolling pin.

Chop Apricots and Prunes finely.

Melt butter in a pan and add all the ingredients into it. Mix well and spread the mixture on the baking tray.

Bake the granola for 25 minutes at 180°C.

Cool it completely before slicing the Granola.

Notes;

1. Replace apricots and prunes with dates or raisins.
2. You can cook the mixture in a pan and spread it on a greased plate if you don’t have an oven at home.
3. Banana Flapjacks last for 3-4 days.
4. You can try the Granola with whole black sesame seeds.
5. Add pumpkin, melon or sun flower seeds in granola to make it more healthier.
6. Use steel cut Oats if you can to the granola for more bite in the recipe.

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