Ganesh Chaturthi Naivedyam · What to Offer Bappa
The offering is the part of Ganesh Chaturthi people abroad worry about most, because it is the part you cannot improvise. Here is what is traditionally offered, and what to do when the sweet shop is eight thousand miles away.
The naivedyam, in order of tradition
Modak · his favourite, steamed with coconut and jaggery. Twenty one is the traditional count.
Motichur laddu · the offering most families actually make, and the one children reach for.
Boorelu · poornalu, sugiyan. Andhra and Telangana homes will not do Vinayaka Chavithi without it.
Bobbatlu · puran poli, obbattu. Made the day before in most houses.
Kobbari vundalu · coconut laddu, the simplest and often the first one finished.
Undrallu · steamed rice flour balls, the specific Telugu offering for Vinayaka Chavithi.
Also offered
Twenty one blades of durva grass, red hibiscus, a whole coconut, bananas and seasonal fruit, and a lit diya. Durva is the offering Ganpati is said to value above every other, and it costs nothing.
When you cannot make it
Most people abroad cannot make twenty one modaks on a Monday. That is not a failure of devotion, it is a Monday. Offer what you can get that is made properly, by people who have been making it for decades. That is the whole reason Desify exists.
Questions people ask
What sweets are offered to Lord Ganesha?
Modak first, because it is said to be his favourite. After that motichur laddu, boondi laddu, boorelu or poornalu, bobbatlu or puran poli, and kobbari vundalu. Twenty one modaks is the traditional count.
Why 21 modaks?
Twenty one is the number associated with Ganpati, which is also why twenty one blades of durva grass are offered. Families who cannot make twenty one offer five or eleven, which is perfectly acceptable.
What if I cannot make modak at home?
Offer whatever sweet you can get that is made properly. Motichur laddu, boorelu and bobbatlu are all traditional naivedyam. Desify ships them fresh from the halwais in India in three to five days.