Advance bookings for Ganesh prasad begin as festival draws closer
Home-based businesses are witnessing a significant uptick in orders for both traditional steamed ukadiche modak, fried modak, and even churma laddoo.
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With the festival approaching, the increased demand has also led to a rise in prices of ingredients like coconut and jaggery.
"We placed pre-orders for modaks with a nearby home chef. She follows the traditional recipes, and her modaks are loved by all who visit our home to offer prayers to Ganapati," said Neelam Choksi, a resident of Aundh. Dipti Sathe, a resident of Salisbury Park, said that she pre-ordered churma laddoo for prasad for the Ganesh festival.
"As days progress, it becomes difficult to get good quality vendors to supply prasad.
We keep the idol for five days, so I placed orders for alternate day deliveries," she said.
Sonali Chaudhari, a home chef and resident of Wagholi, prepares traditional modaks for the festival. "Bookings have already started, and there is a good demand for prasad, modaks of all types. I make many traditional varieties as well, for which I get specific orders," she said.
Shweta Agarwal has collaborated with vendors in her area in Wanowrie to supply modaks for the festival. "We have many pre-orders for modaks. While ukadiche modaks need to be consumed immediately, the fried modaks have a longer shelf life. Pricing is done on a piece-wise basis. This year, almost all the ingredients have become expensive, and the price per piece is higher by Rs 6-7," she said. Gulkand kaju katli is also trending this year as prasad for the festival.
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Pooja Deshkar, who runs a cloud kitchen in Pimpri Chinchwad, said she was taking bulk orders for modaks. "Pre-bookings will pick up after Raksha Bandhan. I also make chocolate-flavoured modaks, amba modaks, and dry fruit modaks, depending on the order. We increased the prices this year by Rs 5-6 per piece because everything is more expensive," she said.
Apart from modaks, residents are also choosing to purchase churma laddoos for the festival. "We are listed on online food delivery platforms and get orders for churma laddoos via those as well as pre-bookings. Orders will increase further by next week," said Deepa Thakkar, who runs her cloud kitchen from Hadapsar.
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