Govardhan puja is celebrated on the Shukla Paksha of Kartik month. On this day, festivals like bali puja, annakut puja, Margapali etc. take place too. Annakut or Govardhan Puja has its history dating back to Dwapar Yuga after the incarnation of Lord Krishna. Govardhan Puja is performed the next morning of Diwali and on this day people offer a range of bhog or prasad to Lord Krishna. This means, different types of foods are recipes are prepared.  People eat traditional foods and sweets on this. Godhan aka worship of cows is done on Govardhan Puja. A cow is considered to be the form of Goddess Lakshmi.

Just as Goddess Lakshmi provides happiness and prosperity, in the same way cow is said to bring in wealth, prosperity & health via milk. In order to pay reverence to Gau, Govardhan is worshipped. On the day of Kartik Shukla Paksha Pratipada cows are worshipped as its symbol of gratitude.  The worship of Govardhan Parvat, cow and Lord Shri Krishna holds special significance on this festival day. While Govardhan Pooja is a festival of showing reverence and devotion to God on one side, it is also a festival that aims at expressing gratitude towards nature.

People of North India make Govardhan Parvat with cow dung the next day after Diwali i.e. on the day of Govardhan Puja and it is decorated with flowers. During Govardhan Puja, incense, lamp, naivedya, water, fruits and flowers are offered. Apart from this, cows are worshipped and even other animals used in agricultural work are paid tribute to. Earthen lamps are placed on the navel of Govardhan Purush and milk, curd, Gangajal etc. are offered during worship and later distributed as Prasad. Check out some of the bhog recipes for Govardhan puja:

Annakoot Recipe

Annakoot is prepared and offered to Lord Krishna.  Annakoot ki sabzi is a mix od vegetable fry often prepared with 56 different ingredients. Here's a recipe video:

Arbi(Kochayi) Kaddu(Kumhdha) Ki Sabzi

For this veggie item, people mix arbi and kaddu and cook well. This is offered during puja to Krishna ji. Watch video:

Laddoo

Sweets are important to celebrate different Indian festivals. Laddoo is prepared on this day as Lord Krishna is said to love it. Watch recipe video:

10 Easy To Make Recipes For Govardhan Pooja (Watch Video): 

People walk around Govardhan Ji 7 times at the end of worship.  Govardhan mountains are worshipped as God and it is said to bring in good luck, happiness and increase wealth. On the day of Govardhan Puja, not only is Govardhan Parvat BUT Lord Vishwakarma is also worshipped as well.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2020 12:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).