SUMANGALI PRATHANAI PROCEDURE

 Now that the wedding  season has  started, one of the pre wedding ritual    is  Sumangali Prarthana.

In the absence on elders in many families  ,the younger generation might be needing to know the procedure to perform this. Trust this blog will be of use to them.

Preparing the place to make pooja: 

1.  Two   Mana Palakai

2.  Nilavilakku  Big  1

3.   Malli poo  Malai  ( say  2 Muzham)

4.  Chandanam, Kumkuman

5.  Agarbathi and Deepam

6.  Vettalai  Paakku

7.  Yellow Bananas

8.   MIRRORs   2. (medium size  will do)

9.  Glass  Bangles 8 Nos and  2 Combs

POOJA will be done facing  EAST

We put 2 small kolams nearer and place two manaiplagais on this and put maa kolam on this. when it is completely dry, fold the saree and place it along with the blouse on the manai palagai. the nuni side of the saree should be kept facing North direction. The dress of the kanya girl is also kept on the second manai palagai. The vethalai, paaku, manjal, poo, small mirror, comb, bangles all should be kept on both the dress. A small garland(maalai) is also tied around it. We also put our jewellery like chain or necklace and bangle on the pudadavi.

 

In  between both the  Palagais,  Kuthhuvrlkku  should be kept  with  flower and  Manjakumkumam and a Tamboolam  Thattu with Tenka Vettalai pakku Manjal Kumkumam, and  Yellow Pazham.

 

Another  plate with  Uthiripoo, Chandanam, Kumkumam, Mehandi Paste, Manjal Akshadi  to be kept in front of the  Kuthivilakku for  Pudavala Telikkal.

 

Two banana leaves are put in front of the manai and we call them as swami ilai. The leaves will be nicely washed and pat dried.

 Also all the banana leaves will be put for the pondugal and kanya kid too.

All the pondugal will be invited formally and asked to sit in front of the banana leaf.and tell them to relaxedly sit and have the food.  

 

All the food before serving will be served on the pudavai ilai first and then to the all the pondugal . So all the first time serving will start from the Pudavai ilai.

The serving  will start with Paruppu payasam, sweet pachadi…………………..

Till  the serving  is completed all should patiently sit.

 

Then comes  Pooja: -

 1.  A lit  lamp  should be shown to all ..starting Pudavalam

2.  2, Then  Agarbathi  ,similarly.

3.  3. Then,  Pooja to  Pudavalam   as below

 First  MIL  or the eldest     DIL of the family,  should  do the Pooja to Pudavalam.  That is  take little little Chandanam Kumkumam Aksadai Mehendi Udiri poo and offer over the  Pudavai  and  then  offer toKanika Dress Thattu. This should be repeated thrice.

Then the second DIL  should repeat the process above.

Then  the next ….like all DILs should do the Pooja

Others  Sons ..daughters  grand daughters  grand sons all should be   asked to  come to the Pooja place and pray to  ancestors and do Namaskarams.

Then  offer  Kudineer (offer  one spoon  of water to all  Sumgalis and Kannikas)  and then to Pudavalam  and  say  VANGIKKUNGO…

After this  they can start eating food.

At the end  also the Kudineer is offered,including Pudavalam.

Then only they can go to wash hands and come back.

 

(Generally the hosts are supposed to clean the place and not to be done by maid servants.)

 Once they finish the food and come they are asked to sit on the floor in a mat. We have to apply turmeric and nalangu manjal for all of them. They will be given sukku vellam, panagam and Thengapal. Then  Mehendi. Manjal ,kumkumam along with the vethalai, paaku, kannadi, seepu,poo, saree or blouse piece, a coin will be given to all of them.

They won’t take it in the hands instead will get this in their saree thalappu. All the family members including elders will do namaskaram to the Pondugal and the kanya kids. They will put the Akshadai (holy yellow rice) bless the family heartily.

 

 

 

 

 

BOLI FOR BOGI

 

Boli is a very popular, traditional sweet prepared during special occasions and festivals.. There are many variation of this recipe. I have used bengal gram dal and coconut to make this boli.. It is prepared commonly during many festivals like Bhogi, Ugadi, Pongal etc. It can also be had as a snack. Some love to have it pal payasam.

Ingredients needed

All purpose flour/Maida -1 cup
Oil – 2 tbsp (nallennai)
Turmeric powder- a pinch

For the stuffing

Bengal gram/channa dal/kadalai paruppu -1/2 cup
Jaggery – 3/4 cup
Coconut (grated) 1/3 cup
Ghee/clarified butter – 1 tsp
Cardamom powder- 1/3 tsp

Plantain leaf

Make a dough by mixing flour, turmeric powder and needed water. Knead it, add 2 tbsp oil and keep it covered for 3-4 hours. Let it remain soaked in oil. The more it remains soaked in oil the more softer the boli will be. It must besoaked in oil atleast for a minimum of 1 hour

 

Wash and soak bengal gram (kadalai paruppu) for half an hour.

Pressure cook bengal gram dal with water (add enough water to cover the dal) for 2 whistles or until soft but not mushy. You can also cook in a pan.

In a bowl, add grated jaggery and just enough water to soak the jaggery. Cook on low heat until the jaggery dissolves. Once it dissolves, filter it to remove dust and impurities if any.

Drain off excess water from the bengal gram dal (channa dal). In a pan, add the filtered jaggery water, cooked bengal gram dal, grated coconut and a tsp of ghee.

 Cook on medium heat stirring continuously until it leaves the sides of the pan.

Leave it to cool. Then grind it to a slightly smooth paste adding cardamom powder. Divide the stuffing into gooseberry sized balls.

Now Take the maida dough which we kept aside and knead it well again.

Grease a plantain leaf with oil. Take a small ball of dough and place it on the plantain leaf

Place a small ball of poli stuffing at the center and seal it on all sides forming a small ball.

Now flatten the ball with the stuffing inside to form a thin small circle. Grease the tawa slightly with ghee and heat it.

Now invert the plantain leaf with the boli over the tawa After a few seconds, gently remove the plantain leaf

Now cook the poli both the sides until golden brown on very low heat.

Once cooked, apply ghee all over the surface and remove from heat. Now Boli is ready to be served. 

 

ARUDRADARSHANAM -KAIKOTTIKALI AND KALI &KARI - THIRUVATHIRA SPECIAL

Celebrations of any sort, all around the world revolve around food to a large extent. I sometimes think it is more so in the Palakkad Iyer community .

KALI & KARI(poDOTHUVAL)

 Kali and Kari (we also call it Kari while others in Kerala refer to it as Puzhukku  some other places  PODUTHUVAL) are two separate dishes, one savoury and one sweet that are made for the festival of Thiruvathira as ritual offering which is then served to everyone at home.

Thiruvathira is a festive occasion celebrated by Hindus in the Southern Indian states of Tamilnadu and Kerala, sometime on a full moon night in the months of December/ January. In Kerala, Thiruvathira is considered by many to be the birthday of the Lord Shiva and is celebrated with prayer, and fasting through the day from dawn to dusk by abstaining from rice based foods. Women folk in the house get together in the evening for the Thiruvathirakali, a very graceful dance with singing is performed in the evening around a lit lamp.

 

Thiruvathira Kali – a sweet dish

In my home, as in others in our community,. it is a day for visiting the Shiva temple in one’s neighbourhood and offering prayers but we don’t however follow the other practices in Kerala of Thiruvathira dance and song. Kali and Kari is prepared in a manner that is more Kerala style with the generous use of coconut, and ritually offered to Lord Shiva before it is partaken of by the family.

In Palakkad Iyer homes, some still stick to the practice of using 5 different vegetables but most of us cook the Kari with a mix of three or four vegetables of which two vegetables would be “Avarakkai” or Hyacinth Beans and a root vegetable called “Kaavatthu” or Kaachil” or Purple Yam (grows as pinkish purple and white varieties also) which is usually in season at this time of the year 

 

Thiruvathira Kari – a savory dish

The other vegetables commonly used include raw plantains, elephant yam, sweet potato, pumpkin, and “Koorka” (Chinese Potato or Country Potato) which is a vegetable much used in Kerala. Modern versions of Kari tend to include “English” or non-native vegetables like green beans, green peas, carrots, potatoes, etc. but this is not traditional.

 

Kali & Kari

INGREDIENTS

  

For the Thiruvathira Kali :

·         1 cup raw rice (not steamed, par boiled or processed)

·         1/8 cup moong lentils

·         2 1/4 cups water

·         1 cup jaggery powdered

·         1/4 cup coconut fresh grated

·         4 to 5 pods cardamom , powdered

·         1 1/2 tbsps ghee

For the Thiruvathira Kari :

·         1 cup  Koorka, cubed

·         1 cup pumpkin , cubed

·         1 cup plantain raw , sliced chunks

·         1 cup Avarakkai , chopped

·         1/4 tsp turmeric powder

·         1 cup coconut fresh grated

·         2 to 3 green chillies

·         to taste Salt

·         1 tbsp coconut oil

·         1 tsp mustard seeds

·         1 1/2 tsps black gram lentils

·         1 sprig curry leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

 To make the Kali : Dry roast (toast) the rice in a pan over medium heat until it begins to turn golden.. Take it off the heat and let it cool. If the rice remains in the pan, it will darken. In the same pan dry roast (toast) the moong lentils ..pasi paruppu ..the same way and let this also cool.

1.             Once cooled, run the rice and lentils together in you mixer/ grinder to a coarse powder. If it is powdered fine, the texture of the cooked Kali will become sticky and will not have the desired fluffy texture.

2.             Heat the water in a non-stick or heavy bottomed pot, add the powdered jaggery and let it dissolve. When this starts boiling and turn down the heat to low, slowly add the coarse powdered rice and lentils while stirring constantly. Let this cook until the water is completely absorbed, and the Kali looks dry (but moist) and fluffy.

3.     Stir in 1 tbsp of the ghee and the powdered cardamom. Now stir in the coconut as well, and take it off the heat.

 

To make the Kari : Put all the vegetables into a pot (or the pressure cooker if you use one) with the turmeric powder and cook with a little water to reasonably soft consistency. There should be very little water left in the vegetables.

Grind the coconut and the green chillies with very little water into a very smooth paste. Put the cooked vegetables and the coconut paste and enough salt into a pot. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and add a little water if required. The consistency of the Kari should be on the drier side but moist, but some people like their Kari with just a hint of gravy.

 

When done take it off the heat. In a smaller pan, heat the oil for tempering. Add the mustard seeds and when they splutter add the lentils. Let them turn golden brown, then add the curry leaves, stir once and take it off the heat. Stir this into the Kari and serve hot with the Kali.

 

AAP.................. APPAM ADAI PORI - KARTHIGAI DEEPAM FESTIVAL NEIVEDHYIMS

KARTHIGAI  DEEPAM  FESTIVAL  HAS ARRIVED.WISH  YOU ALL  A HAPPY  DEEPAM  FESTIVAL.

AAP  -  APPAM  ADAI  PORI  ARE  THE TRADITIONAL NEIVEDIYAMS ON THIS DAY.

NEYYAPPAM

 

1.    1.         Raw Rice – 1 cup
2.       Powdered Jaggery – 1 cup
3.       Banana – 1 small. ripe
4.       Coconut – ¼ cup, cut into small pieces (optional)
5.       Green Cardamom/Elaichi – 4 to 5
6.       Oil/ghee for frying
 

 
1.        Wash and soak the rice in water for 3 to 4 hours. Strain the water completely. (To avoid  the cumbersome procedure of washing,drying  of rice, you can also buy the Rice  flour from  store.)
2.       Grind the rice without adding any water into a very fine powder. ( If Rice flour is used add jiggery to the powder and mix)Now slowly add the powdered jaggery and keep grinding adding very little water. Also add the chopped banana and grind to a smooth paste. Transfer into a bowl.
3.       Add the cardamom, and coconut pieces. Mix well. The batter should be of pouring consistency(Idli mavu like).
4.       Heat  Appakkaral i.e  pan, fill ½ of each groove with a mixture of oil or ghee. Let it get heated.
5.       Now pour small ladleful of batter into each of the grooves, flip over after a minute. Slow the fire.Let this cook on medium heat till a skewer inserted comes out clean.
6.       Insert the skewer into each of the appams and transfer them onto a paper towel.
 
😇😇
Note:
1.                   You can dissolve the jaggery in about 1/4 cup of water and add it to the powdered rice and grind to a very smooth paste.
2.                   The consistency of the batter is very important to get soft appams. The batter should be of idli batter consistency. 

KARTHIGi  ADAI

i
 1 Cup  Raw rice,1/4 Cup Whole Urad ,1/4 cup Toordal, ¼ cup Kadalai Paruppu

Milagu and Jeerakam  1 spn each, Curry leaves little, salt, Perumgayam

Soak the rice with all the dhals in water for 2 hours to 3 hours.

Drain the rice and dhals ,pepper, jeera and grind it in mixer to a coarse paste. The adai flour should not be very smooth. Transfer  this to a bowl and mix the salt, hing, cut curry leaves and grated coconut. The consistency should be slightly thicker than our normal dosa batter Heat the thawa and pour 1 ladle of flour and spread evenly and cook the adai on both the sides till the adai is crisp Serve the tasty adai along with Jaggery. OR fresh  Vennai i.e. cooking butter

Karthigai Pori

Aval pori and Nel pori are both used to make the pori urundai..

Due to the current Monsoon Rains😧  pori packet wont be  crisp enough  and so warm it thoroughly in a dry pan to make it a little crisp before proceeding to make the recipe.

Bits of freshly chopped coconut ..thenga keeru…is added to the Karthigai Pori

·         Aval/Nel Pori - 6 cups

·         Jaggery / Vellam - 1 ½ cup

·         Cardamom powder - ½ teaspoon

·         Coconut - ¼ cup (finely cut pieces)

 

In a pan, add the chopped coconut pieces and fry them in low heat until they are light brown. Remove and keep it aside to use later.

 In a wide pan, add the measured jaggery and about ½ cup of water. Let the jaggery melt and come to a boil. Strain the mixture and return it to flame again.

·         Let the syrup boil well and come to a soft ball consistency. This means that when you drop a little bit of syrup in cold water, we should be able to gather it with our fingers and form a ball. The syrup should hold its shape intact and it will harden upon cooling. This is the right consistency of the syrup.

·         At this stage add the coconut pieces and cardamom powder. Mix well.

·         Add pori into the pan and mix well to combine. Turn off the heat and immediately start rolling them into balls.

 

·         This has to be done when the mixture is still hot. When it cools down, it will become crumbly and will be hard to roll. Using some rice flour to dust the palms helps to bear the heat and roll.

·         If making the syrup in large quantity for both aval pori and nel pori, then we can add the syrup to the pori as needed and mix.

·         Let the rolled balls cool down completely and then store it in an airtight container.

 

OKKARAI --DIWALI TRADITIONAL SWEET

Okkarai is a famous traditional South Indian sweet dish that is made on the auspicious day of Diwali. Even today, in many brahmin families Okkarai is one of the mandatory sweet which is prepared on the auspicious day of Diwali. This simple dish Okkarai needs only less expensive ingredients and readily available materials in any house. For Diwali, we make lots of Sweets and Snacks and most of the sweets are made of sugar. This okkarai is mainly made with Kadala Paruppu (Split Bengal Gram) and jaggery. We all have elders at home who might have diabetics and other medical conditions that prevent them from having sugary sweets. This Okkarai is one special sweet that suits everyone in our family. How to get perfect Diwali Okkarai | Ukkarai • Soaking or Pressure Cooking Dal : We can dry roast the dal and soak in hot water for about 2 hours and then grind it to paste and follow the rest of the crumbling procedure. • Pressure cook for just 3 whistles with less water: We need to add water just till 1″ more than the roasted dal. Also allow only for 2-3 whistles. We don’t need mushy dal for this okkarai. • Do not over cook: Once the Okkarai starts to crumble, switch off the flame. Do not over cook or it will turn chewy. The mixture gets even more crumbled upon cooling. • INGRIDIENTS • Kadalai paruppu / channa dal – ½ cup • Payatham paruppu / Moong dal – ½ cup • Vellam / Jaggery – 1 cup • Nei / ghee – 4 tbsp

• Cashews – a handful • Coconut – ¼ cup (grated) • Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp Instructions 1. Dry roast both the dals until slightly golden brown. Make sure that you keep stirring the pan as the dals can get burnt very easily. 2. Wash the roasted dals and soak them for at least an hour. 3. Drain the soaked dals and grind them into coarse paste adding very little water. Make sure you add very less water when grinding as we want a semi solid paste that we can steam. 4. Make small mounds of the ground batter and place it on a steamer plate or idli mould and steam for about 12 to 15 minutes. The mixture will appear stiff and hard when done. 5. Let this cool down a bit and then break the dough into small pieces and place it in a blender jar. Pulse it a couple of times to make it into a fine powder. 6. In the meantime, heat a pan and add about a tablespoon of ghee. Fry the cashews until they are golden brown. Remove it in a plate. In the same pan, heat 1 more tablespoon of ghee and fry the grated coconut until light brown. Keep it aside as well. 7. In the same pan add the jaggery and just enough water to immerse the jaggery. Bring it to a boil and let the jaggery dissolve completely. Strain the syrup at this stage if needed and then return it to the flame. 8. Let the syrup come to a one string consistency. This is when you touch the syrup in between two fingers and pull it apart; it will form a single thread.. 9. Now add the ground dal powder to the jaggery and mix well. Cook it on low heat until it appears dry. 10. Now add the fried cashews, coconut and cardamom powder and mix well. Also add the remaining ghee at this stage and keep cooking in low flame until it becomes dry and powdery. 11. Remove it from heat and serve warm or at room temperature.

MANTHAN PULISSERY (RED PUMPKIN)

INGREDIENTS • Pumpkin : 1 piece (or as reqd) • 3 cup Curd or thick buttermilk • Salt to taste • Red Chilli powder : 3 tsp • Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp • Black pepper : 1 tsp • Grated Coconut : 1 Cup • Cumin seeds : 1 tsp • 3 nos Red chilli • Curry leaves : as reqd • Mustard seeds : 2 tsp • Methi (fenugreek seeds) : 1 pinch INSTRUCTIONS 1. Remove the seeds and skin from the pumpkin 2. Grind the coconut, cumin seeds and pepper together. 3. Wash the pumpkin pieces in normal water. 4. Put the pumpkin pieces in a pot and add required water. 6. Add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder 7. When the pumpkin is cooked well, add the ground coconut, cumin seeds and pepper ,mmix into it and stir well. 8. After 2 - 3 minutes add the curd (if necessary, add some water in the curd and dilute it well or it can be used as it is) also and allow to heat for about 2 minutes. 9. Heat the oil in a kadai and then put the mustard seeds in it and then add red chilli & methi seeds 10

. Also add the curry leaves and stir it well and after 2 minutes, put off the stove. Add the fried mustard seeds, red chilli and curry leaves into the and pulissery and serve it

CHEMBU CHATTI MAZIYAL - BRAHMIN COOKING SPECIAL

INGREDIENTS • 100 g Chembu ( 7 -10 pieces) • 1 tsp Turmeric powder • Tamarind lemon sized ball • 3 nos Green chillies • 1 pinch Asafoetida powder- Kayam • 1 piece Jaggery -Vellam • 1 tsp Mustard seeds • 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds Uluva/vendiyam • 1 no Red chilly • 1 tbsp Coconut oil • 3 tsp Salt INSTRUCTIONS 1. For preparing chembu chatti massiyal -first boil chembu in enough water until done. Remove the skin of chembu pieces. Keep aside 2. Soak tamarind in water and squeeze it out. Add the boiled chembu to the tamarind water. Add turmeric powder, salt, green chillies and cook for few minutes. 3. Add jaggery and asafoetida and keep cooking till it becomes a little gravyish in state. 4. Fry mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and red chilly in coconut oil. 5. Kindly note the preparation will taste wonderful if done in an earthen pot-Chatti. 6. Chembu chatti massiyal is ready.