Navrathri 2015 | Navarathri Recipes

     Navrathri is worship of  durga matha for 9 days.Navrathri is considered to be best time to worship matha.During these days people observe fasting or don't eat onion or garlic.In South India golu is arranged in temple and in Brahmin's houses.Golu is the arrangement /decoration of dolls on steps and is worshipped.
    Kids and adults love watching and they are complimented with  sundal or any variety  rice ,prasad for god .Even sumangali pooja is observed in house.Married women is being invited for kumkum and are presented with different things like blouse bits,turmeric,coconut,fruits which are considered to be auspicious.After the pooja they are served with snacks or lunch.So pray matha and get the blessings of her.
   Here are the list of recipes you can prepare for upcoming navrathri festival.This is a new list for 2015 ,for more check 2014 collection at the bottom link.

Starting off with sweet varieties :

     Carrot halwa:a very tasty and simple sweet made with the ingredients available at home.You can finish it off in less than one hour .

Peanut Sundal | VerKadalai Sundal | Bisibela Masala Sundal

    Peanut sundal -  prepared with groundnut and bisibelabath masala powder.Sundal  is a healthy snack prepared with legumes. Mostly with pulses ,sometimes with lentils.Usually the pulses are soaked overnight,pressure cooked and then tempered ,if preferred some masala is added to form a protein rich and simple snack.

Avarekalu Usli | Mochai Sundal | Karnataka Special

Avarekalu sundal - sundal prepared with dried mochai beans. Avarekalu  also called mochai in tamil ,surati papdi in gujarathi.papti /vaal in maharatshtra. We don't get fresh beans here in US,I buy dried beans and keep it.I love mocha kulambu and masala very much.When ever i remember , i will soak and prepare something interesting.Will soon bring more dishes using hyacinth beans in mykitchenodyssey.

2015 Special|Kashi Halwa|Ash Gourd Halwa

    A sweet end to the year 2014 that started with karupatti paniyaram.A sweet start to the year 2015 with this kashi halwa ...I am sure this coming year will bring all the joy and all the goodness you want.I will post recipes with very good pictures,my new year resolution.What is your resolution for the new year?
      Lets get started with Kashi halwa Its a very popular dessert served in udupi-konkani marriages,recently i saw this recipe in samayal samayal when chef venkatesh bhat told he learned the recipe from chettinad palace.

Different names of ash gourd:
      Ash gourd is called by so many different names, for those who browse by the names "vellai poosani" in Tamil,"elavan or kumbalanga in Malayalam" ,"kumbalakkai" in kannada,"boodha gummidikkai" in Telugu.Don't guess this halwa is made only in kashi a city in benaras. kashi phal -in Hindi means ash gourd so this halwa is called kashi halwa.

Medicinal Benefits of ash gourd:
       Kashi phal has got 95 percent water content and high calcium content .Ash gourd is good for weight loss and it helps to maintain blood pressure as well.
What all  you can make with kashi phal:
         You can make arachuvitta sambhar, regular sambhar,moru curry or kootu with kashi phal..apart
from making this wonderful kashi halwa.
How to choose Pumpkin for kashi halwa:
             Ash gourd has to be heavy and also it should not be soft .that means its mature and its good for making halwa.If its soft there is a chance that you get very less ash gourd after filtering the water or it may get mushy while cooking.Texture of the halwa is very important..

KadalaParuppu Sundal/Chana Dal Recipe

                Easiest ChanaDal Recipe of all the kind and easiest Sundal Recipe too.Dal's give protein you want with no much fuss .Especially On a vrat(vratham) day like saraswathi pooja  we do this KadalaParuppu Sundal which is  my in -laws tradition .
My mother do Kala Channa Sundal  also called Konda Kadalai in Tamil.For that Kondakadalai has to be soaked  the day before  and cooked  on stove top for an hour (she do around 2-3 kg to distribute them among workers ) my mom also place some puffed rice along with peanut and jaggery for pooja.We celebrated saraswathi pooja with vada and this Chana Dal Sundal.
 Usually on Navarathri days people on south India prepare various kinds of sundal to offer god .Below are some of other varieties i tried for this Navarathri.

1. Pattani/Dried peas sundal
2. Kondakadalai/Kala Channa Sundal(masala)
3. Pasipayaru/Green Gram Sundal

Cooking time:20 min
Serves:2

Pattani Sundal/Sundal Recipe

        Dried green peas also known as "pattani " in Tamil.So its called Pattani Sundal .This peas like other legumes is rich in fibre and antioxidants ,folate and protein.It has carbohydrates which are complex to digest so while adding this legume add ginger ,fennel along with it for easy digestion.
     While beach sundal is a variety of sundal which has coconut and mango in it , taste is not uncompromisable with other varieties .Sometimes vendors in street also sell these varieties ,even in bus stations of Tamilnadu you can find similar variety of this sundal .This type of sundal got the taste and nutrients so what are waiting for ?try this and get back to me .

Some other sundal recipes

1. Chickpeas Masala sundal 
2. Green gram sprouts sundal

Preparation time:6 -8 hours(soaking time)
Cooking time:20+10 min
Serves:2-3

Navarathri recipes/Neivedhyam Recipes

Navarathri Festival starts from today and will end on 3 rd October which is vijayadashami .
Navarathri is celebrated different in different regions .
First lets see how its celebrated in Tamilnadu:
        Navarathri means nine nights of celebration/pooja for goddess Durga ,Lakshmi , Saraswathi in manner of 3 days each .In Tamilnadu navarathri means "golu " ,"golu" means dolls .People arrange 9 steps for 9 days of pooja and the steps should decrease in length considering the dolls placed in each step .People place kalasham and worship it as durga .First step which is the bottom step up to 3 steps gods idols are placed.On 4 the step enlightened persons like saints idols have to be placed .on 5 the step philanthropist ,freedom fighters dolls should be placed.On  6 th step human beings dolls can be placed.On  the 7th step animal dolls,on 8th step birds dolls ,on 9th step insects dolls has to be placed considering from the base to lowest .Each day people come visit golu .If we keep golu prasad as to be made and distributed to the people who visit golu .
How Gujarati people celebrate.
       Garba and dhandiya are the main things happening on navarathri at Gujarati place.They start the festival by placing "Garbo"  which is a small coloured pot with holes .In the pot they light candles and worship it for 9 days .Most the people do fasting on first day which they place Garbo at house .9 days they do dhandiya which is a special dance with festive clothes like gaghra choli .

MasalaChickpeas Sundal	Greengram Sundal	Gothumai Halwa
Pasiparuppu payasam	Paal kolukattai	Lime rice
Javarisi Payasam	Coconut rice	Moongdal Ladoo
Carrot-apple Halwa	RockCandy Rice	Pattani sundal
Medu vadai	Tomato rice	oats payasam
rava kesari	BlackRice Kheer	Kadala paruppu sundal

Masala sundal/Kondakadalai Sundal/Easy snack

         Sundals are the best way to get proteins for vegeterians .I too love to make them .I got to try lot of sundal varieties still i love this sundal what my grandma makes for the temple occasion .I wanted to try it too .Got the recipe from her ,I haven't added green mango to it .Instead i added lemon juice .It tasted so good .Masala is not overpowering but it is exact amount to be for this Channa.
          Black Channa is good for eyes (my grandma says that).I found it has more iron and it is very rich in proteins.

Looking for some Channa recipes

• Kala channa Chawal
• Chikpeas Gravy

Some sprout sundal Recipe

• Pasipayaru sundal

Before going to the recipe
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Soaking time:8 hours(If you are sprouting it takes at least 24 hours )
Cooking  time :20+10 min
Serves: 7-8 servings

Pasipayaru Sundal/Easy Snack

Very soon navarathri celebrations are starting .So you can see recipes for neivedhyams/prasad in my up coming posts.

 Lets look at "navarathri":

         "Nava" means 9   ,"rathri " means nights .So nine nights pooja and fasting to pray "durga,badrakali,ambal,annapooorna,jagathamba,chandikha,lalitha,bhavani,mookambhika    " to get her blessings .10th day is called "vijayadashami".

There are totally 5  navaratris celebrated year around.  This is what  Wikipedia says

1. "vasantha" celebrated during vasantha kalam "march -April" spring season.
2. "Ashad" celebrated during "June-July"
3. "sharad "celebrated during "September -October" Most important navarathris of all its the starting of winter season.
4. "pusha" celebrated during tarishi "December-January "
5. "magha "  celebrated during "January-February"

       In tamilnadu temples ,idols are decorated in different form of durga for this 9 days .In houses people do "golu " and cook prasad /neivedhyams for god and distribute it to the people who visits their house.Women's share bhindi "manjal .kunkumam " for longavity of their husbands life .
    Sundal which is a easy snack plays a major role in navarathri neivedhyams.There are many varieties of sundal but this pasipayaru sundal is very nutritious ,it can be made as a evening snack for kids.Its very easy and kids and adults would love it for sure.

Cooking time:15  min

Serves:2-3