Holiday

I am still not able to get over my hangover from the month long holiday and Diwali celebrations that we had. Yes, we had a great Diwali this year with both our handsome and charming sons, daughter in law and our ever so adorable and perfect grandson with us. We had lots and lots of fun and loads and loads of good food.
We had paruppu pradhaman, kozhukkattai, elai adai, sevai, puran poli, vadai, neyyapam, morappam, malabar paratha, stuffed parathas of various types, varieties of pulav, pathrode, cakes, semiya payasam, pal adai pradhaman, jangiri (jahangir), badusha, boondi laddu, mullumurukku, omapodi, ribbon pakoda, mixture, and samosas, to name a few.

Our sons, daughter in law and grandson arrived in Bangalore by navarathri end. We had a grand saraswathi pooja and vijayadasami followed by happy times in the company of our little bundle of joy. We had a great time like never before. In between we managed a trip to Puthucode and Guruvayoor.

Diwali was grand with boondi laddu, badusha, ribbon pakora and mixture. We bought crackers for diwali, something we had not done for 25 years. Our grand son thoroughly enjoyed the sparklers and flower pots and the chakras. He even enjoyed the exploding crackers that the neighbors set off.

We also celebrated the little one's first birthday, actually twice. First, according to Hindu calendar on his star birthday with Ayushya homam. We also did the jathakaranam, namakaranam and annaprasanam and we also had the varadhanam.

We had a cake cutting celebration followed by a lunch with our friends and extended family on his date of birth. The little one thoroughly enjoyed all the attention he received. We also enjoyed every moment we spent with him. He is such a wonderful kid, always cheerful and full of energy.
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Our son, daughter-in-law and grandson have since returned to US and our elder son is spending the last few days of his leave with us. I am reminded of the times we used to leave our parental home enmasse after family get-togethers for various functions. Distinct is the memory of the day all us, including the newly married couple, left Puthucode after our youngest brother's marriage leaving only our parents behind at Puthucode. The party also included some family friends who had come to attend the wedding from Bangalore. One of them said, "Next time onwards please book your return tickets on different days so that your parents will not be left alone all of a sudden". I am also reminded of the proverb my dear mother in law used to repeat at various occasions,"alandalanda nazhi ozhinjozhinju varum" which when translated means, history repeats itself. One understands the implications of the various actions we undertake because of our various commitments only when one is at the receiving end. When one is busy with the family, one has no time to think of the effects of our routine actions.

Happy Diwali

Wishing my readers a very happy and joyous Diwali. I hope you are all making nice and tasty snacks and sweets and enjoying them with your families.

Patti at last

It gives me tremendous joy to announce the birth of our first adorable and perfect grandchild (a grandson) on 30th October 2010, finally, I am a real Patti.

May he be blessed with good health, long life and every thing good in life.

Long Timeout

I am in the midst of a very long timeout from my blog. I have been very busy with some very happy upcoming family events. I will of course write about all of it once we are done next month. While it is a very exciting time for us, unfortunately it has left me with very little time to even sit at a computer let alone write.

In the meantime, I wanted to link to another blog in the ever expanding Blandings Media Empire. Gally says is written by my handsome and charming son and is a very entertaining read. Please enjoy the blog.

Let's hope I can be back in a couple weeks. Until then, I hope you all had a good Pongal and will have a good Sivarathri.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

A belated merry christmas and a very happy and prosperous new year to all my beloved readers.

Comments Roundup

As I had mentioned earlier I had not been giving much attention to my blog in the past couple of months due to personal work pressure. I have always been responding to all the comments that appeared from my beloved readers. For the past months I had not been able to do so. I thought it would be appropriate if I wrote my responses in a separate post so that all those who had sent comments could see them .

Anonymous said...
It would have been wonderful to give birth in these condition. In today's world, where I live, I have no family support and no question of a maid. I have to go back to work in 6 weeks and need to find somebody to take care of my baby. Nobody is there to massage and I have to cook my own food. No wonder the child falls sick because the mother is in constant stress. I have to do this to support my family back home but nobody there wants to come and lend a hand because they get bored in US of A. They don't know what to do here, and so they don't really care.

Hi Anonymous

It is really sad that you are so stressed out at a time when you must be relaxed to take care of the growing baby. I do wish you will be able to get some help locally and or take some time off to take care of yourself and your baby. Best wishes.

Kaiser Soze said...
It came out really well. I added a pinch of turmeric, it tasted great. Thanks for the recipe!

Thaen said...
Today I made your recepie.. it came out really well. Since we have sugar, i added sugar free tablets instead of sugar. Thanks for the recepie...!!!

Hi Kaiser and Thaen

I am glad your kesari came out well. Have a nice Diwali.

Gayathri said...
Dear Ammupatti,
Thanks for a wonderful and easy recipe. I made Paal Payasam for neivedhyam yesterday and it turned out great. I loved the pink color of the payasam especially.

Hi Gayathri

I am glad your payasam turned out great. Best wishes.

Think Shink said...
Dear Maami,
(if I may call you so), I love your blog although I have read only a couple of pages. It brings abck my childhood and all the relatives I know. Today I have just married a bengali guy and feel a little well . . out of touch with my childhood tambram traditions. Your blog will help me a lot in not feeling like that part of my life is far far away. Do keep writing

Hi Think Shink

I am glad that you feel my blog will help you to keep rooted with your traditions. Wherever you go, one can never forget one’s roots or traditions or childhood. It will always be within and give the much needed moral support at the hour of need. I wish you a happy married life. By the way, how did you celebrate Durga Pooja? Happy Diwali( or Kali Pooja)


Jennifer said...
Thanks for sharing this. I was really confused about this as the Malayalam calendar did not list Krishna Jayanthi in August...

How is the household celebrations of Krishna Jayanthi in Kerala on Sept 11 similar or different than how it is celebrated in other parts of India?

Hi Jennifer

The house hold celebrations of Krishan Jayanthi differs at different parts of Kerala. Most people have a pooja at home but the main pooja is usually in the local temple. People take out procession of little children dressed as Krishna accompanied by an orchestra of drums, flutes, etc.In the famous Guruvayoor temple of Kerala, there are elaborate celebrations on Krishna Jayanthi.

Happy Diwali

By the way, how was your India trip?

Manju said...
Congratulations on you completing 200 posts. i adore your writing style and your recipes. keep up the good work and continue to be inspiration to all of us.

Thanks Manju. Happy Diwali

Anonymous said...
well, been doing my research on sambar podis... tamils sometimes use toor dhal and pepper also in sambar podi. and the keralites have no concept called sambar podi - just their style of cooking :-) and boy does their sambar taste lovely...

Hi Anonymous

It is true that Keralites had no concept of Sambar Podi until a few years ago. They made all their curries with fresh ground masalas and the taste as you said was simply superb. With the busy life catching up with them, Kerala also has a good market for ready made powders now.

Roops said...
made kozhukattais using your recipe. Thanks! By the way, which city are you from? My dad's name is Puthucode Rama Iyer Kasi Vishwanathan but he grew up in Chelakkara. He is now in Mumbai. What about you?

Hi Roops

Nice to know about your Puthucode connections. I grew up in Puthucode and have made Bangalore my home for the past 35 years. Are you Mr.Ramchander’s niece?
Happy Diwai

Sujie said...
Hi,

Thanks for posting this great recipe. I have tried semiya payasam so many times before but got it right and this time it was perfect. Keep up the great work!!. The best thing about your recipes are you tell us how to check the consistency, and at what stage you add - so it is all step by step which is excellent..i never found a better recipe online ..thanks :)

Thanks Sujie and Happy Diwali

Sandi said...
Hi Ammu patti,

This recipe is excellent!I have made semiya payasam couple of times before, but has never been so good. Thanks once again!
Keep posting such great recipes.

Hi Sandi

Thanks and Happy Diwali

Vinitha said...
This is one is Mangalorean? Cool I must really try this sometime and you have recipes for most of my favorite dishes like Kashi halwa etc..loved your blog :)

Hi Vinitha

Hope your cucumber dosa came right. Incidentally we had cucumber dosa for breakfast again today.

Happy Diwali

Parvathy said...
Hi Ammu.. Today i did kalan for onam.. Man.. came out just like my mother used to make.. Cheers.. Looking forward for more of ur recipes :)

Hi Parvathy

I am glad you got your Kalan right. Will certainly post more. Happy Diwali

Nisha said...
How to make curd sour, as here in US, I get curd or buttermilk which is not as sour as we get in India..I made kaalan twice, and both the times, the curd got seperated...pls help me..

Hi Nisha

It is true that your curd or buttermilk doesn’t turn sour in the US. because of the weather. While I was there, I used to make sour buttermilk by keeping the pot at a warmer place like a heated room or in the sun for a day or two. Try it out and I am sure you will get good results. Best wishes


radha said...
Can you give the recipe of the sweet tomato pachadi made at tamilian weddings? Thank you

Hi radha

I shall soon

Lakshmi -Celebrations said...
Dear,
i liked the simplicity of the blog.lovely.Theres one more thing dear friend,can i use ur images in my decor blog,where i am going to write an article about athapookalam designs.i shall give alink to ur blog too.if u can give ur consent ,it would be fine.thanks you.
loved the simplicity of ur designs.some traditional and not the ones used for competitions.very grounded ones with kolams too...pl do write to em and visit my blogs too

Hi Lakshmi

You can certainly use my images giving due credit. You may also give a link to my blog.

Best wishes

geevi said...
Can you give us some good recipes for chundal?

Thank u


Hi geevi

I know that a response delayed is a response denied. Sorry, I could not post any chundal recipes in time. Perhaps before next Navarathri.

Best wishes

Parvathy said...
Hi
This recipe is very good, I knew how to make it, my mother-in-law makes it. I had a confusion in the consistency of the rice paste and whether we have to smear oil on the elai. Have some elais which we bought for onam lying, so thought of making elaiadai. Just checked in the net, your recipe was very useful.Thank you!
Hope you will post authentic and traditional kerala iyer recipes in the net again...

Parvathy

Hi Parvathy

I hope your elai adais came good. Shall try my level best to post more recipes.

Best wishes

Janaki Gopikrishna said...
can u kindly post prasadams for the nine days of navaratri. fast and easy ways to make it for Devi..

Hi Janaki

I am sure you made different kinds of neyvedyams for devi on all the 9 days.
Best wishes

Malathy Nair said...

I love Puthukode because my childhood was there. My mind is till there now the time of Navaratri.

Hi Malathy

Hope you could visit Puthucode during Navarathri.

Best wishes

Thanu said...
Hi, My MIL was fretting about some leftover ashgourd and when i googled for the halwa recipe, yours was the first in the search results. I followed your recipe except i didnt use the exact measurements.The taste was really good. Everyone including my MIL loved it. Thanks for a foolproof recipe [:D]

Hi Thanu

I am glad your halwa tasted good. Best wishes

Sandi said...
Hi Ammu patti,

This recipe is excellent!I have made semiya payasam couple of times before, but has never been so good. Thanks once again!
Keep posting such great recipes.

Hi Sandi

I am glad your semiya payasam turned out well.

Best wishes

Life Lessons from a Late Bloomer said...
I am lost for words and all that I can say is I am blessed to get into your web page on this Saraswathy Pooja/Vijayadasami day and get into know about Puthucode Bhagavathy, Sri Annapoorneswari. I really enjoy reciting, and I feel like talking to The Mother, whenever I recite Adi Shankaracharya's Annapoorna Ashtotram. I pray that She will one day take me to Puthucode. I can't wait to offer my prayers to Her.

Thank You, and very nice blog!
Hi

I am sure with Bhagavathy’s Blessings you will be able to visit and offer prayers at Puthucode Annapoorneswari temple soon.

Best wishes

ANANTHA said...
My self belongs to Puthucode South Village. I am very much proud to be a Puthucodian.

Hi Anantha

I am glad to get in touch with another Puthucodian. Which house do you belong to?

Best wishes

Rajashri said...
Hi Ammu patti,
Can you share the exact quantity of water and sugar needed to make 2 thread consistency?

Hi Rajashri
There is no exact measurement of water and sugar. The consistency is got as the sugar solution thickens. My thumb rule is to add just enough water to dissolve the sugar.

Best wishes

Lux said...
Thank you for the post!

Glad to know that you are hale and hearty :)

Hi Lux

Thanks for your concern.

Best wishes

Anonymous said...
very nice pictures of the temple. In my childhood years, I use to spend my school holidays with my grandparents in the South Village every year and loved the time I spent there. I haven't been to Puthucode for years, but will be going in couple of weeks.

Hi Anonymous

I hope you were able to go to Puthucode . Out of curiosity, who are your grandparents?

Best wishes

Rama said...
How to make the dry fruit powder? Just grind it in mixie or some processing is required before grinding?

Hi Rama
Just grind it in mixie.

Best wishes

Harini said...
Hi bhagavathy, ur halwa looks bright and yummy , had this halwa only in marriages (incluiding mine :-))I'm gonna try this as an extra sweet for diwali... i believe it should come out awesome...
Even i've started blogging last week.. check out and share your comments

harinitalks.blogspot.com

Keep posting !!!

Cheers,
Harini

Hi Harini

Deepavalikku Halwa panninaya, supera vanduda? Un bloge pathen. Just Superb.

Best wishes

Janaki Gopikrishna said...
my mom was here this week and we made all the palaharams

Hi Janaki

You did not tell us what all palaharams you and your mom made.

Best wishes

Viji said...
Hello

I am a silent follwer of your blog for (more than) a while now and wanted to wish you and your family a very happy Deepavali.

I very much enjoy reading your blog - your recipes, your opinions and comments.

I am sorry to read that your spirits are a bit low at this point in time but anything that goes down has to come up.

Cheers
Viji

(I know there are so many Vijis in the blogsphere and this Viji happens to live at Pittsburgh USA - at least for the time being :-))

Hi Viji

Thanks for being a regular reader of my blog and also for your concern.

Best wishes

DeEpAk said...
Hi Paati,

Thanks for the recipe. But, ravai lumps prevent panrathukku, fry panna ravaiku boiling water add pannen, my mom's suggestion. I had tried rava uppma earlier and ravai lumps form aachi.

Deepak.

Hi Deepak
I am glad you got good results following your mom’s suggestion.
Best wishes

Lux said...
yummilicious picture....especially those mysore pak ....can row a boat in my mouth now...Lookin' fwd for the recipes ammupatti.

Hi Lux

Very soon.
Best wishes

Deepa said...
WOW.... what an amazing Blog... I love the piece on festivals and Iyer traditions... when my north indian friends tell me that after Diwali, the only festival they have is Holi, I happily reel off Karthigai, Thiruvathurai, Sankranthi, Thai Poosam, Nombu, Ram Navami etc... such wonderful traditions.. thank you, Ammu Patti.

Loots of Love & a BIG HUG to you ( I miss my patti so much)

Deepa

Hi Deepa
Thanks much. Lots of love

Anonymous said...
mami, we make these too, but spiced with chilli pd. for the strangest reason( both my sisters-in-law find this hilarious) it is called "mannangatti Kozhukattai" ( mud / dirt ball in tamil!) maybe the colur is a brick red... i dont know.... but we love the spicy kick and the yummy taste!

Hi Anonymous

Wonderful name – Mannangatti kozhukattai. I am reminded of my grandmom who used to say,”mannu mathiri erukku” if she did not like the taste of some dish. My uncle used to tease her asking, “Mannu thinnurikkiya”

Anonymous said...
YUMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! looks like your mil is like my mum! my mum makes it for every reason - may my kids do well in their exams, may we get so and so, thank you for so and so, during aadi vellikazhamai's, during sankatahara chaturthi etc! not that we complain - we gobble it up before you can write K... and mami, my mothers kozhukattai's can create a world record - tiny, bursting with filling, a skin softer and thinner than a baby's skin... awesome... am hungry! Wish I were as good as her though....

Hi anonymous

I am sure with practice you will become as good as her in all fields.

Best wishes

Sumi said...
hmmm, tad same but very different from how we Thanjavur folks celebrate Diwali. we wake up at 3 am, but instead of ukkarai or any other sweet, the first thing they give us after ''ganga snanam'' is ''deppavali marundhu, aka legiyam''. nice post...now i crave for ukkarai. amma makes the best ukkarai, am sure u do too.

Sumi
Hi Sumi

Since we do not have varieties of sweets we do not have marundu. Yes my ukkarai came out very well. I shall post the recipe soon.

Best wishes

Anonymous said...
hello aunty,
i'm anand's batchmate in rec calicut, also frm blore....its nice reading ur blog
-karthik M

Hi Karthik
Nice to receive a comment from Anand’s batch mate. Where are you now?

Best wishes

Name said...
Hmm, I am not sure in which part of kerala is puthukotta, but my parents(both based on trivandrum) had stories of bursting crackers on diwali. I even remember my grandma telling me abt bursting crackers during deepavali. So i guess that was there from ages...We used to do enna thechu kuli in mornin and ate lots of sweets and savouries . Parippu vada and kaliodakka(kalivadakka) were must_made_items on the eve of diwali


Hi Name
Trivandrum being the capital of Kerala and also because of the proximity to Tamil Nadu always had great Tamil influence in its culture. And also I have heard that there are many 1st generation tamils in Trivandrum. So they follow the tamil tradition of bursting crackers for Deepavali. Towards Northern Kerala, there is no bursting of crackers for Deepavali to this day.
Best wishes

Oops. Big job. Must never postpone responding.

Best wishes to all

Happy Gowri Ganesha

Our house is being renovated and so I cannot find enough time to sit at the computer to write about Ganesh Chathurthi which falls on Sunday. So, here's wishing you all a Happy Ganesh Chathurthi, or as they say here in Karnataka, Happy Gowri Ganesha!

The picture above is from one of the street celebrations in our neighbourhood last year.

Don't forget to make kozhukkattais!

An Ode to Puthucode (Now With Pictures)

Unfortunately I didn't have all my pictures ready when I posted about Puthucode Bhagavathy. Now I have them ready and here they are. The picture at the top is of course the Bhagavathy Herself.
First the Temple Entrance:

Next the Outer Prakaaram

Third, the Mahaganapathy Sannidhi

Next, the Namaskara Mandapam

Finally, the Naga Prathishta

An Ode to Puthucode

I realize that I have just completed 200 posts. I am dedicating this 201st at the lotus feet of Puthucode Bhagavathy, Sri Annapoorneswari, whose blessings have guided me in all my endeavours and who showers Her blessings to one and all by her enchanting smile. A while ago, at the request of a fellow Puthucodean, I had written up a piece about our Bhagavathy. Parts of this have been published earlier at Hindupedia as well as here. I am now republishing it here.

Puthucode is a small picturesque village lying at the westernmost border of Palghat Dt and bordering Trichur Dt. It is approximately 40kms away from both Palghat and Trichur towns. The nearest railway stations are Palghat and Trichur. The nearest airports are Coimbatore and Cochin. The village is located 6 km west of Vadakkencherry on the Palakkad-Thrissur stretch of National Highway 47. There are regular bus services from Trichur and Palghat to Puthucode.

Puthucode agraharam has four streets with row houses and was exclusively inhabited by Brahmins until a few decades ago. Where the four streets meet is the famous Annapoorneswari temple. It would be apt to say the four agraharams radiate from the central Annapoorneswari temple. The temple occupies a vast ground with a large outer prakaaram and an inner prakaaram. The main entrance to the temple faces the east and as you enter the temple there is a deepastambham beyond which is the entrance to the inner prakaaram of the temple. The inner prakaaram is also very large with wide halls known as vathil madams on the four sides where discourses and concerts used to take place. The madapalli or the cook house is also situated here. As you go inside is the Mahaganapathy Sannidhi facing east. Going around Mahaganapathy Sannidhi you reach the main temple of Annapoorneswari. The Deity faces west. The Deity is also known as Santha Durga and is a very powerful Devi bestowing her benevolent blessings to all her devotees. The idol of Devi is almost 4 feet tall with four hands. She is always dressed in a pattu pavadai. To see the Devi in her full chandanakappu after the deeparadhana in the evening is at once electrifying. It gives one such joy, peace and real happiness. One just cannot take the eyes off Devi when she is adorned in full chandanakappu.
It is said that Sage Parasurama installed 108 Durga temples in many parts of Kerala and this is one among them. Currently it comes under Naduvil madom Devaswam. The daily poojas are performed by Tamil Brahmins except during Navarathri festival when they are performed by thantris affiliated to Naduvil Madom Devaswam.

In front of the garba griham or sanctum is the namaskara mandapam, where veda parayanams and other daily recitals of Devi Mahatmyam and Shyamala Danadakam are done by devotees.
When you come around the namaskara mandapam, there is the prathishta for Naga devata, Dharmasastha and Palliyarkkal Bhagavathy on the north west corner of the main temple. A unique offering (vazhipadu) of azhil is conducted in front of this sannidhi. A new cloth (a set of four thorthus) dipped in gingelly oil is hung on the pole in between the two stone pillars. After doing a special pooja the archaka lights the cloth dipped in oil and allows it to burn down to ashes. This ash is used as prasadam and smeared on the forehead. It is believed that this offering will relieve one of all types of obstacles and misfortunes in life.

The other important offerings (vazhipadu) in the temple are kalabhabhishekam, niramala, chuttuvilakku, archanas, etc.

On the outer prakaaram, is the west nada, which is also known as aanapandhi which has the gold plated dwajasthambam. This is where the thayambaka and keli take place during navarathri celebrations.

Along the northern compound wall of the temple is the agrisala, where cooking and dining take place during the annadhanam of navarathri.

The sarat navarathri during the months of September and October is the biggest festival in the temple. All the Devi’s devotees who are far from home assemble at Puthucode for these nine days. The dwajarohanam for the festival is on the prathama after Mahalaya Amavasya and the aarattu on vijayadashami day or the tenth day from the dwajarohanam. There are processions with caparisoned elephants twice a day for the first four days inside the temple around the outer praakaram and on the following four days the procession of caparisoned elephants with accompanying panchavadyam and chendamelam is taken to the four villages on successive days, starting with the South Village on the sixth day. The utsavamoorthy of the deity is taken atop the caparisoned elephant to all the villages for Her to see Her subjects. There is a pallivetta on the ninth night followed by aarattu on the tenth day. During navarathri the utsavamoorthy is taken atop the elephant to the nearby stream every morning where the deity is given a bath and after due alankarams taken back to the temple.

Offerings of measures of paddy and rice, puffed rice, flowers, etc known as parayeduppu are made to Bhagavathy during the procession of elephants to the respective villages. The parayeduppu for the south village is on the aarattu day when the deity returns to the temple after her holy bath in the stream.

After aarattu the elephant has to touch the dwajasthambham which marks the end of the festival for that year.
In 2003, a tusker pushed the kodimaram instead of touching and it came off at the root. Devotees took this as a signal from the Goddess and installed a new one covered with full gold at an expense of over Rs. 50 lakhs.

True to Her name there is annadhanam on all the nine days of navarathri for all devotees. Puthucode pulinkari which is served with rice and olan is unique to this navarathri sadhya. (There is a famous saying among the Palghat Brahmins which goes like this – Puthocode vitta gramamum illai, pulinkariye vitta koottanum illai – which can be translated to “Puthucode is the ultimate in agraharams and pulinkari is the ultimate in vegetable curry") The sadasadaya payasam (Idichu pizhinja payasam) offered to Bhagavathy during these days is also very famous.

In the past the Navarathri Sadhya was conducted from the annuities offered by various people to the temple. However with the enactment of land reform bills in the early 70s all the annuities to the temple were stopped and for sometime there was not enough funds even to conduct the daily poojas of the temple. With the cooperation and effort of the villagers a trust called SAPCO (Sri Annapoorneswari Pooja Coordinators) was formed and the poojas and other daily rituals have been reinstated with increased vigour. The Devi has blessed all Her children with wealth, health and great careers and they in turn pay their respects to Her by donating to the temple funds.

The temple is open from 5.30am to 10.00am and 4.30pm to 9.00pm daily for worship. The deeparadhana in the evening is at 6.30 pm.

At the end of North Village is a Siva temple. The temple is situated at a lower level than the surrounding village. There is a large tank known as ayyankulam in front of the Siva temple. The presiding deity faces east. There are also sannidhis of Mahaganapathy and Dharmasastha inside the temple. The annual festival in the Siva temple starts on the Thiruvathira day of the Malayalam month of Dhanu and the aarattu is on the eighth day. Mahasivarathri is also celebrated in a grand manner with Maharudram, Abhishekam etc. Annabhishekam on the Pournami day of the Malayalam month of Thulam is very famous.

The temple is open for worship at 5.30am to 10.30 am and again at 4.30pm to 9.00pm.

Just outside the Siva temple there is a newly constructed SivaMahal in North Village, which can be used for functions like weddings, upanayanams etc.

Lunar Eclipse?

Though the panchangams and temples insisted otherwise, the newspapers and scientists predicted a partial (80%) lunar eclipse today and we sat out to enjoy it. Only it turned out to be a no show!

Important festivals in February 2009

Before continuing with my Kanu descriptions, I need to take a time out to list the festivals we observe in the month of February. Well this is half Thai and half Maasi ( the Tamil months) or half Makaram and half Kumbham (Malayalam months). Not many festivals during this period although Kerala comes alive with the temple festivals of Poorams and Velais. The Poorams start after the harvesting seasons, one of the main reasons being that the Ezhunnellippu (procession of caparisoned elephants) is done mostly in the fields after the harvest.

8th February 2009 - Thai Poosam
A festival celebrated in the Muruga temples all over the world. As with other festivals, there are various legends associated with this festival too. According to popular legend, it is the day Lord Muruga destroyed the demon King Tharakasura. We used to observe the festival at home by offering some neyvedyam like Vella payar or Panakam to Lord Muruga. The more important ritual is to take a coconut to the tank or stream where one takes bath and breaking the coconut at the side of the stream after the bath and offering it to Lord Muruga there itself. I am not able to find a convincing reason for this ritual. Usually neyvedyams are offered at the temples or at homes; what is the significance of offering the neyvedyam at the bathing ghat? If any of the readers knows the answer, please enlighten me.

23rd February 2009 - Mahashivarathri
One cannot call Mahashivarathri a festival in the real sense of the word. I would rather call it day of meditation and fasting and getting rejuvenated mentally as well as physically. Most people observe a fast on this day with a jagaran (keeping awake) for 36 hours. That is starting from daybreak on Mahashivarathri day until night falls the next day. Different people observe the fast differently. The full fast is observed by not taking any food till sunset. After offering Pooja and Argya to Lord Shiva after sunset, light saltless refreshments (Vella dosa, Parippukanji, fruits, etc.) are partaken. People who cannot fast the whole day, take some light refreshments once during the day and once in the night.

Unexpected Guests

Over the weekend, as I was reading Unexpected guests? Just chill... in the newspaper, I was reminded of similar situations in which we were put. Since our Iyer meal is different from north Indian meals, having some extra rotis and preparing a quick subzi with potato is never an option. Extending a meal prepared for 2 to 4 is also a difficult proposition. Yet at various times, we have been faced with the difficult task and have managed to end with satisfied guests.

The best lunch we provided at short notice was to my cousin and her family, who had dropped in unannounced (those were the days when we did not have a telephone at home). They were in Bangalore on a holiday and had decided to visit all their relatives at that time. They reached home around 10.30 am and were being entertained by my in-laws. Hubby, the handsome and charming sons and I were at the construction site where we were constructing our dream home. Having left home after preparing lunch we were in no hurry to return until lunch time. So we all trooped in one by one (we all were independently mobile those days). First to reach as always, yours truly (let amma go first and give lunch to thatha and patti and keep everything ready for us, was the motto).

I was greeted with the unexpected, “Hello Akka” from my younger cousin, and I was pleasantly surprised and simultaneously started planning the next steps for giving them a lunch. We grew up in the same house but had not met for a long time. Though her husband and she had a 3 year old son, I had not met them since her wedding and the occasion demanded a special lunch (Virundu). After a few pleasantries with the new cousin-in-law and entrusting the entertaining to hubby dear who had arrived by then, I rushed to the kitchen to see what I could prepare. We did not have a fridge then so it saved me the trouble of searching the fridge for any leftovers.

Presto! within an hour, we had a lunch of Sambar, Muthirapuzhukku (these two were already done for our lunch), kootu, papad and Semiya Payasam.

After lunch, my sons took them to my brother’s house. When I narrated this incident to my sister she was surprised that I could prepare such a lunch at such short notice. But how did you manage the payasam, she asked.

Well, we always stocked a good quantity of milk at home. So it was never a problem to make milk based sweet at short notice.

Then there was another occasion when we were least prepared and hubby’s cousins (three of them) landed precisely at lunch hour, ready to eat anything as they were famished after a weeklong pilgrimage to various places in the south. That was the time when both of us were working full time. As usual I had prepared the lunch and carried my lunch and kept the lunch for hubby and my astute and blessed m-i-l in the hot case. At 1.30pm, hubby calls from his office and asks, “what have youu prepared for lunch?” “Vatta kozhambu and keerai masiyal,” I reply. I cannot but burst out laughing, even today after so many years, when I recall what he said next. “Ennadithu,” he said. (what a stupid thing to do was what he intended). I said, what happened? Why did you not make “keerai molakootal” , he asked? I was puzzled. I asked him what happened. He said my cousins have landed up and we have to cook up a lunch now. I thought there would be keerai molakoottal and I could ask amma to prepare some rice. Now you have gone and prepared keerai masiyal instead, he said. “Can you come home now,” he asked. I said, “relax, I will talk to amma.”

I talked to my m-i-l and told her to prepare some rice. By now, we had a fridge and we always stocked cooked dal and some vegetables for such occasions. She asked her nephews to prepare rice and fry some papads . She made a simple stir fry curry with vegetables and they all had a nice lunch with pickles and dal and vatta kozhambu and keerai masiyal and curds.

After we got the fridge and since I was also working and did not like surprises, we always stocked cooked dal, cooked vegetables, grated coconut, curds and milk for one extra meal. If no guests came, we used them for our next meal.


In these days of easy and fast communication, it is unpardonable for anyone to drop in at lunch hour unannounced. I always make it a point not to drop in unannounced at mealtime at any place. When people tell me their plan of visiting us around lunch time, I on my own tell them in advance to please have lunch/dinner/breakfast with us, thus preempting my dilemma of whether to cook for the guests or not. If they are staying back, they would say “yes” or they have to tell me in advance they have other plans. Have I not got into problems even after this? Yes, especially with my friend, Sunitha. She called me one evening around 8.30pm and said, “We are planning to visit you tomorrow.” The now wiser me asked immediately, “who are all coming and when.” “Only my father and I. We will reach around 11 am,” she said. “Stay back for lunch,” I said. “With pleasure,” she said. It was Onam season, and I had a good stock of vegetables and I had already made pulinji. I decided to have our usual menu plus a Puliyodarai. So by 10.30 am I finished my cooking and was ready to spend some quality time with Sunitha and her father, whose company I enjoy. On the dot, came my friend, accompanied by her father, mother, sister, daughter and nephew. I had to rush to the kitchen to extend the meal for 4 more people. “Don’t worry, we will manage with what you have cooked,” said Sunitha’s mother. I spent all my time until lunch in the kitchen. Ofcourse, Sunitha helped me in preparing those extra dishes.

All said and done, it would be nice to inform our hosts in advance if we intend to stay back for lunch or dinner, so that the hosts need not spend all the time in the kitchen during our visit and a nice time can be had by all.

Happy New Year 2009

Wishing All of You a very Happy & Prosperous New Year.

Our preordained destiny

Every day we are confronted with so much violence by way of terror strikes, ghastly accidents etc that there is a general feeling of insecurity all around. Suddenly nothing seems safe. One is not sure of returning home safe at the end of the day. If you thought air travel was unsafe, train travel is no better. Even waiting at the railway station is not safe anymore. Walking on the roads has never been safe. Just yesterday there was an incident of a vehicle mowing down innocent school children in Kerala. What is happening? Where is the end to all this? Who is responsible? Is there anyway any one can help? Nobody has an answer.

In times like these, our old timers used to get strength from their strong belief in preordained destiny. Whenever things went out of our control, we heard “everything will happen as preordained.” Perhaps that way, there was not much anguish in happenings over which we had no control at all. Let us do our best to keep things under control and then “Bhagavan vitta vazhi” (as God pleases). Does it mean that God is pleased when he allows some unpleasant things to happen? The answer then is that we have to bear the fruit of our Karma. Why is God taking away a child’s life so soon, what sin has he committed at such young age? The answer is, “he is given Moksha (salvation).” He just came into this world to fulfill his remaining karma and attained moksha once he achieved that. You cannot escape karma or destiny. We were told the story of Parikshit Maharaja to illustrate the point.

No story of Parkshit or other philosophies will wipe away the grief of someone who has lost a mother or father or wife or husband or sister or brother or son or daughter. It is very hard to accept the fact that a beloved son or father or mother or daughter is not going to come in through the doors any more. And then nothing is going to bring them back. Life has to move one. We need some anchor to draw strength from however small it might be. The whole world prays for that strength.

Heavens Smile On Us

As were taking a stroll after sunset yesterday, we were mesmerized by this extraordinary sight, a smiling moon. It was as though the heavens wanted to tell the terror battered Indians, “Cheer Up! There is still Hope!”

Come on Indians, We shall overcome!

Recipe: Balushahi

That was a long time off. Getting back to blogging after so long is like getting back to school or work after a long vacation. The mood just doesn’t set in. Many things happened during this period, mainly I was shuttling back and forth between Bangalore and Hyderabad.

For Diwali, I made Balushahi, the recipe for which I had blogged a long time ago when I was new to this. I had not published the pictures then. This time around, I managed some pictures, holding the camera with the right hand and managing the balushahi with my left.

Last time around, I had given the measurements in cups. For those who would be more comfortable with weights, I have the measurements in weights now. Here we go.
Ingredients:
Maida : 500gms
Margarine or Vanaspati : 250 gms
Sugar : 500 gms
Thick curds: 2 tbsp.
Soda bi carbonate: a pinch
Rose essence : few drops(optional)
Oil for frying
Method is here.

ENJOY

Onam 2008 Recap

Well, we have bid farewell to Mahabali (Onam primer) for 2008 and all Keralites must be taking a breather after the month long feasts for eyes, ears and most of all the taste buds. It took me almost one week to emerge from the hangover. I am reminded of the verses learnt during school days, which goes to say that even during those days, people got exhausted after the visit of Mahabali. I don’t remember all the verses, it went something as follows:

Maveli ninte varavu moolam,
Paavangal kashtathilaayi nanagal
Varnapookaadukal kandu kandu
Kannile kazcha maranju poyi
Vittupovillurakadalasittalum
Kannezhuthennu vannu
Vinnilalakkunna pooviliyaal
Annakku mannattayayi mari
Nendrapazhathodu malladichu
Konthranpallokke thakarnnu poyi
Upperi pappadam thinnu thinnittulla
Ruchiyum paraparnnu
Maaveli ninte varavu moolam
paavangal Kashtathilaayi nangal

Oh Mahabali, we poor people are put to a lot of hardship because of your arrival
Our vision has started blurring seeing the vast expanse of blooming gardens
We are unable to remove the kaajal applied to our eyes, despite rubbing with sand paper
Our vocal chords have gone hoarse after repeatedly hailing you
Our teeth are broken eating nendrapazhams
We have lost all our appetite after eating loads and loads of chips and papads

So went the verses. So I am justified in taking this week long off before concluding my series on Onam. Here then is my grand finale for Onam 2008.

We had a fantastic Onam, again with both our kids at home after a long time. We had Pazhapulissery, Kootukari, Pachadi, Puliinji, Varuthupperi, Sarkkara Upperi, Papadam, Pazha nurukku and a grand Ada Pradhaman. I shall post the recipes in due course. These days, I stagger making of the dishes across multiple days as no one is able to do justice if all the dishes are made on the same day. Hence the whole range of Sambar, Kalan, Olan, Aviyal, Erissery, Pachadi, Kichadi, Kari, Kootu, Thoran, Puliinji, etc., get spread over the season and not on Thiruvonam day. So also with Payasams. We had Semiya Payasam on Uthradam day, Ada Pradhaman on Thiruvonam and Paal Payasam on Avittam day.

Onam is celebrated differently in different parts of Kerala. Whereas in the Kerala Iyer community of Palghat, Onam is only feasting and making pookalams, the other communities make pyramid shapes with a flat top, with clay called Madevar and invoke Mahavishnu and Mahabali in them and offer poojas to Neyvedyam for Madevar is Elayadai or Valsan or Poovadai as it is called by different people. Many people offer Unniyappam also to Madevar.
My sister-in-law, hailing from South Kerala, tells me about the practice of pinning flower buds on to banana stems (a la Mr Sivamony in comments here) and decorating the pookalam. She says that in their village they make the pookalams the previous evening so that they are free on Thiruvonam morning. Also the practice of making an angular pookalam on Moolam day (moola means corner in Malayalam) is unheard of in our part.
Similarly the entertainments of Thiruvonam season also differ. Whereas the boat race is the main attraction in the backwater ridden southern districts, it is Pulikali (tiger dance) in the central and northern districts. In the interior rural villages like Puthucode, it is villupattu and Kaikottikali.

The main attraction everywhere though is the Onam feast and the camaraderie .

Happy times until the next Onam!

Onam 2008

Tenth Day of Onam

Ninth Day of Onam