The Tamil New Year, Varsha Pirappu or Puthandu, is observed on the first day of Tamil month Chithirai, the first month as per traditional Tamil Calendar. Chithirai 1 or the Chithirai thirunal is an auspicious day for Tamil speaking people in India (Tamil Nadu) and across the world, especially in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa. In 2009, the date of Varsha Pirappu or Tamil New Year is April 14. This day is also celebrated as Vishu by Malayalis.

A major highlight of the Tamil New Year is the viewing of ‘Kani’ – meaning auspicious things. Legend has it that viewing auspicious things on this day will bring good fortune throughout the year.

The special and important dish for this day is pachchadi(as spelled as pachadi)  as it blends all tastes and signifies life. Pachadi is a mix of all tastes in life, the sweet, the sour, the bitter, the spicy and the salty. It is made with raw mango and neem flowers where neem flowers is a must.

Raw Mango-Neem Flower Pachadi Recipe

Ingredients:

Neem flower – 4 tsp

Raw mango – 1 medium size

Jaggery – 1 cup

Salt – a pinch

Green Chilli – 1

Turmeric – a pinch

Mustard – 1/2 tsp

Oil/ghee – 2-3 tsp

Method:

1. Peel off the raw mango skin and cut them to pieces, add pinch of turmeric and get them cooked.

2. Prepare jaggery syrup and add the cooked mango to it and allow it to boil a few mins.

3. Fry the neem flowers in little ghee and add it to the jaggery-mango.

4. Finally garnish with roasted mustard and green chilli.

This neem flower raw mango pachadi is ready.

Javvarisi Payasam Recipe or Sabudhana Kheer Recipe

Ingredients:

Javvarisi or Sago or sabudhana- 1/2 cup

Milk – 3/4 litre

Sugar – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – a pinch

Cashew, badam, dry grapes – to garnish

Method:

1. Add 3/4 to 1 cup water to this javvarisi and get them cooked in a cooker leaving for 1 whistle.

2. keep stove in low flame and boil the 3/4 litre milk until they become 1/2 litre.

3. Then add sugar and cooked javvarisi and keep stirring.

4. Add the cardamom powder, ghee – roasted cashew, badam and add dry grapes and serve hot.

Javvarisi payasam or sabudhana kheer is ready.

Ugadi means beginning of New Astronomical cycle. Telugu and kannada speaking people celebrate it as New Year, it falls on the first day of the month of Chaitra, as per lunar calender. Ugadi begins with oil bath, homes decorated with kolams and mango leaves strung door ways to herald positive energy.

Ugadi pachchadi(as spelled as pachadi) is very important dish for this day as it blends all tastes and signifies life. Pachadi is a mix of all tastes in life, the sweet, the sour, the bitter, the spicy and the salty. It is made with raw mango and neem flowers where neem flowers is a must.

Ugadi Recipes:

• Neem Flower pachadi
• Raw mango pachadi
• Dhal Vada
• Poli both with dhal and coconut

Neem flower Pachadi recipe

Ingredients:

Fresh neem flowers – 1 tablespoon( cleaned)
jaggery – 1 cup

Method:

1. Prepare jaggery syrup and filter it to another pan and heat it again until it starts thickening.
2. Add the neem flowers to it after frying them in little ghee.

Neem flower pachadi is ready.

Raw mango pachadi Recipe

Ingredients:

Raw mango – medium size 1
Jaggery – 1 cup

Method:

1. Peel off the raw mango skin and cut them to pieces and get them cooked.
2. Prepare jaggery syrup and add the cooked mango to it and allow it to boil a few mins.

Raw mango pachadi is ready.

Dhal Vada Recipe

Ingredients:

Tor Dhal – 1 cup
Channa dhal – 1 cup
Dry red chilli – 3
Green chilli – 2
curry and coriander leaves – 1 table spoon
grated coconut – 3 tsp
salt – to taste
Ginger – a small piece
Oil – for frying

Method:

1. Soak the toor dhal and channa dhal in water for 2 hours and get them grinded along with dry chilli, green chilli, curry, coriander leaves, coconut, salt, ginger.
2. Do not make it too fine.
3. Also do not add too much water. Make sure the mixture is thick.
4. Take small quantities from the grinded mixture and prepare small flattened vadas and deep fry in oil until they turn golden brown.

Dhal vada is ready.

Poli – Dhal Poli recipe

Ingredients:

Channa dhal – 1 cup
Jaggery – 3/4 cup
Grated coconut – 2 tsp
cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
Maida – 1 cup
turmeric powder – a pinch
Salt – a pinch
water – little
Oil – as required

Method:

1. Add little salt, turmeric to maida and add sufficient oil, water and prepare soft dough. keep this prepared 1 hour before.
2. Cook the channa dhal and remove off the excess water.
3. Grind cooked channa dhal, jaggery, coconut and cardamom. Do not add water while grinding.
4. Add 1 tsp ghee to frying pan and add the ground paste and allow it to thicken.
5. Prepare medium sized balls with the grounded mixture after it cools down. Stuffing is ready.
6. Take a clean plastic sheet or plantain leaf and grease it with oil.
7. Make small balls with the maida dough and keep each one in the leaf and flatten it a bit and keep the stuffing.
8. Properly close the maida and flatten again using hand. (just like thin poories but little small in size)
9. Cook them in a tawa adding ghee and oil. Cook until they are cooked on both sides.(again like chappathi)

Dhal poli(parupu poli) is ready. While serving add little ghee.

Coconut Boli Recipe

Ingredients:

Coconut – 1 full(grated)
jaggery – 2 cups
Cardamom – 1/2 tsp
Maida – 1 cup
Turmeric – a pinch
Salt – a pinch
Water – little
Oil – as required

Method:

1. Add little salt, turmeric to maida and add sufficient oil, water and prepare soft dough. keep this prepared 1 hour before.
2. Grind coconut and jaggery and fry them in ghee to thicken. And stuffing is ready.
All other steps remain the same like dhal Poli.

Ingredients:

Raw Rice – 4 cup

Urad dhal – 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Dalda or butter – 1 table spoon

Sesame or jeera – 1 tsp

Oil – to fry

Method:

1. Fry urad in a dry pan until they turn golden brown and grind them to fine powder along with rice.

2. Take this grinded flour and add salt, butter and jeera and mix well.

3. Add little water and mix well and make a dough(chappathi dough consistency)

4. Make require size balls to fit in the murukku aachu or murukku nazhi.

5. Put the murukku maavu inside and press with the other one and make the proper murukku in a plate and keep them reay to fry in oil.

6. Heat oil in a pan and add the ready murukku that is kept in the plate. Dee fry till golden brown and murukku is ready to eat.

Note: Murukku is kept prepared in plate as the water mixed murukku maavu should not be kept for long time. The colur will change to dark brown if kept and hence keet them ready and deep fry in oil.

Karadaiyan Nombu is a festival celebrated by South Indian married women in Tamil Nadu. The premise is that married women pray to never be separated from their husbands. This is the prayer told while tieing the nombu saradu..tamizh version: “உருகாத வெண்ணையும் ஓர் அடையும் வைத்தேன், ஒரு காலும் என் கணவர் என்னைவிட்டு பிரியாமல் இருக்க வேண்டும்”. It means Oh Lord! I pray that my husband leads a long life and stays with me forever. This years Nombu being tomorrow(14 March 2009) I wanted to share these recipes from my Mom’s Kitchen..

Sweet Adai Recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw Rice flour – 2 cups

Jaggery – 1 cup

Grated Coconut – 2 tsp

Cooked karamani – 4 tsp

Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp

Water – as required

Butter – for garnishing

Note: Soak the rice for sometime in water and dry it in sun and then make flour by grinding.

Also fry the rice flour in a dry pan before starting with both the recipes.

Method:

1. Prepare jaggery syrup by adding 1 cup water and heating it.

2. When you get the syrup, the dust will be accumulated at the bottom and so shift to another vessel leaving out the dust and keep stirring in low flame.

3. Now add rice flour by continuous stirring along with cardamom powder, coconut and karamani.

4. The rice flour will blend well with the jaggery and come to the consistency like the chappathi dough. That’s when you must turn off the stove and set it aside to cool down a bit.

5. Make small balls and prepare like flat vadai.

6. Steam cook the flattened adais for 10 mins.

While serving add a bit butter on the top and serve to enhance the taste.

Kara Adai or White Adai:

Ingredients:

Raw rice flour – 2 cup

Cooked karamani – 4 tsp

green chilli – 2 chopped

Coriander and curry leaves – 3 tsp

Salt – as required

Coconut – 3 tsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Oil – 2 tsp

Asafoetida – a pinch

Water – as required

Method:

1. Take a thick bottomed vessel, add oil, mustard,  green chillies and coconut.

2. Allow it to fry for few mins and add karamani, salt and asafoetida.

3. Now add 2 1/2 cups of water and allow it to boil for few seconds.

4. Add the rice flour by continous stirring and add corriander and curry leaves and mix well.

5. Allow it to cook till the flour blends and comes to chappathi dough consistency.

6. Allow it to come to room temperature and make the adais and steam cook them for 10 mins.

Serve with butter.