Recipes of Thiruvadhirai/Thiruvadhira from TN and Kerala
For the occasion of Thiruvadhirai/Thiruvadhira, unique recipes are made in Tamil Nadu as well as Kerala. This article is a combination of two being almost similar one with dessert and another with combination of vegetables. To know the preparation, please read on.
The four recipes given here are unique recipes for the festival being celebrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala which is called Thiruvadhirai/Thiruvadhira.Koova Payasam(Kerala)
Ingredients
Kuvva or Arrow powder, Jaggery as main ingredients.
To taste or garnish, coconut slices, ghee and cardamom powder. Preparation
Mix Kuvva or arrow root powder with water to make a thin consistency in a pan. In a separate pan, mix water with grated jaggery may be heated until jaggery dissolves in water. This may be added to the Kuvva already mixed with water. Also the coconut slices can be fried in ghee until it become brown which may also be added to the above kuvva jaggery mixture. Now this pan has to kept on low flame as arrow root will take lump form easily or burnt too and hence on a low flame with a heady bottom pan. It has to be stirred until it get payasam consistency as it can be checked whether it is falling down when it takes in a spoon or the appearance also become translucent. The cardamom powder may be added to taste.Thiruvadhirai Kali(Tamil Nadu)
Ingredients
Raw rice, jaggery, moong dhal as main ingredients
To taste or garnish, ghee, cardamom powder.Preparation
Raw rice may be washed and drained and may be roasted in a pan until it become lighter brown may be allowed to cool.
In the mean time, two to three tsps of moong dhal may be roasted in a pan and allowed it to cook by adding water and after cooking, water may be drained.
Now the raw rice may be grinded in a mixture into the consistency of (semolina)rava.
The jaggery may be grated and heated until it get dissolves into water.
Cooked moong dhal, cardamom powder and grinded rava may be added one by one and may be stirred until it get into a consistency of Rava Upma. Little ghee may be added to taste.Thiruvadhira Puzhuku(Kerala)
Ingredients
Vegetables: Ratalu, elephant yam(Chena/Suran), Chinese potato(Chembu), Taro root sweet potato(Sharkara valli kizhangu), Red cow peas, Raw banana
To taste
Curry leaves, Coconut oil, salt
For griding paste
Coconut, Green chilies, Jeera Preparation
Red cow peas may be soaked overnight and cooked until it become soft but not mashed.
The vegetables according to the number of persons may be chosen and may be cut into big pieces except plantain which may be cut into smaller piece and these may be cooked without changing the shape without mash.
The paste of coconut, green chillies and jeera can be prepared using any method of mixture and cooked red cow peas may be added along with cooked vegetables which may kept on a low flame until the raw smell goes and the water get dried.
Curry leaves may be garnished and coconut oil may be put and it should be closed with a lid until it served.Thalagam(Tamil Nadu)
Ingredients
Vegetables: Brinjal, Senai(Elephant Yam), Ashgourd, Broad Beans(Avaraikai), Potato, Carrot, Raw Banana, Tamarind(a small lemon size)
To taste Hing and salt
To grind, Coconut, red chillies, a small amount the three (that is sesame seeds, thur dal, raw rice)Preparation
Tamarind juice may be extracted by usual method of soaking and extracting.
Vegetables may be cut into normal pieces which may be kept in water to avoid turning into black.
Raw rice may be soaked for 10 minutes for easy grinding.
In a pan, fry the thurdal, sesame seeds, red chillies and lastly add the grated coconut and fry till it turn into brown. After it become cool, grind them in mixture along with soaked raw rice to a nice paste.
Tamarind juice may be boiled and vegetables may be half cooked separately may be added together along with salt and hing and further may be cooked for some time say 5 minutes. In this cooked mixture, the grinded paste may be added and cooked further for 5 minutes makes the Thalagam ready.
It may be taken out from the flame and mustard seeds may be sputtered in oil may be added with fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. This seasoned mixture may be added to the above Thalagam.
