Ganesh Chaturthi Pooja Procedure | Puja Vidhi | Pooja Vidhanam

I have shared Ganesh Chaturthi Pooja / Pooja vidhi / Pooja vidhanam with slokhas and mantra in PDF format in Tamil as per my readers request. Last year I made a post on how we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi @ Vinayaka chaturthi at home with details about Abishekam things, pooja items along with its procedures and Ganesh chaturthi recipes links. But it is purely based on my family’s tradition and practice. Some people have the practice of keeping Kalasha and Gouri on this day.

Recently one of my readers requested me to share Ganesh Chaturthi Pooja Vidhanam/Puja vidhi along with mantras just like my Varalakshmi Vratham pooja post. So I referred my book “Avanai maadha Pooja Vidhanam” ( My friend Shalini’s gift) and shared the slokhas, detailed pooja method with pictures and Ganesha story in PDF format ( you can see at the end of post) to help people who wish to celebrate Ganesh chaturthi pooja in an authentic way. I have shared pooja vidhanam in Tamil. So I have mentioned some useful links for pooja vidhi in Sanskrit, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada at the end of the post. Hope you find them useful.

Ganesh Chaturthi festival is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha. He is the first worshipped God before any holy puja or occasion. This year 2023, Vinayagar Chaturthi festival falls on September 18th, Monday as per Vaakiya panchangam. This festival is also known as 'Vinayak Chaturthi' or 'Vinayaka Chavithi' . It is observed during the Hindu month of Bhadra in Hindi /Avani in Tamil (mid-August to mid-September). For more information on Ganesh chaturthi festival, click this link .
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Click this Video on how to make Homemade Ganesh using Kozhukattai dough.

For Ganesh chaturthi Kolam/Rangoli designs, please Visit my in-laws blog for Learn kolam.

Disclaimer : The pictures and pooja procedures I shared in this post are from a devotional book gifted by my friend. This is just one of the ways of celebration. It may vary from place to place. Please consult the elders in your family and follow your tradition. Beginners can follow this if you don’t have any specific procedure at home. Thanks for visiting this page.

Ingredients 

List for Abishekam, pooja and neivedyam

• Ganesh idol

• Wooden plank or peeta to place Ganesha

• Flowers

• Milk

• Curd

• Honey

• Tender coconut water

• Water

• Rice flour

• Sesame oil

• Turmeric powder

• Shikakai powder

• Kumkum,Sandal paste

• Panchamirtham (Curd based delicacy consisting of Panch(5) items: Milk, Sugar, Ghee (clarified butter), Honey, Bananas)  Some items are not shown in pic.

 

For Decoration and pooja

• Vastram for Ganesha ( New blouse bit or dhoti cloth)

• Mupiri nool for poonool ( 3 threaded string)

• ArugamPul (Bermuda grass (English). Arugampul (Tamil), Dhub (Hindi), Durva (Sanskrit). Karuka (Malayalam), Garikagoddi (Telugu), Garikoihallu (Kannada))

• Tulsi leaves ( Its allowed only on this day)

• Vellerukku Malai ( White flower garland, refer the above picture)

• Yellow rice/Akshathai

• Flowers

• Kumkum, Sandal powder

• Incense stick

• Camphor

• Sesame oil & ghee for lamp

• Fruits, coconut, betel leaves & betel nut for offering

• Banana leaf

• Turmeric powder for manjal pillayar

For Neivedyam recipes



Click THIS LINK for Neivedyam recipes collection.

• Coconut

• Jaggery

• Chana dal/Moong dal

• Sugar

• Besan

• Urad dal

• Green chillies, ginger, salt ( for pooran)

• Raw rice for payasam

• Urad dal for vada

• Wheat flour,banana & jaggery for appam

• Sesame seeds for ellu urundai

• Click HERE to see the no onion no garlic lunch menu cooking with ingredients

Abhishekam Order



Benefits of Abhishekam

PANCHAGAVYAM - Removes all sins of mankind

PANCHAMRUTHAM - Gives wealth

GHEE- Gives Moksha state

MILK - Gives long life

CURD - Gives Good Children

HONEY - Melodious voice

RICE POWDER - Frees from debts

SUGAR CANE JUICE - Gives good health and removes enmity

LIME JUICE - Removes fear of death

TENDER COCONUT JUICE - Gives enjoyment and full satisfaction in life

SANDAL PASTE - Gives Lakshmi's Grace

SUGAR - Removes enmity

Source : http://www.teluguone.com/devotional/content/what-are-things-used-in-shiva-abhishekam-its-effects-56-27598.html#sthash.kCQAROkq.dpuf

Abhishekam should be done by the elders of the family. In our house, my daughter sits with my husband and do the abhishekam :)  Refer the above picture. If you are having Ganesha made of Turmeric powder, soft clay or Kozhukattai dough, pour water and other abhishekam items only in spoons else Ganesha will dissolve in water.

You can chant this Ganesha Gayathri mantram while doing Abhishekam.
“Om Tatpurushaya Vidmahe Vakratundaya dheemahi, Tanno Danti Prachodayat”

Draw Kolam/Rangoli on where you are going to do the pooja. Take all the abhishekham items in a plate as shown in the picture. Keep a bowl full of water. Keep some flowers in a plate. Keep an incense stick and a camphor ready.Take a wide plate ( thambaalam). Place a wooden plank inside it and keep the Ganesh idol. Start the abhishekam by putting some flowers and few drops of water. Before doing abhishekam,keep this mind. Ganesh idol should not fall down during abhishekam. So do not pour more water. Touch the idol carefully with support.

First do the sesame oil abhishekam, then apply shikakai powder. Wash it well by adding water. Then apply turmeric powder, light the incense stick and show the dhoop & dheep. Mix rice flour in water and do the abhishekam. Then comes milk, lemon juice, tender coconut water, curd, panchamirtham followed by honey. Collect the panchamirtham with honey in a plate. Pour some water and then continue with sandal paste, Kumkum and lastly viboodhi abhishekam. Finish the abhishekam with little milk. Show the dheep. Pour water and start to decorate the Ganesh. Collect all the abhishekam water in the wide plate and pour in tulsi plant or under some trees.

Lord Ganesha Decoration

Wipe the idol with a clean cloth. Put a poonool / Mupiri nool(3 threaded string) from left to right keeping Ganesha facing towards you. Then wear a new cloth for the idol. Decorate with Tulsi leaves (Generally Tulsi should not be used to decorate Ganesha. But it is allowed only on this day.) Vellerukku malai, arugampul malai and flowers. After abhishekam and decoration, start doing the pooja.

How to do pooja

Check out this PDF for detailed pooja stotras in Tamil. Please download it and follow the directions if you wish to make pooja with kalasam.

Before you start the pooja, keep lots of flowers, leaves and Arugampul in a plate. Make a small cone shaped pillayar/Ganesh with turmeric powder and keep a kumkum dot. Keep a small bowl full of Panchamirtham and a spoonful of honey in a bowl.

If you are placing Kalash, It should be placed firmly on a Copper/Silver plate with rice spread on it. A Coconut is placed over the mouth of the Kalash. Five mango leaves are placed inside the kalash before placing the coconut (like a skirting).

The decorated Ganesha Idol can be placed above on a table/stool and the Kalasha and its plate can be placed in the ground. Light the lamp on the sides of Ganesha. Keep the small turmeric Ganesha( made of turmeric powder mixed with little water) nearby the idol. Keep kumkum & flowers. Place a plate with 5 types of fruits, broken coconut, betel leaves and nuts in front of the God.

 
In another plate or banana leaf, spread the neivdeyam recipes. Kozhukattai varieties comes to the left side of Ganesha. Rice and other items has to be kept in the usual order. Refer picture for the idea. Keep payasam and aval.pori kadalai/Puffed rice with peanuts in small bowls. Start doing the pooja.

For any pooja, Poorvanga pooja is considered as Pradhana pooja. So keep the turmeric Ganesha before the Ganesh idol and start the poorvanga pooja mantra. 

Check out this PDF for detailed pooja stotras with method in Tamil. Please download it and follow the directions. Finish the pooja with mangala aarti !

Ganesha Chaturthi pooja vidhi with mantras in sanskrit / english
 http://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/ganesh-chaturthi/ganesha-chaturthi-puja-vidhi.html

Please use http://www.virtualvinodh.com/aksharamkh/aksharamukha2.php to transliterate the mantras to your script (tamil / telugu / kannada ) from Devanagari.

Siddhi Vinayaka Ashtottara sadha namavali  in other languages

Sanskrit -  http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_ganesha/vinaayaka108-5.html?lang=sa

Tamil -  http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_ganesha/vinaayaka108-5.html?lang=ta

Telugu -  http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_ganesha/vinaayaka108-5.html?lang=te

English - IAST - http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_ganesha/ganesha108.html?lang=iast


AUDIO, VIDEO LINKS FOR OTHER LANGUAGES

• Click this LINK for Pooja Vidhanam Audio in Telugu

• Check this LINK , LINK for Pooja Vidhanam Audio in Tamil

• For Hindi version, check this youtube video LINK

 After celebration procedures ( Visarjanam)

On Chaturthi evening, make wheat flour appam and do the neivedyam. The next day morning, you can keep idli for neivedyam or simply fruits would do. On afternoon, keep dal and rice with ghee for neivedyam. Continue this neivedyam till Ganesha stays in your house. The next day or the third day, take the ganesha idol along with flowers, vastram, some puffed rice, jaggery and fried gram dal (Do not remove anything from idol) and put it in water. Let the Ganesh idol dissolve in water and take away all the misfortunes of people.

Click THIS LINK for Neivedyam recipes collection.

Neivedyam Recipes









 

 
 
Please click this LINK for full collection of neivedyam recipes. This is the LINK for Kozhukattai making Videos & Homemade Ganesh idol using rice flour dough.

Disclaimer : The pictures and pooja procedures I shared in this post are from a devotional book gifted by my friend. This is just one of the ways of celebration. It may vary from place to place. Please consult the elders in your family and follow your tradition. Beginners can follow this if you don’t have any specific procedure at home. Thanks for visiting this page.

Wish you all a very happy Ganesh chaturthi !

Thanks for visiting this page !

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Aadi 18(Pathinettam Perukku) - How To Celebrate Aadi 18

Aadi 18/ Aadi Perukku is a festival observed on the 18th day in Tamil month Aadi. It is also known as Pathinettam perukku or aadi perukku in Tamil. This year 2023, it falls on August 3rd, Thursday. Aadi perukku is a unique South Indian festival that marks the beginning of Tamil festivals in Tamil nadu. It is observed on the 18th day of Tamil month Aadi. In this post, I have shared the significance of Aadi 18, What to do on Aadi 18, its rituals, how to perform aadi pooja and how to celebrate this festival at home along with the list of Aadi 18 recipes lunch menu / Neivedyam recipes links and our celebration pictures in detail for your reference. 

Last year I shared the celebration procedures for most of the important Hindu festivals to help beginners and to keep a record for my future reference. But I couldn’t make a post about our first festival, Aadi perukku celebration in a detailed manner. So this year I wanted to share it with my last year’s celebration pictures. Please go through them and have a happy aadi 18 celebration. Hope beginners would find this post useful.

Wish you all a very happy Aadi 18 !!

Disclaimer : All the pictures & celebration procedures I have shared is based on my family's tradition. It may vary from place to place. Beginners, please keep this as reference. Consult the elders in your family and follow it :)

SIGNIFICANCE OF AADI 18

Aadi 18/ Perukku is a festival observed on the 18th day in Tamil month Aadi. It is also known as Pathinettam perukku or aadi perukku. In Tamil, ‘perukku’ means ‘rising'. The rising here indicates the overflowing of Kaveri river due to the monsoon rains. It is celebrated near river basins, water tanks, lakes and wells of Tamil Nadu. Devotees take bath in the river & worship mother cauvery in the form of Amman. 

I have heard about the grand Aadi 18 celebration in Kooduthurai, Bhavani. This festival is celebrated by farmers and people who depend on the rivers and monsoon rains for their life. Special prayers and puja are done in temples. People pray to River Cauvery and Rain God Varuna Bhagavan for a good harvest, constant supply of water and hassle free monsoon.

On this day, all the family members along with their friends and relatives make a trip to the riverbank by preparing a special lamp using rice flour and jaggery (maavilakku), mulaipari and several rice varieties ( Chitranna). Maavilakku is placed on mango leaves along with flowers, turmeric and a yellow thread. Then the lamp it is lit by the women and they float the lamps along with the mango leaves and other accompaniments in the river. The riverbank or seashore picnic is a major event in some districts of Tamil Nadu on this day. We call this as Vandi katti poradhu in Tamil :)

Some regions in Tamilnadu have the tradition of inviting the newly married couple to home and son-in-law is given gifts on the day. Some people also have the practice of  adding a gold coin in the thali of bride. During Aadi month, the newly wed girl spends the month at her parent’s home for some scientific reasons.

Source : http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/07/aadi-18-perukku-in-2008.html

AADI 18 POOJA INGREDIENTS - REQUIREMENTS

• Flowers
• Turmeric, Kumkum
• Thread greased with turmeric powder( Yellow rope/Manjal kayiru)
• Raw Rice & Jaggery
• Coconut,betel leaves & nuts
• Banana & Locally available Fruits
• Blouse bit, new dress(Saree or any girls dress)
• 1 Mirror
• Bangles, gold jewels, Kaatholai Karugamani ( Small black bangle, refer the above pic)
• 1 Lemon
• Banana leaf for keeping neivedyam
• Other pooja items like oil, ghee, camphor, incense stick and sambrani/Dhoop.
• Ingredients for making Rice varieties like Ellu sadam, Tamarind rice, Sweet Pongal, Curd rice, coconut rice & Sundal.

Check out my in-laws blog “Learn Kolam” for kolam ideas.

OUR CELEBRATION

Usually Aadi 18 is celebrated in River banks or near water bodies. So my MIL celebrates this festival near water tank in Salem house by drawing a square shaped box with sand ( We call it as “Manal veedu”). Make small Pillayar with sand, keep all the Pooja items in front of Pillayar and do the neivedyam. Refer the picture shared below from my in-laws blog "Learn Kolam". Then she drops the flowers, lemon, turmeric into the water tank. But I celebrate in my apartment in my pooja room in a simple manner as suggested by my MIL.

HOW TO CELEBRATE AADI PERUKKU / AADI 18 AT HOME

The previous day to the festival, wash all the lamps. Keep turmeric, kumkum dots, put oil, threads /wicks and keep the lamps ready. Clean the house. Wipe the doors, windows clean and keep turmeric, kumkum dots. Prepare Pulikachal / Puliogare paste, Ellu podi, coconut rice mix for making variety rice the next day. Draw Rangoli/Kolam at night. Draw with rice flour paste/ Arisi Maakolam or rangoli powder/Kolam maavu. Check out my in-laws blog “Learn Kolam” for kolam ideas.

The next day early morning around 5 am, take bath and get things ready for doing pooja. We should do the neivedyam before 6am or at least before 7am. You can also do in the auspicious time in morning as per the calender ( Nalla neram) or panchangam. Decorate the pooja room with flowers. For morning pooja, make 2 manjal pillayar ( One as Lord Ganesh and other one as Amman) and place it in a wooden plank, light two lamps on the sides. Keep this setup in front or inside your pooja room. 

To make manjal pillayar, take 1 tbsp of turmeric powder, add little water and make 2 small cones. Keep a kumkum dot. In front of the manjal pillayar, place coconut, betel leaves, betel nuts, all fruits, flowers, Yellow rope in a plate or banana leaf. In another plate, keep turmeric, kumkum, sandal powder or tablet, one mirror, bangles, one lemon, your gold jewelries, one new blouse bit, a new dress ( saree or any girls dress) if you have in hand, Katholai karugamani( small black bangles, available in pooja stores). You can also keep some new dress and jewels ( new or used ones) if you have in hand.  Please refer the below picture for reference. 

In a bowl/Sombu, fill water till its brim ( Its considered as Kaveri water) & keep it. In a small bowl, mix raw rice and jaggery. This is for neivedyam. Light lamps and do the pooja by showing Dhoop, dheep and mangala harathi. After doing the pooja, tie the yellow rope around your neck by yourself. Tie the rope in hands for small girls at home. Take the manjal pillayar, mix with some water, put the katholai karugamani, lemon, flowers and pour everything in a plant pot or tree. After sometime, take the lemon after sometime & use it in your cooking. This is our morning pooja.

In the afternoon, in an auspicious time ( avoid rahu kalam & Yama gandam), do the pooja with 5 rice varieties and pepper vada/Milagu vadai. I make chana sundal too.

AADI 18 LUNCH MENU  / AADI PERUKKU LUNCH RECIPES

Every year I prepare Lemon rice, tamarind rice, Coconut rice, sweet pongal & curd rice. Sometimes we make payasam with jaggery instead of sweet pongal and make Ellu sadam or milagu jeeraga sadam to make a count of 5.  My mom used to say we have to make 18 rice dishes for aadi 18 ;).  I don’t know how far it is true & is it possible to make 18 rice varieties. 

I have shared the links of all variety rice recipes , sweet pongal & payasam recipes &  vadai ( two versions) below. Please check it. Making this aadi 18 lunch menu is very easy if you have prepared Pulikachal paste, ellu podi, lemon rice paste on the previous day. You can also grind the vada batter and refrigerate it till use. Please refer the video given below on how to prepare 5 rice varieties for Aadi 18 easily.

NEIVEDYAM RECIPES / AADI PERUKKU RECIPES 

• LEMON RICE

• TAMARIND RICE/PULI SADAM

• THENGAI SADAM/COCONUT RICE

• CURD RICE/THAYIR SADAM

• PEPPER PULIOGARE/MILAGU PULI SADAM

• ELLU SADAM & PEPPER JEERA RICE

• PAYASAM RECIPES

• SWEET PONGAL/SAKKARAI PONGAL

• RICE VARIETIES

• URAD DAL VADA ( PEPPER VERSION)

• MAA VILAKKU 

• AADI THENGAI PAAL PAYASAM

• CHANA SUNDAL

OR

• NO ONION NO GARLIC LUNCH MENU

Please visit THIS PAGE for more aadi recipes. 

Try these recipes and have a great Aadi 18 celebration !!

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Instant Poha Upma Mix Recipe – Ready To Eat Poha Mix

When we think about quick breakfast recipes, Rava & Poha comes to our mind ( Poha = Rice flakes in English, Poha in Hindi, Aval in Tamil, Avalakki in Kannada). Poha recipes are easy to cook & a very healthy option for diabetic people too. In my kitchen, Rava upma and poha upma makes its appearance at least twice in a week. 

Sendhil loves Poha upma very much. So I keep making variations in poha upma like mixed vegetable poha upma, lemon poha, Kanda Poha, Batata Poha, Gujarati Poha, Karnataka Chitranna etc. When Sendhil went for an abroad trip, I packed homemade Instant Rava upma mix and poha mix for him. No soaking and chopping is needed. Just boil some water and cook. It will be ready to eat in few minutes just like noodles. 

You can enjoy this mix as teatime snack like chivda/Poha mixture. This mix was very useful for him and he loved it too. So I started making Instant mix recipes very often in my home. I make use of this mix whenever I feel lazy to cook after coming back from a trip. For this recipe, I referred this & this blogs, made some additions and tried it.

 Bachelors, working women and students who stay in hostel, PGs can try and keep this mix in bulk quantity. It will really help you to make quick, hassle free breakfast or dinner.Try this and share your feedback. You can try this upma mix with Red aval, Brown aval or even thin rice flakes. But cooking time and water quantity may vary slightly. See to it. Ok, lets see how to make Instant Poha upma mix recipe.

Check out my Tamil nadu style aval upma, Maharastrian Kanda poha, Gujarati Batata poha and lemon poha recipes.

Instant Poha upma mix recipe - Rice flakes mix

How to make homemade instant poha upma mix

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Main-Breakfast

Serves: 3 cups

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 15 Minutes

Total time: 20 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Thick Rice flakes/Poha - 3 cups Cooking oil - 4 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp Urad dal - 1 tbsp Chana dal - 2 tbsp Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1 tsp Roasted Peanuts - a handful Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Hing/Asafetida – 2 pinches Red chillies - 6 nos ( Pinched ) Turmeric powder – 1 tsp Pepper powder - 1 tsp ( optional) Salt - as needed Sugar – 1/2 tsp

METHOD

Clean the poha if needed but without washing in water. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, Urad dal, chana dal, pinched red chillies, curry leaves, hing and turmeric powder. Add poha, salt, sugar and pepper powder. Saute well until poha turns crispy. Keep the flame medium to high and roast patiently by staying nearby. Add roasted peanuts and mix it. Switch off the flame and let it cool in the kadai itself.   Once its cool, store in an air tight box or ziplock cover. No need to refrigerate. It stays good for weeks even without refrigeration. To make poha upma with this mix, boil 1.5 cups of water. Add 1 cup of poha mix and keep mixing till it absorbs 3/4th of the water. Cover the kadai and let it cook in low flame for few minutes. Open the kadai and stir it once in the middle. After its cooked well, sprinkle some lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot !! For variations, Soak this mix in hot water for few minutes and then cook it with little water.  You can saute one finely chopped big onion in 1 tbsp of oil and then add water. Add poha mix and follow the above procedure. You can add chopped and cooked potatoes along with onions like North Indian “Kanda batata poha” OR saute finely chopped vegetables along with onions, cook for few minutes and add poha mix. This makes the poha mix more healthy. You can even add some garam masala powder and make a twist from the usual upma. NB: Add more chillies or chilli powder as per your taste buds. Add 1/2 tsp of lemon peel powder in this mix if you have in hand. I din’t use it. If you have potato flakes in hand.

Make your own instant poha upma mix at home and enjoy !

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Idli Sambar Powder Recipe – How To Make Hotel Idli Sambar Podi

Homemade idli sambar powder – Idli sambar can be prepared in many ways. But most of the people like hotel idli sambar ( restaurant style idli sambar) as it has got a special flavor.Usually my Mom & MIL makes Idli sambar adding freshly ground spices in addition to our usual Kuzhambu milagai thool/sambar powder just like hotels. My mom calls this powder “Mel podi” in Tamil. My MIL makes this sambar podi every time freshly whereas my mom makes this powder in bulk quantity and stock it for a week. She adds this powder to idli sambar and lunch sambar as well. Its a very simple recipe with just 5 ingredients. Sendhil loves hotel style idli sambar as it is more flavorful than the plain idli sambar. But most of the time especially during busy morning hours, I make a simple onion sambar for idli without adding mel podi. Recently my mom suggested me to grind and store this idli sambar powder and use it whenever needed. I gave a try and it really helped me for quick & easy cooking. Its smell & flavor lasted for more than 2 weeks even though I made in small quantity. If you have leftover lunch sambar in hand, you can add this powder to convert into idli sambar. Check out Notes section in this post. I have shared in detail.Friends, do try this idli sambar powder and make restaurant style sambar at home easily. Lets see how to make it.

Idli sambar powder - Hotel idli sambar podi

How to make idli sambar powder at home for making hotel style sambar

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Homemade powders

Serves: 1/2 cup

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 15 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp - 15ml : 1 tsp - 5ml Dhania/Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp (heaped) Chana dal - 2 tbsp Methi seeds/ Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp Red chilli - 5 nos ( I used byadge & guntur chillies for color & spiciness) Cooking oil - 1 tsp For variations you can few curry leaves while roasting. Dry grated coconut can be added while grinding but not more than 1 tsp.

METHOD

In a small kadai, heat oil. Add the methi seeds, when it starts to sizzle add the chana dal, pinched red chillies, cumin seeds and dhania seeds.Roast everything in low to medium flame. Make sure no dals or spices are burnt. Let them cool down. Grind everything to a fine powder. Store in an air tight box and use it whenever needed. This sambar powder stays good for one week if stored in an air tight box. Please refer my HOTEL IDLI SAMBAR post for the procedure of making sambar. In that recipe, I have shared the ingredients of spices to roast & grind. No need to make that powder. Instead add 1 tbsp of  this sambar powder at the end.Give a boil.Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves. If you have left over lunch sambar in hand, you can easily convert that into hotel style idli sambar. For that : Season mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves in ghee ( Add chopped small onions if needed). Add 1 tbsp of this idli powder in the ghee,saute for a second and add to the left over sambar. Dilute 1 tbsp of besan flour in 1/4 cup of water. Add to the sambar. Mix everything well. Let the sambar boil nicely. Check for taste and add more salt or sambar powder if needed.Enjoy ! Note : In this recipe, I have used less number of chillies. So I add either green chilli or add some sambar powder or red chilli powder for extra spiciness. So please add more chilli powder or chillies as per you need. Try to prepare this sambar 1-2 hours before serving. This standing time helps for all the flavor to enhance while serving. You can use this powder for making sambar 3-4 times.

Try this homemade idli sambar powder and share your feedback with me.

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How To Make Tamarind Paste – Tamarind Pulp / Puli Paste Recipe

Tamarind paste/Tamarind pulp  ( Puli Paste) is one of the most important ingredients for making sambar, rasam, vathakuzhambu in South Indian cooking. I have seen my friends buying tamarind paste from stores every month in their grocery purchase. But I don’t have the habit of using store bought tamarind paste as I am concerned about the use of preservatives. So I soak tamarind everyday before I start cooking and take tamarind pulp freshly. But most of the time I forget to soak and do it in last minute by heating the tamarind in water for quick soaking. Recently when I was talking with my friend Shalini, she told about her homemade tamarind paste. She said its handy for quick cooking and the wastage of tamarind would be very much reduced. She told me to try it once to believe.Last week I made tamarind paste just for 1 week usage and stored in refrigerator.As she told, its really useful and I am impressed with this. It saves more time especially while cooking during busy morning hours. I am sure it would be a big help for working women. You can make it in bulk quantity and preserve for months by keeping in refrigerator. It would be much better than store bought tamarind pulp. Lets see how to make tamarind paste at home and store it.

Homemade Tamarind Paste

How to make tamarind paste at home

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Coking basics

Serves: -

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 50 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Tamarind - 200gms Water - 1 cup Salt - as needed

METHOD

Soak tamarind in 1 cup of  hot water for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Tamarind will become soft and well soaked.Squeeze the tamarind and remove seeds, grits if any. ( If you feel, there are more hard shells/ grits, add 1/2 cup more water while soaking so that all the grits will settle down, remove the thick tamarind OR squeeze the tamarind hard so that the grits will settle in your hand)  Grind the soaked tamarind adding little water. Grind to a thick paste. Mix with the soaked water and transfer the paste through a colander and squeeze the paste well. Discard the waste if any. Add the required salt and store in an air tight glass bottle ( preferably) and refrigerate it. You can follow this method if using the paste for one week to 10 days. If you want to preserve the paste for more than a week, proceed to the next step. In a wide bowl, take the tamarind pulp and boil for 5 minutes in medium flame.  It may splash everywhere. So keep it closed and stir it once or twice in the middle carefully. Switch off the flame. Mix well and let the paste cool completely. Tamarind paste resemble like a cream. After the paste is cooled down completely, store in an air tight glass jar and preserve it for months. You can also keep it in a porcelain jar( Peengaan jaadi). Add 1.5 tbsp of this paste for sambar, 2-3 tbsp for vathakuzhambu and 1 tbsp for rasam based on the number of serving.

Note

You can preserve this tamarind paste for months only if its cooked. If the pulp is raw, you can store it only for a week or max 10 days.  You can add 1 tbsp of cooking oil to the paste while it boils which acts as a preservative. But I used only salt.

Make your own homemade tamarind paste and use it for your quick cooking !

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Thalippu Vengaya Vadagam Recipe – Kari Vadagam

I am a big fan of Vengaya Vadagam/ Small onion vadagam since my childhood.This younger generation people may not be aware of this traditional recipe and slowly its forgotton by our people :( When I was young, my dad used to buy a packet of thalippu vengaya vadagam from an Iyer mess every year during summer. My mom adds it in Thuvaram paruppu sadam, Kootan choru and we love to have it as a side dish for curd rice too. . After marriage, I was amazed to see my MIL making Kari vadagam/Vengaya vadam on her own. She says its a very simple recipe preparation and can be easily made at home. Our job is to just mix and make balls. Sun will do the remaining part, she says funnily. Since Sendhil is not fond of vadagam, she stopped making it for some years. This year, I requested her to make this yummy onion vadagam for me. Last week we prepared it in Bangalore. I felt the chopping part and sun drying part takes more time. But the end result will be worth the wait. It came out great with wonderful aroma while frying. Iam enjoying it by making vadagam chutney/thogayal and use it for tempering Vatha kuzhambu and Kootu varieties. Nowadays my lunch smells divine because of this vadagam. You too give a try and feel proud to make your own homemade vengaya vadagam recipe. Lets see how to make this easy and yummy Thalippu Vadagam/ Kari vadam at home.
Check out my Koozh Vadam, Killu vadam and Javvarisi vadam too.

Vengaya vadagam recipe

How to make thalippu vengaya vadagam recipe

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Homemade

Serves: 15 balls

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cook time: 10 days

Total time: 10days30Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 200ml Small onion/Shallots - 1.5 cups ( chopped) Garlic cloves - 1/2 cup ( Chopped) Chopped curry leaves - 2 tbsp White urad dal - 1/4 cup ( soak in water for 30 minutes) Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp Toor dal - 1 tbsp Cumin seeds - 1.5 tbsp Methi seeds -3/4 tbsp Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp Turmeric powder - 1 tsp Salt - as needed Castor oil - 2 tsp Cooking oil - to deep fry vadam after drying

METHOD

Wash and soak the white urad dal for 30 minutes.Wash and peel the small onion and curry leaves.Chop it finely. Peel and chop garlic cloves. Measure them in a cup. Take everything in a wide bowl. Mix well. To this add, mustard seeds, methi seeds, toor dal, cumin seeds, salt, red chilli powder. Mix well using your hands. Drain the water from the soaked urad dal and grind it coarsely without adding water. Dal should be coarse. Now mix the dal with onion mixture tightly and make balls of small lemon size. Let it dry under the Sun for a day.Coarse Urad dal paste acts as a binding agent here. So do not skip this step, If you wish, you can spread the mixture as it is without making balls and sun dry them. In that case, take the required amount of dried vadagam, keep in a separate bottle and use it. Reserve the remaining vadagam without touching often because there are chances of getting worms quickly.  On the same day night, take the partially dried balls. Break into crumbs and add castor oil to it. Mix well and make tight balls again. Let it dry over night under the fan. The next day, sun dry the balls.As the balls dry, it will loosen. So roll it tight everyday. Repeat the same process until the balls dry completely and becomes black in color. It will take nearly one week to 10 days to for the balls to dry depending on the weather/heat. For me, it took nearly 10 days. My MIL says it takes a week in Salem. After the balls are dried well, store in an air tight box. For adding this gravy, take one ball, break into small pieces and fry in oil until it emits a nice aroma. Add to vatha kuzhambu, Kootu and poricha kuzhambu recipes. Enjoy !

Try these yummy, flavorful vadagam at home and enjoy your lunch !

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