How To Celebrate Chitra Pournami At Home – Pooja Procedure & Recipes

Hello Friends, In this post, I have shared the importance of Chitra Pournami – (A festival with my name;)) celebration, how to celebrate it at home with its pooja procedures as per my family’s practice. I have also shared the links for Chitra pournami recipes for neivedyam. Hope this post would be helpful for beginners. I must thank my Mother-in-law for giving me detailed guidance about this celebration. Please visit my in-laws blog “ LEARN KOLAM” for Rangoli/ Kolam ideas for this festival.

Chitra Pournami is a ceremony observed on the Poornima day (Full moon day) in the Tamil month of Chithirai that falls any day between April 15^th – May 15^th. This year 2024, it falls on 23rd April ( i.e on Tuesday). Chitra pournami is one of the important festivals celebrated in Tamil nadu. 

 
This auspicious day is celebrated as Chitragupta’s Birthday. Chitra Pournami /Chithirai pournami (in Tamil) ritual commemorates Chitra gupta who is known as the assistant of Lord Yama, the God of Death. Chitra means collection of Pictures and Gupta means Hidden. Chitra Poornima is the day dedicated to Chitra Gupta, the Keeper of Deeds. Lord Brahma created Chitra Gupta through the Sun God and he is considered as the younger brother of Lord Yama. It is believed that Chitra Gupta examines the good and bad performances of each individual. 

When a person dies, his soul first goes to Lord Yama, where Chitragupta tallies the deeds and report it to Yama. He reads out the good and bad deeds of the person. He is the Devata for planet Kedhu. Worshipping Chitra Gupta on this day would ward of kedhu dhosha in one's horoscope.Worshipping Vinayaka also ward of this dosha. There is only one temple in South India for Chitragupta at Kanchipuram. Chitra Pournami is a very auspicious day here. The day is also dedicated to Indra, the head of Devas. It is on this day that the star Chitra and Pournami (full moon) come together.

On this day, special poojas are conducted at temples and people take bath in holy rivers and temple ponds to wash away the sins committed and to bag the virtue for the life beyond. Chitra Pournami is the time where your sins can all be cleansed. Many people would observe fasting ( Viratham in Tamil) and make the sacred walk on Chitra pournami day in Tiruvannamalai. Offering food to the poor and needy people during this night would receive the blessing from the Almighty directly, along with this you can vanish the bad karma which is on you. To know more about this festival, please check my FIL's post in Learn Kolam.

Source : http://www.astrologypredict.com/masimagam.php

In our home, every year we used to celebrate Chitra pournami in a grand manner by drawing maakolam all over the house and by offering Navadhaniyam ( 9 varieties of grains) in a Muram , Vellai pongal ( without salt, உப்பு  சேர்க்காத பொங்கல்)), Sweet pidi kozhukattai, Raw mango pachadi, Panagam and neer mor for neivedyam. 

So based on ours I have shared the details of Chitra Pournami celebration procedure below with pictures. Hope you will find it helpful. Tamil brahmins have their own way of celebration which may differ from this. So please consult the elders of your family if you have any doubts regarding your tradition.

This kolam is from my in-laws blog Learn kolam. We usually draw this thear kolam for Chitra Pournami.Click the above picture to see the video

Our Celebration Procedure

Ingredients needed for pooja & neivedyam

For Pooja

• Winnowing basket / Muram in Tamil
• New mud pot for making pongal, keeping panagam and neer mor ( This is optional)
• 9 grains ( Navadhaniyam – Any 9 from this list :  Chana/chickpeas( brown & white), Green moong dal, Masoor dal, Toor dal,Urad dal ( Black or white), Peas, Rajma, Black eyed peas ( karamani), Ragi, Wheat, Arisi nel ( unhusked rice), Yellow moong dal, chana dal )
• Raw rice ( maavu arisi ) Or Rice flour to draw maakolam ( Visit THIS LINK to check maakolam)
• Raw Mango – 1 no for keeping near muram.
• Indian Hand Fan / Kai visiri in Tamil (விசிறி)
• One full coconut ( It would be better if its with mattai/shell)
• One paper written with “Chithiranar Puthiranar Sivanadiyar Perungkanakar”)
• One Pen
• Lamp, wick, Oil/ghee, matchbox, incense stick, dhoop, camphor
• Betel leaf & nut ( Vetrilai paaku), banana ( 2 nos) and one coconut

For Neivedyam

• Raw rice(Maavu arisi) if making homemade rice flour for sweet pidi kozhukattai OR Store bought modak flour (kozhukattai maavu).
• Raw mango, Jaggery, Green chilli for making Mango pachadi.
• Curd, water, ginger, green chilli, seasoning ingredients for neer mor.
• Raw rice ( Good quality sona masoori) for making white pongal without salt.
• Water,edible camphor, jaggery, cardamom, cloves for making panagam.

Neivedyam Recipes

• White Pongal without salt
• Panakam & Neer mor
• Mango pachadi
• Sweet Pidi Kozhukattai

Some people have the practice of making 5 rice varieties along with sweet pongal on this day. 

We do this for Aadi 18 / Aadi perukku. Please check the link below for rice varieties if you want to try them. 

• Rice varieties

Our Celebration

Pre – Preparation

On the previous night of Chitra Pournami, we wash the lamps, keep turmeric, kumkum dots, put thread and keep it ready for the next day. Sweep the house and keep it clean. Usually we make sweet pidi kozhukattai using homemade rice flour. So we prepare the homemade rice flour in advance and keep it ready for next day’s use.

 We draw maakolam in the entrance and in front of pooja room. Usually we draw thear kolam in the entrance and pooja room. Foot of Chitra gupta along with an umbrella, hand fan, stick,foot of bull, foot of horse and flag should also be drawn. Refer picture below. You should draw it from entrance till pooja room just the way you put Lord Krishna feet for Gokulashtami/Krishna jayanthi. It is believed that Chitra Gupta is entering our house on this day. Refer the picture below.

Wash the muram and divide into 9 parts by drawing segments using maakolam. Keep 9 types of grains/ Navadhaniyam in them as shown in the picture. Keep a fresh bunch of neem flower if you have. I have kept some dried flowers.You should also keep a coconut, raw mango and palm hand fan nearby the muram.

 I have kept sandalwood hand fan as I don’t have palm hand fan ( Please refer the first picture of this post). In a white paper, write “Chithiranaar Puthiranaar Sivanadiyaar Perungkanakkar” ( "சித்திர  புத்திரனார் சிவனடியார் பெருங்கணக்கர் ") and keep a Pen nearby. 

Place a raw mango & coconut in the muram. My MIL says "Kothoda manga kulaioda thengai" is placed in olden days. Please refer the picture given below. Keep this muram ready the previous night itself.

On Festival Day

The next day early morning ( around 6 am), we take head bath and start to make dishes for neivedyam. We make sweet Pidi kozhukattai by mixing the 1 cup of homemade rice flour in jaggery syrup ( 1 cup grated jaggery & 1.25 cups of water) adding 1/4 tsp of cardamom powder & 2 tbsp of grated coconut. 

Make shapes using fingers and steam it in an idli pot. In the mean time, wash and pressure cook 1/2 cup of raw rice adding 2.5 cups of water. Cook for 2 whistle in very low flame. Remove and mash the rice. Transfer to a bowl. Make a dent in the center. Keep a small piece of banana, jaggery and add a tsp of ghee.  If you wish you can make a no onion no garlic sambar as well.

 Then make Panagam by mixing water, jaggery, a pinch of edible camphor, crushed cloves, cardamom. Make neer mor and temper it. Keep all the neivedyam dishes in mud pots and plates if you have. Every year my MIL used to buy a new mud pot for making pongal and serving panakam, neer mor. She buy 3 pots ever year. But that practice has become obsolete now.

In an auspicious time of the day, light the lamp and keep the neivedyam in front of God. Avoid Rahu Kalam and Yama kandam. Place the muram ( winnowing basket) with 9 grains, hand written paper & pen. In a plate, keep betel leaves, nuts, banana and a coconut. Keep the panakam, neer mor in bowls.Sweet pidi kozhukattai  and white pongal in a plate. Show the deep, dhoop and mangala harathi.Finish the pooja. If you wish, you can read the story of Chitra Gupta and chant some slokhas as well.  

This is how we celebrate Chitra Pournami festival in our house. There may be slight variations in the celebration procedures based on your tradition. Consult the elders in your home and do the changes accordingly. Some people also make Vada, Payasam for lunch.

If you wish, you can offer food to the poor & needy on this night to get the blessings of Almighty and remove the bad karma on you. I hope this post would help you to get some idea of Chitra Pournami celebration. Share your celebration procedure too.

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Very good recipes Tags: Chitra Pournami, Chitra Pournami celebration, How to celebrate Chitra Pournami, Chitra Pournami festival, Chithirai pournami, Chitra Poornima, How to celebrate, Festival recipes

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Elai Vadam Recipe – Ilai Vadam – Easy Rice Appalam In Banana Leaf

Elai Vadam / Exhibition appalam – Rice papad / Arisi appalam made in banana leaf ( Vazhai ilai) was in my try list for the past few years. Whenever my fellow bloggers post this elai vadam recipe, I get tempted to try but I never got the confidence to try on my own. Recently my MIL prepared this ilai vadam using idli rice after watching Revathy Shanmugam mam’s cookery show in Jaya TV. Last week when she came to Bangalore, she brought some vadam to taste. She said its a time consuming process but the end result is worthy.Its taste reminded Delhi appalam we get in exhibition.We had this rice papad sprinkled with red chilli powder and we loved it very much.  

My MIL told me the tradition behind this appalam making process.On those days, people in Tamilnadu villages used to make this rice vadam using Vadham ilai or Poovarasan ilai. This vadam is usually given for ladies after delivery ( Postpartum diet) as urad dal papad creates gas problem.This vadam is roasted in direct fire ( Sutta appalam) instead of deep frying in oil as deep frying makes it difficult to digest.The best thing about this vadam is it dries up quickly even under the shade. It takes one to two days to get ready based on the weather in your place. Overnight drying under the fan would be enough. I felt this vadam is ideal for places where there is lack of sunlight. 

With the help of my MIL, I prepared this easy arisi appalam in Bangalore using raw rice. This vadam can be prepared with raw rice, idli rice or both in equal quantity. If you make it with raw rice, vadam comes out super light, airy and crispy whereas vadam made with idli rice comes out crunchy and very flavorful like store bought arisi appalam but slightly dense in texture. 

In that case, you can add little sago( javvarisi) to bring the light texture. As I have thatte idli stand, this vadam process was completed within one hour. If you don’t have this plate it may take more time. You can buy thatte idli stand or elai vadam stand in the market if you are really interested to try this one. Now lets see how to make elai vadam recipe with step by step pictures and VIDEO !

Check out my javvarisi vadam , killu vadam, vengaya vadagam & Koozh vadam recipes too.

Elai vadam recipe- Ilai vadam - Easy rice appalam in banana leaf

How to make elai vadam - Easy rice appalam n banana leaf - Summer special recipes

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Snacks

Serves: 24 

Prep time: 120 Minutes

Cook time: 60 Minutes

Total time: 180 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Raw rice - 1 cup ( I used Maavu arisi/dosa rice) Salt - as needed Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Water - As needed (I used 1/2 cup for grinding, 3/4 cup for mixing)

HOW TO MAKE ILAI VADAM / RICE APPALAM - METHOD

Wash and soak the raw rice in enough water for 2 hours. Drain the excess soaked water completely and grind the rice coarsely without adding water. Then wipe the sides and add 1/2 cup water, required salt. Grind to smooth paste like maida. Please note there should not be any grits in the batter. It should be completely smooth. So grind patiently for long time. I used my Indian mixie for grinding the batter and it took 5 minutes. Grind in two batches. Remove the batter in a bowl.Add cumin seeds. The consistency of batter should be slightly thinner than dosa batter. Now take a banana leaf and spread the leaf inside the plate according to its shape.Add 1/2 ladle of batter and swirl the plate. Batter spreads all over the plate. If you don’t have banana leaf, just spread the batter directly in the plate & swirl/rotate it.It also works but its difficult to peel once its cooked. If you have 3 plate or 6 plate ilai vadam stand, follow the same and spread the batter in all the plates. Heat water in an idli pot. When the water comes to roll boil, place the idli plate. Let it steam for 5 minutes. The color of batter changes to pale white & transparent after cooking. Remove the leaf from the plate and let it become warm. Peel the cooked vadam and spread in a cotton cloth( Dhoti) or in a polythene sheet. Do not put in newspaper. It will stick with it.   Let it dry in balcony or under the sun for one day. If you don’t have this option, dry it under the fan wind. When it dries up, it shrinks in size & changes in color slightly. After one day drying, it would have dried up to 75%. During night, keep it under the fan. If its crispy all over, its ready. If its soft in the middle, it needs more time to dry. So the next day, keep it under the sun & repeat the same till its completely moisture free. Store it in a box & use it for months. Stays good even for an year if prepared properly. Heat required oil in a kadai to deep fry. Break the vadam into half & deep fry in oil. Flip & cook both the sides. Remove & drain in a tissue. Sprinkle red chilli powder on top & serve as an evening snack or with any variety rice !

Enjoy !

Note

The consistency of batter is very important. Do not make it too watery or thick. You can make this vadam with idli rice instead of raw rice. Steaming takes maximum 5 minutes. Try to peel the vadam after its cooled down. If the vadam turns golden brown after frying, it may be due to the quality of rice. In that case, you can try adding few drops of lemon juice in the batter and make it next time.

Enjoy this crispy, yummy arisi appalam with rice or as an evening snack !

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Thandai Masala Powder Recipe – How To Make Thandai Powder At Home

Thandai is a very popular drink in North India that is mainly served during Holi festival and Maha Shivratri. This drink is the best coolant for body with lots of  health benefits as it is prepared with the combination of nuts, whole spices and milk. Yesterday my neighbor called me to enquire whether we get readymade thandai masala powder or thandai syrup at shops nearby my house. I browsed for some good brands and told her to get Patanjali or Haldirams Thandai powder as these are the well known names to me. She searched in shops but couldn’t get it. So I thought of preparing homemade thandai masala powder and share with her. 

As I had already shared the recipe of thandai from scratch, I know making at home is very easy. I used to make it regularly for every Maha Shivaratri festival along with our South Indian style arisi vella puttu and offer to Lord Shiva. This year I was planning to make the same following my recipe. But now after my neighbor’s suggestion, I wanted to make and store this homemade thandai masala in advance and prepare it quickly on Shivrathri day. I watched some You tube video recipes and adapted this recipe.

I have also watched a video from BBD TV’s travel escapades in which the preparation of thandai with & without bhang from a popular shop in Ujjain was shown.I found it very useful. For this thandai powder recipe, I could see many variations across the web.Some recipes are very simple with just 4 ingredients and some recipes are with bhang as well. But in this recipe, I have not used Bhang. Basically bhang balls are made from hemp seeds and leaves which are washed, cleaned and grinded to a smooth paste. But it should be used in minimum quantity as over dosage induces psychosis, excitement, uncooperativeness and hallucinations.

This is a very simple thandai masala that can be prepared with easily available ingredients. I have used Khus Khus in this recipe. I know its banned in some of the countries. In that case, feel free to skip it.Yesterday I made thandai using this powder and it came out very well. It was refreshing and we loved it a lot. I have passed some of this powder to my neighbor. I hope her family will like it too. Ok, lets see how to make Thandai masala powder at home with step by step pictures.

Thandai masala powder recipe

How to make thandai masala powder recipe at home

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Drinks Recipes

Serves: 12

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 15 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Almond/Badam - 1/4 cup Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp Melon seeds - 2 tbsp Khus khus – 3 tbsp Fennel seeds – 2 tbsp ( OR cumin seeds) Pepper corns – 1 tsp Cardamom – 8 nos Nutmeg - Very small piece (optional) Saffron threads - Few Sugar - 1/2 – 3/4 cup Dried Rose petals - 1 tbsp or 15 nos OR rose essence - 1 tsp Pista – 1 tbsp (Optional , I used it) To make thandai ( For one serving) Boiled milk – 1 cup ( At room temperature, use full fat milk) Thandai powder – 1 tbsp ( Adjust) Ice cubes – few ( 2 nos)

HOW TO MAKE THANDAI POWDER - METHOD

Take all the ingredients for thandai masala and keep it ready. Grind them to a fine powder using a mixie. Sieve it and again grind the coarse ones. Use the remaining leftovers for making fresh thandai or lassi. Mix the powder well with a spoon and store in a box. Thandai masala powder is ready ! This powder can be stored for 2 months in an air tight box. Use clean spoon to handle. To make Thandai : Boil thick, full cream milk and let it cool down to room temperature. In a wide bowl, put few ice cubes, add 2 cups of milk and 1 tbsp ( i.e 5-6 tsp) thandai powder. Mix well. Check for taste and add more sugar or thandai powder if needed. Strain it using a cloth strainer( Tea strainer) and serve it. If you want to serve later, refrigerate it till use. It tastes the best only when served chilled. The more the standing time, the more tasty it would be! Straining is more important.Do not forget to strain the milk after adding thandai powder. Enjoy !

Note

There is no hard and fast rule in the quantity of ingredients for masala. You can reduce or increase it as per your like. I felt pistachios are not needed as it was not mentioned in the Ujjain video.Still I had used just 1/2 tbsp of it. Do not add more. It would dominate the other ingredients in flavor. Do not add more pepper corns. The color of thandai is usually sandal in color if its made without bhang. It looks green when bhang is added. Adjust the amount of cardamom and fennel as they are the flavoring ingredients for thandai. Straining is more important. Do not forget to strain the milk after adding thandai powder.

Try this Thandai powder at home and enjoy this refreshing drink instantly at your will !

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How To Make Chocolate At Home Without Coconut Oil – Homemade Chocolate Recipe With Cocoa Powder

Easy homemade chocolate recipe using milk powder and cocoa powder with step by step photos and video !
Wish you all a very happy Valentine’s day !!. When I was looking for some interesting Valentine’s day special recipe, homemade chocolates came to my mind. Long back I have shared a Vegan version of chocolate recipe using cocoa powder,honey and coconut oil. Though it is an easy, perfect and fool proof recipe for homemade chocolate ,the flavor of coconut oil would be dominant which many people don’t like it. Many of my readers who had tried that recipe requested me to share an alternative for coconut oil. I tried it with butter and even with dalda but it didn't work.So I was looking for a chocolate recipe that uses butter and cocoa powder. 

I came across this homemade chocolate recipe without oven in YouTube video . I just halved the quantity of ingredients and tried it today. It came out really well but not tasting like silky smooth Dairy milk. It was pretty good in taste like Five star chocolate with a mildly chewy, fudgy kind. But its quiet addictive to eat :) To make Dairy milk kind of chocolate, we must use cocoa butter to achieve the silky texture. In India, cocoa butter is not easily available and its very costly to buy online too. 

Another easiest option is to melt dark compound or white compound chocolate either in microwave oven or stove top ( Double boiling method) and make chocolates. It tastes really good equal to the store bought ones. Soon I will make a detailed post on that. But this chocolate recipe is made with 4 simple ingredients like milk powder, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla essence and Butter ( clarified ghee). Cooking procedure is also easy. You don’t need to check for one string consistency sugar syrup. Its just mixing and freezing. Homemade Chocolates would be ready ! Now anyone can make chocolates at home using this recipe. 

This chocolate tastes the best when served chilled. But it stays good for an hour without refrigeration. So you can make this ahead and serve kids for birthday parties. Kids would love this chocolate for sure. Do try this easy homemade chocolate recipe for this Valentine’s day and have a great celebration. Surprise your Husband and Kids with this lovely chocolates this evening. Soon I must try Raksha’s favorite Milk chocolate/ white chocolate as well by replacing cocoa powder with milk powder. Now lets see how to make chocolate at home using cocoa powder and milk powder with step by step photos and a video for better understanding ! Hope you will try and like it.

Easy homemade chocolate recipe - How to make chocolate at home with cocoa powder

Easy homemade chocolate recipe - How to make chocolate at home with cocoa powder with step by step photos and video !

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Chocolates

Serves: 12 Pieces

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 60 Minutes

Total time: 65 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml ; 1 tbsp – 15ml ( 3 tsp) Milk powder - 2.5 tbsp ( I used Nestle Everyday milk powder ) Cocoa powder - 1.5 tbsp ( I used Kwality brand) Icing sugar or powdered sugar - 4 tbsp Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Butter – 3 tbsp ( Soft, at room temperature) Chopped Nuts & raisins - As needed ( optional) Boiled milk at room temperature - 1 to 2 tbsp ( optional, use only if needed)

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE WITH COCOA POWDER

In a bowl, mix milk powder and cocoa powder. Set aside. Boil 5 cups of water in a wide bowl or kadai. Allow it to roll boil well. Switch off the flame. Take a bowl that fits in the kadai. Add 3 tbsp soft butter to it. Keep the bowl inside the hot water kadai. Mix the butter and melt it completely. Keep the bowl inside the hot water throughout the procedure. Add icing sugar or powdered sugar to the melted butter.Mix well. It will resemble a creamy paste. Add milk powder + cocoa powder mixture to this and mix well. It will become a thick paste by absorbing all the butter. Lastly add vanilla essence, mix well. (IF YOU FEEL THE MIXTURE IS TOO THICK, ADD 1 TO 2 TBSP MILK TO LOOSEN IT).  Take a chocolate mould ( Either plastic or silicone mould) and fill the chocolate mix. Pat it  well to level the chocolate. Excess butter may ooze out. Don’t worry. Just fill the mould and freeze it for one hour. Remove the mould and rest it for 5 minutes. Remove the chocolate and enjoy !! Enjoy this Valentine’s day with this simple homemade chocolate recipe !

Note

Butter should be soft at room temperature. So keep it outside for few hours if its hard or soften the butter in microwave for a minute. For variations, you can add finely chopped nuts or raisins to the chocolate batter. Water should be very hot so that butter can melt easily. Remember to keep the bowl inside the hot water throughout the cooking procedure. It helps the chocolate to set well. For making milk chocolate/white chocolate, just replace cocoa powder with milk powder. I used light cocoa powder. If you use dark colored cocoa powder, chocolate tastes like dark chocolate with mild bitterness. You can try to add equal amount of milk powder and cocoa powder i.e 2 tbsp each for more chocolaty taste.

Try this easy, simple chocolate at home and enjoy the occasion !!

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How To Celebrate Thiruvathirai At Home | Arudhra Darshan Celebration

Significance of Arudra darshan

Soure:wiki and google

Thiruvathirai /Arudhra darshan is a popular Hindu festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Arudhra Darshan or Arudara Darshan is observed in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December – January) on Thiruvathirai Nakshathram day. In this year 2023, it falls on 27th December, Wednesday. Thiruvathirai(Arudhra) in Tamil means "sacred big wave". It is essentially a Shaivite festival and celebrates the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, which is represented by the Nataraja form. Arudra festival is celebrated with fervor in Lord Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Australia and in other parts of the world by Tamil speaking population. In Kerala, this festival is primarily celebrated by women. 

The most important Arudhra Darisanam festival takes place at the Chidambaram Lord Nataraja Temple in Tamil Nadu. In Thillai Chidambaram temple, 10 day Festival is held during Thiruvathirai. Arudhra signifies the golden red flame and Lord Shiva performs in the form of this red-flamed light. The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva represents five activities – Creation, Protection, Destruction, Embodiment and Release. In essence, it represents the continuous cycle of creation and destruction. Arudra Darshan celebrates this ecstatic dance of Lord Shiva.

It takes place on the full moon night in the month of Margazhi and this is also the longest night in a year. The festival is mainly observed in the Tamil speaking world. Many people observe fasting / Nombu vratham on this day. Women will fast during the day time. They will take food before sunrise and start their fasting. They will break the fast after witnessing the moon rise. 

Some people observe fasting for 10 days. So Nonbu (fasting) starts nine days before and ends on Thiruvathirai day. So totally they fast for ten days. There is special food called Thiruvadhirai kali made of Rice, Jaggery, Moong dhal, Coconut, Cardamom and Ghee with Thiruvathirai ezhu curry kootu which is made out of seven vegetables, that is cooked and served on this day.  (Source: wikipedia). We also make Thiruvathirai adai using rice flour and jaggery in addition to Kali and kootu. 

As per the Puranaas, on this day Lord Shiva has shown this blissful dance that energizes this world to two of his devotees - Vyagrapadha and Adisesha (on whom Lord Vishnu Reside). Hence this day is celebrated, in appreciation of the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, by offering Prayers to the Nataraja aspect of the Lord.

Special prayers are held on the day at all Shiva temples. Milk, honey, water, sandal paste and other cooling liquids are offered to Lord Shiva on this day. This is to cool a burning and turbulent Shiva who is performing the Tandava – the cosmic dance of Nataraja. Special abhishekam, rituals and celebrations are held on the night of Thiruvathirai.

Thiruvathirai Celebration in my house :)

Our Celebration

In our house, we celebrate this festival in a grand manner by offering thiruvathirai kali, ezhu kai kootu and thiruvathirai adai made of rice flour and jaggery to Lord Nataraja. We also draw maakolam all over our house. My MIL draws a procession car(Thaer) with Shiva lingam in the wall of pooja room and consider it as idol. We tie a yellow rope in our hands after the pooja. I have shared our pooja procedures in detail. Please check it. You can follow/alter this method based on your tradition.

Celebration in my MIL's house :)

Please CLICK THIS LINK for Thiruvathirai Adai, Kali and kootu recipes.

Thiruvathirai kali recipe with video

Thiruvathirai Thalagam/ Ezhu kai kuzhambu

Visit my in-laws blog LEARN KOLAM for Thiruvathirai Kolam

Ingredients Required

• Raw rice
• Moong dal
• Jaggery
• Rice flour
• Cardamom powder
• Grated coconut
• Ghee
• Butter
• Any 7 vegetables ( Raw banana, sweet potato, yam, yellow pumpkin, broad beans, arbi, field beans, mochai, brinjal, chow chow, cluster beans, ladies finger)
• Green chilli
• Cumin seeds
• Coconut oil
• Tempering ingredients for kootu

For Pooja

• Coconut
• Betel leaves and nuts ( 7 each)
• Fruits ( 7 banana)
• Banana leaves ( 7 leaves)
• Turmeric pieces ( 7 nos)
• Yellow rope ( to tie around wrist or neck)
• Lamp, wick
• Incense stick, camphor

Pre Preparatory activities

The previous day, clean the house. Wash the lamps, put the wick. Keep turmeric, kumkum dots & make it ready for the next day neivedyam. We have the practice of drawing procession car ( thear) in the wall of pooja room as shown in the first picture and in the entrance of house. We draw maa kolam in the house entrance and in pooja room.

 As mine is a wooden pooja room shelf, I draw in a paper & keep it as GOD and I draw maakolam at the house entrance alone.We keep 7 dots using viboodhi, manjal, kumkum, sandal, kajal( Kanmai), red saandhu , rice flour in the middle of thear picture for this nonbu. We keep 7 betel leaves, 7 nuts, 7 banana, 7 turmeric pieces, 2 yellow ropes (for me & my daughter) in a plate & keep in front of God. All these things are time consuming jobs. So we do it the previous day night & keep them ready. If you don’t have this practice at home, just do the pooja by keeping a Lord Nataraja or Lord Shiva photo in the auspicious time.

We make kali, 7 kai kootu, adai, cooked rice, thayir pachadi, dal/paruppu and sambar for neivedyam. So we do some pre-preparatory works for cooking as well. We roast rice + dal, powder & keep it for kali. We chop the vegetables for kootu & sambar and refrigerate it in a box.

Thiruvathirai day 

On Festival day, we should do the pooja in the early morning in auspicious time. This year as it falls on Wednesday, we should do the pooja before 7.30am ( Avoid rahu kalam, yama kandam). So start the cooking activities by 6 am. Prepare thirivathirai kali, adai & kootu ( Rice, dal, sambar, thayir pachadi). Decorate the pooja room with flowers and light the lamp. 

Arrange all the neivedyam dishes in the banana leaf. Keep a plate with banana, coconut, betel leaf and nut, turmeric pieces along with yellow rope. Do the pooja by showing dhoop, dheep and mangala harathi. After doing the pooja, tie the yellow rope around your wrist or neck.
Enjoy kali, kootu and adai !!

DISCLAIMER : The pooja procedures I have shared above is as per my family’s practice. Many people don’t have the habit of drawing thear, maakolam, offering adai. Even my mom makes kali and kootu for thiruvathirai and offers them in front of Lord Nataraja picture for pooja. So take this post as a guidance and change it according to your custom.

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Cooking Tips For Working Women – Indian Cooking Ideas

Friends, this post is all about useful cooking tips for Indian working women, beginners in cooking, bachelors, stay at home moms with babies in hand and for house wives who wish to finish the morning chores quickly and easily without any tension .These pre-preparation ideas would help you feel relaxed and manage to do quick and easy cooking during the busy, hectic weekdays. 

Recent days I have been getting mails to share some simple lunch menu ideas for busy weekdays by spending less time in kitchen. Very soon I will start a lunch menu series suggesting some easy and healthy Indian lunch recipes for daily cooking. Before that, I wanted to make a post about useful cooking tips & pre preparations to make the job easier.

As I had worked for an year after marriage, I have seen and heard from my colleagues about the difficulties in managing home and career.Time management plays a major role here. For me, there was no problem at all as I was in a joint family. My in-laws did all the household chores and supported us very well.In this present day nuclear family setup, many people does not get the luxury of moral & physical support of elders to share cooking and other household responsibilities. So it would be really tiresome and stressful if we don’t plan things ahead. 

I hope these simple, handy tips and tricks would  be helpful to make the kitchen chores easier and stress free. Don’t worry, these pre-preparations won’t eat your weekend’s relaxing hours. You may need to spend just 2-3 hours to finish all these works or you can get the help of your servant maid to finish this job quickly. This will save lot of time during busy weekdays.

Before going to this post, I must thank my friend Shalini for helping me to frame these points as she is regularly following these things. Love you lots dear !!.  She also shared some pictures from her kitchen. I have made them as a collage and given below. 

Friends, I hope this post would be useful to plan & manage things easier. Working women and bachelors, please share your valuable tips you follow in your daily cooking in the comments section. It would be of great help for the people who read this post. Thanks in advance. Ok, now lets see some smart cooking tips and secrets to be a super wife and mom.This post is with more & more of stories and essays. Please bear with me.

DISCLAIMER : All the points I have shared below is based on the ideas I got from my working friends. I have also gone through some websites and magazines for more tips. Please modify or skip the suggestions as per your wish & need. You need to have a refrigerator, pressure cooker and some good air tight containers to make & store the dishes.

SOME USEFUL GADGETS

According to me a 2 burner gas stove, 3 small pressure cookers, few ladles, mixing bowl and a mixer grinder is enough to cook even for 10 people. Pressure cooker is my biggest strength. It helps to cook any food quickly and easily. I have shared the pictures of  my cookers above for your reference. 

I use 3 Hawkins small sized pressure cookers ( 1.5 liters and 2 liters) and one 5 liter cooker. I use 2 of them for lunch preparation and 1 for cooking breakfast. I use the big sized cooker only for my guest. I will share how I use these cookers for quick cooking in my upcoming lunch menu series.

Pic courtesy – My friend Shalini

PLAN AHEAD

Make a weekly timetable for the menu according to your family's preferences. Keep a list of all the dishes you want to cook in the following week and write down all the required ingredients so that you can purchase all the groceries and vegetables as per the list.If you don’t like to spend time in grocery shopping, go for a monthly purchase. 

Refer my “Monthly Grocery list” post for the idea. You can buy vegetables once in 10 days and store them in refrigerator.  I follow this every month to save my time spent in shopping. 

Please check the links below for the grocery, fruits and vegetables pruchase from Amazon. I am completely dependent on Amazon during this pandemic lockdown. All the below are affiliate links. If you use this link to purchase the products,  I would be getting a small percentage for sales. Thanks for your support. 

Dal : https://amzn.to/2UymjQe

rice : https://amzn.to/38LTZSB

flours : https://amzn.to/38L3elU

spices : https://amzn.to/36yeSxK

Oils : https://amzn.to/3pxxVAZ

Nuts : https://amzn.to/2IGnhae

Pasta : https://amzn.to/3pxyjzr

Toiletries : https://amzn.to/38OcGVM

cleaning products : https://amzn.to/3f2baQS

pooja items : https://amzn.to/32MmQlU

ready mix : https://amzn.to/2UvQSpx

miscellanous : https://amzn.to/36GRJti

fruits : https://amzn.to/3kzIwI0

vegetables : https://amzn.to/2K7FyxP 

Diary products : diary products

Spice powders : spice powders

GRIND THE BATTER

This point is especially for people who rely on Idli dosa recipes. Grind Idli dosa batter, Appam batter, Adai batter during weekend and store it for a week. You can even make millet idli, dosa batter and store it for one day. Idli, dosa batter is a real savior in Indian cooking. You can make idli, dosa, uthappam, Paniyaram for breakfast and dinner as well.

 Similarly you can also grind and keep batter for dosa varieties like Set dosa, sponge dosa, poha dosa etc. It will help you for sure. My friend Shalini's maid helps her to grind varieties of idli and dosa batters during every Sunday for the whole week's use.

Even though I am a house wife, I too grind all the batters during weekends and use it mainly for the week's breakfast because I don't want to hit my head thinking about breakfast recipes during busy morning hours. Generally I make Instant dosa varieties, Instant idli varieties like oats idli, rava idli, upma recipes like wheat rava upma, vegetable rava kichdi, millet recipes, Ragi roti, Phulka or stuffed paratha varieties for my dinner. I try to avoid consuming rice at night.

Check out my Idli varieties post for varieties of idli,dosa batter. Check out my easy dosa batter recipe too ! For other options, you can make instant dosa varieties, upma varieties for breakfast or dinner.

MAKE ROTI DOUGH

Make roti dough well in advance and refrigerate it. The kneaded dough will remain fresh for at least 2-3 days. You can make use of this dough for making roti , poori and stuffed paratha. Remember to store in an air tight box. Take only the required quantity of dough from the box and immediately refrigerate the leftover dough.  But try to use it within 3 days.

PREPARE THE SIDE DISHES

When we have idli, dosa batter in our hand, we start to hit our head for making side dishes. That’s quite natural. So prepare some side dishes like tomato thokku without onion, tomato thokku with onion, onion tomato chutney, garlic chutney, Raw onion chutney, Idli Podi/Gun powder, green chutney without coconut based on your preference and store in an air tight box. It will stay good for a week. You can use these chutneys as side dish for idli, dosa, appam and roti or use it as sandwich spread too.

I usually make onion tomato chutney and stock it for my daughter’s breakfast and lunch box. For roti, you can prepare side dishes like capsicum-tomato curry, tomato thokku, pickles and even jam for your kids.  You can even cook Dal for making dal tadka or dal curry and refrigerate for 3 days. If you love to have pasta, you can make white sauce & pasta sauce ahead and store them.

Check out my 50 chutney recipes for more ideas.

For quick lunch, you can prepare and store Pulikachal paste/Puliyogare paste, Lemon rice paste, coriander thokku, thogayal varieties, Vathakuzhambu paste and podi/powder varieties like Dal powder/Paruppu podi, Dhania/coriander seeds powder, Angaya podi, Sundakkai podi, Poondu podi/Garlic powder, coconut podi etc.

Kuzhambu varieties like vatha kuzhambu, poondu kuzhambu, milagu kuzhambu, kara kuzhambu, tomato gravy, brinjal gravy stays good for even 2 -3 days with or without refrigeration. So you can make them once or twice in a week apart from sambar and rasam.

Check out my 30+ kuzhambu varieties post to get the links for the above recipes.

READYMADE BREAKFAST MIX

Roast rava and keep in bulk. It will help you to make upma quickly. You can also make Rava/sooji upma mix, Poha mix, pongal mix, rice upma mix in advance and store in the freezer. It helps you to make your breakfast or dinner quickly and easily. Always keep a packet of bread in stock for making quick sandwich or toast.

CHOP THE VEGETABLES AND FREEZE

Vegetables like carrot, beans, peas, cauliflower, sweet corn, cluster beans, spinach, broad beans can be diced or chopped & frozen for a week.If you want to use the vegetable for the next day morning, you can simply refrigerate the chopped veggies. Do not freeze them. 

Usually I keep frozen peas and frozen corn always in stock. Grate 2 coconuts and store 3/4th of the quantity in a zip lock cover.Deep freeze it. Store the remaining coconut in refrigerator. Just thaw it for few minutes before use or use warm water to grind the coconut.

Take the required quantity of coconut, refrigerate it and keep the remaining in freezer immediately. 

De-stem coriander, curry leaves and mint leaves and store in an air tight box. Mostly I use palak leaves during weekdays as it is easy for cleaning, chopping and cooking. During weekends, I buy other greens/Keerai varieties, clean them and store in a ziplock cover.Do not chop onions and store. It attracts more bacteria when its cut.

Apart from chopping veggies, you can make some lemon juice and store in a glass bottle, peel garlic cloves, Peel &finely chop ginger, peel small onions and keep them ready for usage. But remember to store the chopped vegetables in a clean zip lock cover and refrigerate.

COOK PUREES, PASTE & LENTILS

Cook toor dal or moong dal in large quantity, refrigerate/freeze and store in a box for 2-3 days use. Take the required amount and make sambar instantly. Soak beans like rajma, dried peas and chana for 8 hours and refrigerate them for later use.

 You can easily cook a quick meal like pulao,  biryani or gravies & even make a healthy salad with it. Sprout green gram and other legumes based on your liking and keep them in the freezer. So whenever you want to have some salad, you can semi cook and have them ready.

Grind and keep tomato puree, homemade tamarind paste, ginger-garlic paste, onion paste, sauce varieties ready in hand. You can also keep some readymade seasoning, green chilli paste. Some people keep some sauteed, browned onions too. I have seen some of my friends making onion-tomato puree adding masala powders and keep the base ready for making North Indian gravies. If you have enough time in hand, you can even make two to three varieties of curries and refrigerate them.

 
Vegetables like potato, cauliflower, sweet corn and peas can be boiled in advance and refrigerated for later use. You can even cook pasta and store them in the fridge.

Keep curd, buttermilk, paneer, cheese and other essential milk products ready in hand so that you can use it for raita, buttermilk/ Chaas, lassi, gravies and sandwich.

TO DO LIST

I have summarized the above points and shared a TO-DO list for weekend. Do this according to your preference and time in hand.

1. Grind idli, dosa batter and other batters if grinding.
2. Make chapathi/ roti dough.
3. Soak pulses & lentils like rajma, chana/ kabuli, peas.
4. Chop all the required vegetables. Make frozen peas and sweet corn.
5. De stem green leaves/Spinach, coriander leaves, mint leaves and curry leaves.
6. Cook toor dal and moong dal in large quantity for making sambar & dal for roti.
7. Make Tamarind paste, Tomato puree, Puliyogare paste, Tomato thokku, homemade powders like dal powder, curry leaves powder, coriander leaves thokku, thogayal varieties, Lemon rice mix, Chutney varieties according to your choice. ( I have shared the links in the above sections. please check it)
8. Make white sauce and pasta sauce for cooking pasta recipes.
9. Prepare rava/sooji upma mix, poha mix, dosa mix, pongal mix.
10. Make onion tomato base for North Indian gravies.
11. Purchase week’s grocery and vegetables.
12. House cleaning if needed.

Friends,I  hope this post will be helpful to you. Thanks for visiting this page !!

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