Ugadi Celebrations

Happy Ugadi Wishes to all my Blogger Friends.

The New year festival (Ugadi) celebrated in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Gudi padwa in Maharashtra. Ugadi festival comes in spring season, it is the first season Ugadi is the New Year and New Beginnings of all New Business on this Auspicious day. It is the season for mangoes and Sugarcanes, with these seasonal fruits we make "Ugadi Pachadi" with raw mangoes ,neem flowers and jaggery from sugar cane on this auspicious day. Ugadi Pachadi  is the combination of sweet , bitter and sour, it symbolises the true life. We get fresh mangoes from our field and my Mom makes tongue tinkling Mango Pickles in this season.

My mom use to begin the preparations a week ahead . On that day, we wake up early in the morning and take oil bathe, decorate our house with mango leaves ( Mavilai thoranam) and decorate the pooja room with jasmine flowers. She prepares the sweets a day before itself like Bobbatlu ( Opputtu) and Athirasam.

On Ugadi day, We use to fast in the morning after the prayer have our lunch with Ugadi Bhojanam ( Ugadi Feast). She cooks lot of recipes for our lunch Rice, White Pumpkin Sambar, Tomato rasam, yellow Pumpkin curry with beans,Pulihora,Udhu Vadai ( Methu Vadai), Aval Paal Payasam,Appalam and Mango Pickle.

Here, on yesterday we celebrated our Ugadi festival as in the same way. In the evening we have done our prayer after my hubby came from work. Our dinner with Ugadi Bhojanam Rice, Brinjal sambar, Tomato rasam, Potato fry,Masala Vadai, Rice n Moong dal Paal Payasam, Appalam . My hubby came early on yesterday,Once i finished all the cooking preparations we offered the food to the God and then had our dinner.

Dhal Rasam (பருப்பு ரசம் )

Ingredients:

1.Cooked tuvar dhal - 1 cup
2. Ripen Tomatoes - 2 no's
3.Tamarind - gooseberry size
4.Crushed Garlic pods - 4 no's
5.Hing - a pinch
6.Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
7.Jaggery - 2 tsp
8.Rasam Powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
9.Chopped coriander leaves - few
10.Salt - to taste

For Seasoning:

1.Oil - 2 tsp
2.Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
3.Curry leaves - few

Preparation:

1.Boil the water in the pot and cook the ripen tomatoes , tamarind with little bit of salt for 15 mts in medium fire.
2.Leave it to cool and Squeeze the tomatoes ,tamarind nicely. Meanwhile cook the tuvar dhal in the cooker.
3.Add the hing, turmeric powder, jaggery , salt and crushed garlic pods (crush the garlic with skin) with the tomato and tamarind juice , allow it to boil in medium fire.
4.Leave it to boil for 5 mts and then add the rasam powder cook it in medium fire for 5 mts ( after adding the rasam powder dont allow it to boil).
5.Now add the cooked dhal into the rasam and cook it for 5 mts.
6.Lastly season the mustard seeds and curry leaves with little bit of oil and pour it on the top of Rasam.
7.Now sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves on top of the rasam and close the lid. After 5 mts if you open the lid means it will gives nice aroma of rasam.
8.We enjoyed the paruppu rasam with rice and shrimps thokku for our dinner.

Note:

The consistency of the rasam should be watery if it is thick after adding the dhal means add the hot water little bit. My paruppu rasam turned thick i added hot water to make it right. I dont hv coriander leaves this time or else i wont miss it for the rasam. Boiling tomatoes and tamarind with little bit salt makes easier way to squeeze .Adding jaggery gives nice taste to the rasam, you will get the sweet and sour taste.

Rasam Powder

Ingredients:

1.Dhania Seeds - 5 tbsp

2.Red chillies - 10

3.Jeera seeds ( cumin) - 2 tbsp

4.Black Pepper corns - 2 tbsp

5.Fenugreek seeds - 3 tbsp

6.Hing / asafoetida - 1 white chana size

7.Curry leaves - 3 strings

8.Chana dhal - 2 tsp

9.oil - little bit oil for dry roast

Preparation :

Heat little bit of oil in the kadai fry the hing first and then the other ingredients . leave it to cool and grind to coarse powder. Store it in the air tight box. 


Note:


Adding bit extra coriander seeds gives nice aroma to the rasam.

Arachuvitta Sambar

Ingredients:
1.Tuvar dhal - 1 cup
2.Tamarind juice(lemon size) - 1 cup
3.Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
4.Sambar powder - 2 tsp
5.Vegetables ( Drumstick ( 2),Brinjals(3)) - cut into small pieces
6.Onion - 1 no
7.Oil - as reqd
8.Salt - to taste

To Roast and Grind:
1.Grated coconut - 4 tbsp
2.Chana dhal - 2 tbsp
3.Urad dhal - 2 tsp
4.Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
5.Red chillies - 3 nos
6.Asafoetida powder - a pinch

For Seasoning:
1.Oil - as reqd
2.Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
3.Curry leaves - few

Method:
1.Roast and Grind all the items under grinding.
2.Pressure cook the tuvar dhal with turmeric powder and keep it aside.
3.Heat the pan , mix the tamarind pulp with water,add turmeric powder,sambar powder,salt and vegetables and leave it to boil.
4.After 3 to 4 boils,add the grounded coconut paste to it and leave it to boil for 10 minutes.
5.Now add the cooked tuvar dhal into the boiling tamarind mixture.
6.Heat oil in a pan and season the items for seasoning and pour it into the boiling sambar.
7.Serve the Hot sambar with Hot Rice.

Morkuzhambhu

Ingredients:
1.Yoghurt(curd) -1 cup
2.Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
3.Salt - to taste
4.Oil - as reqd

For Grinding:
1.Grated Coconut - 4 tbsp
2.Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
3.Jeera - 1/2 tsp
4.Bengal gram - 1 1/2 tbsp
5.Ginger - a small piece
6.Green chillies - 2 nos
7.Raw rice - 1 tbsp

For Seaasoning:
1.Oil - as reqd
2.Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
3.Methi Seeds - 1 tsp
4.Curry leaves - few
5.Red chilly - 1 no.

Method:
1.Soak all the grinding ingredients in water for 30 minutes except grated coconut and Ginger.

2.Grind all the ingredients and keep it aside.

3.Take the well beaten Yoghurt in a vessel and add the turmeric powder and salt .

4.Heat the oil in the pan and season all the items under seasoning.

5.Add the grounded mixture into the pan with enough hot water, let it cook well till the raw smell goes off.

6.Keep the fire in low and then pour the yoghurt in to the pan , dont allow to boil keep the fire in simmer for 10 minutes .

7.Serve with hot rice.

Note: I didnt add the vegies in the morkozhambhu, we can also add Okra, white pumpkin, carrot, brinjal.