HYDERABAD: Puthandu, the Tamil New Year, marks the first day of Tamil calendar month called Chithirai. One of the popular beliefs associated with the festival is Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, started creating the universe on this day. It is celebrated with great fervour across Tamil Nadu. People celebrate the day by a visit to temples. People clean their homes prior to the day, decorate them with flowers and colourful rangolis. They wake up early in the morning on Puthandu day and wear traditional clothes. Special meals are prepared such as Mango Pachadi, Pongal, Vadai, Payasam and other delicacies.
“Prayers and spirituality brings peace and calm to ones soul,” says Rajeswari Puthalapattu, food consultant. She shares some of her most unique recipes associated with traditional South Indian cuisine. “There is no hard and fast rule in how to connect with your loved ones, if you have gratitude in your heart and sanctity in your deeds, that is one of the many ways to reach God,” she added. Here is a recipe called ‘Atukula amrutham’ made with beaten rice called Poha.
Atukula amrutham
Ingredients
Poha -200gms | Jaggery - 100gms | Banana - fully ripen - 2 | Ghee - 2tsp | Cashew - 7 | Raisin - 7| Edible camphor - a pinch | Boiled milk - 1 cup,
Method
● Roast poha in 1 tsp of ghee on low flame. Till it leaves a raw smell.
● Now add grated jaggery and mashed banana to the roasted atukulu.
● Mix and cook till the atukulu is cooked and everything combines properly.
● In another pan roast the cashew and raisin in ghee and keep it aside.
● Meanwhile add one cup of milk (approx 100ml) to the poha, banana mix and cook for 5mins on low flame.
● Add roasted cashew and raisin to the atukula mix keeping the consistency pouring.
● Now turn off the flame and add a pinch of edible camphor to it and mix well.
● Serve hot or cold it tastes divine.
Answering to the question why food is considered auspicious on days such as Puthandu, she says, “Food depicts culture, resembles regions, and is shared during festivals in India, with the hope that harmony will prevail all over. Like Lord Rama beat Ravana and came back to Ayodhya, let’s hope that humanity wins over many distances and diseases and sharing food is one way to do it.”
Karivepaku anam
Preserving the integrity of the festival with a rice dish, she shares the recipe for ‘karivepaku anam (curry leaf rice)’
Ingredients
Cooked rice -1 cup | Curry leaves - leaves of 6 stems | Coriander seeds -2tsp | Fenugreek seeds -1/4tsp,(approx of to 5 seeds) | Sesame seeds -4tsp | Chana dal - 2tsp|Tamarind - less then size of a marble | Ghee - 4tsp | Salt - as per taste | Cashews -8 | Green chillies -2 - slit lengthwise | Dry red chilli -8- deseeded | Sesame oil - 1tsp
Method
● In a kadai add a spoon of ghee and roast coriander seeds, fenugreek, sesame seeds, chana dal, dry red chili and curry leaves and tamarind, one after the other and remove them.
● Coarsely powder the mix adding enough salt to it,
● Fry cashews and green chilies in a spoon of ghee and keep it aside,
● Now mix sesame oil to the cooked rice and then add the curry leaf powder and cashew tempering to the rice and mix well.
● You can store the powder for accompaniment of idli, dosa, upma or hot rice.
● For better taste of the rice, let it rest for 30mins after mixing.
Not forgetting that no festival is complete without sweets, she talks about ‘Genisigadda mitthai’ or ‘sweet potato dessert’. “This includes jaggery, a rich source of iron. Sweet potatoes are a rich source of fibre as well. They contain an array of vitamins and minerals, including iron, calcium, selenium, Vitamins B and C. She emphasised on the fact that the rustic style of cooking, colloquially known as ‘pattu’ style, “is always beneficial to mankind”.
Genisigadda mithai
Sweet potato -250gms (approx 2 large sized) | Jaggery - 150gms | Ghee - 50gms | Dry ginger powder - one pinch | Pepper powder - one pinch
Method
● Cook the sweet potatoes in water till they are nicely done.
● Heat a spoon of ghee in a thick bottomed pan and add the cooked and mashed sweet potatoes to it
● Saute for 2 mins and then add grated jaggery to it.
● Mix and cook till the jaggery melts and forms a halwa consistency.
● Now add remaining ghee and mix well for 5 mins on low flame
● Turn off the flame and add a pinch of dry ginger and pepper powder and mix well.
● Serve hot or cold. This stays fresh for a week without refrigeration.