Kerala Cuisine. From the Kitchen of a Kerala Pattar.

This yearAnnamalai Deepam, Maha Karthigai Deepam and Pournami, fall on the same day, as well as the day when Lord Muruga took his avatara on Earth.  At Annamalai, this festival is celebrated with great fervour in the Tamil Month of Karthigai (November - December) on the full moon day or Pournami under the asterism Krithigai as in other parts of Tamilnadu.  Among all the festivals of India, this festival of  Lamps, is a speciality of Tamilnadu and it is virtually unknown in the other parts of India.

It is believed that Lord Shiva, impregnated the wives of the Saptarishis, excluding  Arundhadhi, wife of sage Vashishtha, with his energy.  Unable to bear this indignity to  their virility, the sages cursed their wives to be transformed as the  Krittika Stars, and when it became unbearable for them  to carry the energy of Lord Shiva,  the six Krittika Stars, un-burdened themselves in to the Ganges(hence Kumara is also known as Gangeya).  From the Ganges, these six divine babies  floated into the Saravana Poigai, in Mount Kailash. 

On this  auspicious day of Pournami, Kirthigai Asterism,  Parvathi, the consort of Lord Shiva  espied these little babies floating in the celestial waters of the lake,  while sitting behind Lord Shiva on the Nandhi and unable to resist the charm of these little ones, gathered them all within her two extended arms, and lo and behold all the six bodies fused into one glowing body but with six heads.  And Skanda was born.  And every year, in all the temples of Lord Muruga, in Tamilnadu, special poojas are held for Lord Muruga, the Kumara Kadavul, or just Kumara. 

This pooja is celebrated in a befitting manner in Thiruvannamalai, in Tamilnadu. This town is situated about 187 kilometers away from Chennai and there is a railway station on the Villupuram - Katpadi rail route. This town stands on a mount with an elevation of 266ft ( 79.80 M ) above sea level.

In brief, the story of Arunachala Hills can be stated as follows :"Once Lord Shiva assumed the form of a hill at Tiruvannamalai in South India. Here He quelled the pride of Brahma and Vishnu who were quarrelling as to their relative greatness. One day, when Lord Shiva was in meditation, Parvati left Him and went to the hill of Arunachala. There She performed penance. She was the guest of the sage Gautama. It was during Her penance here that Mahishasura was Killed by Durga hidden by Parvati. Parvati saw Shiva as Arunachalesvara. She was taken back by the Lord to His side, and made His Ardhangini once more, that is, She occupied half of the body of the Lord".

For an elaborate study of the struggle for supermacy between Brahma and Mahavishnu, and how Lord Shiva pacified them both  with this saying "Hariyum Haranum Ondru, Ithu Theriyathavan Vaayile Mannu"   I will direct you to an excellent blog by riverine:  ANALA STAMBHA [ Anala Stambha - pillar of fire - Thiruvannamalai Shiva] which appeared in the Sulekha blog section on May 15, 2007.  Please click on this Link.

http://riverine.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/05/anala-stambha.htm

Suffice it to say that the Shivalinga in Tiruvannamalai is the Jyothi (Agni) Linga. Here, a special torch is lighted on the zenith of the hill and it is believed that Lord Shiva's Jyothi will be visible on this day. Arunachalesvara is Tejo· Lingam. Arunachala or the Tiruvannamalai Hill is the place that represents the fire element, which is one of the Pancha Boothas.  

Think Karthighai Deepam  and you get a mental picture of a row of Agal Vilakkus - those little earthen lamps, with a thick wick and Iluppai Ennai, which gives a steady glow to the light even in the midst of gusty winds.  On this auspicious day people clean their homes, and draw kolams in front of their houses, so that they can place lamps on it.  In the evening, when dusk settles, the Deeparathana is held befoe the family deity, where there is an array of brass, silver and bronze lamps, all lighted, the pride of place being given to the Pavai Vilakku and Lakshmi Vilakku. 

The lamps are so arranged near the doors and windows and  in the balconies that they give you a warm welcome during the chilly evening of Karthigai.  In this way, people of Tamil Nadu celebrate Kaarthigai Deepam.  Rows of Agal Vilakkus in front of every house... this is the image that at once comes to mind when we think of Karthigai Deepam.

 This lighted lamp is considered as an auspicious symbol and it is believed to ward off  evil forces and bring forth prosperity and joy. No Hindu Festival is complete without a lighted lamp, but for Karthigai Deepam it is indispensable.  These tiny Agals are believed to be the miniaturised replicas of the Tejolingam at Annamalai Hills.

 "Not many of us are aware that it is one of the oldest festivals celebrated in the State, perhaps even before people began celebrating Deepavali and Navarathri.  One of the earliest references to the festival is found in the Ahananuru, a book of poems, which dates back to the Sangam Age (200 B.C. to 300 A.D.). The Ahananuru clearly states that Karthigai is celebrated on the full moon day (pournami) of the Tamil month of Karthigai. It was one of the most important festivals (peruvizha) of the ancient Tamils. Avvaiyyar, the renowned poetess of those times, refers to the festival in her songs".

This excerpt vouches for the antiquity of Karthigai Deepam.  But what is the significance of this festival to the Tamil diaspora spread all over the world?

By lighting these lamps, we  annihilate the three impurities of egoism, selfishness and delusion.  Burn away  from the mind the thoughts of  senses and the desires in the fire of Knowledge of the Self or Shivagyanam. Beholding the  light of lights, you illumine your  mind, intellect,  the sun, the  moon,  the stars, the  lightning and  ultimately the fire. This is real Kartigai Deepam.
 
"May the light of lights illumine you all! May Lord Shiva bless you with more light! May you merge in this supreme light and attain the eternal abode of bliss and immortality!"

No Hindu festival is complete without the Neivedhyam and the Prasadams. Traditionally, the prasadam for this festival are Pori (malar)  Urundai mixed with jaggery, Aval Pori, again mixed with jaggery, Nei-Appam and Adai.  Sisters visit their brothers homes, and pay their  respects and in return the brother gives them some gifts and blesses them and their spouses with logevity.

Recipe for Nel Pori Urundai / Aval Pori. 

This Special Pori is also known as Malar or Paddy Puffed Rice.   Take three generous measures of this Nel Pori, clean it of all impurities, and keep it separate. The proportion of jaggery to be added is about three quarters of a measure. A little more or a little less is not going to affect the Nel Pori Urundai.  But what is of importance is to get Paghu Vellam.   This variety is a little more costlier than the ordinary variety.

Break the ball of jaggery to small lumps, as much powdery as possible, and mixing it with a little quantity of water, heat it till the jaggery is melted and there are no lumps or inpurities.  (We use an  Eeyam Poosina  Pithalai Arukkanchatti- medium size).

Continue to heat the jaggery till it comes to a boil.  To know when it is ready to accept the Pori, perform this test.  Take a spoonful of the boiling jaggery and pour it in a dabara full of water.  Wait for about five seconds, and take the lump in your hands. It should  roll into a ball. It is now ready for the next operation.

Before adding the Nel  Pori in small quantities and mixing with the melted jaggery, you should keep ready finely cut pieces of coconut, which is sauted in  a little ghee and mixed with the ready to use melted jaggery. Once all the melted jaggery-Nel Pori-sauted coconut  have been thoroughly mixed, allow the mixture to cool a bit;  but it should be relatively hot to the touch.

Using both hands, shape a good quantity of Nel Pori-jaggery-coconut-mix in to balls.  Don't waste time.  If the jaggery hardens, then you will not be able to shape them into balls and will have to distribute as udhiri pori. 

With Aval Pori the same procedure to be followed except increase the quantity of jaggery from threee quarter measure to one measure.  Only thing is Aval Pori Balls will be small in size and more harder than the Nel Pori balls. 

We do not use any other garnishes, although there are families who add powdered cardamom, and a small quantity of Chukku. (dried ginger) for the Nel Pori and the Aval Pori Balls.

Recipe for the  Nei Appam.

Here the proportion of Boiled Rice Powder to Jaggery is in the ratio of 1 : 3/4. For the purpose of measuring, it would be better to powderise the jaggery lumps.  Mixing a cup of water, put the mixture in the mixie and grind  till it becomes a homogenised mix.  We do not add banana. Instead, we use a handful of Godhumbha Mavu (atta).  After the batter is removed, this atta is put into the same jar, and adding a little water, it is  mixed with the left over batter and removed when it becomes a consistent paste. It is heated over a medium/slow fire till it becomes a "Kuzhu".  This is added to the final Nei Appam batter / Mix.   It serves as a bonding agent, just like the bananas.   The batter is ready to be fried into Nei Appams.  We add  almost half a coconut, cut in to small pieces, to the mix before it is fried.  Again, no other garnishes are added.

Take the Appakaral, and pour a mix of cooking medium and ghee for the smell of ghee, and put it on the oven.  When the oil boils, reduce the flame to medium, and pour the batter in the three round holes.  Increase the flame just right so that the Nei Appams gets browned evenly.  Keep an Earkkal Kutchi to turn over the Nei Appam so that all sides get evenly browned, and not over burnt.  We use a Homelite match stick to pierce the middle of the Nei Appam to see that the inside batter is also well cooked.  If it is well cooked, no wet batter will stick to the match stick, and it will be clean. 

Recipe for The Special Kerala Muzhu Uzhundu Adai.  

The last of the recipe is for the   King among Adais: The Special Kerala Muzhu Ulundu Adai.

Here the ratio of Rice (Par Boiled Rice) to Muzhu Ulundu (unbroken, with the black coloured skin) is 2 : 1.  Clean both the ingredients till the water runs clear and soak it mixed  for about four hours.  Two / three red dried chillies are also added, during this soaking period. 

After the prescribed time, grind this combination, coarsely either in the Attukkal or Mixie.  It should be Karadu Muradu.  After this, add 1 tablespoon of Pepper, 1 teaspoon of Jeera, a small portion of Asafoetida, a few sprigs of Karuveppila, and salt to taste.  Give it a couple of turns in the mixie.  The batter is ready for making into an Adai. {change the quantity of the seasonings depending on the quantity of the Rice/Uzhundhu}

This is an oil guzzler.  Experienced housewives, use their bare hands to spread this batter on the hot tava without singeing their hands.  After the batter is spread in a round shape or a square, pour a generous helping of Idayam gingely oil, but if you are using a laddle to pour the batter,  pour a big laddle full in the center of a well-oiled tava or griddle and spread with the back of the ladle. Don’t spread it thin; it should be nice and thick. Drizzle some oil around the edges and also a little in the center. Let it brown, flip over. Pour another helping of oil, for this side to be fried.  When both sides are evenly  fried, to a golden brown colour, the adai can be removed from the tava.  Before the next round, take a piece of moist cloth or Vazhai Pindi, and clean the tava of the left overs.  Your next adai will also come out as good as the previous one. 

Here also we add cut pieces of coconut,  the pieces a little larger than in the case of Nei Appam or the Pori Urundais.   My personal choice of a side dish is a mix of grated coconut and grated jaggery in a carrot grater.  Equal quantities mixed just before the hot Adai is offered to the Gods as Neivedhyam.  Once the prasadam is distributed, I add another side dish which is nothing but Katti Thair.  Aavin Special Curd, or Amul Masti Curd or home made, and kept in the fridge.

Wishing you all a Happy Karthigai Deepam!!

Regards.
Rajaputhran.