Saturday, September 26, 2009

Navarathri Wishes and Sundal Recipes

Happy Navarathri to y'all. I am so surprised that i'm posting this on time ;-)
Ok ok let me tell you the truth...these recipes were in my draft since last navarathri!! :-O
Better late than never..

Navarathri always brings some good memories. My dad's house they did not have golu so my mom followed that and did not keep Golu till my niece was born :-) For those who do not know what a Golu is, check this link. This 3D Golu is something new. Usually it is just 2D. My mil keeps Golu every year, so i follow that tradition and keep a teeny tiny Golu here. I dont have any golu dolls here and i just use the ones i have and set up a small golu.


My childhood friend R lived across our house and they celebrated Navarathri in a grand way. She used to wear Pattu pavadai everyday and her mom dressed her li'l sister as Krishna, Radha etc., everyday. I came home one day and threw a huge fit that we should have golu at our house too and i want to wear Pattu pavadai (Full skirt in pure silk) everyday too. My mom and grandma were surprised because i never liked pavadais. The next year they setup Golu at our house too and i was quite happy and satisfied and didn't care to ask after that. We never continued that tradition though due to one reason or the other.At our house, we celebrated Saraswathy pooja in a grand way. I always got some new outfit for Saraswathy pooja and my mom would decorate a arisi padi like a woman. She had nose and ears made out of wax and she would attach it every year to the padi and draw eyes with kajal and draw lips (not sure if she used lipstick or kumkum) and then fill the padi with rice and keep coconut on top of it like head and decorate it with chutti. I loved watching that. She had earrings attached to the wax ears and would put some necklace or chain too. It was a pretty sight. She used to invite all our relatives and neighbours for tambulam. It is a tradition in tamilnadu, to ask the guests to sing during navarathri. It can be an enjoyable experience or a torture depending on who sings ;-) My brother always stayed out of it... Me and my cousin V (who is a great singer) always made the best out of it..If it was good, we enjoyed it and if it was bad, it was no torture for us..we both would run to the next room and giggle to our hearts' content, much to the annoyance of my mom and grandma :D But, what we hated was, every house we visited they would make sure to take revenge on us and asked us to sing too. I was not as good at singing as my cousin,but i did pretty good when i sang with him. So, i hope no one ran inside and laughed at us :-) My cousin used to hate me for this for years because i always used to force him to go with me as i was scared to sing alone :) You can check out how talented he is here

Along with these things, navarathri always meant sundal. Sundal is a healthy snack for kids, rich in protein and very filling.I make it quite often at home. Here are three sundals and all sundals are made pretty much the same way except one that is sweet and i cannot stand it and i have never made it.. :-)

Here are some recipes with slight variations :
Quick fix Sundal :
If i forget to soak for sundal the previous night channa daal or peanuts come to my rescue. I prepare both sundals the same way.

Ingredients :
Channa daal or Peanuts - 1 cup
Green chillies - 3 or 4
Salt
Mustard seeds,
Urad daal, Curry leaves and Hing for seasoning

Method : Soak channa daal or peanuts for 1 hour. Boil it in water till it is cooked but not mushy. (Add salt in water for Peanuts)Drain the water. In a pan, heat little oil and pop mustard seeds. Add urad daal, hing and curry leaves and fry till the daal is golden brown. Add the cooked channa or Peanuts and add salt as required and saute for couple of minutes.

Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal or Marina Beach Sundal:

I love peas sundal, the Marina beach style - with coconut and raw mango pieces.
Ingredients :
Peas - 1 cup
Green chillies - 3 or 4
SaltRaw mango pieces - as required
Grated coconut - 4 spoons.
Mustard seeds, Urad daal, Curry leaves and Hing for seasoning



Method : Soak the peas overnight. Add a spoon of salt in water and boil the peas in water till it is cooked but not mushy. Drain the water. In a pan, heat little oil and pop mustard seeds. Add urad daal, hing and curry leaves and fry till the daal is golden brown. Add the cooked Peas and add salt as required and saute for couple of minutes. Add grated coconut and raw mango pieces and mix well and saute for another minute.
(Channa) Chickpeas Sundal - Method 1 :
Method 1 is same method as above. Substitute Peas with Channa, but you can pressure cook the channa in salted water.Rest is the same. You can add some grated coconut. It is optional.


Chickpeas Sundal - Method 2 :
Ingredients : Chickpeas - 1 cup
Green chillies - 3 or 4
Salt
Curry powder - 2 spoons
Mustard seeds,
Urad daal,
Curry leaves and Hing for seasoning

Method : Soak the chickpeas overnight. Add a spoon of salt in water and pressure cook the chickpeas. Drain the water. In a pan, heat little oil and pop mustard seeds. Add urad daal, hing and curry leaves and fry till the daal is golden brown. Add the cooked chickpeas and add salt as required and saute for couple of minutes. Add 2 spoons of curry powder and saute till the raw smell disappears. This is very spicy and yum and my favorite version :)




24 comments:

Sanghi said...

Oh... that's lovely!! yummy sunda; dear.. my entry is in poll for SoupnJuice event dear, pls do vote for me if you like it at http://momrecipies.blogspot.com/2009/09/soup-n-juice-event-poll.html

Priya Suresh said...

Loved Reading! Happy navarathri wishes dear..Sundals looks delicious and tempting..

Raje said...

Nice recipe vibaas. Its new to me.

Unknown said...

yummy chundals..nice post..

Unknown said...

nice writeup dear and delicious sundal recipe nice post.Happy navratri to you and your family.

LifenSpice said...

Hi dear, Navrathri wishes to you and your family!

Unknown said...

Nice write up,delicious sundal happy navarathri to you.

chef and her kitchen said...

Happy Navratri dear...lovely sundals...

lata raja said...

Big or teeny tiny, golu is colourful isn't it? Am hearing your cousin singing chinna chinna kannanukku now. Did he win? I don't get to watch any tamil tv channels- has been so for many years now:)Happy pooja celebrations!

Vibaas said...

thanks all. Lata akka, he went till the finals in that program but did not win the finals.

Gita Jaishankar said...

Lovely post Vibaas...wonderful array of sundals too...love the marina beach sundal :)

Parita said...

Happy Navratri to you too dear, those are some delicious looking sundals :)

Veggie Belly said...

sundal is the best part of navrathri! and marina beach sundal? even better!

Raks said...

Nice post,my mom too keeps kolu and I too have a long time wish to do,hope next year I can do it!

Your cousin sings so well and wow he have been in JAya tv programme??!!Nice song selection too :)

Shama Nagarajan said...

lovely yummy sundal's..cute story and quick simple beautiful golu

Sushma Mallya said...

Happy Navrathri vidya...sundal looks healthy and delicious

Cham said...

Ur cousin has a sweet voice, love the song he he i imagine how u were singing beside him ;)
Happy Navratri!

Indhu said...

Hey... belated navarathri wishes... loved this post... golu was the same at our place too... and the sundal... wwow... I loved eating a different kind everyday... your versions look delicious... and yeah, marina beach sundal is one of my favourites :)

Sandhya Hariharan said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog Vibhas.. and for the lovely comment...

Happy navrathri .. though belated :)
Loved your quick fix technique...
My aunt's tip : Soak chick pea for 1-2 hours .Add a pinch of sugar & salt while cooking chickpeas ( if we forget to soak it over nite).It cooks beautifully.. I have tried it..

Anyways... do drop over by my blog when time permits...
Happy Blogging until then.. .will c u often.

Unknown said...

inga konjam anupen...yummy vids........

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

My rather belated festive wishes. :)
That's a gorgeous Navrathri spread. Good thing festivals return year, maybe I can post some of drafts next year. :)

Unknown said...

Great to hear abt your childhood! Lovely sundal fare!

Dhanya Ganesh said...

Sundal's looks yummy,oth r my favorites.. This time I was in India for Navaratri .So got to try new and variety sundals:).

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing these nice and beautiful Navratri wishes and recipes. I am so excited for the Navratri festival to come. Just few more days. Cheers to all!

LinkWithin Related Stories Widget for Blogs