Sri Ramanavami Celebrations.

What is Sri Ramanavami??

Ram Navami is a Hindu holiday. It falls on the ninth day of the Hindu lunar year (or Chaitra Masa Suklapaksha Navami), and is a celebration of the birthday of the Hindu god Rama.

Well since it was a Sunday here, I had a lot of time to prepare for the occasion.
The day started with Ravi and me sharing our house chores.
He was upto cleaning the home like vaccum carpets, dusting..etc.
Me ? whatelse? had bath and started of with the preps for prasadams.
Since we skipped our morning breakfast, We wanted to prepare lunch soon.
My menu of the day was: *Kosambhari *Neer Mor * Panakam *Rice & Rasam * Peerkangai Thuvaiyal( nothing to do with the occasion..just had the skins left for quite a while.. didn't want to get it rotten..so went off with it)

After a lot of experiments..I landed up making the prasadams and here is how I made it..

Prasadams made :

RECIPES:

Neer Mor:
Ingredients:
• 2 Cups plain yoghurt • 2 Pinches asafoetida powder • 1 Stalk curry leaves • 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds • 1 tsp Grated ginger • 1 Green chilli • 1/4 Cup chopped coriander leaves • 6 Cups chilled water • 1 tsp Oil • Salt to taste

Beat the yogurt till smooth.
Pour water and churn the mixture well.
Tie grated ginger in a muslin cloth and squeeze the juice into buttermilk.
Add salt and stir.
Heat oil in a small pan.
Add cumin seeds and asafetida. Allow the spices to splutter.
Add chilli and curry leaves.
While the spices are sizzling, add them to buttermilk.
Add chopped coriander leaves and stir well.
Pour into a glass.
Chill for an hour. Ready to serve.

Panakam:
Ingredients (To serve 4 persons)

Jaggery (Powdered) - 1 Cup.Water - 3 CupsLemon - 2 Nos.Dried ginger (Powdered) - 1 ½ Tsp.Cardamom (Crushed) - 2 Nos.Pepper & Salt (Crushed) - ½ Tsp.
Procedure
Mix the jaggery in water and dissolve it well. Filter the ingredients in a cloth. Add lemon juice, dried ginger powder, Cardamom, Pepper and Salt. Mix this well. Serve chilled. This can be served as a welcome drink to quench the thirst and cool the system in the hot summer months.

Kosambari
Kosambari is like a salad,usually made with carrots or cucumbers.I like to call this as ‘Indian Salad’. It is served in temples as ‘prasada’. At my mom’s house during any festival this is a must side dish to go along rice and rasam.

Split moong dal 1/4 (cup soaked in water for 1/2 hour)
Carrot 1 peeled and grated

Grated Green Mangoes
Cliantro few chopped
Lemon/lime juice 1tsp.
Salt to taste.
For seasoning
Oil, mustard, urad dal and red or green chillies 1.

Method.
Soak split yellow/moongdal for about half hour. Then drain the water and mix veggies.
Mix together soaked dal, grated carrot , coconut, cilantro leaves, lime juice.
Add salt to taste.
Heat oil, when its hot add mustard seeds,urad dal and chilis to it. When urad dal starts to change colour turn off heat and this seasoning to veggies. Mix well.

Then the Pooja was performed..

well hopefully, all the three dishes came out wonderful..
Our lunch of the day was the same with addition of Rasam Sadam and Peerkangai thuvaiyal.

Evening a friend of Ravi's dropped by with their sets of Prasadams... Vadai and Paal Poli.
Lots of dishes are yet to shared..
Hopefully expect more in my next blog..
eat healthy, stay healthy.