It’s almost 7 yrs, we have been to Bangalore, usually in my parent’s parents place or in my in-laws place we celebrate Vinayagar Chaturthi by preparing few dishes, offer to Lord Ganesh at our home and visit temple for special pooja. But after coming to Bangalore, we found too many Ganesh idols, all over the streets few days before Vinayagar Chaturthi and when daughter wanted to get one of them and do pooja, sing bhajan, decorate Ganesh, offer food to Lord at least for 3 days. This resulted us in bringing Ganesh Idol and celebrating the way she wanted and later immersing it the nearby lake. So, this was happening for almost 6 years at our home. But with the small change from last two years, we have been immersing Ganesha in a bucket of water, later collecting the soil and planting herbs on it.
Vinayagar Chaturthi – 2017 celebrations at our home
Vinayagar Chaturthi offering at home
Vinayagar Chaturthi – 2017 celebrations at our home
We here in our apartment also celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, by decorating Ganesha, each and every one preparing a dish, which is served as an offering and later distributed to all of us. Later followed by some cultural program by our kids, bhajans, evening filled with fun, laughter and games.
After seeing too many ganesha, this was the one picked by us
Most beautiful over there
Vinayagar Chaturthi – 2017 celebrations at our Apartment
Vinayagar Chaturthi – 2017 celebrations at our Apartment
Vinayagar Chaturthi – 2017 celebrations at our Apartment
Vinayagar Chaturthi – 2017 celebrations at our Apartment
Vinayagar Chaturthi – 2017 celebrations at our Apartment
As I shared in my earlier blogs about the home, interiors and stated that “Healthy Home leads to Healthy Life”, when it comes to cleanliness I am more conscious about it. So I use to clean my kitchen at least once in a month. During festivals the cleaning would become a little toughest job, because not only kitchen, but we need to clean the whole house.
Pongal is one among the most important Tamilian dish prepared on Pongal festival (Tamilian festival). Usually people prepare Pongal with coconut jaggery (vellam) and here I have prepared the same dish with Kalkandu/Rock Candy. This is one of festive recipe prepared among all tamilians. Also check out my Karkandu Pongal / Rockcandy Pongal below…
It tastes delicious and had good texture with the combination of milk, ghee/clarified butter, roasted nuts, green gram dal and raw rice, a very simple, easy and healthy recipe. It is also a favorite dish for kids. Let us move on to the recipe…
Wash the rice and green gram dal/paasiparuppu/mung dal, drain the water and keep it aside.
Crush the rock candy/kalkandu and keep it aside.
Heat ½ tbsp of ghee/clarified butter in a pressure-cooker, add in the rice and green gram dal/paasiparuppu/mung dal, and cook until the raw smell goes off.
Pour in 3 cups of milk and a cup of water, let it boil and pressure-cook it for 3 whistles.
Remove the lid when the pressure subsides, the rice should be mashing consistency or should be mashed. Mash the rice and dal with a spoon (no lumps should be formed).
Transfer it to a non-stick kadhai and keep in medium flame.
Pour over the leftover milk and bring it to boil.
Heat a tbsp of ghee/clarified butter, add in the cashew nuts and cook until it starts turning golden brown.
Add in the raisins and cook until it doubles in size, pour it to the boiling rice along with the leftover ghee/clarified butter.
Add in the crushed kalkandu/rock candy and cook until it melts.
Keep on stirring once in a while, else it would be burnt.
Cook until it thickens and the ghee/clarified butter separates and floats on the sides of the rice.
Serve hot. Goes out well for breakfast, as an offering to god.
As a tamilian, and now heading to Pongal and other south Indian states heading to Sankaranti, and it’s believed that starting new things over pongal that may get good health and fortune year long. So To welcome prosperity & good health, we thoroughly clean our home & kitchen every Pongal. But cockroaches escape from our cleaning by hiding deep into the cracks and crevices, contaminate food and utensils behind our back to spread food poisoning. Don’t let these cockroaches disrupt your family’s health ever. Use LAL HIT not just this Pongal, but every month during the kitchen cleaning. Its unique ‘Deep Reach Nozzle’ reaches deep into the corners and crevices, and kills even the hidden cockroaches. #SayNoToFoodPoisoning.
Cleaning tips with LAL Hit
Cleaning tips with LAL Hit
I have started with my cleaning process, how about you? Do follow the above instructions for the easy, simple, painless and quick but perfect cleaning of home with LAL HIT as Health is Wealth. Wish you all a HAPPY PONGAL/SANKARANTHI from MADRAASI.
Usually we prepare kozhukattai/dumplings with rice flour and sugar or jaggery for karthigai Deepam. As all of us eagerly looking for healthier food, I prepared 3 varieties of kozhukattai / dumplings one with Rice flour, other with Ragi/Finger Millet flour and the last one with Kambu/Pearl Millet flour. Moreover I have shaped them as Deepam / Diya and also lit the lamp with ghee/clarified butter and a cotton wig.
For sweetness I have infused sugar with rice flour, organic brown sugar in Ragi/Finger millet flour and powdered jaggery with kambu/pearl millet flour. Let me share the recipe…
Rice Flour Lamp
Rice Flour Lamp – Karthigai Deepam Special
Ingredients:
Rice flour (store bought) – 1 cup
Sugar – ½ cup
Hot boiling water – ¾ cup
Salt – ¼ tsp
Preparation:
Take rice flour in a wide mouth bowl, add the sugar and salt, mix it well with your hands.
Make a well in the centre of the flour, pour the hot boiling water little by little and start kneading the dough to a ball.
Divide the dough to a small portion and shape it to lamp, and steam it for 5 to 10 mins or until the lamp is cooked.
Bring it to room temperature, pour ghee/clarified butter in the centre of the lamp, soak a cotton wig in the ghee and lit the lamp.
Ragi / Finger Millet Lamp
Ragi / Finger Millet Edible Lamp – Karthigai Deepam special
Ingredients:
Ragi / Finger Millet flour – 1 cup
Organic brown sugar – ½ cup
Hot boiling water – ¾ cup
Salt – ¼ tsp
Preparation:
Take ragi flour in a wide mouth bowl, add the organic brown sugar and salt, mix it well with your hands.
Make a well in the centre of the flour, pour the hot boiling water little by little and start kneading the dough to a ball.
Divide the dough to a small portion and shape it to lamp, and steam it for 5 to 10 mins or until the lamp is cooked.
Bring it to room temperature, pour ghee/clarified butter in the centre of the lamp, soak a cotton wig in the ghee and lit the lamp.
Kambu / Pearl Millet Lamp
Kambu / Pearl Millet Edible Lamp – Karthigai Deepam special
Ingredients:
Kambu / Pearl Millet flour – 1 cup
Powdered jaggery sugar – ½ cup
Hot boiling water – ¾ cup
Salt – ¼ tsp
Preparation:
Take kambu/pearl millet flour in a wide mouth bowl, add the powdered jaggery and salt, mix it well with your hands.
Make a well in the centre of the flour, pour the hot boiling water little by little and start kneading the dough to a ball.
Divide the dough to a small portion and shape it to lamp, and steam it for 5 to 10 mins or until the lamp is cooked.
Bring it to room temperature, pour ghee/clarified butter in the centre of the lamp, soak a cotton wig in the ghee and lit the lamp.
I prepare this for the second day of our Karthigai Deepam – 2016 and CLICK HERE to check out my first day karthigai Deepam – 2016 celebrations.
Madraasi - a tamilian tales 