Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Karthikai Deepam - Celebration and Puffed Rice Snacks



Paavai Vilakku

Wish you all a very Happy Karthikai Deepam :)


Karthikai Deepam is a festival of lights celebrated by Tamil Hinsus on the full moon day of Karthikai month (November/December), which is observed in every home and in every temple. This occurs on the day when the moon is in conjunction with the constellation Karthigai (Pleiades) and purnima.

Karthigai is essentially a festival of lamps. The lighted lamp is considered an auspicious symbol. It is believed to ward off evil forces and usher in prosperity and joy. While the lighted lamp is important for all Hindu rituals and festivals, it is indispensable for Karthikai.

Find more details on the festival from here.

At home we do a nice Kolam in the entrance and decorate it with lamps.

Kolam

Mom performs a small pooja to Annamalaiyaar (Thiruvannamalai).

Karthigai festival in Thiruvannamalai hills is very famous. On Karthigai day, a huge fire lamp is lit up on the hill, visible for several kilometers around the hill. The fire (dheepam) is called Mahabharanidheepam, Hindu devotees visit here and pray to god Shiva.

Pooja


We make Sweet pori and Kaara pori as prasadam to the lord. These are made using aval pori(Puffed rice flakes).


Pori


Sweet Pori (Sweet Rice Flakes)

Sweet Pori1

Ingredients:

Puffed rice flakes - 5 cups
Jaggery - 1 cup
Roasted gram - 1/2 cup
Roasted Peanuts - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 2
Water - as required


Method:

In a large vessel take the powdered jaggery and add just enough water to immerse it. Now switch on the stove and keep stirring the mixture till it dissolves completely. Filter this contents using a strainer to remove impurities.

Now heat the syrup again for a while till it reaches lose ball consistency. Test that by pouring a drop of the syrup in a plate of water. You should be able to gater it into a lose ball without it dissolving immediately.

Once it reaches this stage simmer the stove and add the cardamom powder to it followed by the puffed rice, roasted gram and peanuts. Mix well till all the ingredients blend together.

Now make balls from it or just have it like that. :)

Sweet pori is ready to eat. :) Happy a happy festive treat. :)


Sweet Pori



Kaara Pori(Spicy Puffed Rice Flakes)

Kaara pori

The method is all the same as the masala pori that I had posted earlier except that we dont add garlic to it.

Written by: Nithya
post your queries to fourthsensesamayal@gmail.com



28 comments:

nirupamasundar said...

nithya, enna aval pori urundai, nellu pori urundai , kadalai urundai ellam kidaiyatha, how will our viewers know about them, lovely kolam it was. how do u people have amind to clear it off the next day

Gita Jaishankar said...

Gorgeous pictures Nithya...I miss all the festivities in India...here I had to restrict myself with lighting a lamp and a few candles inside the house.

SE said...

hey nithya..nice pictures and nice explaination of the festival..do miss them here..lovely pictures..

Latha said...

Lovely pictures....kolam is too good... Nice snack...Have a nice time with your family...Enjoy!!!

Sailaja Damodaran said...

Lovely pictures & yummy pori urundai....my favorite.

suvaiyaana suvai said...

lovely picture!!

Priya Suresh said...

Lovely clicks and tempting sweet pori urundai and kaara pori..Gorgeous kolam Nithya..

Vrinda said...

Nice pics and yummy rice snacks...

Priya said...

Love ur pics Nithya :)....ur recipes are mindblowing.. I am ur new fan and follower

Rekha shoban said...

Nice kollam and wonderful presentation.

Unknown said...

Nice post n clicks, The kolam looks soo pretty...! Pori vurundai is my fav :)

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

wow what a kolam.loved all the pictures too.pori too look so yummy.

lata raja said...

As always your decoration stands out1 The kolam is so beautiful, and loved all your lamps! Pori urundai and karapori?? just like that for savoury snack or is it tradition?

Sreelekha Sumesh said...

Marvelous pics Nithya...So beautiful.

Tina said...

Nice clicks dear...really superb....Snacks looks yummy and crispy......

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Kolam looks superb. Yummy snacks too.

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

Very gorgeous snaps and good narration of the festival...I'm missing all the fun and excitement here:(....

Anonymous said...

nice pictures nithi..

gtyuk said...

both the poris are yummy, I love especially the sweet pori;

I miss so much the kolams and the sight of the illuminated houses in India!!!I lighted some small candles in the stairway of my house anyway... :) nice photography!!

Vijitha said...

Happy deepam Nithya! awesome pics.

Unknown said...

Happy karthikai deepam nithya!!As usual Amazing pics and awesome write up!

Anupama said...

Nice write up!The sweet pori urndai is shining and very inviting :-)

Parita said...

Wish you the same dear :-)
This is similar to chikki we make during kite flying :-)

Vikis Kitchen said...

Gorgeous decoration , lovely kolam and it brings me a lot of sweet memories. Have a wonderful festive season.

Anuradha said...

Suborashi kazarimasune! Sugoi ryori desune! Taihen omoshiroi desune! Yoku hatarakimasu!

Malar Gandhi said...

Belated karthigai deepam wishes, my friend. Pori urunfai is an authentic sweet...loved ur presentation so much. Looks very divine.

my kitchen said...

Kolam & Lamp decoration looks beautiful.yummy pori urundai

Unknown said...

Ohmygod! I can't believe you make these at home! I used to LOVE eating them, from the store! Never even knew what it was called! Can't even imagine how good it must be home-made!

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