Its Sri Rama Navami today and I thought
of sharing the recipes of the prasadams that I made. Sri Rama Navami
is a festival celebrating the birth of the Lord Sri Ram, He was born
on the ninth-day (Navami) of the month Chaitra. In most of the places
it is celebrated for 9 days with navami being the last day of the
utsav. On the day of Navami, Sita Kalyana Mahotsava is done in the
south of India and the new born Ram Lala is put into the cradle in
the north.
During my days at Mettur, I and my
sister used to wait for this festival to come, as Panagam and Neer
Mor were served to all the devotees who carried the Rama's Idol and
also to the ones who accompany them. What could be more refreshing
than Panagam and Neer Mor to ward off the summer heat in India!!
The whole week used to be packed with
events in the Bhajana Madam, with Ramayan discourses in the evening
and Seetha kalyanam & the colony Oorvalam on navami. I still
cherish those sweet memories of eagerness to catch the front row
seats, our giggles over old people dozing in between and not to
mention the taste of the prasadams!
The Prasadams: Panagam, Neer Mor and
Vada Paruppu
The good calorie from jaggery, calcium
in the buttermilk and protein in the vada paruppu makes this
combination not only tasty but, one of the most nutritious prasadams
I guess. And above all its a childsplay, literally even a kid can
make it. So this is how I made them.
Panagam:
Ingredients:
Jaggery – ½ cup
Water- 2 Cups
Lime- half
Sukku (Soont) or Dry ginger powder- A
pinch
Cardamom powder- A pinch
Method:
Soak the half cup of jaggery in two
cups of water for around half an hour and filter it to remove any
dirt. Add the ginger powder, cardamom and squeeze the lime to it.
Give it a good stir and serve it chill.
Neer Mor :
Ingredients:
Yogurt – ¾ cup
Green Chilli – 1 if small or ½ if
big
Cilantro – 2 small sprigs
Asafoetida- A pinch
Water- 2 cups
Salt to taste.
Method:
Beat the yogurt well and add 2 cups of
water to it. Add asafoetida, salt and chilli- cilantro paste to it.
Give it a good stir before serving.
Vada Paruppu:
Ingredients:
Moong Dal- ¼ cup
Mustard seeds- For seasoning
Urad dal- For seasoning
Asafoetida- For seasoning
Green chillies-1, finely chopped or
slit
Lime- half
Shredded Coconut – 1 Tbsp
Corriander
Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Method:
Soak the dal in water for half and hour
and strain the water. Add salt, lime, chilli, coconut and cilantro to
it. Season the mixture with mustards, urad dal, asafoetida and curry
leaves. And thats vada paruppu!
After some food for the body, heres
something for the soul too,
The significance of Ramayana ; I heard
it in one of the live discourses of Sri Tejomayanand ji (The present
head of Chinmaya Mission) during my under graduation days at college.
He told “ Sita is peace of mind and
when Ravana (Bad qualities) abducts Sita, Lord Ram (the good
qualities ) fights to get Sita (Peace) back”. It does make perfect
sense , isn’t ?
And heres a small sloka on Ramayanam,
Eka
Shlokam Ramayanam
Poorvam Rama-tapo-vanaadi-gamanam Hatva Mrugam Kaanchanam
Vaidehee-haranam Jatayu-maranam Sugreeva-sambhashanam
Balee-nigrahanam Samudra-taranam Lankapuri-daahanam
Paschaat Raavana-kumbhakarna-hananam Etatdhi Ramayanam
Lord Rama went to the forest in order to fulfill the promise his father had given to one of his wives (Kaikeyi). In the forest, Seeta was attracted by the golden deer and Rama went after it. At that time, the wicked Ravana kidnapped Seeta. Jatayu tried to defend Seeta and save her, but was killed by Ravana. Lord Rama then befriended Sugriva and killed Vali, the unrighteous. He crossed the ocean and entered the city of Lanka. He then destroyed the city of Lanka, killed the wicked demons Ravana and Kumbhakarna and set Seeta free. This is the story contained in the Ramayana.
How
simple !!
A happy Ram Navami to all of you !
Jai
Shri Ram!!