KARTHIGAI DEEPAM

Karthigai Deepam day is special to me because of deepam, kolam, pori, adai  and of course the madisar pudaivai we wear.

Hear are few receipes and photographs..........

To Make Karthigai Pori:

Jaggary and pori should be in the ratio of 2 : 8.  (that is, if  8  cups of pori is taken 2 cups of jaggery is required).  While preparing Jaggary pak, drop a small amount of pak in half cup of water and try to make a ball out of it.  When you can make a ball out of the pak, it is done.  Immediately mix 2 tsp of dried ginger powder, handful of coconut pieces, elaichi powder.  Pour the pak on the pori.  Mix well with a long handled laddle.  Once it is little cooled, make small balls (size of a potato).  Do neivedyam and relish........... 

To make Karthigai Adai: 

Rice  - 2 cups

Whole udad - 3/4 cup

Tur dal - 1/2 cup

Channa dal - 1/2 cup 

Cumin seeds - 2 tsp

Pepper -  2 tsp

Coconut pieces - ! handful (cut into minute pieces)* 

First soak whole udad for about 6 hours.  Soak rice and other dals for about 3 hours.  Wash rice and dals.  All everything together and grind coarsly adding cummin seeds and pepper.  Add salt.  Prepare adai as how we prepare dosai.  (It is called adai as this is little thicker than dosai).  Enjoy with a blob of butter.  Anything with a sweet & sour taste (Like puli kaichal, vatral kozhumbu) will taste good.

Karthi Adai has specks of black in it due to the use of whole black udad dal.  If you want your adai to look (as well as taste) deliciously brown like mine, use broken Whole udad instead of whole black udad.

*don't use grated coconut, it won't give crunchy texture.

Photographs of few kolams............   with deepam it looks great