Navaratri Festive Food - Food Roud up

It was nice to learn from fellow blogger's about their way of celebrating Navaratri/Dasara/Durga Pooja. Well, it is time to see what all they cooked this year to appease goddess Durga and their families. It was a 9 day affair and cooking something new everyday is a tough task atleast for me. Let us enjoy virtual fare of dishes and who knows you might fall in love with some of them or all of them and try them in your kitchen. So here we go.....

In Northern parts of  India women observe fasting on all 8 days of Navaratri. Fruits, milk, and dishes made of potato, sago, buck wheat (Kuttu ka atta), puffed Lotus seeds (Makhana), sunflower seeds, are eaten in small quantities to keep their system running.


Nupur of Cinnamon Hut brings us Vrat ka Khana She says "This is that time of the year again when we all fast and pray to Goddess Durga and all her avtars for nine days. Living for nine days with a number of our daily food items off the list means that there are a number of new dishes , different items on the menu."
 She has shared with us Fried Potao with Cumin/Vrat ke Aloo and Masaledaar aloo and Kuttu ki Poori (Kuttu= Buck Wheat )

Vrat ke aloo:

 

Masaledaar Aloo aur kuttu ki poori :

 

Bhawna of 'From My Palate' brings us 'Makhane aur Beej ki Laddo' they celebrate Navaratri .." We sow seeds of barley in an earthen pot on the first day of Navratra. We do pooja and watered them every morning, so that the seeds sprout into long sheaves by the tenth day. On Dussehra we put these barley sheaves on brothers and father ears after pooja."

Makhana aur beej ki laddo:

she feels that it is not an exotic sweet, but I think those laddus and burfis are perfect while you need to restore your energy levels while fasting :) 

Purva has sent us her memories of Navaratri from Mumbai and Sabudana Khichdi. She remembers those days and quotes "Back in my hometown Mumbai, everyone in my society was aware about my liking for Sabudana Khichdi, so the day it is being prepared at someone's place, it is being parceled at my place too specially for me".

Here you go with Mumbai ka Sabudana Khichdi from Purva for Vrat ka Khana ....

KhaparPoli...that was my first intoduction to this sweet at Meera's Enjoy Indian Food. These poli's are Malvani pancakes which are made during Navaratri. They are traditionally served with coconut syrup. Interesting isn't it..pancakes served with sweet coconut syrup...what else does a sweet tooth crave for? Visit her to know her recipe..

KhaparPoli with Coconut Ras :

Indrani of Appyayan sent me a 2 two episode full of festive food. She has shared her recipes for Luchi, Aloor Dum, Potoler Dolma(fish stuffed parwals), Tomato Mutton, Green Mango Chutney, Cholar Daal Narkel Diye, Phulkopir roast, Fried Rice with Chilli Chicken, Misthi Doi and Rasmalai. She says "Durga Puja is a grand celebration for bengalis. Without good food any celebration is incomplete. Delicious traditional delicacies are being cooked at this time. I would love to share some traditional recipes which are part of this festival". I totally agree with you Indrani..without good food festival is not complete...

Aloor Dum

 A visit to her blog will bring you closer to Durga Pooja Feast.....

Rasmalai

Shreya of Mom's Cooking has sent Thri-Laddoo, Palak Poori and Moondal Bottle gourd curry for celebrating Navaratri with us.. You have to knock her door for this interesting thri-laddoo recipe ! 

Thri-Laddo

Palak Poori and Moongdal Bottlegourd Sabji

During Navaratri SouthIndians were was busy cooking variety of Sundals, Vadas, Rice items esp tamarind rice, lemon rice, curd rice, Payasam, and many more actually I am hungry now.. :P..something I cannot do virtually is taste them and fill my stomach :( .....but they are a real treat to eyes..enjoy healthy sundals, crispy Vadas and yummilicious rice varities from Southern part of India ...

Priya of Easy n Tasty Recipes sent me horsegram sundal and coriander medhu vada..She has given a twist by adding toor dal, chanadal to Urad dal and also included coriander leaves..interesting right?..run there to take a peek at her recipe..
Coriander Medu Vada

 

She says "Muthira is known as horsegram,kollu n it will helps to reduce unnecessary fats from ur body..its well recommended to have horsegram recipes twice r more than that in a week while dieting..." 

Horsegram Sundal

 

Trust you all saw EC's Gollu/Doll house in my Photo Round up. She sent me tasty chickpeas sundal too...

Rekha of Plantain Leaf has parceled a bowlful of Kobbari Burelu for our festive treat..

Paal Paysam made in a special vessel called 'urli' comes to us from Chitra Amma's Kitchen. Dibs and Chitra participated in a event from their blog for the first time. Visit them to jot down the procedure for making Paal Payasam/milk based sweet porridge.

After that interesting read about Batukamma festival of Telanganites, it is time to know what do they cook for this festive occassion..Don't miss to drool on Dhadhyojanam and Pulihora with varieties of Podis at Pallavi's All Things Yummy

 

99% of them make Kesari/kesaribath on Navaratri....easy and tasty...see a yellow moon of Kesari at Sireesha's Mom's Recipe..

Smitha of Kannada Cuisine whose Pattada Bombe looked adorable in yellow dress, made sweet dosas which she is very auspicious as prasadam on saraswathi pooja (which was on sapthami/7th day of Navaratri). 

In case you are searching for dosas, you can find them on the plate.. :D

Arundhuti of Gourmet Affair, sent us delicious Malpuas and Rosogollas to celebrate Navaratri on Taste of Mysore...catch her on Gourmet Affair for her yummy recipes...

 Malpua

 

Rosogolla 

Raaji of Raji's kitchen sent us divine plate with Orange Keer and Wheat Rava Payasam. They look awesome and Orange Kheer is super easy to make..check her posts

Orange Kheer

 Wheat Rava Payasam

 

Priti is very busy these days settling down in her new office, but she managed to send us Puffed Rice Upma and Fruit Jelly to celebrate Naavartri with all of us.. Get to know these dishes on Indian Khana with Priti..

Puffed Rice Upma

Fruit Jelly 

 

Sowmya of Creative Saga sent me a fare of Prasadams. Black Chana Sundal, Wheat Payasam, chanadal sundal, semiya payasam..she has 9 varieties for 9 days! Fantastic Sowmya.. Creative Saga welcomes you all for further reading on recipes...

Prasadam Fare

 

G.Pavani of Food Lovers blog made Charkari Pongal and Rava Kesari to celebrate Vijayadashami. Do stop by her virtual kitchen to know her way of preparing Sweet Pongal and Kesari. 

Kalkandu Vadai is a sweet brother of normal Vadai's. Lakshmi Venkatesh says it is a famous Chettinad Vadai mostly on festive occassions like Deepavali, Karthikei etc., It is traditionally made with rock sugar/misri/kallusakkare..however these days it is replaced by normal sugar. Have this sweet crisp vadais at Kitchen Chronicles

Kalkandu Vadai

I missed Sukanya's post for yesterday's round-up. She had sent the same link for food and photos twice by mistake and it did not occur to me to check in her blog archives. I saw it today, so here is her style of celebrating Navaratri miles away from home in Singapore...Her post about celebration is so elaborate, that I strongly reccomend you to visit her to know different procedures in detail........

The Kalasham which is installed on Day 1 of Navaratri ...

She gives us Lunch menu and Prasadam Menu.........

Sundal Menu

The types of sundal to be prepared on each of the navarathri days is given below:

•Day1: Moong dal (Green gram )

•Day2: Sweet Puttu /Red beans (can be made sweet or spicy)

•Day3: Peanut

•Day4: Kabuli Chana

•Day5: Bengal Gram dal (Chana da)l (kadalai paruppu) Yellow split

•Day6: Black eyed beans (Lobia) (can make it sweet or spicy)

•Day7: White peas /Green peas (pattaani)

•Day8: Field beans(mochai) /Karamani Chundal

•Day9: Konda kadalai (channa dal)

•Day10: Payasam / Chakara Pongal

Vettala Paaku/Harishina Kumkuma for Married Ladies

She remembers "There was a time when people used to visit their friends and relatives and call them for vettala-paaku and now is the time when people just call them over the phone.....

ya..atleast I never refuse these invitations ..well there is a long story over that , but I would love to narrate it someother time...

Sukanya's granny quotes "“Celebrating festivals reaps good things/happenings/events, it spreads positive energy and brings about cheer." Ajji you are very true...

As long as you are aware of tradition and time permits, Sukanya's grandmothers words "the only people in whose house there has been a death, don’t celebrate festivals, so naranjya veetula (full house – meaning endowed with happiness & prosperity) where there hasn’t been any tragedy we shouldn’t act like we are mourning or be lazy to celebrate”.are to be remembered and atleast do basic rituals of festival.

What constitutes the Vettala Paaku

Vettalai – Betel Leaves

Paaku – Betel

Nut

Manjal - Turmeric

Kumkumam – Bindi or the traditional ku

mkum powder

Manja Cheradu (Yellow thread)

Flowers

Fruit

Coconut

Coin

Blouse piece

Soap

comb

mirror,

bangles,

A gift – something in plastic or steel as per the convenience, financial status and likes of the person.

Out of these, Vettalai, Paaku, Manjal Kumkumam are the most important, the rest are upto one's own convenience and budget.

Saraswathi Pooja :

Goddess Saraswathi is the wife of Lord Brahma(Creator of the Universe). Goddess Sarawathi is usually seen with books and musical instruments. My amma will make us read from our books first before wrapping them neatly in an unused cloth(usually silk) and then praying to Goddess Sarawathi to bless us with knowledge. On this day people make young children to learn to write. They usually teach the children to write”Om” followed by alphabets on sand.

Vijaya Dashami 

This day is the last day of this festival. Dassera or Vijayadashmi is considered as the second biggest festival after Deepavali. This is a special day for attaining victory in anything and everything. Vijayam means victory. 

Therefore, this day is celebrated as an auspicious day for starting any new from music to new business..

Kummi

Kummi is one of the most important and ancient forms of village dances of Tamilnadu. It originated when there were no musical instruments, with the participants clapping their hands to keep time. This is performed by women; many varieties of Kummi, such as, Poonthatti Kummi, Deepa Kummi, Kulavai Kummi, Kadir Kummi, Mulaipari Kummi etc are known. The women stand in a circle and dance clapping their hands rhythmically. This dance is usually performed during temple festivals, Pongal, the harvest festival, family functions like the one to celebrate the coming of age (onset of puberty) of the girl-child etc. The first line of the song is sung by the leading lady, which the others repeat.

People dance around the deity clapping rhythmically. At every step they gracefully bend sideways, the arms coming together in sweeping gestures, up and down, left and right, each movement ending in clap.

Kai Silambu Attam

This dance is performed in temples during Amman festivals or Navaratri festival. The dancers wear ankle-bells and hold anklets or silambu in their hands, which make noise when shaken. They perform various stepping styles jumps. The dance is in praise of all female deities, the most preferred being the powerful angry goddess - Kali or Durga.

Kolaattam

Kolaattam is an ancient village art. This is mentioned in Kanchipuram as 'Cheivaikiyar Kolattam', which proves its antiquity. This is performed by women only, with two sticks held in each hand, beaten to make a rhythmic noise. Pinnal Kolaattam is danced with ropes which the women hold in their hands, the other of which are tied to a tall pole. With planned steps, the women skip over each other, which forms intricate lace-like patterns in the ropes. As coloured ropes are used, this lace looks extremely attractive. Again, they unravel this lace reversing the dance steps. This is performed for ten days, starting with the Amavasi or Newmoon night after Deepavali.

Originated as devotional Garba dances, which were performed in Durga's honor, this dance form is actually the staging of a mock-fight between the Goddess and Mahishasura, the mighty demon-king, and is nicknamed "The Sword Dance". The sticks of the dance represent the sword of Durga. 

That is how Sukanya celebrated her festival and she has sent us Gosamalli as a treat ........

Now we have reached the end...but you would want to know what I cooked before you leave Taste of Mysore :D ..so these were my contributions for the event from Taste of Mysore

Hesarukaalu Guggri/Usli/Sundal  (Stirfried Whole Moong Beans)

Vermicilli Burfi

 

Mixed Fruit Sajjige/Soji Halwa with fruits 

 

Ambode & Mosaru Ambode you may want to call them dalvada...

 

Few other non-food related entries are Asthalakshmi Stotra Lyrics in Kannada , Saraswati Astottara and Lalitha Sahasranama Lyrics in Kannada If you are looking for Mahishasura Mardhini Stotra/Aigiri Nandini Lyrics in Kannada you can find it here..(click on the word 'here')

It was a fantastic culinary and cultural trip with you all. My heart felt thanks to all bloggers and non-bloggers who made this event successful without which Navaratri would not have been colorful on Taste of Mysore. As a tradition of south indian homes, I offer you all a virtual tamboolam to take away before you leave Taste of Mysore.