 |
| Panakam,Neer Moor(Spiced Buttermilk) and VadaPappu |
Ram Navami (Rama Navami) will be celebrated by Hindu devotees worldwide on Tuesday (8 April).
The Hindu festival commemorates the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who was born to King Dasharatha and Queen Kaushalya of Ayodhya.
Lord Vishnu incarnated himself in the form of Lord Rama to destroy Ravana, according to Hindu mythology.
The auspicious occasion will be celebrated on the ninth day of Chaitra month (March-April) in the Hindu lunar calendar. Besides celebrating the birth of Lord Rama, the day is also observed as the marriage day of Rama and Sita.
Significance of Ram Nava
Lord Rama was the embodiment of truth and morality. He was a righteous king, an ideal son, an ideal husband and a loving brother. He is considered as an eternal symbol of human ideals.
Ram Navami celebrations begin on Gudi Padwa, which falls on the first day of the Chaitra month, and ends on the ninth day.
This year's Ram Navami falls on 8 April. Hindu devotees across the country will be celebrating Ram Navami by offering prayers to the Lord.
Several devotees would visit sacred places like Ayodhya, the birthplace of Rama and Rameshwaram among others to seek blessings from the Lord. They will make repeated chants of the holy name of Rama, which is known as the "Taraka Mantra."
It is said that by uttering Lord Rama's name, one can get rid of their sins and attain salvation. There is a belief that repeated chants of his name help one to attain purity, peace, joy and prosperity.
The Lord himself had said, "Repetition of My name once is equal to the repetition of one thousand names of God or to the repetition of a Mantra one thousand times," according to "hindupedia."
How Ram Navami is Celebrated?
Many devotees celebrate the festival by observing fast on the auspicious occasion. Lord Rama figurines will be richly adorned and special prayers will be offered to the Lord. "Ramayana," the Hindu epic which involves the life of Lord Rama is read in temples.
Bhajans, songs and dances are performed on this day. People wear new clothes and prepare special dishes.
In south India, since the auspicious day is also considered as the marriage day of Rama and Sita, temple priests perform a wedding ceremony called "Kalyanotsavam."
On this day, devotees clean their house and decorate it with colours. They also adorn the entrance doors with mango leaves, which signify prosperity.
Devotees perform special prayers to the Lord and make dishes like Panakam (Jaggery mixed with water) and Kosambri (soaked lentles).
Panagam/Panakam/Sri Rama Navami Recipes
Panagam is a traditional drink made as a naivedhyam on sri rama navami(lord rama's birthday)and on the last day of navaratri.It is also distributed in festivals in amman temples in Tamilnadu(south India).It brings down body heat and helps in preventing the human body from chicken pox in the summer.
It is made with jaggery,water,dry ginger powder and lemon juice.My mother used to make it during Navrathri and give it to all the ladies who used to come for kulu to my house.Some people do add tulsi leaves,you can if you wish to.
Ingredients
- Half cup powdered Jaggery
- Three cups of Water
- Lemon juice from 2 Lemons
- Dry Ginger powder or Sukku Podi
- One Cardamom
- A pinch of Edible camphor powder
Method
1.Powder jaggery and dissolve it in water.leave it for 30 minutes.
- Powder the Cardamom.
- Add chukku or dry ginger powder,cardamom powder,edible camphor and lemon juice.
- Strain it for the impurities and serve chilled.
Neer more/Sri Rama Navami Recipes
Neer more is nothing but spiced and flavoured buttermilk.'Neer' means water in Tamil and 'More' means buttermilk,so it is watery buttermilk.It is very common in south India.It is a summer drink since south india is a hot place.It is even distributed in stalls for free in south india in summer festivals and carnivals.
Traditional butter milk is the liquid left after churning the butter out of cream.It becomes a little sour when not refrigerated after churning.There are a lot of preparations like more kali,more kozhambu using this buttermilk.
This is also a traditional drink.It is prepared a s a naivedhyam on sri rama navami.It is also made an after meal drink in the sumangali poojai.It is given to all the ladies along with panagam after the meal. Neer more
- One cup of Curd
- Four cups of water
- One tsp of mustard seeds
- Half a tsp of Asafoetida
- Salt to taste
- A few chopped Coriander leaves
- One chopped Green chilli
- Few curry leaves
- A small piece of Ginger (chopped)
- One tsp of Oil
- Lemon juice
Blend the curd first to make it smooth with a little asafoetida and salt
- Add water and dilute it.
- Chop the green chillies,ginger,corinader leaves and curry leaves.
- Add it to the buttermilk and mix.squeeze half a lime if you prefer.
- Heat one tsp oil crackle mustard seeds and curry leaves and pour in to the buttermilk.
Kosumalli/ Vada Papu/Rama Navami Recipes
Today being "Rama Navami"i made yellow Dal Kosumalli.It is very simple to make and there is no heating required.You just soak Yellow Dal(payatham paruppu)for an hour and season with mustard seeds and garnish with carrot,lime juice etc.
Ingredients- One cup Yellow Dal
- One Carrot
- One Green chilli
- Salt to taste
- A pinch of Asafoetida
- Lemon Juice
- One tsp oil
- One tsp Mustard seeds
Method
1.Soak the yellow Dal for an hour.
2.Strain it without any water through a colander.
3.Transfer it into a mixing bowl.Add salt,lime juice,chopped green chillies,grated carrot and asafoetida.and mix well.
No comments:
Post a Comment