I wish all my dear readers are very happy and prosperous Tamil new year!Tamil new year day marks the start of a new year according to Tamil calendar. Chithirai is the first month in Tamil calendar and day 1 of the month chithirai is celebrated as Tamil new year. One interesting aspect of Tamil years is that they have names,there are 60 recurring years with different names and the tomorrow marks the start of the year"Jaya". The current year is "Vijaya". There are a lot of rituals followed on this new year which may differ from home to home,here I am trying narrate the most common ones.The Tamil new year falls on 14th of April every year along with Vishu,Malayalam new year.In some places I have seen people arrange all kind of fruits,veggies,flowers,rice and money in a tray along with thamboolam(betel leaves) and place a mirror in front of it on the eve of Tamil new year.Next day that is on the new year's day,every one in the home wakes up to that tray and sees the mirror first,it is believed that this would bring prosperity the entire year.As with all festivals we take bath and wear new dress ( not a must but always a joy right :) ) and offer prayers to God along with festive spread.Then blessings are taken from elders and get handful of money in return :). Special poojai and prayers will be done in temples and there will be a temple car festival in many temples during this month.Then comes the big part,yes the feast :) It would be a full fledged south Indian meal served on a fresh full banana leaf (Thala vazhai elai). The most important dish is manga pachadi,a sweet-sour dish made with raw mango.This has a strong significance,this depicts that life is of all the six tastes,sweet-jaggary,sour-tamarind,bitter-neem leaves,salt-salt,spicy and hot-chilli and pungent raw mango.With this said there are also few more recipes and Here I have presented the collection of recipes cooked on Tamil new year's day (those I have blogged till date)
The feast goes like this.
1.First the banana leaf is washed and wiped.Next a pinch of sugar along with a small piece of banana is serve on top left corner of the leaf.
2.Freshly steamed white rice is served on the center of the leaf.A dollop of ghee is served over the rice followed with a small portion of cooked toor dal.
3.Next mor kuzhambu is served as first course along with any stir fry and kootu.
Vadai mor kuzhambu
Thakali mor kuzhambu (tomato mor kuzhambu)
Urulai kizhangu podimas
Carrot beans paruppu usili
Ash gourd kootu
Sweet pumpkin kootu
4.Ulundhu vadai,chips should be served next
Ulundhu vadai
Ulundhu bonda
Vazhakai chips
5.In some homes a small portion of variety rice is also served
Lemon rice
Coconut rice
Then rasam is served as second course,rice and curd along with pickle as third course
Kalyana rasam
Curd rice
Instant mango pickle
One more important dish is vellarikai pachadi (cucumber raita)
Vallarikai thayir pachadi
Desserts:`
Ravakesari
Rava kesari (Paal kesari)
Sakkarai pongal
Semiya payasam
Pasiparuppu arisi payasam
Paal payasam
Badam kheer
Notes:1.I have not covered all the recipes yet,shall post other recipes as and when I prepare them.
2.I have explained the significance of eating in banana leaf here.