Thiruvadarai Kali & kootu

Thiruvathirai or Arudhra Darisanam is a Hindu festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Thiruvathirai (Arudhra) in Tamil means “sacred big wave”, with which this universe was created by Lord Shiva about 132 trillion years ago.

The ‘Thiruvathira’ festival is celebrated to commemorate the plea of Goddess Parvathi who used to regularly observe fast on Thiruvathira day in the name of Lord Shiva. She pleaded to Him to heed to the prayer of a newly married Brahmin girl, whose husband died days after their marriage, to bless her by giving rebirth to the deceased.

We Tamilians make “rice crumble” or “rice kali” which is a sweet made of jaggery and we have this with kootu which is made with an odd number of vegetables and grains or pulses.

Prep Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients for kali

• 1 cup Raw rice

• 1/4 cup Moong dal

• 1 and 1/2 cups Powdered jaggery

• 1 tsp Cardamom powder

• 1/2 cup Ghee

• 3 cups Water

• 3 tbsps Chopped cashew nuts

• 2 tbsps Raisins

• 3 tbsps Fresh grated coconut

For the kootu

• 1 cup White pumpkin

• 3/4 cup Flat beans

• 1/2 cup Carrots cubed

• 3/4 cup potatoes cubed

• 1/2 cup red pumpkin cubed

• 1/2 cup Sweet potato cubed

• 1/2 cup Raw banana cubed

• 1/2 cup Green peas

• 4 tbsp pigeon eyed beans soaked in water

• 4 tbsp Chickpeas soaked in water

• 4 tbsp Peanuts soaked in water

• Salt, to taste

• Tamarind, lemon sized and soaked in hot boiling water

• 2 tsps Turmeric powder

For the spice powder

• 4 tbsps Coriander seeds

• 5 tsps Sesame seeds

• 6 red chillies

• 6 tbsp Fresh grated coconut

• 1 tsp Hing

• 1 tbsp Ghee

For tempering

• 1 tbsp Coconut oil

• 1 tsp Mustard seeds

• 5-7 Curry leaves

Instructions

For the kali

1. Soak the rice in water for 15 minutes and dry it on a thin cloth for 1 hour

2. Dry roast the rice till it becomes dark pink in colour

3. Dry roast the moong dal to a brown colour

4. Grind both the rice and the dal to a coarse powder (we need 1 and 1/4 cup of this powder)

5. In a pressure pan, take 3 glasses of water and melt the jaggery in it

6. Sieve it to remove the impurities and put it back into the pan

7. Add the rice-dal powder and 1 tbsp ghee, stir and cook it in the pressure pan for 1 whistle

8. Start cooking it by adding ghee little by little till it resembles a sticky mixture and starts to leave the sides (once this cools it will become a crumbly mixture)

9. Fry the cashew nuts, grated coconut and kismis in 1 tbsp of ghee and garnish it

10. Sprinkle cardamom powder

For the kootu

1. In a pan take 1 tbsp ghee and roast the ingredients (to make powder) except coconut

2. Lastly add coconut and roast for 2-3 minutes, make a powder and keep aside

3. Steam the veggies and cook the pulses in a pressure cooker

4. In the cooker take the tamarind pulp, add salt, turmeric powder and hing and boil till the raw smell goes

5. Add the veggies and the pulses and boil for another 5-7 minutes to mix well

6. Add the ground powder, mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes

7. Take coconut oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves and add to the kootu

8. Serve hot with kali

Notes

• Some people make kali like a sticky halwa, I prefer it like a crumble as I like to eat it as a snack. It is each one’s preference.