Festive season is here, and amidst the celebrations, we eagerly await the delicacies prepared as part of the festivities. Here is a quick look at some of the popular dishes.
KozhukattaiConsidered an all-time favourite, kozhukattai marks Vinayaka Chaturthi. Made of rice flour, it has both sweet and the savoury versions. It is popular in North India as modak, but the preparation methods vary. The rice flour is cooked in boiling water and added to coconut-jaggery mix in the sweet version and the savoury version uses a seasoning of soaked and ground urad dal. Rice flour — a mainstay in Tamil Nadu cuisine — is rich in carbohydrates and fibre and the fact that they are steamed makes it a healthy and tasty choice.
SundalPrepared mainly during the Navrathri celebrations, sundal is popular even among kids, not least because of its rich protein and fibre content. It is easy to prepare and involves steaming the dal and seasoning it with curry leaves, grated coconut and mustard. The varieties of sundal are quite an exhaustive list: black and white channa, moong dal, channa dal, peanuts, rajma, white and green peas.
SeedaiThis is another popular snack made from rice flour. Seedai is predominantly made as an offering to Lord Krishna. Like kozhukattai, this too comes in two varieties: vella seedai (sweet) and uppu seedai (salted). It involves mixing the ingredients with the rice flour and making small balls of the dough. They are then deep-fried in oil. The crunchiness makes it a favoured tea-time snack.
AppamNot to be confused with the popular Kerala dish aapam, appam is a sweet dish which uses powdered rice and jaggery as the main ingredients. It is prepared to a batter consistency and then fried in hot oil.
AvalKnown as poha in Hindi, aval is nutritious, easy to digest and is considered to be a source of instant energy . This is why it is offered during Gokulashtami, as Lord Krishna is considered a child. It can be prepared in many ways, such as aval payasam, aval kesari and vella aval.
