Navrathri, which means nine nights, is the celebration of Goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura. During navrathri, Durga is worshipped in nine forms and finally as Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswathy.
Along with pujas and revelry, the festivities place a lot of importance on food, too. Malayalis usually offer beaten rice (avil), puffed rice (malar), jaggery and banana / fruits to the Goddess. In Tamil Nadu, sundal, sweets and other savouries are offered in prayer.
The most common among narvathri preparations are sundal and a sweet dish made of moong dal and jaggery. Try these easy-to-prepare recipes.
Sundal
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
Chickpeas – 2 cups
Coconut oil – 1 tbsp
Grated coconut – three fourth
cup
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Red chillies, dried – 3-4, broken
Curry leaves – 3-4 stalks
Method
Soak the chickpeas for one hour. Drain. Pressure-cook with enough water for 4-5 whistles. Drain water, if any. The chickpeas must be firm to the touch and cooked. In a wok, heat the coconut oil.
Pop the mustard seeds, add broken red chillies and fry the curry leaves. Add the grated coconut and let it warm. Tip in the dry chickpeas. Add salt to taste. Stir well. Serve hot!
Sweet moong dal
Ingredients
Moong dal – 2 cups
Jaggery – 250 gms
Water – quarter cup
Desiccated coconut – 1 cup
Cardamom – 5 nos, powdered
Ghee – 1 tsp
Method
Soak moong dal for 1 hour. Pressure-cook for 3-4 whistles. Make a jaggery syrup. When thick, add desiccated coconut, the cooked moong dal, cardamom and ghee. Stir well until the mixture is dry.
Serve warm.
