Karadayan Nonbu Adai

Apart from Deepavali and Pongal, the Tamil lunar calendar is dotted with many small scale festivals. Each one of them, with a mythological story behind, is celebrated with specific rites. More importantly, they have their own menu. Some of these menus are time consuming, that they are seldom done a second time in the same year. As a kid, I associated these festivals only through food. The rituals didn’t seem to be of much importance to me. But, as a teenager, I slowly learnt some of these recipes from my mom. She would take me through every step of the preparation, like explaining the different stages of sugar syrup, making a perfect kozhukattai (rice flour dumplings with coconut filling), or shaping a vada. She would also recite the stories and meanings behind the rituals that we perform, giving insights into the Hindu mythology. Not to mention the gossip and giggles we shared. I was a kid with lots of questions, she used to say. Partly curious and partly sceptic. My silly questions and her thoughtful answers is the reason why I know what I know today. These festivities are some of the best bonding moments we had. Thanks Amma!

Karadayan nonbu, which was celebrated last Saturday this year, is one such festivity. The story goes like this. Girl falls in love with a guy who is destined to die within a year. She marries him anyway. On the day of his dying, she tricks the Lord of Death by her ingenuity, brings her husband back to life. And they lived happily ever after. It is believed that the girl prepared these adais as an offering to the Gods, before her husband’s death.
(Characters: Girl – Savirtri, Guy – Satyavan, Lord of Death – Yama. Full story here.)

This nonbu (pronounced no-n-bu, Tamil for fasting) is observed during the first hour of the Tamil month Panguni, which occurs mid-March. The prescribed menu – sweet and savoury adai (steamed rice patty), served with a dab of butter. The rice flour is prepared at home, which makes the adai moist enough. You can also make this with store-bought rice flour. Make sure to use less water in that case.

Making rice flour at home

Soak 1¾ cups of rice for an hour. Drain and spread on a clean, cotton kitchen towel, and let it dry under shade. When it is almost dry, grind into a fine powder in batches. I find that Indian mixers do a good job than food processors. A good coffee grinder may do the job too. Roast the flour in a dry skillet, until the flour is heated through. You don’t have to wait for it to change color, but you should be able to smell the aroma of rice. Let cool, sieve and use in the recipe. This flour can be prepared in advance and stored in air-tight container. This will yield 2 cups of rice flour.

Vella Adai – Sweet
(makes 14)

Ingredients

Rice flour, prepared as mentioned above – 1 cup
Jaggery – 1 cup
Water – 2 ½ cups
Black eye peas/Karamani – 2 tbsp, dry roasted and cooked till soft
Coconut – ¼ cup, cut into small pieces (optional)
Ground cardamom – ¼ tsp
Banana leaves or Sesame/gingelly oil – for lining/greasing the plates

Method

Over medium heat, dissolve jaggery in water. When it comes to a boil, add black-eye peas and coconut. Add rice flour slowly, while whisking briskly with the other hand. If there are lumps, keep stirring until they are gone. Cook until the mixture forms into a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Let cool just until warm. With moist palm and fingertips, take ¼ cup of this mixture, shape into a patty, about ¼-inch thick. With your index finger, make a hole in the center. Arrange the patties on idly plates (or bamboo steamer) without overlapping. You can line the plates with banana leaves, if available. Otherwise, generously grease the plates with sesame oil. Steam cook for 10 minutes.

Kara Adai – Savoury
(makes 13)

Ingredients

Rice flour, prepared as mentioned above – 1 cup
Water – 2 cups
Black eye peas – 2 tbsp, dry roasted and cooked till soft
Coconut – ¼ cup, cut into small pieces (optional)
Salt
Banana leaves or Sesame/gingelly oil – for lining/greasing the plates

Seasoning

Oil – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Ginger – 1 tsp, finely chopped
Fresh green chilli – 1, chopped, seeded if desired
Asafoetida – a pinch
Curry leaves – 5 or 6, torn

Method

Over medium heat, heat oil, and add the ingredients given under seasoning, in the same order. Once they are toasty, add water and let it come to a boil. Add black-eye peas, coconut and salt. Stream in the rice flour while simultaneously whisking with the other hand. Cook until the mixture forms into a ball and pulls away from the sides. Shape and steam as mentioned above.

Enjoy sweet and savoury adai with a dab of butter.

This festivity, celebrated by a small community in one corner of the world, may sound strange to many of you, quite understandably. But, this may help a few of you, if you too practice these rituals. Most importantly, I don’t have to scratch my head next year over the measurements.