The Fast ( Sabitri Brata Series )

Five more days to go. I guess most of us would be done with shopping (clothes/accessories/make-up) for Sabitri and all those dresses/blouses would have gone to the tailors for stitching. Now the uphill task is to get these notorious procrastinating guys from delivering on time. So, keep reminding the fellas that D-day is nearing. And get your shopping list ready for buying those edibles.

Now moving on to the matter of the fast, I have got a few queries on what is ok to consume on Sabitri and what can be offered as the prasad. So, I am doing this blog post to answer all those queries. You can still drop a query by means of a comment on my blog or on my Fb page (here). Read on -

• The thumb rule - "No cooked items please". All fruits, salad vegetables, milk products, sabudana and sprouts are ok. 
• No sweets please unless it is 'misti doi' .
• Tea and coffee are debatable. Best to avoid but if you are addicted, have a cup or two to keep you from feeling cranky.
• No regular salt. Use black salt.
• No ice-cream.
• The prasad usually consists of all possible types of fruits. Though most senior ladies advice you to stick to a few 'desi' fruits, people staying abroad may find it tough. So, all fruits are ok. 

Some easy recipes that you can make -

1. Sabudana with milk - Soak 1 cup sabudana overnight. Drain the water and mix it with 1 cup milk, 1-2 mashed bananas, 1/2 cup chopped apple, freshly grated coconut, crumbled chenna and some sugar/jaggery. Consume immediately.

2. Sabudana with yogurt - Soak 1 cup sabudana overnight. Drain the water and mix it with 1/2 cup yogurt, small pineapples pieces, apples pieces, pomegranate and some sugar. Consume immediately.

3. Fruit Salad - Take assorted fruits in a bowl. Sprinkle some black salt and black pepper powder. Add a dash of lime juice. Toss. Keep aside for 5 mins. Dig in.

4. Sprouts Salad - Take moong sprouts, channa sprouts chopped cucumber, chopped avocado, black salt , black pepper powder and lime juice in a mixing bowl. Toss together. Keep aside for 15 mins. Dig in.

5. Dahi Sharbat (Lassi)- With the mango season at its peak, add some fresh mango pulp to your dahi sharbat to make it more interesting. 

6. Mango Milkshake - Chilled milk, mango pulp and sugar buzzed together for 1-2 mins. 

7. Watermelon Slush -  Watermelon cubes, lime juice, crushed ice, sugar and water tossed together in a blender will give you a most gratifying sip.



Note - Different households have different views on what is permissible. Hence, do consult with your MIL if you have any doubts.

Read more on the Sabitri Brata series Here and Here .

Happy Makar Sankranti

Happy Makar Sankranti/Pongal to all my readers !!

Ghadaghadiya Tarkari ( An authentic Odia Recipe for Samba Dashami )

'Samba Dashami' evokes images of women getting up early to take a bath before at the crack of dawn. The kitchens come alive with the clanging of utensils and the heavenly aromas drifting out of them. The rising sun rise is greeted with a cacophony of sounds like the blowing of the conch shells (sankha), the 'hulu-huli' ( a kind of sound uttered by mouth) and the ringing of bells. This ritual is observed for the good health and long life of the children and the mother usually offers a particular dish (year after year) to the Sun God for each one of brood. Usually various kinds of Pitha or sweets are offered along with the Ghadaghadiya tarkari. Another variety of prasad is offered to the Sun God during the noon. The final prasad is offered to Lord Yama in a ritual known as the 'Mahakala Puja'. This pooja is done at night and 'Budha Chakuli' is offered to the God.

The story of Samba Dashami is attributed to Samba, the son of Lord Krishna. It is said that Samba who was  afflicted with leprosy had prayed to the Sun God for 12 long years and finally he was cured. The temple dedicated to the Sun God still stands on the Chandrabhaga beach (near Konark temple). Devotees throng this place on the day of Samba Dashami.

Since it is offered to the God, 'Ghadaghadiya Tarkari' does not contain any onion or garlic. The vegetables which go into it are supposed to benefit those suffering from cold and cough, both of which are common ailments during the winter months. Samba Dashami is celebrated on the 10th day of the Shukla Pakhya (waxing moon) during the Odia month of Pausa. This year it falls on 31st December.

Read on  -

Preparation Time - 20 mins (plus extra time required to chop all the vegetables)

Ingredients -

• 1 cup mati alu /yam (cubed)
• 1 cup kakharu/pumpkin (cubed)
• 1/2 cup amrutabhanda/raw papaya (cubed)
• 1/2 cup shakarkand/sweet potato (cubed)
• 1/2 cup saru/taro (cubed)
• 1/2 cup alu/potato (cubed)
• 1/2 cup mula/radish (cubed)
• 1/2 cup baigana/eggplant (cubed)
• 1/2 cup kancha kadali/raw banana (cubed)
• 1 cup simba/broad beans (inch long pieces)
• 1 cup jhudunga/yard long beans (inch long pieces)
• 2-3 medium sized tomatoes (halved)
• 1/2 cup gajar/carrot (cubed) (optional)
• 1/2 cup potola/pointed gourd (cubed) (optional)
• 1/2 cup janhi/ridge gourd(cubed) (optional)
• 1 cup boiled lentils ( mix of bengal gram, kabuli chana, whole green moong, yellow peas) (optional)
• 1/2 cup green peas (optional)
• 1 cup fried badi
• 2-3 dry red chilis
• 1-2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp roasted cumin-chili powder
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1/3 tsp kala luna/black salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• fistful of coriander leaves

Preparation - Wash and clean all the vegetables. Some of them like raw banana, eggplant have a tendency to blacken if left in the open for too long. So, immerse them in a bowl of water to which a little turmeric has been added.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a large wok/degchi. Add the broken red chilis and cumin seeds to it. Once it gets spluttering, add vegetables like yam, potato, sweet potato, raw banana, pumpkin, carrot and papaya. Saute for a few minutes before adding 2 cup boiling water, salt and turmeric. Cover with a heavy lid and allow to boil for 3-4 mins

Add the remaining vegetables along with the lentils and let it boil for another 5-6 mins or till the veggies are cooked.

Finally add the roasted cumin-chili powder and coriander leaves just before removing from the flame.

Add the black salt and badi when serving.

This curry is usually served piping hot and tastes good with parathas.

Note - If making this curry on a regular day, one can add some fried onions, GG paste and freshly grated coconut to it.

Khaee Chanda ( Kumar Purnima Special )

Kumar Purnima or the last day of the Shravan masa, marks an important day in the Oriya Calendar. It is a day when unmarried girls keep a fast and offer worship to the Moon. According to folklore, the girls who offer worship as soon as the moon is sighted will get a young and handsome husband. Any delay in the worship results in a bad omen and such girls are said to be destined for a old husband. Anyways this is an old wives tale and i personally do not believe in it.

But it is the 'Khaee Chanda', the primary offering that i personally look forward to on this day. It is a delicious medley of khaee (a kind of puffed rice), ripe bananas, tender cucumber, grated coconut, yogurt and sugar. This is one of the simplest forms of prasadam that I have come across and does not require any cooking but the taste is simply mind-blowing.

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -  2 cups khaee, 1 ripe banana (peeled), 1 tender cucumber (finely chopped), 1/2 cup grated coconut, 1/2 cup yogurt, 3-4 tsp sugar.

Preparation - Take all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mash together so that all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Transfer the mixture onto a clean plate and give it the shape of a Full moon (round) or a New moon (crescent).

Use this to offer worship to the Moon ( Do it near a Tulsi plant with some flowers, incense sticks and a lighted diya ). Afterwards it is consumed as a prasadam.

Note - It might turn a little dark if kept for sometime due to the presence of ripe bananas. But it does not affect the taste in any way.

Note - I have not used any khaee in this recipe as i could not get any in Blore.