Home » Food and Drink »  Festival Cusine »  Navaratri - Festival Cuisine To Celebrate Navaratri in Traditional Style, We Offer a Platter of Festive Delights to Sweeten Tongues All Through the Joyous Nine Days.

Navaratri Bhojan

Tamil Nadu

Kabuli Channa (chick pea) Sundal

Sundal is typically eaten when people visit their friends' homes to see the Bommai Kolus or doll displays. Ingredients

• Kabuli Channa 1 cup
• Dry red chillies 2
• Slit green chillies 2
• Oil 2 tbs.
• Grated coconut 2 tbs.
• Curry leaves 1 tbs.
• Salt 1/2 to 3/4 tsp.
• Chopped ginger 1 tsp.
• Mustard seeds 1 tsp.
• Lime 1/2
• Hing powder a pinch
• Turmeric powder a pinch

Method Soak the kabuli channa overnight in water. Next day, wash well, and cook till tender. Drain and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, split black gram dal and dry red chillies. When the mustard seeds splutter, add hing powder, green chillies and curry leaves and fry a bit. Add the cooked kabuli channa, salt, and turmeric powder and fry till dry. Remove from heat, mix in the grated coconut, squeeze a lime and mix well. erve hot or cold. Serves: 6

Whole green gram sundal

A nice snack to munch on while admiring the doll displays. Ingredients: Whole green gram dal 1 cup Thinly sliced coconut bits 2 tbs. Thinly sliced raw mango bits 2 tbs. Oil 2 tbs Salt 1/2to 3/4 Mustard seeds 1/2tsp. Split black gram dal 1/2tsp. Dry red chillies 2 Split green chillies 2 Curry leaves little bit Hing powder a pinch Turmeric powder a pinch Method: Soak whole green gram dal overnight in water. Next morning, wash well and cook till tender. Drain off all water, keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, the back gram dal, the red chillies and hing powder. When the mustard seeds splutters, add the green chillies and curry leaves. Fry a bit, then add the green gram and all the other ingredients. Mix well. Serve hot or cold. Serves: 6

Rice payasam (kheer)

A delectable treat for those with a hankering for sweets. Ingredients: Milk 4 cups Rice 1/2cup Sugar 3/4 cup Cardamom powder 1/2tsp. Method: Wash rice well, cook with milk, stirring all the time, till tender. When the milk becomes thick, reduce flame and add the sugar. Stir till sugar dissolves. Sprinkle cardamom powder and stir. Serve hot or cold. Serves: 6

Rawa ladoo

Another sweet to tantalise your tastebuds. Ingredients: Rawa (semolina-cream of wheat) 1 cup Sugar 1 cup Ghee 1/4 cup Chopped cashewnuts 1/4 cup Cardamom powder 1/4 tsp. Method: Fry cashewnuts in 1/2tbs. of ghee over moderate heat till it turns light gold in colour. Powder the rawa and sugar separately in a mixer. Place the powdered rawa, sugar, cardamom powder and cashewnuts on a plate. Heat the ghee in a pan. Pour the moderately hot ghee into the rawa mixture. Mix well, and while still hot, make medium sized balls of the rawa mixture. After it cools down, keep in an airtight container. Serves: 6

Coconut Barfi

Yummmmmm. Ingredients: Fresh grated coconut 3 cups Sugar 1 1/2cups Water 1 cup Ghee 3/4 cup Flour (maida) 2 tbs. Cardamom powder 1/2tsp. Saffron 1/2tsp. Method: Boil sugar and water in a thick pan, over moderate heat, stirring all the time, till you get a thick syrup. Add the coconut and stir till dry. In a separate pan heat, 1/2cup of ghee. Add the flour and fry on a low flame till it turns light brown. Add this to the coconut mixture, along with saffron and cardamom powder. Cook on medium heat stirring all the time, till the mixture starts leaving the sides of the vessel. Now add the remaining 1/4 cup of ghee, stir once and pour into a greased tray. When the mixture cools, cut into pieces. Remove and keep in an airtight container. Serves: 6 Karnataka

Panchigajay (a sweet prasad)

An easy to prepare delicacy. Ingredients: Gram dal (channa dal) 1 cup Sugar 1 cup Grated coconut 1 cup Melted ghee 1 tbs. Cardamom powder 1 tsp. Method: Roast gram dal in a pan without oil till light red in colour. Allow to cool. Powder gram dal coarsely in a mixer. Likewise, powder the sugar also. Mix gram dal powder, the sugar powder, grated coconut, ghee and cardamom powder together. Mix well. Serves: 6

Eer edai (a sweet)

Satisfy all your sweet cravings with this dish. Ingredients: Rice 1 cup Grated coconut 3 cups Powdered jaggery 11/2cups. Salt 1/2tsp. Cardamom powder 1/2tsp. Method: For Filling: Soak rice in water for 2 hours. Wash well, drain off all water and grind into a smooth batter, adding 1 cup of coconut, salt and a little water. The consistency should be thinner than dosa batter. Keep aside. Cook the jaggery with 1/4 cup of water, till melted. Add the remaining 2 cups of coconut and cardamom powder. Stir till dry,