Navratri Festival Recipes 2013 – Navaratri Sundal Recipes (South Indian)

I love this time of year when festival season is in full swing in India. Navaratri or Navratri always meant sundal at home and they always tasted different than when amma normally made them with meals. The most important events around Navaratri in Kerala and in my home was for Ayudha pooja and Saraswati pooja. We would arrange our school books neatly in the pooja room under a white cloth over which amma would then place small deity statues and fresh flowers. This meant no reading or studying for about 3 days and my cousins and I always took that very very seriously. We also followed a vegetarian diet during these days although a full-fledged vrat was not part of the program. I don’t remember us not including onions or garlic in our food either.

Ayudha pooja was equally important in our home since both my parents were business people. My dad would keep all his ledgers and account books for pooja and do a mini one with his employees. Amma would send hot vada, sundal, and sakkara pongal for this occasion. At home, in amma’s stitching unit, we would do a mini pooja for all the sewing machines and important tools like tailoring scissors and thread boxes. As a child, all of this was entertaining and fascinating, although it meant bathing first thing in the morning and wearing a pattu pavadai.

Anyway, I hope you are making memories for your own Navaratri celebrations at home. Here are some recipes I have on Edible Garden that could help with it.

NAVARATRI SUNDAL RECIPES
Kadalai Sundal
Kadalai Paruppu Sundal
Green Peas Sundal
Pattani Mangai Sundal
Green Gram Sundal
Mochai Sundal

NAVARATRI SNACKS
Medu Vada
Mysore Bonda
Paruppu Vadai
Keerai Vadai
Aval Vadai
Tamarind Rice

NAVARATRI SWEETS
Sakkarai Pongal
Paal Vadai
Maladu
Paal Payasam
Semiya Payasam