Deepam and delights

KOCHI: Diwali is celebrated as the festival of lights  all over the country. However, for south Indians, there is another festival of lights – Thrikarthika – which falls in the auspicious Malayalam month of Vrishchikam (mid-November to December). 

Come dusk, Hindu households will adorn homes and courtyards (or balconies) with earthen lamps, locally known as chirath or idinjil. In most parts of south India, the festival is observed to mark the birth of Lord Subramanya aka Karthikeya or Murugan. 

In some parts of Kerala, especially down south, the day is observed to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi to one’s home. After thoroughly cleaning the house, lamps are lit to ward off evil forces or negativity, and usher in prosperity and joy. 

Old-timers say the festival is marked during the second annual harvest cycle and is considered an ancient form of paying respect to Mother Nature.  

Spiritual joy 
Thiruvananthapuram-based college student Meenu Nair recalls the joy of watching her 90-year-old grandmother brush aside age-related ailments and light up the oil-filled chiraths placed around their spacious, tile-roofed ancestral house. 

“After lighting up all the lamps, she would gaze at them with childlike innocence,” says Meenu. “It is a custom that she passed on to me before passing away. One can feel a positive vibe seeing households glow with lit-up lamps. The radiant full moon adds to the divine feel.” 

In some households, plantain stems are used as lamp stands, and they are decorated with coconut palm leaves and native flowers. Palakkad-based Hindi teacher Sreekumar Kalarickal says households are cleaned and adorned with lamps to welcome Goddess Mahalakshmi. “According to the Dasama Skandha in Bhagavatam, the day marks the birth of Mayadevi, a goddess born to Yashodha before Krishna,” he explains.

Referring to ancient texts, Sreekumar notes the festival is connected to nature, as there used to be a practice of placing earthen lamps under fruit-bearing trees too.  “Also, fire torches made of coconut spathe and oil-soaked cloth would be lit and planted in paddy fields on this day,” he adds. 

“Earlier, people used marotti tree (hydnocarpus) seed shells as lamps, instead of clay chiraths. And, the head of the house would place a lamp on a bamboo plate filled with jaggery, rice, rice flour, coconut, thulasi, rice flakes, puffed rice, and circumambulate the house three times, calling out the names of the trees on the premises. Thus, it was connected with nature. Also, it was a way to ward off pests that usually attack trees or paddy fields in this season.”

Food chronicles
The festive cuisine varies across regions. In south Kerala, steamed or boiled tuber crops such as purple yam, elephant yam, sweet potato, arrowroot and tapioca are a must.But in the Ernakulam region, these steamed tuber crops are prepared during the Thiruvathira festival, says culinary expert Nalini Menon, 70.  “On Thrikarthika, we make sweet savouries such as neyyappam and ela ada,” she adds. 

Recalling her childhood, Nalini, 70, says there would be an elaborate cleansing of the household and cowshed. “I used to be in charge of lighting the lamps. I still follow the tradition,” she adds. “We eat only vegetarian food on that day. Earlier, rice, coconuts and fruits were abundantly available in the store rooms. Our mother used to prepare katti payasam, steamed ada and neyyappam using these organic, locally available ingredients.” 

Meanwhile, Sreekumar says, in his native place in Thiruvalla, ada aka steamed rice cake is prepared in the leaves of poovarash (thespesia) trees on Karthika day. “Rice powder mixed with grated coconut is wrapped in these leaves and steamed,” he adds. “Also, there is a flower called karthika. We make floral carpets in front of our homes using karthika flowers.”

Winter warmth  
Former executive chef of Club Mahindra at Alappuzha Govind Gopalakrishnan, who hails from Ooruttambalam in Thiruvananthapuram district, says purple yam is a must for Karthika. “All the tuber crops are steamed,” he adds. 

“Shallots and red chillies are carefully roasted in the fireplace to make chutney. Smoked ada is another must for the day. Savoury items are consumed during the evenings.” Home chef and television anchor Priya Kolassery remembers Thrikarthika as a grand get-together in joint families. “In my childhood, steamed tuber crops would be kept on large plantain leaves, and they would be eaten together by the whole family,” she says. 

“On the day of Thrikarthika, we are allowed to drink and eat tender coconut after dusk. It used to be taboo to do so at night otherwise.” For the past three years, Priya has been making special Karthika food combo packs for city folks. She serves all the steamed tuber crops, tender coconut, and shallot chutney. 
“There are many takers. However, it is hard to source these tubers in urban spaces,” she says. 

“It is heartening to note that an increasing number of people want to relish food connected to their roots. I take great joy in doing my bit to keep traditional cuisines alive.”

A cup of sulaimani with pan-fried ela ada

Govind Gopalakrishnan shares his traditional recipe of smoked ela ada. “It is natively known as chutta ela ada. It goes well with a cup of sulaimani or spiced lemon tea. Rather than black tea, the best combination is to eat the ada over a cup of sulaimani. The combination is also good as we have a winter climate nowadays,” he says.

Ingredients

For outer layer
Wheat flour: 1 cup 
Salt to taste 

Add lukewarm water and make a soft dough 
For fillings
Grated coconut: 1 cup 
Jaggery: grated, 1/4 cup 
Crushed cardamom 
Cashew nuts: 1 tbs 
Ghee: 1 tsp 

Preparation
Mix the above ingredients well and keep them aside. 
Divide the dough into equal ball shapes. Apply some oil to banana leaves and spread the dough using your fingers. Add the required fillings and fold them in a half-moon shape. Heat dosa tawa or frying pan and grill both sides by covering it with a lid. In between sprinkle some water and allow it to steam so that ela ada will get soft also.

Sulaimani

Ingredients

Cardamom, Cloves, Cinnamon 
Grated lemon zest (optional)
Bay leaves (optional), Mint leaves stem, Tea powder, Sugar to taste

Preparation
Crush cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mint leaves and bay leaf. Boil water in a pan and put these crushed ingredients. Let it boil well then grate a lemon to it and stir a little. Later put tea powder and sugar to taste, sieve the particles and serve hot.

KOCHI: Diwali is celebrated as the festival of lights  all over the country. However, for south Indians, there is another festival of lights – Thrikarthika – which falls in the auspicious Malayalam month of Vrishchikam (mid-November to December).  Come dusk, Hindu households will adorn homes and courtyards (or balconies) with earthen lamps, locally known as chirath or idinjil. In most parts of south India, the festival is observed to mark the birth of Lord Subramanya aka Karthikeya or Murugan.  In some parts of Kerala, especially down south, the day is observed to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi to one’s home. After thoroughly cleaning the house, lamps are lit to ward off evil forces or negativity, and usher in prosperity and joy.  Old-timers say the festival is marked during the second annual harvest cycle and is considered an ancient form of paying respect to Mother Nature.   Nalini MenonSpiritual joy  Thiruvananthapuram-based college student Meenu Nair recalls the joy of watching her 90-year-old grandmother brush aside age-related ailments and light up the oil-filled chiraths placed around their spacious, tile-roofed ancestral house.  “After lighting up all the lamps, she would gaze at them with childlike innocence,” says Meenu. “It is a custom that she passed on to me before passing away. One can feel a positive vibe seeing households glow with lit-up lamps. The radiant full moon adds to the divine feel.”  In some households, plantain stems are used as lamp stands, and they are decorated with coconut palm leaves and native flowers. Palakkad-based Hindi teacher Sreekumar Kalarickal says households are cleaned and adorned with lamps to welcome Goddess Mahalakshmi. “According to the Dasama Skandha in Bhagavatam, the day marks the birth of Mayadevi, a goddess born to Yashodha before Krishna,” he explains. Referring to ancient texts, Sreekumar notes the festival is connected to nature, as there used to be a practice of placing earthen lamps under fruit-bearing trees too.  “Also, fire torches made of coconut spathe and oil-soaked cloth would be lit and planted in paddy fields on this day,” he adds.  “Earlier, people used marotti tree (hydnocarpus) seed shells as lamps, instead of clay chiraths. And, the head of the house would place a lamp on a bamboo plate filled with jaggery, rice, rice flour, coconut, thulasi, rice flakes, puffed rice, and circumambulate the house three times, calling out the names of the trees on the premises. Thus, it was connected with nature. Also, it was a way to ward off pests that usually attack trees or paddy fields in this season.” Food chronicles The festive cuisine varies across regions. In south Kerala, steamed or boiled tuber crops such as purple yam, elephant yam, sweet potato, arrowroot and tapioca are a must.But in the Ernakulam region, these steamed tuber crops are prepared during the Thiruvathira festival, says culinary expert Nalini Menon, 70.  “On Thrikarthika, we make sweet savouries such as neyyappam and ela ada,” she adds.  Recalling her childhood, Nalini, 70, says there would be an elaborate cleansing of the household and cowshed. “I used to be in charge of lighting the lamps. I still follow the tradition,” she adds. “We eat only vegetarian food on that day. Earlier, rice, coconuts and fruits were abundantly available in the store rooms. Our mother used to prepare katti payasam, steamed ada and neyyappam using these organic, locally available ingredients.”  Meanwhile, Sreekumar says, in his native place in Thiruvalla, ada aka steamed rice cake is prepared in the leaves of poovarash (thespesia) trees on Karthika day. “Rice powder mixed with grated coconut is wrapped in these leaves and steamed,” he adds. “Also, there is a flower called karthika. We make floral carpets in front of our homes using karthika flowers.” Winter warmth   Former executive chef of Club Mahindra at Alappuzha Govind Gopalakrishnan, who hails from Ooruttambalam in Thiruvananthapuram district, says purple yam is a must for Karthika. “All the tuber crops are steamed,” he adds.  “Shallots and red chillies are carefully roasted in the fireplace to make chutney. Smoked ada is another must for the day. Savoury items are consumed during the evenings.” Home chef and television anchor Priya Kolassery remembers Thrikarthika as a grand get-together in joint families. “In my childhood, steamed tuber crops would be kept on large plantain leaves, and they would be eaten together by the whole family,” she says.  “On the day of Thrikarthika, we are allowed to drink and eat tender coconut after dusk. It used to be taboo to do so at night otherwise.” For the past three years, Priya has been making special Karthika food combo packs for city folks. She serves all the steamed tuber crops, tender coconut, and shallot chutney.  “There are many takers. However, it is hard to source these tubers in urban spaces,” she says.  “It is heartening to note that an increasing number of people want to relish food connected to their roots. I take great joy in doing my bit to keep traditional cuisines alive.” A cup of sulaimani with pan-fried ela ada Govind Gopalakrishnan shares his traditional recipe of smoked ela ada. “It is natively known as chutta ela ada. It goes well with a cup of sulaimani or spiced lemon tea. Rather than black tea, the best combination is to eat the ada over a cup of sulaimani. The combination is also good as we have a winter climate nowadays,” he says. Ingredients For outer layer Wheat flour: 1 cup  Salt to taste  Add lukewarm water and make a soft dough  For fillings Grated coconut: 1 cup  Jaggery: grated, 1/4 cup  Crushed cardamom  Cashew nuts: 1 tbs  Ghee: 1 tsp  Preparation Mix the above ingredients well and keep them aside.  Divide the dough into equal ball shapes. Apply some oil to banana leaves and spread the dough using your fingers. Add the required fillings and fold them in a half-moon shape. Heat dosa tawa or frying pan and grill both sides by covering it with a lid. In between sprinkle some water and allow it to steam so that ela ada will get soft also. Sulaimani Ingredients Cardamom, Cloves, Cinnamon  Grated lemon zest (optional) Bay leaves (optional), Mint leaves stem, Tea powder, Sugar to taste Preparation Crush cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mint leaves and bay leaf. Boil water in a pan and put these crushed ingredients. Let it boil well then grate a lemon to it and stir a little. Later put tea powder and sugar to taste, sieve the particles and serve hot.