India is a land of festivals and the month of January brings along a number of festivals with it. Pongal, Lohri and Makar Sakranti are three festivals that occur almost simultaneously but carry different traditions and significance.
Pongal or Thai Pongal is one of the most important festivals in the Tamil calendar. It is celebrated in respect to the Sun God. The reason behind celebrating the festival is to express gratitude and appreciation to the Sun God, for a successful season of harvest.
Food forms an important part of any festival in India. Tamil cuisine is not all sambhar, dosas and 'kaapi'. Find out!
Pongal
The name of the primary dish comes from the festival itself. 'Pongal' is a popular breakfast dish which is made during the festival. The most popular varieties of Pongal are Venn Pongal and Chakkara or Shakarai Pongal. Venn is a savoury rice dish, Shakarai is a more popular dish and is sweet in taste. It is made from ingredients including rice, mung beans, coconut and may be sweetened with jaggery or white sugar.
Murukku
This one brings water to your mouth, doesn't it? This wholesome snack is made using urad dal. It is shaped in a round-coil and has a crunchy goodness to it.
Urlai Roast
This recipe which comes straight from the land is a dish made with baby potatoes that are roasted and cooked in a freshly ground masala.
Meen Kozhambu
Kozhambu is a gravy dish with strong flavours of tamarind, toor dal and urad dal. It is a fish curry which is made with chillies. Because of the presence of both tamarind and chillies, the dish is both hot and sour.
Paayasam
This list would not have been complete without the mention of Paayasam. It is a kheer-like dessert and is made with rice, coconut and jaggery.
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