Friday, January 14, 2011

Ponggal festival and its food










Thai Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Indian Union Territory of Puducherry and in Sri Lanka. Pongal coincides with the festival Makara Sankranthi celebrated throughout India. Pongal in Tamil means "boiling over or spill over." The boiling over of milk in the clay pot symbolizes material abundance for the household. Thai Pongal, celebrated at harvest time, is traditionally intended to thank the Sun God and farmstead livestock that helped create the material abundance.

The festival usually occurs from January 13 — 15 in the Gregorian calendar i.e. the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of Thai.

Pongal is traditionally dedicated to the Sun God Surya. Tamils thank the solar deity for the good harvest and consecrate the first grain to him on this 'Surya Mangalya'.

The holiday denotes the start of the Tamil month of Thai. It marks the day when the Sun purportedly shifts northwards. It signifies the commencement of Uttarayana, which represents the northward journey of Sun. The days get longer in the Tamil lands. Thai Pongal falls on Makara Sankranthi celebrated throughout India as the winter harvest. This also represents the Indic solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac i.e. Makara or Capricorn.

Special food of this festival

There are many people who really love to have south Indian food, as it is very delicious. For those who really want to have some mouth watering south Indian dishes can make use of the pongal festival. You can visit any of your south Indian friends and neighbors house during the four days of pongal celebrations and have tempting pongal dishes.

For those who have no option but have some free time during the pongal days, can make use of thepongal recipes given below. The pongal recipes given below will help you to make homemade pongal dishes that you and your family can enjoy on the pongal festival.

ingredient

fresh milk 1 1/2 cup

rice 1 cup (wash)

ghee 1 laddle

30g cashewnuts

30g raisin

40g brown sugar (mix well with some water and strain it)

1 laddle sugar

Method

1)boil the milk

2)once the milk boil then add in washed rice

3)when rice almost cook add in raisin and cashewnuts

4)then add in brown sugar and white sugar n let it cook well

5)once the rice is cook, stir in the ghee and add same salt for the taste.......

Try and taste the ponggal rice......happy ponggal.....




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