Karadaiyan Nombu

Karthikai Vratham, Karadaiyan Nombu and Meena Sankranti. On the Tamil month Panguni start date. 

Karadaiyan Nonbu is a festival performed by women from the Tamil Hindu community for the welfare of their husbands as well as future husbands. This festival is mostly observed by married women and young girls in the name of Goddess Gowri / Sakthi. This is in relation to how Savithri saved her husband from Yamadharma Raja. It is celebrated on the first day of Panguni in the southern calendar.

Karadaiyan Nombu is commemorated, when the two Tamil months of Panguni and Massi occurs. This is the beginning of the Tamil month of Panguni and the end of the Tamil month of Massi.

Married women fast on that day. Before the auspicious time, women draw kolam in front of their pooja room, take a bath and officiate the ceremony with the pooja. Typically, an offering made out of rice powder and jaggery is prepared and offered to the goddess.

After performing all the rituals the devotees consume the Karadai which is prepared with rice flour, black eyed peas, jaggery and coconut and is eaten hot with butter. Karadaiyan Nombu is based on the legend of Savitri and Satyavan, as Savitri was the first women who first started observing this fast.

This nonbu/vrat should be done exactly in the time when Tamil month 'Masi' ends and the next month 'Panguni' starts.

During the nombu ceremony, nombu thread is offered. Its done wearing red/yellow thread. Nombu Charadu is a red-coated thin thread.

We worship Goddess Parvati during the fast (nombu). It marks Birthday of Parvati Devi.

It is similar to Karwa chauth celebrated in North India. Married women observe fast for well being and long life of their husband.

Adai Recipie

Cup measurements

Ingredients

2 cups Raw rice

For sweet adai

1 cup Rice flour

1 cup Jaggery

2 cups Water

4 tablespoon Coconut pieces

¼ cup Karamani/ black eyed peas

1 Cardamom powdered

For salt adai

1 cup Rice flour

4 tablespoon coconut

¼ cup Karamani

Salt

1 teaspoon Oil

¾ teaspoon Mustard

2 Green chilli

1 sprig Curry leaves

2 generous pinches Asafoetida

Instructions

How to prepare rice flour:

Wash and soak rice for 1 or two hours. After soaking, drain water completely and spread it in a clean kitchen towel.

let the cloth absorb excess water. Say for 10-30 minutes. Grind it to a fine powder in a mixie.

Sieve it and if you get more remains(coarse rice in the sieve) again powder it sieve to prevent wastage.

Roast the rice flour just a little until steam raises to remove excess moisture. For store bought flour, no need to roast or just for 1 minute you can roast.

This will yield 2 cups of rice flour. So divide and use it for this recipe. 1 cup flour for each, sweet and salt version.

Roasting the navadhanyam:

Roast karamani and 7 other grains one in each just for name sake(optional)– I used  chana, black urad, green moong, finger millet, red milltet, mocha kottai, dried peas . Roast until karamani starts golden and nice aroma wafts.

Let the flame in medium flame. Soak in water until you do the other works (2-3 hrs). If you want you can give a whistle to ensure softness of karamani and easy cooking in kozhukattai.

How to make sweet karadaiyan nombu adai?

Boil 2 cups water in a heavy bottomed vessel, add jaggery and dissolve it completely.

Filter the jaggery to remove impurities in a metal strainer.

Bring to boil again and add the karamani we soaked drained from water. (Pre cook the karamani for softer results).

Simmer the flame and add the flour in a sprinkled way.

Mix it while you add briskly with other hand to avoid lump formation.

Continue stirring in a mashing way, to break the lumps if any.

When it becomes a lump as in the picture, switch off the flame.

It takes some time, so keep stirring. When it forms lump, it may look sticky, but after cool down, it will stiffen.

How to make Salt version of karadaiyan nombu?

heat a heavy bottomed pan with oil and season with mustard, green chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida.

Add 2 cups water,mix salt to it. Bring to boil. You can add a pinch of asafoetida at this stage for extra flavour.

Add karamani and boil for 5 mins. Simmer the flame and add the rice flour little by little as you mix with the other hand.

Cook in medium flame, this will thicken soon than the sweet dough, so be prepared for that.

When it forms as a lump, switch off the flame and transfer to another vessel.

By now the sweet dough would have cooled down.

Make equal sized balls, flatten in well greased hands and make a hole in the middle. Knead each dough ball every time just before/ while you flatten to avoid cracked edges.

When you make hole, dip the finger in sesame oil to make it easier.

Steaming the prepared karadaiyan nombu adai:

Arrange in plate/ idli plate.Repeat the same for salt version and make equal size balls and flatten in well greased hands, make a hole in the middle.

Arrange in greased idli plate and steam for 5-8 minutes.

Notes

You can use store bought rice flour also for this preparation.

Make sure you reduce the flame when you add flour and keep stirring to avoid lumps in the dough. If few lumps are there, it will break as we keep stirring, no need to worry.

Roasting karamani adds a great flavour, not only that, it also makes it cook easily. The longer it gets soaked, it will easily get cooked and be soft in the adai. But make sure not to roast too dark as it will give you hard result in the kozhukattai. 

You can roast the karamani prior night and morning on wake up you can soak it. So that it gets cooked easily when added to water.

If you skip the above steps, you can even boil or pressure cook the karamani  for a whistle, to cook it before adding.

Keep the prepared dough covered, as it will become dry while cooling down.

If it is too dry, sprinkle water while you make adai. Otherwise the edges will be cracked.

You can add grated coconut in place of chopped coconut, both has its own texture and taste.

The sweet dough takes longer time to get stiff. So keep stirring.

You can add finely chopped ginger in salt adai while tempering…