I thought of writing the recipes specially made for the festivals and here is my first one .

Arudhra darshan or Thiruvadirai is a festival celebrated in southern part of india especially in kerala and tamilnadu.

This festival is celebrated for Lord Nataraja.The festival  occurs in the tamil month of Margazhi ( December - January )

on the day in which ths star 'Thiruvadirai' occurs.It is celebrated for 10 days in Chidambaram. This year it occured on

January 1st, 2010.

Usually we used to make two recipes on this occasion. One is called 'Kali' ( sweet dish ) and the other is '7 vegetable kootu'

which is made with minimum seven vegetables. I have explained how to make both of these below:

1. Kali:

Ingredients:

• Raw rice - 1 cup
• Toor dhal - handful
• Channa dhal - handful
• Jaggery powder -  1 1/2 cups
• Cashewnut seeds - 10 to 15
• Ghee - As per need

Method:

1. Deep fry rice, toor dhal and channa dhal till rice becomes slightly brown and allow it to cool for sometime ( Similar to the colour of a biscuit )
2. Grind the above to a fine powder. ( Not very fine and not very coarse )
3. Take a broad pan, add jaggery powder and 4 1/2 cups of water to it and boil it.
4. When it is boiled well, put the grinded powder to it and mix it well and keep in low flame.
5. Add ghee and fry it in between so that it doesn't become hard.
6. When it is fully cooked, remove it from flame and smash it using spoon so that it is even.
7. Heat ghee in a pan and fry the broken cashewnut seeds till it becomes slightly brown.
8. Put the cashewnuts to kali and mix it well.

2. 7 vegetable kootu:

Ingredients:

• Carrot - 1
• French Beans or Green beans - 50g
• Broad beans - 50g
• Cluster beans - 25g
• Colocasia - 5 to 6 pieces
• Brinjal - 3 to 4
• Potato - 2
• Yam - 25g
• Pumpkin - 50g
• Sweet potato - 3 to 4
• Chow chow ( small ) - 1
• Plantain - 1
• Hyacinth bean or field bean ( Mochai in Tamil ) - 25g
• Ash gourd - 50g
• Coriander seeds - 1 cup
• Red chillies - 5 to 6
• Grated cocunut - 1 cup
• Channa dhal - handful
• Toor dhal - 1/4 cup
• Tamarind - 1/2 the size of lemon
• Tumeric powder - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 3 tsp
• Salt - As per need

Method:

1. Pressure cook toor dhal by adding water and little tumeric powder and keep it aside.
2. Peel the skin of ash gourd, pumpkin, sweet potato, chow chow, yam, plantain, carrot and cut it.
3. After cutting brinjal and plantain , put it to water so that they will not become black.
4. Pressure cook potato, colocasia and yam together and peel the skin of potato and colocasia.
5. Cut broad beans, cluster beans , green beans, field bean , carrot to medium size and cook it.
6. Cook sweet potato seperately as it will cook fast.
7. Heat oil in a pan and fry coriander seeds, channa dhal, red chillies and grated cocunut and allow it to cool for some time.
8. Grind the above to a fine paste.
9. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and put mustard seeds.
10. When mustard seeds sputters out, add fenugreek seeds and remove it from flame after a minute.
11. Take a broad vessel and put chopped ash gourd, pumpkin, chow chow, plantain, brinjal.
12. Add tumeric powder and water to the above and boil it.
13. Extract tamarind juice for 1 cup and 1 cup of water to it.
13. When these vegetables are cooked, add the tamarind juice and the remaining cooked vegetables, salt ( broad bean, cluster bean,
field bean, green beans, potato, sweet potato, colocasia, carrot, yam ).
14. Smash the cooked dhal and add to the vessel and mix it well.
15. After few minutes, put the grinded paste and mix it well.
16. When yellow colour comes on the corner of the vessel, switch off the stove.
17. Add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds to kootu and mix it well.

Note :

If you find kootu is not very thick, take 3 tsps of rice flour , make a paste by adding water and put it into the kootu while it is boiling.