To taste or not to taste

We had a couple of people over for a festival and we were exchanging naivedyam. Theirs was a bit bland and ours was tasty as usual. Then the lady says she did not taste it while cooking as it is said that we should refrain from tasting the naivedyam before offering it to God. That pushed me to put this ranting on paper. One side of the coin is that as a cook your job is to know a person's taste without needing to taste the food while cooking and yet be sure of the perfectness of the food. It takes experience/practice/passion to do that. But for people who lack in this area, I think it is not wrong to taste it before offering to God. I do not support the notion that tasting a food before offering it to God contaminates the food in any way. For us or for our relatives, we sometimes taste it to check if it will satisfy us or our guests. I see no harm doing the same with naivedyam*. It depends on what one believes. As for me, I can tell if the flavours and spices are sufficient without tasting. But I do taste it to confirm that I'm right. It's no different than getting the right answer to a question :) Now you think I'm crazy....no problem :)

People, how can God be offended when you just want to make sure he/she gets tasty food? This

reminds me of the beautiful story about Sabari and Rama. Sabari tasted the fruits she from her basket and she offered to Lord Rama those she found sweet and ripe.Rama relished the fruits she offered with so much devotion; while partaking of them he said, "Mother! these fruits are as sweet as your own heart. Really, these are not fruits that grew on trees. These are the fruits that have grown on the tree of life, on the branches of the pure mind, in the sunshine of love. I am indeed debted in all manner of ways for you have offered me devotion that is pure, steady, and selfless and which is love springing from the heart and surging from it in all directions and towards all beings. You have not cast aspersions on anyone, even while dreaming ! That is what makes your mind so pure. Your mind does not blossom when good comes to you, nor does it wither when bad comes. You are blessed in all ways". Seeing Rama in this mood Lakshmana was happy beyond words, for Rama had not eaten fruits with joy since all these days Lakshmana had to persuade him to taste a few, with a good deal of parley, pleading and praying even after the fruits were peeled, cut and placed before Him. Rama was so afflicted by the separation from Sita. Inspite of all the efforts of Lakshmana, Rama would eat only half a fruit or so, never was Lakshmana satisfied with the quantity that his brother ate. Today, Sabari gave him the fruits which had dropped ripe from the trees, she used to dust them and clean them and keep them for him everyday and when Rama did not arrive, she consumed them herself as sacramental food, given to her by Rama himself! Day after day, she roamed the forest in search of sweet ones to be placed before Rama. Thus, daily the fruits were saturated with her love and devotion and the fruits became doubly desirable. Lakshmana noticed that this was the reason Rama was eating them with joy. He was filled with delight and he admired the devotion of Sabari that was so richly rewarded.

So if you are devoted to God, the little things like what you offer and how you offer will never matter.

patram pushpam phalam toyam

yo me bhaktya prayacchati

tad aham bhakty-upahritam

ashnami prayatatmanah

(If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.)

(Bhagavad Gita 9.26)

* Naivedyam is created by a process of giving and receiving between a devotee and God. It is any material thing we offer to God along with prayer and then distributed in the God's name. The Naivedyam has the deity's blessing residing within it.

Ugadi Thali

Greenery in the neighbourhood, fresh blossoms everywhere, jasmines adorning every woman's hair, sparkly clean houses, entrances filled with vibrant rangolis, the aroma of poli and pulihora, the recital of Panchangasravanam can mean only one event - the festival UGADI

Ugadi is a Telugu festival marking the beginning of a new year. While it is called Ugadi in Andhra and Karnataka, it is Gudipadava in Maharashtra. Ugadi is celebrated on the Shukla Paksha of the first month (Chaitra Masam) in the first season of the year i.e. Spring (Vasanta Ritu). It is believed that the creator of the world Lord Brahma started creation on this day - "Chaitra Suddha Padhyami" or the Ugadi day.

Ugadi Pachadi and Poli (bobbattu) are a must on Ugadi. Mango pulihora provides a nice contrast to the poli. Vadalu are made for most festivals. Pappu, Potato talimpu and Poli charu are other mouthwatering dishes that accompany the rice. Finish it off with a glass of majjiga (lassi) to digest everything. Being well-fed, you will find sleep just around the corner and your bed inviting you.

Ugadi Meal : Ugadi pachadi, Poli, Mamidikaya pulihora, minapa vadalu, pappu, bangaladumpa kura, poli charu and majjiga

Ugadi Pachadi

"Ugadi Pachchadi" is a dish that is synonymous with Ugadi. It is traditionally made of shadruchulu (6 tastes) using jaggery from fresh crop of sugarcane, raw mango, neem flowers, chillies, salt and new tamarind. This dish signifies that life is a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow and they have to be treated alike.

Medicinally, Ugadi pachadi is a great cleanser. It acts as a prophylactic.

Ingredients

Raw mango - 1 cup (grated)

Jaggery powder - 1 tbsp

Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp

neem flowers - 1 tsp

Chilli/pepper powder - 1/4 tbsp

Salt

Steps

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl

Tips

You can add slices of fresh coconut.

If neem flowers are not available, you can use fenugreek powder.

If you like the pachadi to be runny, add some coconut or plain water.

Minapa vada / Urad dal vada

Vadas are a must on any festival. But they don't need an occasion to prepare. They are good for breakfast or snack or just as an accompaniment to another dish. Here is one of the many types of vadas.

Ingredients

Urad dal - 2 cups

Green chilli - 3

sooji - 1 tsp

soda - 1/4 tsp

Whole peppercorns - 2 tsp

Raw coconut slices - 2 tsp

Salt

Oil

Steps

1. Soak the urad dal for 3 to 4 hours.

2. Drain the water and grind the dal, green chillies and salt into a coarse paste. Do not use any water.

3. Rest the vada dough for 20 minutes.

4. Now add the peppercorns, salt, soda and raw coconut slices to the dough and mix well.

5. Heat the oil in a deep pan. Meanwhile, take a plastic sheet and rub it with oil. Apply some oil on your fingers and take a spoonful of dough onto the sheet and make a patty out of it. Put a small hole in the center.

5. Deep fry the vadas in the oil on medium heat. Pat them with a tissue to absorb any extra oil.

Serving ideas

Serve with spicy sambar or chutney or masala curry. Chicken curry makes a good combination with these vadas.

Meal Today: Minapa vadalu with spicy mango chutney

Tips

You can also add onion and green chilli pieces in the dough.

With leftover vadas you can make vada curry.

Dahi vadas are also one way to eat them. Just soak them in hot water for a few seconds and sqeeze the water. This makes them soft. Now put them into seasoned youghurt and let it rest for a few hours so that vadas absorb the curd well.

Poli / Bobbattu / Baksham / Holige

Poli - Bobbattu - Baksham - Holige...... the name can be anything. But it tastes the same - heavenly. In AP, these are made especially for Ugadi, the Telugu New year's eve.

I have some 'sweet' memories associated with it. The day before Ugadi, I would be almost as busy as my mom - putting colourful rangolis all around the house, stringing fresh flowers to hang over the doors, setting up the puja mandir and grinding the dal and jaggery in a big mortar for making polis. Yes, we did it the old way and it was fun. My mom and I used to take turns grinding the dal and jaggery and talk about everything under the sun during that time - so busy yet so relaxed and talking.

To bring some of the past sweetness into the present, I've made all sorts of polis which I've listed at the end. But in my home, the most traditional and original one is the chana dal poli my mom makes on Ugadi which I've listed here.

Ingredients

Chana Dal - 1 cups

Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Grated Jaggery - 1/2 cup

All purpose flour (maida)- 1 Cup

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Salt - 1 pinch

Oil

Ghee/Butter - 1/2 cup

Steps

2 hrs before..

1. Make a soft dough of Maida with ghee/butter and water. Knead it well and rest it for 2-3 hours. It should be sticky.

2. Soak the chana dal for 1/2 hr.

1 hr before..

1. Pressure cook channa dal till it turns very soft. Drain the dal and grind to a smooth paste. Keep the drained water aside. It can be used to make a delicious rasam called poli charu or bakshala rasam.

2. Heat a pot and add the ground dal paste, coconut powder, cadamom powder and powdered jaggery. Cook till all the moisture is gone and they form a thick lump. Add cardamom powder, mix well and let it cool.

Prepare small lemon sized rounds for stuffing and Keep aside.

Take a plastic sheet or banana leaf smeared with oil. Place a medium sized round of maida dough and flatten it like small puri. Place the dal-jaggery stuffing in the center and close with maida dough from all sides. Roll out again like parathas.

On low heat, roast the polis on both sides till you see brown spots. You can use ghee or oil while doing this.

Serving ideas

Serve the poli with a small cup of ghee or milk.

Meal Today: Polilu smeared with desi ghee

Tips

.. For soft polis make sure you rest the dough well and get rid of moisture in the filling.

.. You can make the polis with tuvar dal or moong dal or a mixture of any of these (chana,moong,tuvar) dals.

.. Get creative and try out different fillings. For example you can make many alternative polis like -

Mango poli (Mix mango pulp while cooking the dal and jaggery in step 3)

Kesari poli (Instead of the dal-jaggery-coconut filling use rava kesari)

Carrot poli (Carrot halwa filling)

Almond/cashew poli (use almond/cashew halwa as filling)

Til (Sesame) poli ( pound the sesame seeds and jaggery together)

.. For a healthier version, use wheat flour for the dough and mix freshly grated coconut and honey to make instant stuffing. This Coconut-honey poli is fast, easy and healthy.