//ARUDRA DARSHAN/THIRUVATHIRAI//
This Kali is offered to LORD SHIVA, during the THIRUVATHIRAI/ARUDRA DARSHAN which falls on tamil month MARGHAZHI-POURNAMI/FULL MOON NIGHT; Notable the longest night of the year, ARUDRA is a star symbolize GOLDEN RED FLAME, Which is none other than LORD SHIVA/NATARAJA at his COSMIC dance. This festival is celebrated all over shiva temples in tamil nadu; but it is quiet famous and celebrate this auspicious day in a very grand manner at CHIDAMBARAM, a temple dedicated solely to LORD NATARAJA.
Ingredients:
- Raw rice – ¼ cup
- Moong dhal – 1 tblsp
- Jaggery – ½ cup
- Water – ¾ – 1 cup
- Salt – a pinch
- Freshly grated coconut – 1 tblsp
- Cardamom – 1 no
- Nutmeg – 1/8th tsp
- Clove – 1 no
- Cashews – 4 nos
- Ghee/ clarified butter – 2 tsp
Procedure:
- Dry roast the raw rice and moong dhal in a pan until it turns golden color
- Transfer into a small mixie jar along with cardamom seed, nutmeg and clove; grind it coarsely and keep aside.
- Melt the jaggery with a cup of water and filter out the impurities and pour the jaggery syrup back into the same pan; bring it to boil and add the coarsely grounded rice mixture, mix well until all combined with a tsp of ghee.
- Now transfer the rice jaggery mixture into a small cooker pan and pressure cook it for about 2 whistles.
- Release the pressure and temper the kali with ghee and cashew nuts.
- The light, fluffy and healthy “THIRUVATHIRAI KALI” is ready for naivedhayam.
