Prasadams for Mahashivaratri Day: Puli Aval and Payatham Paruppu Payasam

Prasadams for Mahashivaratri Day:
Puli Aval & Payatham Paruppu Payasam(Tamarind Flavoured Beaten Rice & Mung Dal Sweet Dish)

Mahashivaratri is not only a day (and night!) for worshipping Lord Shiva, but it is also the time to cleanse or detoxify our body and mind by fasting, meditating and even keeping vigil at night. It is also a great time to de-stress our bewildered mind and relax in the devotional mood.
While fasting, the digestive system gets the much required rest after continuous loading of food from time to time. While fasting, to meet its needs, the body starts breaking down and utilizing the stored reserves. The customary food offering prepared for the Lord (prasadam) is planned in such a way, that it agrees with the system of the fasting devotee, when the fast is eventually broken. After a long fast, a devoitee can savour the prasadam without fear of any ill effects.
Usually a fast should not be broken by consuming a rich and heavy food, because it takes a little time for the system to get accustomed to food after a long gap. The payasam peps up the devotee with instant positive energy as it has the sweet jaggery in it. The payatham paruppu (mung dal) is easily digestible, and replenishes the body with proteins. Beaten rice is very easily digestible. Puli aval (tamarind flavoured beaten rice), being non greasy, is very light on the stomach.
PULI AVAL - Tamarind Flavored Beaten Rice
INGREDIENTS
:
Beaten rice (hard variety) – 2 cups

Tamarind – a ball the size of a small lime
Salt – 1 ½ tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Jaggery – 1 tbsp
Sambar powder – 1 tsp
Cooking oil (Preferably sesame oil) – 2 tbsps
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Spilt Black gram dal (urad dal) – 1 tsp
Bengal gram dal (chana dal) – 1 tsp
Ground nuts - 2 tbsps
Dry Red chillies – 2
Curry leaves – a few
Dry Roast and powder the following ingredients:Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp
Pepper – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
White sesame seeds – 1 tbsp 
METHOD:
1. Soak tamarind in enough warm water and extract the juice to make 1.5 cups.
2. Add salt, turmeric powder, sambar powder and powdered jaggery to the tamarind juice.
3. Wash the beaten rice two times at least.
4. Soak the beaten rice in the prepared tamarind juice for half an hour.
5. When the beaten rice bloats and soft, it is ready to be seasoned.
6. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
7. When it splutters add the black gram dal and the bengal gram dal.
8. When the dals become golden in colour, add the ground nuts.
9. When the ground nuts crack, add the broken red chillies and curry leaves.
10. Add the soaked aval and blend well with seasoning.
11. Add the dry roasted and powdered ingredients and blend well.
12. Cover and cook on low flame for a few more minutes.
13. Switch off the flame when the pleasant aroma draws you towards the dish.
Offer it to Lord Siva and relish the prasadam with one and all.
PAYATHAM PARUPPU PAYASAM - Mung Dal Sweet DishINGREDIENTS:Mung dal (Split Green gram dal) – ½ cup
Powdered jaggery - ½ cup
Cardamom powder – 1 pinch
Milk – 4 cups
METHOD:
1. Dry roast mung dal in a pan, till it becomes pinkish and gives out a pleasant aroma.
2. Add 4 cups of water and allow the dal to cook just enough, without becoming mushy. Add more water if required. (Avoid pressure cooking, as the dal tends to become a paste).
3. Add jaggery and cook until it melts and blends giving out a pleasant aroma.
4. Add cardamom powder.
5. Add milk (use previously boiled milkand bring it to a boil and switch off flame.
6. You can vary the quantity of milk as per your preference. Add less milk for a pudding-like consistency, and more milk if you wish to savour the payasam as a beverage.
TIP: Store bought jaggery may at times have some impurities. Dissolve the jaggery in warm water and filter through a fine sieve or cloth, to filter out the impurities, before using in any recipe.
Offer the payasam to Lord Neelakanta ('the blue throated one' – another name for Lord Shiva) so that it can cool down HIS throat, where He benevolently holds the scorching poison, thus saving the universe. Read more about this story here!

Comments

Roshni said…
The mung dal dessert looks really interesting.... it is supposed to be liquidy right?! I guess it is would work like a pick-me-up shake?!
Priya Suresh said…
Puli aval looks delicious..am just drooling over payatham paruppu payasam..looks yummy..
FH said…
Have a blessed Shiva ratri there. Huli avalakki looks delicious! :)

No cleansing here for us, but definitely hotte pooje for sure! :D
Swapna said…
Looks delicious & Yum! I love the payasam :) good combination dish.
Anonymous said…
Happy Mahashivaratri to Chitra amma and Dibs....
We take this dish on this special day, we call it huli avalaki..... I was searching for this recipe and got in right place.
Thank for stopping by my blog and thnx for the lovely comment Dibs...
Dibs said…
Roshni - Yes it is like a shake if you add more of milk. I like it cold as well. If you add less milk - its more like a thick kheer or pudding.

Thanks Priya

Same to you Asha - Hotte puje is most important in all festivals ;-)

Thank you Swapna

Gayathri - thanks. Your blog design is truely awesome!
Raks said…
My mom fasts for the whole day,think before day also she will fast..!
Puli aval is my favorite too! And this payasam is a great energy drink I must say:D My mom makes for every friday,very easy to make!
Can I have the prasadams pls:)
Lakshmi said…
Happy Shivaratri Dibs and Chitra Amma. Puli avval looks nice and payasam ..yummy..actually I am fasting today the pictures are making me more hungry :(
Ready to taste mouth watering prasadams after pooja. appa 22/02/2009
YOSEE said…
Payatham paruppu milk shake looks great. I am trying to fast tonight. (Have already had a fill of puliaval,appam and payasam at 5pm. in the name of prasadam. hehehe!)
Deepthi Shankar said…
thatz exactly what I had for shivratri today .. the payasam sounds yummy
Paru ... said…
Payasam looks so yummy..and the tangy beaten rice is my favourite..
Nithya Praveen said…
Payatham Parpu payasam is wonderful,i love Puli aval,i use rasam powder instead of sambhar powder.All time fav one!
A_and_N said…
I could die for Puli Avil. Sigh.
Uma said…
mmm. what a delicious prasadams! especially tamarind rice, mouth-watering. Payasam looks great too!
Hi,

Just tried your Puli Aval with a few changes here and there...Loved it..We do the same recipe...only there is no roasted ingredients at all...This was a nice textured Aval..

Thanks,

Shobha
Unknown said…
Hi, I was fasting for shivaratari and doing pooja's in each of the 4 prahars. I was looking for easy recipes to make. Both your recipes turned out awesome! Though the moong dal took time to cook, and i think it turned browner than needed, it tasted divine. And the pulli aval was so delicious. It was like getting prasad straight from Kailasha. Thanks for sharing these :).

Thank you Chaaya Baradhwaaj for your kind words! I am very happy to know that the Prasadams turned out well.Your comments are my inspiration.