My Kerala

The celebrations of Onam start on Atham day, 10 days before Thiruvonam. The 10 days are part of the traditional Onam celebrations and each day has its own importance in various rituals and traditions. Earthen mounds, which look somewhat like square pyramids, representing Mahabali and Vamana are placed in the dung-plastered courtyards in front of…

The legend Mahabali was the grandson of Prahlada (son of Hiranyakashyapa who was slain by Vishnu in his Narasimha Avatara). Prahlad, despite being an Asura, had great faith in Vishnu. Mahabali learned the act of love and devotion to Lord Vishnu as a child, from Prahlada. Mahabali conquers the three worlds Kashyapa had two wives,…

Sambar or sambhar or sambaaru or kuzhambu (Tamil: α«Üα«╛α««α»ì᫬α«╛α«░α»ì,α«òα»üα«┤α««α»ì᫬α»ü; Konkani: αñ╕αñ╛αñéαñ¼αñ╛αñ░αÑçαñé, αñ░αÑïαñ╕, α▓òα│èα▓│α▓«α│ìα▓¼α│ï (pronounced ‘koLmbo’); Kannada: α▓╕α▓╛α▓éα▓¼α▓╛α▓░α│ü, α▓╕α▓╛α▓░α│ü; Malayalam: α┤╕α┤╛α┤«α╡ìα┤¬α┤╛α┤░α╡ìΓÇì; Telugu: α░╕α░╛α░éα░¼α░╛α░░α▒ü) is a dish in South Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil cuisines, made of pigeon peas. A variant of sambar called pappuchaaru (Telugu: α░¬α░¬α▒ìα░¬α▒üα░Üα░╛α░░α▒ü) is more common in Andhra Pradesh. Sambar is a vegetable…

Rasam or Saaru (Tamil: α«░α«Üα««α»ì, Rasam, Malayalam: α┤░α┤╕α┤é), Kannada:α▓╕α▓╛α▓░α│ü (Saaru), is a South Indian soup, traditionally prepared using tamarind juice as a base, with the addition of tomato, and chili pepper, pepper, cumin and other spices as seasonings. Steamed lentils are added along with any preferred vegetables. Nowadays all the seasonings required are combined and…

Puliyinchi (α┤¬α╡üα┤│α┤┐α┤»α┤┐α┤₧α╡ìα┤Üα┤┐)  In Malayalam ‘puli‘ means tamarind and ‘inchi‘ means ginger. So as you would have guessed, ‘puliyinchi‘ is a combination of tamarind and ginger with some jaggiri added in order to counter the spiciness of ginger. It is used as pickle and the taste is so good with a combination of hot chillies, spicy…

Puli Kali (“Puli” = Leopard/Tiger & “Kali” = Play in Malayalam language) also known as Kaduvakali is a colorful recreational folk art from the state of Kerala. It is performed by trained artists to entertain people on the occasion of Onam, an annual harvest festival, celebrated mainly in the Indian state of Kerala. On the…

Pickles (Hindi: αñåαñÜαñ╛αñ░, Urdu: ╪º┌å╪º╪▒) are made from certain individual varieties of vegetables and fruits that are chopped into small pieces and cooked in edible oils like sesame oil or brine with many different Indian and Pakistani spices like asafoetida, red chili powder, turmeric, fenugreek, and plenty of salt. Some regions also specialize in pickling…

Pachadi (Telugu: α░¬α░Üα▒ìα░Üα░íα░┐, Malayalam: α┤¬α┤Üα╡ìα┤Üα┤ƒα┤┐) refers to a traditional South Indian side-dish. Broadly translated, it refers to food which has been pounded. The definition of the word ‘Pachadi’ is different among different South Indian regions. While in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, pachadi is a side-dish curry similar to the north Indian Raita, in Andhra Pradesh,…

Onathallu or Avittathallu is a festival celebrated by the Nairs of Pallassana Desham in the Chittur Thaluk in Palakkad district, in the southern-most state of Kerala, India. The festival is a tradition followed by the Nairs of the region in commemoration of the numerous wars they led and fought as part of the army of…

Sadya (Malayalam: α┤╕α┤ªα╡ìα┤») means banquet in Malayalam. It is a typical feast of the people of Kerala Sadya is traditionally a vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf. People are seated cross-legged on the floor on a mat. All the dishes are served on the leaf and eaten with the hands without using any cutlery….