Karadayan Nombu Adai (Sweet & Salt)

I know I am late in posting this. Better late than never. My system was down for two days and was busy reviving it. Then it was already late with Arusuvai. So posted that first. This year nombu was celebrated on 14th March. Unlike other festivals, nombu is observed during a specific period of time of the day. The time period is the ending of the month of Maasi (Kumbham) and beginning of Panguni(Meenam), which is called Sankramam. This year it was a convenient time of between 8:00 A.M and 8:30 A.M. After S left to office (he leaves by 7:00 A.M), me and my MIL started with the preprations. The flour was made ready two days before. We prepared both salt and sweet versions of the adai, though only the sweet ones are offered as neivedyam.

Preparing the rice flour for the adais

Wash and soak 3 cups of rice in water for half an hour.

Drain and allow to dry on a kitchen towel for half an hour or so. It should not be dried completely. Some moisture left on it is good.

Powder it from a flour mill or in a mixer grinder.

Seive them to get the fine powder.

Dry roast the rice flour in a kadai till they turn light brown.

You may have to seive again, since some lumps can be found.

Those lumps can be powdered again by giving a run in the mixie again.

Cool and store in an airtight container.

Preparing the Vella Adai
Roasted rice flour - 1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Powdered jaggery - 1 cup

Cooked black eyed peas(vellapayar/karamani) - 2 tblspn

Coconut pieces - 2 tblspn

Ghee - 1 spn

Boil the jaggery along with the measure water. When the jaggery is fully dissolved, remove any scums.

Transfer the strained jaggery water to a kadai. When water starts boiling, add chickpeas, coconut pieces and slowly add the rice flour.

Keep stirring while you add so that it doesn't form lumps. Add a teaspoon of ghee.

Cook till the water is fully absorbed. Leave it to cool.

Take a lemon size of the dough, flatten it on a banana leaf.

Arrange the leaves on a idli mould and steam cook for 10 mitnutes. The test is the adais would have shiny texture.

For neivadyam, adai is offered with a blob of fresh butter. Adai with fresh home made vennai (butter) is heaven.

Uppadai (Salty adai)
For seasoning

Mustard - 1 tspn

Green chillies- 3

Red chilly -2

Coconut pieces- 2 tblspn

Chana dal - 2 tblspn

Oil

Roasted rice flour -1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Salt

In a kadai, do the seasonings as given.

Add water and salt.

When waters starts boiling, tip off the flour into it.

Cook till it reached the upma consistency. Cool and prepare adais in the same way as sweet ones.