Puthandu in Tamil means new year. It is the celebration of the first day of the Tamil new year in mid-April by Tamilians all over the world. On this day, Tamil people greet each other by saying “Puthandu Vazthukal” ( புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துகள் ) or “Iniya Tamizh Puthandu Nalvaazhthukal” (இனிய தமிழ்ப் புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துகள்). The festive occasion is in keeping with the Hindu solar calendar.
It is a tradition to include all the the six tastes of food( Arusuvai) in the special meal cooked on Tamil New Year’s Day.
Six tastes of food are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. It is called as arusuvai in Tamil.
The significance of this is that we should be ready to accept life with all its challenges
wholeheartedly:)
Today’s menu at home is
Semiya Payasam ( vermicelli Kheer)
Manga pachadi ( sweet and sour raw mango raita)
Vellarika thair pachadi ( cucumber raita)
Beans and carrot curry
Chow chow kootu ( chow chow cooked with moong dal)
Capsicum Sambar
Rasam tempered with neem flowers
Jackfruit Puran Poli
Carrot masala vadai
Papad, Rice and yogurt:)
Semiya Payasam
Semiya ( vermicelli) -3/4 th cup
Full cream milk- 11/2 lits
Cardamom evaporated milk- 2 tins
Sugar- 3/4 th cup- 1 cup
Ghee- 1 tsp
Method
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan.
Add the vermicelli and roast till it becomes golden.
Add the milk. Mix well. Reduce the flame and cook till the vermicelli becomes soft and milk reduces little.
Add the evaporated milk and sugar. Mix well.
Cook on a low flame till it becomes thick. Keep stirring in between.
Serve the payasam at room temperature or chilled:)
Manga Pachadi
Ingredients
Chopped raw mangoes- 11/2 cups
Grated jaggery- 1/4th cup
Oil- 2 tsps
Mustard- 1 tsp
Split urad dal- 1 tsp
Red chillies- 4-5
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt- very little
Curry leaves- few
Method
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add urad dal, curry leaves and red chillies. Sauté for few seconds.
Add the chopped mangoes, turmeric powder and salt. Sauté for few seconds, add 1/2 cup of water and cook till the mangoes turns soft.
Add the grated jaggery and mix well. Let it cook till it becomes thick.
Transfer to a serving dish and serve at room temperature.
Vellarikai Pachadi 
Beans and carrot curry
Ingredients
Chopped beans- 11/2 cups
Chopped carrots- 11/2 cups
Grated coconut- 3/4 th cup
Oil- 2 tsps
Mustard- 1 tsp
Split urad dal- 1 tsp
Red chillies- 2
Salt to taste
Method
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add urad dal and red chillies. Sauté for few seconds.
Add the chopped beans and carrots and salt to taste. Mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water, reduce the flame, close the pan with a lid and cook till the vegetables becomes soft and dry.
Switch off the gas. Add the grated coconut, mix well. Keep the pan closed for few mins.
Serve hot or at room temperature:)
Chow chow kootu
Capsicum Sambar
Rasam tempered with neem flower
Jackfruit Puran Poli
Ingredients
For the outer dough
Whole wheat flour- 11/2 cups
Maida- 1 cup
Red food colour- a pinch
Ghee- 3 tsps
Baking powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt – a pinch
For the Puran ( filling)
Soaked Chana dal- 1 cup
Grated coconut- 1/2 cup
Jackfruit ( deseeded)- 6
Grated jaggery- 1 cup
Ghee- 2 tsps
Ghee- as much required for making the Puran Poli.
Method
For the dough
Mix all the ingredients well and make a smooth dough. Apply some ghee on the dough and let it rest for an hour.
For the filling
Grind the chana dal, coconut and jack fruit to a coarse paste.
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan.
Add the ground paste and sauté well. Reduce the flame, close the pan with a lid and cook till it becomes non sticky. Keep stirring in between.
Add the grated jaggery and mix well. Cook for few mins on a low flame. If you can make a soft ball with the puran, it means that the Puran is cooked well.
Remove from the gas and let it cool.
Divide the dough and Puran into equal portions.
Grease your hands, rolling board and the pin with little ghee.
Take one portion of the dough. Roll into a small circle. Keep 1 tbsp of filling in the centre. Gather the dough all over and cover the filling( it will look like a potli).
Gently flatten it with your hands to spread the filling inside uniformly till the edges and roll it into circle again with the rolling pin.
Cook on a hot tawa applying ghee till both sides turn golden.
Drizzle little melted ghee on top and serve hot:)
Carrot Masala Vadai
Ingredients
Chana dal- 1 cup
Red chillies- 4-5
Saunf ( fennel seeds) – 1 tsp
Hing- 1/4th tsp
Salt to taste
Grated carrots- 1 cup
Chopped curry leaves- 1 tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp
Oil- for deep frying
Method
Wash and soak Chana dal for 2 hrs.
Drain well and grind along with red chillies, hing, salt to taste and saunf to a coarse batter.
Add grated carrots, chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves and mix well.
Shape into vadai and deep fry till it turns golden on both sides.
Serve hot
Looks good! I would love to have a feast like this! That payasam is one of my favourite dessert soups. Tried it once when I was in Malaysia and really missed it!!
Thank you very much:)
Payasam is very easy to make. Will post the recipe very soon:)
Looking forward to it!! I wouldn’t mind trying to make payasam! It’d be my first time making an Indian dessert! 🙂
Hi! I have posted the recipe for payasam in the same post. Please check:)
Thanks for letting me know! I can’t access your site at the moment, something seems not right. Is your site down?
Just saw your message. Can you check now. It’s opening for me.
Yes it works for me now. I will have to look for that vermicelli so I can make it. The version I ate had cashews in it. If I were to add raw cashew nuts, do I add them in from the start?
Roast the cashew in little ghee and then add to the kheer. I have posted a recipe of payasam made with rice ( Paal payasam). Check that too if you would be interested dear:)
Thanks for this! Will let you know how it goes when I give the recipe a try 🙂
Welcome Geri:) looking forward to your feedback:)