Aadi 18 marks the start of monsoon in southern part of India and is mainly celebrated on the river banks. On this day farmers pay tributes to life sustaining properties of water. Special prayers are conducted to Goddess Parvathi/Amman on this day in temples to get blessings from her for uninterrupted supply of water throughout the year for farming. Whether you do farming or not it's followed as a tradition for generations in families to visit nearyby river to pay tributes and needless to say good food guaranteed!
What food you make depends on the family tradition. Some families make 3 or 4 varities of rice with some crips and some make a complete south indian meal with vadai and payasam for the celebration.I moved to the UK right after getting married and learnt from my mum how to celebrate this festival. According to her Pear is an important fruit for this festival(Don't ask me why? I don't have an answer), Rice mixed with jaggery and threads dipped in turmeric is a must.I follow these instructions from my mum and celebrate the festival accordingly.Flowers are an integral part of our festivals. Luckily our scented jasmines are in season at the moment in my garden. I chose to make a south indian meal platter with Sambar, Rice,Cabbage poriyal, Beans paruppu usli, Masal Vadai(Channa dhal Fritters) and Payasam(pudding). Will share some of these recipes soon.
Let us pray to our mother nature to provide good supply of water this year for all us. My wishes for all those who celebrate Aadi 18!
1 comment:
Mmm, that looks wonderful - just the sort of thing I'd order in a restaurant, given half a chance! I've never heard of this festival, so I'm looking forwards to learning more about it from you :)
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