Festive Relishes : UGADI (New Year Delicacies) - Aish

UGADI - New Year to all Indian people hailing from the southern states of Karnataka, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh. Ugadi is celebrated by welcoming the New Year with happiness, love and prosperity.

Image : Dreamstime

On this auspicious day, People tie Mango leaves [Aam ki pathiyaan in Hindi; Maa Ilai in Tamil ; Maavadi Aagu in Telugu] in front of their homes. Mango leaves are considered auspicious  as it symbolizes abundant growth and is a fertile crop.

People do poojas/prayers to God by offering Prasad - Fruits, Cooked rice with dal and "UGADI Pachadi" - a slurpy dish with varied ingredients exhibiting all the tastes together embarking our life's journey.

Image: Dreamstime

In most of the South Indian homes people eat the food served on the banana leaf as they -

^ are hygiene (a simple sprinkle of water cleanses the leaf),

^ act as an antioxidant by restoring the good cells in fighting diseases.

^ are large in size to fit the surplus South Indian meal.

^ are economy friendly and serve as food for animals like cows, goats etc.

^ are portable and easy to carry food for one's travel.

The taste of sweetness with Jaggery, sourness with mango, bitterness with neem, salt for neutrality, spiciness with pepper indicates our entire life chapter. 

These depict the necessities of such vital ingredients in one's food and life with a pinch of touch in each without any adequacy from either of them. A Smooth Life soothes our soul!

Relishing Recipe 7

How to Make Ugadi Pachadi

• For Sweetness - Take a small amount of jaggery in warm water, stir it well until the jaggery dissolves completely. Then strain the water in a container.

• For Sourness - Cut a part of a raw mango into tiny slices and add them to the container.

• For Bitterness - Take few neem flowers and add them to the container.

• For Neutrality - Add a pinch of salt. Salt reduces bitterness and brings out the flavors of other subtle ingredients. If a dish tastes flat or spicy or bitter, a little salt will help you get the right taste.

• For Spice - Add a pinch of pepper powder instead of red chilly powder. Pepper not only gives less spice but it is good for our health too.

• After offering to God take up three tablespoons of this dish sharing with all your folks.

Many would add coconut too for more taste. But for a quick, healthy, simple and less time consuming this Ugadi Pachadi not only adds the flavor and taste but enhances to start up an enthusiatic New year with pompous and satisfaction.

Mostly people would prepare Puran poli and Vada on this auspicious day. To relish these mouthwatering dishes let us feast in Festive Relishes : Bhogi - Aish.

Also to add more healthy delicacies on such festivals let us also try some variety with  Sago/Sabudana - Aish which is not only healthy but is easy to prepare too. 

Quick Munch : Sago - Aish

SAGO - What is it and Why : The Benefits

Sago, is processed from the Tapioca root known as Casava. Sago rich in carbohydrates contains the starch extracted from tapioca resembling as small white pearls.

Sago in India are referred with different names : Sabudana in Hindi ; Javvarisi in Tamil ; Saggubiyyam in Telugu. Many varieties of dishes are prepared from Sago in India like Sabudana Kheer (Sweetened Pudding), Khichdi, Vada etc (Preparation with veggies and condiments).

Sago, rich in carbohydrates and low in fat when combined together with vitamins + minerals from the vegetables and proteins from the condiments enrich the nutritional value.
Thus, mostly during the days of fast in India, people prefer this dish.

Relishing Recipe 8

SABUDANA KHEER

A sweet Indian pudding with Sago/ Tapioca pearls

▪ Soak 1 cup of Sago for an hour in water after rinsing out the excess starch from it.

▪ Heat the soaked Sago with some water in a sauce pan covering it with a lid.

▪ On the other hand, heat the milk in a container without fully boiling it for few minutes.

▪ Add the heated milk onto the saucepan with Sago and stir it occasionally.

▪ Add sugar/jaggery (jaggery contains iron which is good for health), cardomom/elaichi powder.
Stir occasionally  for 25 to 30 minutes till the sago turns out soft with shining pearls.

▪ Garnish it with tiny bits of cashews, raisins and saffron strands or with fruits like mango, grapes, apples etc and serve it warm or cold.

A yummy and healthy sweet pudding is ready to eat loved by all!

As we know, with Sago one could prepare many healthy recipes, herewith let us prepare a healthy and quick snack relished by all.

Relishing Recipe 9

SABUDANA KHICHDI

A mouthwatering Indian dish with spices prepared with Tapioca pearls/Sago.

¤ Soak 2 cups of Sago/Sabudana (for 2 to 3 people) for 3 - 4 hours in water after rinsing off the excess starch from it.

¤ Take a pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil along with a teaspoon of Cumin (jeera), Split black gram (Urad dal), Curry leaves.

¤ Add Vegetables like potato, green peas, sweet corn (loved by kids) to the pan and fry them well.
During the days of fast, people use these vegetables other than onion and garlic, but as a snack on any other day adding them together would give a wonderful flavour.

¤ Take the Sago in a separate plate and add a pinch of turmeric and salt, hing/asafoetida, red chilli powder and mix them well according to the taste preferred by kids too.

¤ Add the sago to the pan with vegetables and stir them well till the sago turns soft and fluffy.

¤ Garnish with coriander leaves and fried peanuts to render the mesmerizing taste and flavour.

Tip: Add all the spices to the sago and mix them well together to enhance the essential taste and delight.

A very simple and quick dish to munch, healthy delicacy filled with nutritions, this Sago khichdi is not only a yummy choice by kids but is a delicious Snack for all!

These delightful delicacies enhance with productive health, serene feasibility and feast for all! Try and relish!!

Philosophies That Will Change Your Perspective About Life- Pri

Beautiful, descriptive and interesting Children's story, Aish! Very well written. Brought in lots of golden memories, thanks for sharing. Loved it!😊

Philosophies That Will Change Your Perspective About Life

Philosophy is often considered complicated and boring. In reality, it is the contemplating search of life’s meaning and purpose. Philosophy can be equally interesting for someone who is spiritually awakening and for a regular reader who in search of information. If you have had the questions like; “Why am I here?”, “What is the purpose of my existence? ”… then, these philosophical ideas might interest you! If you are just a reader who is not much interested in these topics; I promise, your perspectives on “Life” might change after knowing these different philosophical ideas and concepts.

Existence and Reality

This philosophical idea suggests that there is only one truth; “Your Existence”! All the others outside you, are not confirmed according to Solipsism. Similarly, Idealism is about how reality is a mere mental state. Brain is amazingly capable of highly imagining things, so there is no evidence that anything outside you is not illusion.  These ideas truly make oneself wonder about the infinite mysterious universe.

I can derive to a simple point here, “You” are important! So, love and respect yourself completely. When anything and everything outside you, is not important or reality, simply live your life!

 

Understanding the Void/ Unreal and Infinity

Going one step deeper, Phenomenalism says that nothing really can be said to exist except the sensory observation. This means that you cannot claim that there was an object at a particular place at all! All you can say is that, you saw a thing in that place. So, merely the sensory information is real.

Another philosophy, Presentism, is the idea that only the present moment is real. Past and future do not exist. Only the present physical moment is considered to be true for a Presentist.

On the contrary, Eternalism, argues that all the moments of time; past, present or future are real. All the theories about fate, destination and time travel are true according to Eternalists.

In my understanding, all these different ideologies cannot be accepted by all, there will always be differences in opinion. For, some might go with the idea of void or non-existence of anything other than the present time, and some might believe in infinity or the dimensions of time to be true. Whatever it is, “Time” is common between these two ideas. Whether there is a copy of this time in other dimension or if everything outside this moment is an illusion, the truth is that you are living in the moment of time. I think, “Valuing time” is the key here. Make the full use of the moment and try to be satisfied with the result of utilizing the moment effectively. In turn, you will sense happiness.

Knowing Life’s Purpose/Goal or Finding Pleasure in Moments

There are a set of people who follow Nihilism (An idea that there is no set purpose, value or goal in life.), do not believe in working towards something in life as there is no destination at all.  Hedonism is almost like Nihilism, but, has a belief that we have a common goal or intrinsic value, “Pleasure”. They have the tendency to find happiness in whatever they do.

Whether you follow your life’s purpose or you have no goal in life, whether you make use of the time to the fullest in an attempt to achieve your goal or you strive to be happy, the ultimate reality is that time is moving. So again, “Value time and try not to get into negativity.”

Training Self to Emote Positively and to Validate knowledge

Stoicism is another philosophy that focuses on training your emotions to emote positively. The Stoics believe that one’s anger, frustration or sadness are reflections of your own faults rather than blaming outside influence.

Skepticism questions philosophies to validate knowledge. A philosophical skeptic asks for proof of validity of information rather than result, thus there is a refinement that happens in the philosophy itself.

I kind of love the concept of training your emotions to respond positively. I can easily relate it to Meditation and Yoga or any other spiritual practice. Rely on your own emotions and reactions, not blaming the source of action. How true is that!

For a non-philosophical person, I am breaking down these complex concepts into these simple points:

* You are important.

* Do not over-think.

* Simply live your life. Enjoy the moment.

* Value time.

* Do not get into negativity.

* Train your emotions to respond positively.

These interesting philosophical ideas can guide you through your reasoning phase of awakening self-knowledge. These concepts make you wonder about the infinite depths of existence and possibilities. Mysterious Universe, mysterious Life and mysterious Time…