Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Recipe

Karadaiyan Nombu Adai prepared with homemade rice flour. Karadaiyan Nombu Uppu adai and Vella adai are very popular for the festival. Uppu Adai is salt adai and Vella Adai is jaggery adai. Do try and enjoy the festival!

What is Karadaiyan Nombu?

Karadaiyan Nombu is a festival celebrated on the first day of Tamil month “Panguni” and it falls on March 14th. On this day, married women and young girls wear yellow robes and pray to Hindu goddesses for long lives for their husbands. Girls start this practice very young; they wear a yellow robe on this day from the time they are just one year old so they will find a good husband in the future. According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that Savithri won her husband Satyavan’s life from Yama(the god of death). This nombu or festival is for appreciating Savitri and this nombu is also called as Savitri Viratam. “Urugaada Vennaiyum Oaradaiyum Naan Tharuven Orukaalum En Kanavar Ennai Piriyadirukkanum” Meaning :”I am offering unmelted butter and a adai in front of you, at anytime my husband should not be separated from me”.When offering the prasadam, women chant the above verses and pray for the well being and long life for their husbands. Though we don’t have the practice of celebrating this festival, I wanted to know more about the festival customs and try this adai to post it here. Last year I missed the date so this year was a bit cautious and made the adai’s and clicked it in advance. I loved the entire process of making it, it does look a bit hectic but its easy of you use store bought flour. It is sure worth effort, the adais turned out so soft and yum.

Karadaiyan Nombu Adai – Sweet and Salt Adai

Sweet Adai : First homemade rice flour is made. Then jaggery is melted, lobia is cooked along finally homemade rice flour is added, mixed to form a dough. The dough is shaped like doughnut and steamed cooked. Salt Adai : A basic tadka is made using mustard seeds, curry leaves and water is added. When water starts to boil, homemade rice flour is added, then mixed well to form a dough.The dough is shaped like doughnut and steamed cooked.

Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Video

Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Ingredients

Karamani (Lobia) : Karamani is a healthy legume which is added to Karadaiyan Nombu Adai for nutty taste. Karamani is commonly available at stores and recommended not to be skipped. Coconut : Fresh grated coconut is recommended for this recipe though we can use desiccated coconut / packed grated coconut available at stores. Scrap the white fleshy part of coconut without brown part for better look and taste. Jaggery : Paagu Vellam in big ball shape or molded (rectangular / cone) jaggery is preferred for this recipe. Sugar is not recommended as an alternative to Jaggery as the taste will not be. Rice flour : It is preferred to use Rice flour made at home. However, given the busy schedule / time crunch one may even buy it from grocery stores. Check if the flour you had bought is roasted from the packet, else, dry roast rice flour for 2 mins before use. Spices & Oil : Mustard seeds, Hing & Urad dal are used for tempering. Use regular cooking oil (refined sunflower / groundnut / sesame) for tempering Karadaiyan Nombu Adai – Uppu Adai.

How to make Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Step by Step

Preparing Homemade Rice Flour

1.First rinse 3 cups raw rice, and soak it in water for 1 hour. 2.Drain water completely and then spread the raw rice in a soft towel and allow it to dry say for 30-45 minutes. 3.It will be slightly moist only.Then transfer this to a mixer. 4.Grind it to a fine powder in a mixer in batches. 5.Sieve it.If you find small balls break and sieve it. Sieve until you get rava like mixture.Add it to the next flour batch and grind it again. Repeat to finish. 6.Fine sieved homemade rice flour is ready. 7.Dry roast the sieved flour until you see steam coming out of the flour., just for 2-3 minutes without changing the color of the flour.

Preparing lobia

8.Dry roast 1/2 cup lobia / karamani till slightly golden color. Soak it in water till you do other works may be for 20 mins though this step is optional. 9.Cook karamani or lobia till soft but not mushy, it should be crunchy. 10. Karamani is cooked and ready. 11.Divide equally into 2 portions and set aside.

Preparing Sweet Adai

12.Dissolve 1 cup jaggery in 1 cup water and heat it up until it melts. No need to check for any consistency. 13.Strain to remove impurities. 14.Now heat the syrup again in a pan let it boil. 15.Add cooked lobia, along with 2 tablespoon coconut chopped and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder. 16.Now add the rice flour in a sprinkled way, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. 17.Once it gets together give a quick stir.Switch off and transfer to another bowl and set aside to warm. 18.Grease your hands with oil. 19. Once the dough cools down then start forming lemon sized balls. Flatten it with your palm,dip your finger in oil and make a dent in the center(like how we make for medu vada).Repeat the same until the entire dough finishes off. Shape them and keep it ready.

Preparing Salt Adai

20.Now in another pan – heat 2 teaspoon oil and add the items listed under to temper – 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon urad dal, 10 nos curry leaves, a small pinch hing, 1 no green chillies. 21.Let it splutter then add water, required salt and let it boil. 22.Once it starts boiling add cooked karamani, 3 tablespoon coconut pieces and salt to taste. 23..Then add rice flour in a sprinkled way, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. 24.Mix well to form a dough. Switch off. 25.Once the dough cools down then start forming lemon sized balls. Flatten it with your palm,dip your finger in oil and make a dent in the center(like how we make for medu vada).Repeat the same until the entire dough finishes off. 26.All shaped and ready. 27.Grease the idli plates with oil using a brush. 28.Arrange in oil greased idli plates/steaming plate. 29.Steam it for 10 minutes. 30. Karadaiyan Nombu adai ready. Serve warm with a dollop of butter…yum!!

Expert Tips

If you are pressed for time, then you can buy store bought rice flour(idiyappam flour) too.Roast it for 3 minutes without changing the color and then use it. Grease your hand with oil while making the balls and patting them to avoid sticking. You can even add grated coconut instead of coconut pieces. Don’t make the dough very stiff, it should be little loose as it stiffens with time.If your dough is stiff then your adais will become hard. If the dough becomes dry, while making balls sprinkle little water else while you pat, the edges will get cracks. Roasting karamani and then precooking before adding to the dough is very important.If you soak the karamani for 1-2 hrs then it will cook easily but precook and add it else it will not be soft in the adai .But don’t over roast, it will turn bitter. You can cover the dough with a wet cloth to avoid drying up. The above measures yields 15 adais each in sweet and salt.

1.What is Karadaiyan Nombu?

2.What should we eat on Karadaiyan Nombu?’

This nombu is commonly done by women for the wellness of their husband. So women usually end the fasting by eating Nombu adai sweet and salt versions made using homemade rice flour and lentils along with butter.

3.What is the significance of Karadaiyan Nombu?

Karadaiyan Nombu is a Tamil festival where married / unmarried women keep a fast, perform a pooja by preparing nombu adai as neivedyam for the pooja. On this day, women tie a sacred yellow thread around their neck after performing the pooja and worshipping god. If you have any more questions about this Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Recipe do mail me at [email protected]. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube and Twitter . Tried this Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Recipe ? Do let me know how you liked it. Also tag us on Instagram @sharmispassions and hash tag it on #sharmispassions.