Tamizh New year or as it is called in Tamil as Puthaandu or Varusha Pirappu falls on the 13th or 14th of April every year . The Tamilians follow the solar calender hence it is also known as Souramana Ugadi . Beautiful rangolis are drawn outside the house on the portico, the main entrance is decorated with Flowers and mango leaves, the Pooja room is cleaned up and lamps ,agarbatti /incense sticks are lit .
Puthaandu means New Year where "Puthu" denotes " New" and "Aandu" means "Year" so does Varusha Pirappu mean the same. Varusham is Year and Pirappu is Birth so loosely translates to Birth(dawn) of a new year.
The new year begins with the usual pooja rituals and a special Pooja for the New Year's Almanac called Panjangam. Panjangam has all the details about the festivals , functions ,planetary transits , important rituals etc etc . It is considered as the rule book for the entire year if we need to plan for any auspicious events in the family.
Some houses follow the tradition of seeing Vishu Kani early in the morning as soon as getting up. Different types of fruits, vegetables, rice ,dal ,money, ornaments etc are decorated in front of a huge mirror and a lamp is lit . It is believed that when we see such auspicious ,divine and prosperous visual on waking up, the entire year will be blessed .
A lavish menu is prepared which is almost the same in most Tamil Brahmin homes except for a few changes depending on family tradition. The menu is saatvik and traditional meaning there is no use of Onions, Garlic and some other vegetables like radish , drumstick etc .
I am listing down the menu which we normally follow in our home as per tradition..please consult your elders at home for your respective traditions. Click on the individual items for detailed recipe.
Tamizh Puthaandu Menu / Varusha Pirappu Thaligai
Rice /Annam / Saadham + Ghee / Nei
Or
Thayir (curd)
Pin up
What a wonderful thali ful of delicious dishes to usher in the New Year. While we too prepare a variety of dishes without onion, garlic and mushrooms for our New Year, as such we don't have a set menu that must be followed.
ReplyDeleteThe feast that must have pleased many hearts … this is such a wonderful spread of familiar y et delicious dishes for the new year .
ReplyDeleteWonderful platter for the new year Priya. Each and every item sounds delicious. I am sure the family was delighted to enjoy this scrumptious meal.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely spread for the festive day. Everything looks good and quite similar to what we prepare. I am knowing the lingustic names of those dishes through your blog.
ReplyDelete