Purattasi Sani Thaligai is the special feast we offer to Perumal (Lord Venkateswara) with Purattasi Padayal Recipes. Shanivaralu Panduga, as we call it in Telugu, is the Puratasi feast or Purattasi Viratham observed in Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Purattasi Sani or Puratassi Sanikizhamai is the Puratassi Sani viratham beginning from Friday, 17 September until Sunday, 17 October this year. In Telugu, we refer to this pooja as Okka podu panduga or Shanivaralu Panduga. We observe this on the 1st or 3rd Saturday with fasting the whole day and breaking it after offering the feast to Lord as a thaliga or thaligai.
Puratassi Sanikilamai has great importance in Tamil Nadu and the whole month people abstain from having nonveg during this month. In Andhra, Rayalaseema, the people of Chittoor District observe this pooja. My inlaws don't have this custom and I have not done it myself after marriage. However, we all enjoy this feast at my parents' place. I help Amma with her cooking.
Amma has the tradition of keeping two banana leaf thaligai and the third leaf has the fried gram powder mixed with jaggery. I sometimes missed out as I had to work on the day. However, during 2020, I was at home and I managed to click pictures. This year I will again click better pictures. Wanted to share this as today is the beginning.
Why is Puratasi month special?
Puratasi Masam as it is called in Tamil is of great importance. It is believed that Lord Venkateswara appeared on the earth in this month. Lord Vishnu devotees consider this as the ideal month for praying to Lord Vishnu.
As with other festivals, Tamilians make mixed rice varieties for Puratasi Poojai, Maa vilakku deepam in Tamil Nadu. Amma also makes Maa vilakku for different festivals like Srirama Navami, Karthigai deepam, etc. Amma makes another very similar traditional sweet Chalimidi.
When it comes to the dishes, Amma makes 3 or 5 different vegetables, Green Chili Dal, Medu Vada, Sagubiyam Semiya Payasam for the Puratasi feast /Purattasi Viratham/Tirumala Shanivaralu pooja.
How to celebrate Puratasi Sanikizhamai
We celebrate Purattasi Sanikizhamai by fasting while we prepare the full meals for lunch. For the Perumal pooja at home in Tamil homes, they prepare elaborate meals with vada payasam feast.
We observe Purattasi Vrat or upavasam on the day. Some observe on all Saturdays, while some do for one meal. They eat only vegetarian food during this entire month. On Purattasi Saturday when we are doing the pooja, we draw Namum, the two feet symbol of Lord Vishnu’s feet, on the forehead by males, while the women folks do just the red line. At our home, I always do the namum for myself and my daughter too.
In Tamil Nadu, we make Mixed Rice Varieties for this Festival.
Coming to the Purattasi Sani Thaligai dishes that Amma makes at home:
Brinjal Fry
Raw Plantain Fry
Okra Fry
Cluster Beans
Agathikeerai / Agise (Telugu) - These greens are very healthy has a lot of medicinal values.
Medu Vada
Green Chili Dal
Steamed Rice
Sagubiyam Semiya Payasam
Perugu / Curds
Fried Gram dal powdered with Jaggery.
Amma offers two thaliga to Lord. Two with the dishes prepared, the third one with the fried gram dal.
While making the Thaliga, the order of each dish is very important. Once the food is offered and aarti given, the food is partaken as such. The taste is something one has to get used to, while it will be quite tough for a new person to like this.
We begin by first placing the rice in the center of the banana leaf. Next, we pour the dal, then ghee, after that we pour payasam to be finally top with homemade curds. On each side, we keep a spoonful of vegetables, with three medu vadas in between.
Amma uses onions and garlic for making the vegetables. For the offering, we make plain medu Vadas without onions. All the five vegetables have the same seasoning spice powder and hardly take time to get cooked.
As with all Indian Festivals, each family has its own culture and tradition. I am sharing what's followed in my Parents' home.
PIN this Purattasi Sani Thaligai For Later!
While Amma also makes an elaborate feast like this for Ugadi Festival Lunch, she has a different menu for each festival.
Purattasi Padayal Recipes
Brinjal Vepudu
Cluster Beans Fry
Lady's Finger Fry
Medu Vada
Purattasi Padayal Recipes featuring different dishes we prepare.
Purattasi Sani Thaligai | Purattasi Padayal Recipes | Shanivaralu Panduga
Ingredients
Vegetable Poriyals for Puratasi Sanikizhamai Poojai
Masala Spice Powder
- 2 teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- 5-6 Dry Red Chillies
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 tablespoon Peanuts
For cooking the Vegetables
- 2 cups Okra
- 2 cups Brinjal
- 2 cups Cluster Beans
- 1 Plantain
- 2 cups Greens
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 3 Sprigs Curry leaves
- 4 teaspoon Cooking Oil
- 2 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 2 teaspoon Urad dal
- 1 Garlic whole
- 1 cup Onions finely chopped used for brinjal, cluster beans
- 2 teaspoon Toor Dal used for greens
Instructions
How to make the Vegetables
- Wash and dry the vegetables. Chop each vegetable into 1/2 inch pieces, keep it aside
- Clean the greens and let them drain.
For the Masala Spice Powder
- Dry roast each ingredient on a hot pan till aromatic, remove and allow to cool.
- then grind to a powder and keep it aside.
Cooking the Vegetables
- Heat four different kadais and when hot, add 1 teaspoon oil.
- Temper with mustard, urad dal, and curry leaves in all the four kadais
- Next add greens, okra, to two pans.
- To the next two pans, add onions and saute well.
- When the onions are browned, add cluster beans, brinjal to each of the pans.
- Cook on low flame until the vegetables get cooked.
- Add salt and turmeric, if required sprinkle some water.
- To the greens, when the leaves are cooked, add cooked dal and mix well.
- Continue cooking and when the vegetable is cone, sprinkle two teaspoons of the masala powder.
- You can cook the plantain in the same kadai you used for okra.
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