Navarathri - 9 days of Treats

Navarathri, also called Dusshera is a 9 day long festival celebrated by Hindus to celebrate the killing of Ravana by Lord Rama & his victorious return to Ayodhya with his wife, Sita.It culminates with Vijaya Dashami which celebrates the victory. The 9 days are dedicated to the worship of trinity of Goddesses - Lakshmi, Saraswathi & Durga.

For kids, Navarathri in South India, especially Tamil Nadu, means 3 things -holidays, golu & sundal. Holidays are easy to understand.
Golu is the ceremonial arrangement of dolls in houses, to pay respect to the Gods. It is real fun setting up the dolls, and its fun looking at it and its even more fun showing it off to your neighbours.

But from a kid’s perspective, an even more fun aspect of Navarathri is the sundal. Sundal is a savoury dish made from chickpeas, peanuts, peas or any other such protein filled gram. The most common variety prepared is with chickpeas (chana or Kabuli chana). The chana is usually boiled in water to soften it. The softened chana is then mixed in a very simple mixture of grated coconut ,sesame seeds, a dash of oil, salt to taste & garnished with red chillies.

This very simple snack is prepared by maamis all over Tamil Nadu during Navarathri to serve their guests (who have come to look at the golu, remember!). The dosage of red chillies may range from very mild (to the point of being bland) to scalding hot depending on the temperament of the maami & on the gastronomic capabilities of the Man of the house.

Children take extreme pleaasure in devouring this snack and you can find them running from house to house in the neighbourhood during Navarathri to sample the sundal in every house. Apart from the taste, it also provides entertainment. Children try tossing the sundal into each other’s mouths from a distance.

The sundal is usally served along with pieces of fruit, dry fruits, kalkand (uncrystallized sugar) and so on. Ofcourse, it goes without saying that all these are offerings made to the Lord. Just that this prasadam is much more fun than the regular stuff you get.

So, if you want to savour this simple yet enjoyable delicacy, get yourself invited during Navarathri by one of your Tamil friends. But, be warned that there will be lots of little hands grabbing at the sundal.

Cheers!