Karadaiyan Nombu is a Tamil festival which falls in the month of March. Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Sweet and Salt versions are traditionally prepared for this festival. Learn to make Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Recipe Sweet and Salt with step by step pictures along with video for easy understanding.
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!
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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.
FAQS
1.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.
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 sharmispassions@gmail.com. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube and Twitter .
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📖 Recipe Card
Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Recipe
Ingredients
For Sweet Adai :
- 1 cup homemade rice flour
- 1 cup jaggery
- 1/4 cup karamani (lobia)
- 2 cups water
- 3 tablespoon coconut pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 and 1/2 cups water (for cooking lobia)
For Salt Adai:
- 1 cup homemade rice flour
- 1/4 cup karamani (lobia)
- 2 cups water
- 3 tablespoon coconut pieces
- salt to taste
To Temper For Salt Adai:
- 2 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon urad dal
- 10 nos curry leaves
- a small pinch hing
- 1 no green chillies chopped finely
Instructions
- First rinse the raw rice, and soak it in water for 1 hour. Drain water completely and then spread the raw rice in a soft towel and allow it to dry say for 30-45 mins. It will be slightly moist only. Then transfer this to a mixer.
- Grind it to a fine powder in a mixie in batches. Then 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.
- Dry roast the sieved flour until you see steam coming out of the flour, just for 2-3mins without changing the color of the flour.
- Dry roast karamani till slightly golden color. Soak it in water till you do other works may be for 30mins.
- Powder jaggery….I used my hand mortar and pestle for this. Measure 1 cup and transfer it to a mixing bowl. Add water to it. Mash it up well in 2 cups of water.
- Heat it up to melt it and boil for 2mins in medium flame…This is done for the jaggery to melt completely.
- Then strain to remove impurities. Cook karamani till soft.
- Heat up the jaggery syrup in a pan, add cardamom powder, once it starts to bubble add cooked karamani.
- Now add the rice flour in a sprinkled way, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Once it gets together add the coconut pieces and give a quick stir. Switch off and transfer to a bowl. Set aside.
- Now in another pan – heat oil and add the items listed under to temper, let it splutter then add
- Once it gets together add the coconut pieces and give a quick stir. Transfer to another bowl, let it cool down, meanwhile you can start with the sweet dough also. Once the salt 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. Arrange in oil greased idli plates/steaming plate and steam it for 8-10mins.
- Repeat the same with sweet version too. Arrange in oil greased idli plates/steaming plate and steam it for 8-10mins. Karadaiyan Nombu Adai Ready!
Ranjani Raj
NIcely made adai 🙂 good snaps too..
Hamaree Rasoi
Lovely and delicious looking adai.
Deepa
Saran Durai
Great photographs of adai and very tempting..!!!!
AparnaRajeshkumar
The crunchy coconut taste awesome .also with butter 😀 it is yummy
Saran Durai
Lovely pictures !!!
Very tempting. Will try sweet version soon
Thava
Very nicely made and clicked
Voilet David
fabulous !! ur picture and way of explanation is too good thank you very much, waiting for more recipe.
rw07
In sweet adai if you add jackfruit pieces instead of karamani it will be awesome. Palakkad iyers do add them.
Anu s kitchendelights
I was waiting to try this. Nice step wise pictures and lovely clicks.
Anu s kitchendelights
I was waiting to try this. Nice step wise pictures and lovely clicks.
Inga Corr
thank you) I'll try)
Raks anand
Love the way you arranged the adais . My favorite. Lovely clicks
nandoos Kitchen
fabulous adai.. both the adai look very nice.
Tanya Desigan
looks yum
Rathi Sangeetha N
Thanks Sharmi for this!! i have made it today, and i came to know this fest through ur blog only 🙂 nice ..
Rathi Sangeetha N
Thanks Sharmi for this nice adai's. I have made it today, through this blog only i come to know about this nombu.. nice:)
Srividya Lakshmi
Thanks a ton Sharmi….tried out n same proportions and came out perfectly well n taste and was proudly able to share with my friends. …..made d occasion perfect. …
Kanimozhi Muthu
I tried this today for the 1st time. it came out very well. thank u.
Mayadip
Hi Sharmi
Raw rice, can we use idli rice?
SHARMILEE J
No no use only raw rice
Ag
Should the rice flour be coarse
Sharmilee J
no not too coarse the same idiyappam flour you can use