Sabhudani Vada – Gluten Free

I had eaten Sabhudani vada several decades ago. I always wanted to try the same, but for some reason stopped since the vada sucks up so much oil. A few weeks back, for my Daughters birthday which was on Ekadashi I wanted to prepare something which she and a couple of her friends and invitees could eat.

So, I decided to make Sabhudani Vada instead of Sabhudani Khichadi. I was a little bit scared to try this for the first time, but decided to try it anyway. And, anytime you hesitate something always goes wrong. Same thing happened here. I soaked the Sabhudani around 2.00 PM in the afternoon. Even at 6.00 PM a few minutes before the guests were supposed to arrive, the Sabhudani pearls were still hard. So, I put a whole lot of water and microwaved it for 3 minutes. This made the Sabhudani watery. So, made some changes and the Vada’s fried out perfect. So, here are the ingredients and the procedure for the same.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Sabhudani- Sago
• 3 large potatoes – peeled, boiled and grated
• 3 green chillies
• 1/2 cup peanuts finely ground
• 1 inch Ginger
• 1 bunch corainder leaves
• 10  curry leaves
• Salt to taste and oil for frying
• 1/2 cup Channa dal Powder (Besan)

Method:

• Soak Sabhudani/Sago for 8-10 hours.
• Grate the boiled potatoes
• Mix all the ingredients along with Besan
  
• Make sure you can make patties. water your hands so the sabhudani doesn’t stick to your hands.
• Deep fry in medium flame, and drain on paper towels
• Serve immediately
• As I was frying, the sabhudani vada was disappearing.
• It was soft inside, crunchy outside.

Upcoming Shravana Masa Festivals- August 2013

As per Uttaradimatta Panchanga, this year in Vijaya Nama Samvatsara, Shravana Masa starts fromAugust7th and ends on August 29th 2013.

There are many festivals during this month and as always I post slokas, pooja details and many more details a few days before each of these important dates. Here is a list of important dates and festivals during Shravana Masa 2013.

August 9th – Shravana Masa Lakshmi Pooja

August 10th – Saturday – Nagara Chathurthi

August 11th – Sunday – Nagara Panchami

August 13th – Tuesday – Mangala Gowri Vrata

August 16th – Friday – Vara MahaLakshmi Vrata

August 17th – Saturday – Ekadashi – Dadi Vrata Begins

August 20th – Tuesday – Mangala Gowri Vrata

August 20th – Tuesday – Upakarma

August 21st – Wednesday – Sree Raghavendra Swamy Poorva Aaradhane

August 22nd – Thursday- Sree Raghavendra Swamy Madya Aaradhane

August 23rd – Friday – Sree Raghavendra Swamy Uttara Aaradhane

August 23rd – Friday – Shravana Masa Lakshmi Pooja

August 28th – Wednesday – Sree Krishna Jayanthi – Sri Krishna Janmashtami

 

Please refer to the closet temple or other calendar to find the dates of the festivals in the country you are living. These dates posted are based on Indian Standard Time.

Garam Masala Powder

The last time I brought garam masala powder from the store, it didn’t have any aroma at all. So, today while cooking Sprouted Green Gram Palya/Sabzi I decided to prepare the garam masala fresh at home. It was quite easy and took me just a few minutes. I searched lots of recipes and created my own version such that I could use it in all vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coriander seeds
• 1/4 cup cumin seeds
• Cardamom – 2 tblsp
• black pepper – 2 tblsp
• Cloves – 2 tblsp
• Fennel Seeds – 2 tblsp
• Cinnamon – 6 sticks
• Bay leaves – 2 large
• Black Cardamom – (optional)
• Roasted Nutmeg – (optional)

Method:

• Fry the ingredients on low heat
  
• When you get a nice aroma, switch off the stove
• Grind when cooled
  
• Strain and grind again to get a fine powder.
• Add 1-2 tsp to any vegetable you are cooking at the end.
  The house smells so good, and the food just tastes delicious.

342nd Sree Raghavendra Aradhana – Invitation

Image courtesy: SRSMUTT.org

The reason I am always excited about Shravana Masa is all the festivals, and to top it all the Aradhana of our beloved Raghavendra Swamy. The temple at SRSmutt.ORG has updated their website with a wonderful invitation.

342nd Sree Raghavendra Aradhana – Invitation

Mr. Mallikarjun had also commented on my blog about the Aradhana celebrations and the invitation he had created. Please check his web site as well here:

Raayara 342nd(next month) Aradhana mahotsava complete details:
http://eeshavasyam.com/myblog/2013/07/23/aradhana-invi/

The above painting is created by Mr. Mallikarjun. How blessed is Mr. Mallikarjun to do this seva to rayaru. May our beloved Rayaru bless one and all.

Tapta Mudra Dharana On Prathama Ekadashi

My Mom, Dad and Grandmother (Mysore Ajji) all had Mudra Dharana in Mysore. Mom is taking care of Ajji for a week. I just visited the Mantralaya website after work, and found amazing pictures of people getting Tapta Mudra Dharana on account of Prathama Ekadashi.

Below is the link for the same.

• Tapta Mudra Dharana on account of Prathama Ekadashi

Mantralaya Swamigalu in Bangalore

Both the Seers of Mantralaya Mutt are in Bangalore. The pictures posted on raghavendramutt.org are just amazing. I visit this website at least once everyday.

Below are links for some amazing pictures.

• Shri Moola Rama devara pooja at Shri Poornapragna Vidhyapeetha – Bangalore
• Purapravesha at Bangalore – 2013
• Other images

Shri Rama Ninna Lyrics

Thanks to Mr.Lakshman who tirelessly provides lyrics to anyone who leaves a comment on this blog. Here are the lyrics provided by Mr.Lakshman for Shri Rama Ninna in Kannada and English.

shrI rAma ninna. rAgA: nATakuranji. Adi tALA. Shripadaraya.

P: shrI rAma ninna pAdava tOrO mOhana guNadhAma ninna mOhada pAdava
A: varaguNajAla suraguNalOla karuNAlavAla taruNiya paripAla
C: ajavara pUjita gajavara bhAvita sujanara carita trijaga vandita
(madhyamakAla)
angaja caraNa shashi ranga turanga tunga tirthamalika rangaviThala
(another version)
angaja pramukha plavanga turanga tunga vikrama shrI rangaviThala

You can listen to the audio here at youtube.

Sri Rama Ninna