Tamil New Year is celebrated on the first day of Chithirai month, the solar cycle that usually begins on April 14. Tamil New Year is celebrated by cleaning the house, wearing new clothes, going to the temple, and cooking dishes using neem flower and raw mangoes that represent good health, growth and prosperity.

Chithirai Varsha Pirappu Recipes

1. Mango Pachadi

 

Mango Pachadi is one of the traditional dishes prepared for Tamil New Year’s Day.  Mango pachadi represents arusuvai that has all the different flavours of life - sweet, salt, spice, bitter, sour and astringent. The significance of this is to make you realize that life is a blend of mixed emotions like good, bad, happy, sorrow, victory and defeat and you must face them equally. Here are few health benefits that these dishes provide you.

Expert Tips

Mango is an amazing fruit that comes with a wealth of nutrients including Vitamin A, C and B6, minerals-potassium and magnesium, and antioxidants that are beneficial in lowering cholesterol, preventing cancer, enhances skin health, improves vision and promotes digestion.

Ingredients: Serving -4

Sour mango 1

Grated jaggery ½ cup

Turmeric powder a pinch

Salt to taste

For Seasoning

Oil 1 teaspoon

Mustard seed 1 teaspoon

Red chilies 1

Curry leaves a few

Neem leaves 1 tablespoon

How to make mango pachadi:

 

1. Peel the mango skin and cut it into larger pieces and add some water, a pinch of turmeric and cook.

2. Simultaneously prepare the jaggery syrup, add the grated jaggery to a vessel along with 2 tablespoons of water and bring it to boil until the jaggery is completely dissolved.

3. Pour the strained jaggery syrup to the cooked mango, add salt to taste and mix well. Boil it and remove from flame.

4. Season it and finally add roasted neem flower to the pachadi.

Delicious yummy pachadi is ready to serve.

2. Veppampoo Rasam (Neem flower Rasam)

 

A delicious bitter rasam which is an exclusive dish prepared for Tamil New Year. Neem flowers (veppampoo) is widely used in Traditional Ayurveda/Unani medicines. This flavoursome and healthy recipe is a popular dish on Tamil New Year.

Expert Tip:

 Neem rasam is helpful for curing intestinal worms. It also boosts the immune system, purifies the blood and detoxifies the body.

 Ingredients- Servings     4

1.Tamarind -1 small lemon size

2.Red chili 4

3.Thur dahl 1 teaspoon

4.Ghee 1 teaspoon

5 Salt to taste

For Seasoning

Ghee 1 teaspoon

Veppampoo 1 tablespoon

Thur dahl 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves few

How to make Veppampoo rasam:

 

1.Soak the tamarind in water and get the juice.

2.Add ghee to a pan fry red chili, to this add tamarind juice and bring it to boil until raw smell goes off.

3.Im meantime take another pan add ghee to this add all the seasonings fry for few seconds, keep it aside. In the same pan add veppampoo roast it to golden brown colour.

4.Finally add 2 cups of water and salt to taste, add the seasoned ingredients to the rasam and when the rasam boils remove from the flame.

Now the tasty rasam is ready to serve with hot rice.