Panakkam/Panagam/Jaggery Water and Paruppu/Moong Dal Salad for RamNavami

Sri RamNavami, Happy Birthday to Lord Rama, celebrated during the Tamil month Chitrai(14th April - 14th May) on the 9th day following the New Moon. The Offering/Neivedhiyam to Lord is Simple/Humble Panagam or Jaggery Water, Butter Milk and Moong Dal Salad. Both the recipes makes a Delicious and healthy Snack anytime.

Ingredients

⅓ Cup of Powdered Jaggery

1.5 Cups of Water

juice of half lemon (optional)

3 pods of Cardamom, Crushed

½ teaspoon Dry ginger powder/Sukku Podi

Method

In a Bowl, add Jaggery, Water, Dry Ginger Powder, Lemon juice(if adding),Let it sit for 15-20 minutes, until jaggery dissolves completely in the water.

Using a Strainer, strain the jaggery water into another bowl, add the crushed cardamom and mix well.
Serve Chill.

Vadai Paruppu/Moong Dal Salad

Ingredients

2 tablespoon Moong Dal

2 teaspoon freshly grated coconut
½ teaspoon shredded ginger

Tempering

1 teaspoon Oil

¼ teaspoon Mustard Seeds

1 or 2 green chili, finely chopped

4-5 curry leaves

hing and turmeric, each a pinch

Additional Dressings

2-3 tablespoon Chopped Raw Mango

2-3 tablespoon chopped Cucumber

2-3 tablespoon Shredded Carrot

Method

Soak Moong Dal in ¼ Cup Water for an hour. By this time, the dal would have absorbed most of the water and become soft. Now, Drainthe excess water completely.
Take the dal in a bowl, heat oil given under tempering,add mustard seeds and let them splutter, add the chopped green chillies, curry leaves, hing and turmeric.
Pour the sizzling tempering over the dal, add the freshly grated coconut and adjust the salt and mix well.
Traditional Neivedhiyam/Offering for Ram Navami doesn't include the additional dressings. If you prefer to add, then you can also include grated carrot, raw mango and chopped cucumber to the above tempered Dal and make a Delicious and Filling Salad that makes a yummy and healthy snack.