Choodi Puja / Chudi Puja / Tulsi Puja

I planned and planted a tulasi early in May this year(2009) with the intention of doing tulasi puja in July. I got a plant from out local farmer's market called Thai Basil as I did not find the Indian Tulsi plant around here.

Every year in the month of Shravan Gowd Saraswat Brahmins have Tulsi puja at home. In 2010, Shravan Month begins on August 11 and ends on September 8. Married ladies perform this puja and worship both Tulsi Goddess and Sun God on Friday's and Sunday's of the Shravan month. Choodi's or specific flowers tied with dibrankolo or druva grass are offered to tulsi. Nine or more choodi's are prepared for the puja and after offering to the Tulsi Goddess. My mother uses Ratnagandhi or May flower along with Mitka Flower (it has a lovely fragrance and grows in color of yellow or white), Shanka Pushpa (which we grew in our home) and periwrinkle or sadapushpa (which means that it grows everyday). She also clean our doorstep with water and make design with white chalk on the doorstep and offer 2 choodi's to the doorstep.

7-9 Druva grass are tied with 3-5 flowers to make choodi. I did not find any druva grass near my house here in US, so I used the grass available in my lawn. I also used lily flower to make the choodi's. After doing the puja for 2 weeks, I took a photo of my tulsi plant which has grown to 4 times the size than when I had bought it. My mother saw the photo and told me that it is not the tulsi we worship nomally in India. Thai basil is called kamakasturi in India and not considered strictly to be tulsi--thats why the name Thai basil. In such cases, I always remember my Grandmom's saying-- she would always say "something is better than nothing". It is the thought of doing the puja counts rather than having correct flower, grass or plant :).

The remaining choodi's are offered with haldi and kumkum to elder women who give their blessings to younger women. I offer the remaining chudis to my home temple God's or I offer them to the Sunnyvale temple. My mom also posts the choodis and kumkum to many relatives who live in other cities.
My mother would prepare panchkadayi as prashad to Tulsi Goddess. If there is no time to prepare panchkadai, you can also offer sugar or jaggery as offering to the Goddess.

In the photo: Pova Panchkadayi

There are no mantra's or shlokas to do the puja, just show aarti to Tulsi goddess. Apply haldi kumkum to Tulsi and sprinkle rice grains around her.Then finally offer her a little prashad and water and a choodi. Distribute the remaining prashad to your family and the remaining water as "teerth". Also pray to the Sun God after performing the Tulsi puja.


Update 2010: I found Tulsi at Coconut Hil, an Indian store near my home. Here is my tulsi:

Mint Drink

Who doesn't like the cool flavor of mint and lemon? Here is a great recipe combining two yummy flavors. This is also great drink for getting rid of the pitta dosha or heat effects generated in the body. Its a great remedy for indigestion and stomach upsets. Other than that you can enjoy it with a dash of soda and ice cubes in summer.

Ingredients
15-20 mint leaves
1 tablespoon sugar
4 -5 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup water
ice cubes

Method
Grind the mint leaves into a fine paste with water. Strain the mint juice to separate the fiber and stalks. Add lemon juice and sugar to the strained juice. Add ice cubes and serve immediately.

Konkani Karate Ambat / Bittergourd Curry

Everyone in my home loves bitter gourds. I make quite a number of items using bitter gourd. This is one of my mom's recipes which she would make very often. Unless there is an index of recipes, one tends to forget to make some of the recipes and that's what happened with my mom. She didn't make this bitter gourd for quite some time and we never remembered this amidst all the other tasty dishes she makes. Recently, I remembered this curry and asked her for the recipe and this has become a regular at my home now. This dish requires very tender and young bitter gourds. The more tender the bitter gourds are the tastier the curry!!

Ingredients
1 bitter gourd
6-7 beans or cluster beans
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tablespoon jaggery
3 roasted red chilies
small piece of tamarind (size of two peas)
1 teaspoon mustard
5-6 curry leaves
1 teaspoon oil for seasoning
salt for taste

Method
Scrape the skin and cut the bitter gourd into round circles. If the bitter gourds are very bitter, then mix salt into the cut pieces and keep aside for half an hour. Then squeeze the bitter water from the bitter gourd pieces. Cut the ends of the beans and slit each beans into two. Then cut the beans into one inch pieces. Cook the bitter gourd and beans in very little water till it is soft. Grind the coconut, jaggery, red chilies and tamarind into a very fine paste. Add the masala to the vegetables and get the curry to a boil. Season the curry with mustard and curry leaves. Serve hot with rice.

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Serves: 2

Wish List

These recipes are part of my wish list which I would like to try some time in future.

Zhunka Bhakar from The Cooks Cottage

Carrot Pumpkin fudge from and a little bit more

Ukadiche modak from My Foodcourt

Beetroot Halwa from VegBowl

Stuffed Milk Bread from My Singapore

Dalia Pulao from The Chef and Her Kitchen

Ragi Mudde from The Chef and Her Kitchen

Ragi Roti from The Chef and Her Kitchen

Oats Pongal

Oats upma

Oats Uttappa

Eggless Microwave coffee Cake

Val Khichidi

Val and Vangi Sabzi

Ghee Chicken Roast

Dal Dhokli

Vegie Lasange

Pumpkin Flower Sabzi

Peanut Oats Ladoo

Microwaved Masala Peanuts

Olive Bread

Azuki Bean Crepes / Bagde Polo / Lal Chori Dosa / Red Chori Dosa

I learnt this nutritious dosa from my friend Pri. It is supposed to be had in leisure as it is very heavy comfort food made entirely with lentils. It makes a great brunch on weekends.

Ingredients
1 cup red chori
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
2 green chilies
1 medium onion
4 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
salt for taste
ghee(optional)

Method
Soak red chori in plenty of water overnight or for 7-8 hours. Rinse it well. Grind it into a smooth paste with ginger, green chilies and salt. The batter should be watery in texture. Add chopped onion and coriander leaves.


Heat oil in a tava and spread a very thn layer of dosa batter. If the dosa is thick then it won't cook well and remain raw at places where it is spread thick. When the dosa cooks on one side, spread a little ghee on the dosa and flip it to the other side. Cook both sides of the dosa on a medium flame for a long time so that it is crispy. Serve the dosa with chutney.

Pepper Rasam

Pepper rasam is a great comfort food to have on cold wintery days. It is a great home remedy for colds, fevers and sore throat. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon rasam powder
4-5 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
2 tablespoon cooked toor dal (for better consistency)
1 medium tomato chopped
1/4 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
1/4 teaspoon pepper powder or as desired
salt for taste

Method
Combine the chopped tomato, toor dal, rasam powder, pepper powder and tamarind. Add 3 cups of water and get the rasam to a boil. Add coriander leaves and salt for taste. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.