Navaratri, for Tamilians, is time for bomme kolu and sundal. It is that auspicious time of the year when Tamil houses deck up with flowers and mango leaves.
Navaratri, for Tamilians, is time for bomme kolu and sundal. It is that auspicious time of the year when Tamil houses deck up with flowers and mango leaves. A corner of the house turns into a makeshift, yet elaborate dolls’ house. Bomme kolu (dolls) are not just traditional dolls; even miniature Ironman finds place in the nine planks set up in the nook near the prayer room of the house.
The rituals start with kalasa puja, where Goddess Parashakti or Durga is invoked. The Goddess is believed to come into the kalasa, which is a silver or brass pot filled with water. A coconut and some mango leaves are placed over the top of the pot. And this takes the top spot on the bomme kolu shelves.
“Womenfolk take turns to host friends and family and organise kolu gatherings. We sing traditional songs, and serve sundal (a snack with lentils and jaggery as the base),” says 41-year-old Padmam Venugopal.
Her sundal isn’t the typical kind. She says every Tamilian mother experiments with it according to her children’s likes. “I cook different kinds of soaked beans—brown chana, dry white peas, peanuts, chickpeas, kidney beans, black-eyed peas—together.
Then I mix it with uncooked, but soaked-till-tender moong dal and split chana dal. Then I add salt, grated coconut, juice of half a lemon, and chopped coriander leaves. The seasoning is mustard seeds, curry leaves, chillies, and hing fried in oil. Everybody seems to love this dish,” she says.
“The best thing about sundal is that it’s easy to make, very healthy, and tasty,” says Sreelakshmi Radhakrishnan, a software engineer, who due to time constraint, gravitates towards easier recipes.
“For everything else, we have the stores, don’t we?” she laughs.
So what’s on the menu besides this ubiquitous dish? “Thairu saadham (curd rice), thengai saadham (coconut rice), thayir semia (vermicelli in yogurt), uzhundhu vadai (urad dal doughnut), ribbon pakoda, murrukku, sugian (coconut and jaggery balls fried in sweet batter), paanagam (a drink)… are all popular items during Navaratri for us,” says Sreelakshmi.
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