Karadayan Nombu – Nombu Adai – Steamed Rice Flour Cake

Karadayan Nonbu also called Savitri Vratham is observed  in Tamil Nadu. This is a tradition is observed women, married women for the prosperity of their husband and unmarried women to get an ideal person as their husband.  During this festival, women perform fasting and does pooja and offerings to God. Nonbu Adai is the main dish for the day. There are spicy and sweet adais. We offer these adais to Goddess Gowri Devi and will tie a holy thread around the neck. I love these adais and used to wait for the pooja to get over so that I can munch on. Here you go…

For 1 cup of flour,

Preparation time: 35 – 40 minutes

No of servings: 12 to 14 pieces

Ingredients:

For Sweet Adai:

• Rice flour –  1 cup
• Jaggery –  1 1/4 cup (powdered)
• Coconut bits – 3 tbsp
• Red cow pea (Karamani in Tamil) – 2 tbsp
• Cardamom – 2 numbers
• Water – 1 and 1/2 cups
• Ghee or clarified butter – 1/4 cup

For Spicy Adai:

• Rice flour – 1 cup
• Red cow pea – 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Urad dal or black gram (split) – 1 tsp
• Channa dal or Bangal gram – 1 tbsp
• Green chilly – 1
• Coconut bits – 3 tbsp
• Oil – 2 tsp

Method of Preparation:

1. Wash and soak the entire red cow pea for 10 minutes.
2. Boil water in a pan and cook the soaked cow peas till it is soft.
3. Boil water and add a pinch of salt. Keep some more boiling water ready for reserve.
4. Slightly fry the coconut in 1/4 tsp of ghee. Do not let it brown.
5. Fry rice flour in a pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes and remove from pan before it starts changing color.
6. Add cooked peas, coconut and ground cardamom.
7. Slowly stir in the rice flour and keep stirring until everything comes together like a ball. Flour will be cooked. Add some more boiling water if required.
8. Now add powdered jaggery and mix well till jaggery is melted and completely incorporated in the flour. The cooked product will be soft and not sticky. If it is sticky keep stirring over low heat for some more time.
9. Grease your idli plates and your palms with ghee or clarified butter.
10. Make small balls out of the dough and flatten it and make a hole in the middle like vada and keep it in the idli plates.
11. Steam cook them using your idli cooker or pressure cooker for 15 minutes.
12. Sweet adai is ready.
13. For the spicy adai, fry rice flour over medium heat just like how you did before.
14. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. Once they splutter add urad dal, channa dal and chopped green chillies.
15. Add 2 cups of boil and bring it to boil. Keep some more boiling water ready.
16. Add the sliced coconut, remaining cooked cow pea and leave it for a minute.
17. Remove any lumps from the rice flour and add it to the boiling water and keep stirring till you get the desired consistency.
18. Make balls and follow the same procedure as mentioned above for sweet adai.

🙂 Serve with butter…