PANAKA and KOSAMBRI

Panaka and Kosambri andhre ...ivathu RamaNavami antha .... :))) So today, Rama is our bday boy and with such a crowd everywhere am sure he would have got bday bumps too :) He was born at sharp Noon today. The significance here is he was born when the Sun was at its peak, so it speaks of his brilliant personality. Rama belonged to the Raghuvamsha or Sun dynasty, who were devoted to the worship of Sun. This dynasty is famous for King Raghu who was noted to stand for his word. Following the foot prints of his great ancestor, Lord Rama too went to jungles to keep the promises made by his dad to his step mom.

Ramayana is my fav amoungst the epics coz I really think Rama was such a cool dude. He is supposedly called "the Uttama Purusha", the most perfect guy in those days ;-))) Too bad i was not born in Treta Yuga ..hehe..maybe i was.. but don quite remember..hehe
We all (atleast me) recall the story begins with how Kaikeyi asks Rama to go to the forest for 14 yrs on the very day he was to become crown prince..etc.etc. But what most of us dont know (atleast me till now) is what happened before he was born. So this is how it goes...

Dasharath had 3 wives but no kids, so he performed Puthra Kamesti Yagna. As the result of this, Yagneshwar (God of Yagnas..i guess) appears and hands Dasharath a bowl of Payasa (yummmiee) and asks him to give it to his wives. Dasharath gives one half of it to his elder wife Kausalya, and another half to his younger wife Kaikeyi. They both give half of their portions to Sumithra. After few days all three Queens conceive (i dont want to get into too many details here ;-)). On the ninth day (Navami) of Chaithra Masa (first month in Hindu calendar), at noon Kaushlya gives birth to Rama, Kaikeyi gives birth to Bharatha, and Sumithra to twin boys, Lakshmana and Shatrughana.

Gosh! i din know that Lakshmana had a twin bro, I used to think he is Rama's own bro. Because Sumithra drank half n half from what the other 2 ladies gave....she had twins... get the logic?? So it could be that Lakhi was born from that portion of payasa which Kaushalya gave to Sumitra. This indeed makes Lakhi his bro na?? See the pic below as well. Both Rama and Lakhi are of the same blue color. WOW! am turning into Sherlock Holmes soon! This also means tat all these guys were born on the same day and were of same age. This is news to me ..really? Am thrilled to know this part of the story..thanks to wikipedia :))

But frankly guys I dont know the connection between Ramayana and Panaka/Kosambri. If you happen to knw pls leave a comment below. But i gues it was Rama's fav drink and snack while roaming the forest for 14 yrs. Wat say? I came from work today a bit early and prepared these 2 things..I bet Rama would have big time fallen for me if he had tasted my panaka...hehe..However, i dedicate both these items to my collegue and good friend Vinay RAMAswamy.... no coincidence :O (he suggested i write this way :P) I dedicate this to him coz Vinay sent such a cool appreciation to me this morning. He Ccd my boss too, which was such a smart thing to do ;-)) Thanks much Vinay..you made my day!

In the evening, I went to the Shirdi Sai temple to wish the Lord Happy Bday. Today is also the bday of Sai Baba, who is believed to be the incarnation of Rama in Kaliyug. There, i saw this unique beautiful picture (below). Check out how sweet Sita looks sitting on Rama's lap with a lotus in hand and a red saree...really cute na?



Kosambri (serves 2-3)
Ingrediants:
Hesaru Bele/Moong Dal - 1 cup (soaked for 1 hr)
Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
Cucumber - 1 medium size (finely chopped)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tsp
Green Chillies - 2-3 (finley chopped)
Udina bele/Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Lemon - 1/2
Coriander leaves (chopped)

Method:
1. Please soak moong dal no longer than 45 mins to an hour. If you soak longer u get a weird yukky taste. It should be soaked just enought to bite into it.
2. Heat oil and throw in mustard seeds. When it splutters, add urad dal and chilles. Keep this aside.
3. Sqeeze the water out of moong dal and to this add coconut and cucumber. Pour the seasoning over it and sprinkle hing.
4. Add salt as required, squeeze half a lemon, add chopped coriander and mix well.
Serve immediately.




Panaka (serves 2-3)
Ingrediants:
Bella/Good/Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom Powdered- 1 tsp
Musk Melon - 1/2 (peeled)
Lemon - 1/2
Cold Water
Crushed ice cubes

Method:
1. Soak jaggery in a bit of water for say 10 mins. Crush this until it melts and add cardamom. Jaggery is of predominance here and gives panaka its original taste. So please do not substitue it for sugar.
2. Mash the melon with your palms and mix this with the jaggery. This is optional..so don worry if u don have it. Panaka can be done without it as well.
3. Pour cold water, ice cubes and squeeze half a lemon into it.

Serve cold along with kosambri. This is so refreshing...you wont believe it.