Kanu Pongal is a Love Letter to Rice
On the third day of Pongal, the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, the rice harvest is celebrated with as assortment of rice dishes in joyous colours. Deepa Natarajan Lobo writes about Kanu Pongal.
It’s a cold winter morning. Turmeric leaves are being arranged, a kolam is drawn on freshly washed earth. Sugarcane has been chopped, and small balls of sweet and khara pongal are made with leftovers from the previous day’s celebration of Pongal. A portion of boiled rice is mixed with turmeric, and another with vermillion, to make balls of red and yellow. The women of the house place them on the turmeric leaves, in the direction of the sun. As they do, they sing ‘kakapudi kannupudi kaka kelam kalyanam’.
These are my memories of Kanu Pongal, the third day of the festival of Pongal. My mother would pull me out of bed, to the cold terrace of our home in Delhi, and later Bengaluru, for this little ritual.
The Colours of Kanu Pongal
Traditionally, Pongal is celebrated over a period of four days in the form of Bhogi, Surya, Maatu/Kanu and Kaanum Pongal. Pongal is a harvest festival, and the abundance of freshly harvested rice means a variety of delicious of rice preparations. Surya Pongal, the second day, is the biggest celebration, culminating with a grand feast of sambar, sweet and spicy pongal, payasam and vadas, among a host of other delicacies. Each meal ends with a delicious dessert like sweet pongal or thick payasam made of rice.
However, on the third day of Pongal, many Tamil households celebrate Kanu Pongal, which is a quieter affair but comes with its own traditions and delicacies. On this day, the women sing and pray for their brothers, offering rice balls to the birds, especially crows, who represent the ancestors.
Later in the day, a variety of rice dishes (known as kalanda sadam in Tamil) are made, in place of the usual dal-and-rice meal. Tangy tamarind rice, spicy pepper rice, nutty coconut rice and creamy curd rice; the humble grain is presented in all its glory with an accompaniment of crisp medu vadas, and vadams (fryums). This gamut of colourful dishes are laid out beautifully on a banana leaf to make for a simple yet festive south Indian celebration. Deepthi Ganesh, a homemaker in the United States says, “After the previous day’s heavy meal of pongal, vadas, and payasam, one doesn’t feel like eating the everyday sambar, rasam and poriyal. Instead, rice dishes like lemon and coconut rice, which are lighter on the stomach, are prepared.”
While the best way to enjoy the day’s feast would be in lush green fields under the glorious winter sun, for city-dwellers far removed from such luxuries, the second-best option is to sink into a couch and dig in, with an entertaining Tamil film on Sun TV!
Radha Mani’s Coconut Rice Recipe
Coconut rice is very simple dish made on Kanu Pongal. It is also an easy lunch box idea that you can put together in a few minutes if you have cooked rice ready on hand.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
2 green chillies, slit
1 red chilli broken
1 tbsp channa dal
1 tbsp split urad dal
Salt to taste
A pinch of sugar (optional, only if coconut is not naturally sweet)
1/8 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp ghee
8-9 curry leaves
1-2 tbsp broken cashews
Method
Heat a pan. Add coconut oil and ghee. Add mustard seeds and let them crackle. Add channa dal, urad dal and broken cashew nuts in succession to help even browning. Fry till light golden brown. Add green chillies and dry red chilli. Add curry leaves and asafoetida. Add grated coconut, salt and sugar if adding and fry till it turns aromatic and releases a nutty flavour ensuring that colour of the coconut doesn’t change. Turn off the flame, add cooked and cooled rice and mix well. Adjust salt if required.
Tip: Adding salt while toasting coconut makes it very flavourful.
Adding sugar is optional and is needed only if the coconut is not sweet naturally.
Recipe and photos by Radha Mani
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