Thursday, May 01, 2008

Shaila, Pongal, Mock Meat!

Sometime back, Shaila invited us over to her place for Ponggal.
Ponggal or Pongal also known as Makara Sankranti is celebrated in mid-January by South Indians as a festival marking the rice harvest.Ponggal celebrates the fruit of a farmer's labour.The rice grains cultivated are of primary significance to the Indians,as rice is the staple food. It is also a time they pay a tribute to Surya, the Sun God, as the sun is believed to be the giver of all life.

Cows are decorated in garlands as they are acknowledged for helping to till
the land and reaping such a rich rice harvest.Oil lamps are lit and placed along the perimeter of the house. In India, the landlords distribute clothes, food and money as a symbol of goodwill to the workers. Apart from the ponggal, sugar cane, spices, vegetables are also offered to the deities for thanksgiving. Offerings are also made at the local temples, where a delightful array of vibrant-coloured sarees adds life to the high-spirited atmosphere. The festivities can be caught at large Hindu temples such as the Sri Srinivasa Perumai Temple back in Serangoon Road

Usually we indians prefer to celebrate occasions like this dining on vegetarian food
Shaila is a great cook and amongst the other dishes she made, mock meat was one of them.It was so tasty that i told my mum to buy me some and send them over.I messaged Shaila to ask where they can be bought and she was so sweet, she actually made me
some. We had it on Sunday over lunch!
My camera was out of batt so i took a pic with my 1.3MP phone...didnt do justice to the dish:(

Thank you dear for taking the effort to whip up the dish even when u were not totally feeling well! :)i appreciate it loads!