Happy Pongal 2021

அணைவருக்கும் இனிய பொங்கல் திருநாள் நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்!

Happy pongal to all my lovely readers!

Our platter today featured

Sakkara pongal
Broken wheat ven pongal
7 kari kootu
Medu vada
Sugarcane of course

It took just three hours to prepare this platter. Phew!! The clan openly appreciated Sakkara pongal and Medu vada. This is probably the 2nd or 3rd time they are appreciating my food in last 10 months of pandemic cooking marathon. Adi said she usually doesn’t like sweet pongal but the taste today made her like it! M said the vada is perfect, crispy outside and soft inside. So, I did grow an inch taller with pride**. What they don’t know is that I burnt the Sakkara pongal, had to change it to a different dish and fix it with more milk and ghee *evil laughter*

**(this is lyrics from a tamil movie song)
மகிழ்ச்சியில் எந்தன் மனம் மலர்ந்திடுமே (My heart will be filled with happiness)
ஏன் உயரமோ இன்னும் கொஞ்சம் வளர்ந்திடுமே (I will grow an inch taller due to this abundance of happiness)

As usual, LHB was my carrier to share the delicacies with neighbors. He wore veshti/sattai and visited them 🙂

I ate, ate and ate till my tummy cried loud to burst. Pulled off the second half of work day with dozing off here and there. I am super tired and just want to go to bed but LHB’s homework session is still pending!!!

//Copying below from previous year’s pongal post. I will continue to copy this every year as every single word in this will hold true forever and ever

Pongal brings back so much of childhood memories. I am glad to have recorded it all in this blog.
My paternal grandpa, my village, home full of elders, relatives visiting every other minute, coffee/tea boiling non stop, pongal cooking in front yard on new mud pot with turmeric plant wrapped around it, mango leaves thoranam, chithappas, periyappas, anna, akka, mama, maami.

Paal pongiyacha?? heard one thousand times in this day, endless eating of farm cut fresh sugarcane. I am glad to have experienced and lived a rich childhood.

Once again, a very happy pongal to you all !!