Chidambaram 'Ratha'(car) festival

A breath-taking view of one of the magnificient gopurams of Lord Nataraja temple.....
I realised today that its my good fortune that I could get Lord Nataraja's darshan everyday.Today is a very important day for all the shavites around the world.Many people from all around the world gather in the four streets of Chidambaram to have a glimpse of Lord Nataraja in this significant event.



Goddess Sivakami's chariot following Lord Nataraja's chariot...

The Thirumanjanam in the month of Aani(june-july) is on the day of the star Uthiram is an occasion where Lord Natarja is brought in the beautifully decorated chariot(ratha) for darshan to the people gathered outside the temple.The murthy along with the goddess is taken in a procession in the streets around the temple.


The people use the 'vedam' which is a very thick rope,to pull the chariot .It is considered holy to pull the 'vedam'.Once the procession is over they bring the 'murthy' into the temple ceremenouisly.

South Car street filled with devotees ....

It's in tradition to make 'Thiruvatharai Kali' on 'Aani Thirumanjanam',Lord Nataraja's birthday..


Neivedyam to Lord Nataraja..

Here goes the recipe for Thiruvathara kali..

You will need:
1 cup Rice
1/2 cup Mung dal
1 cup Jaggery
1/4 cup grated coconut
2 teaspoon ghee
A pinch of salt
5-6 cashews
1/4 teaspoon of cardamom powder
Almonds for garnishing

On a heavy pan roast the mung dal for a min without oil and set aside...


Similarly,roast the rice for 3-4 mins wihtout oil..




After roasting it must look like this...






Allow it to cool and ground them coarsely as shown..




Bring 2 cups of water(The water and rice must be in 1:2 ratio) to boil and add the jaggery .Let it dissolve completely.



Strain the jaggery liquid once dissolved.


Add the mung,rice,coconut,salt to the jaggery liquid and pressure cook it.

Melt the ghee and fry the cashews and add it to the kali.Add the cardomom powder and mix well.Add more ghee , if required.Garnish as you like..

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