Tamil Brahmin households, including Iyers in Kerala, celebrate Karadaiyan Nonbu or Savitri Nonbu this month. This traditional festival is celebrated when the Tamil month of “Maasi” gives way to the month of “Panguni”. There is an auspicious period of time prescribed by the traditional solar-lunar calendar for the neivedhaym/ ritual offering. This ritual offering or Neivedhyam is Karadaiyan Nonbu Adai.
This celebration is observed by the women folk of the household. Married women pray for their husbands’ longevity and a happy married life, while young unmarried women pray for a good husband. Almost every Hindu community in India has its own version of this tradition. As an unworldly teenager, I wondered at the wisdom/ fairness of such a tradition. Women prayed for the long life of their husbands, but men didn’t do the same for their wives! Now I’m older, I have a better and different understanding, and a broader perspective of many things. I realize these traditions were set during a period of shorter life expectancy and when women needed the protection of men to have a place in society.
Legend has it that Karadaiyan Nonbu is observance of a love story of sorts. Savithri was the daughter of King Asrapati. When she was old enough to get married, she chose to marry Sathyavan who lived in the forest with his blind parents. The great sage Narada however predicted that Sathyavan would die within a year and Savithri would be a widow. Despite her father’s entreaties, Savithri married Sathyavan and they were happy. Soon Savithri realised that she could lose her husband if the sage’s prediction came true. So she prayed to God for her husband’s life, making ritual offerings with whatever was available in the forest.
On the prophesied day of Sathyavan’s death, Savithri followed him into the forest. He was chopping down wood when he suddenly collapsed and died. Yama, the Lord of Death, promptly arrived to take Sathyavan’s soul to heaven. Savithri followed him, despite Yama’s reasoning that she couldn’t go witthem while alive. Savithri refused to leave and kept pleading for her husband’s life.
Yama, impressed by her love and devotion, granted her three wishes except her husband’s life. So she asked sight to be restored to her blind parents-in-laws. Then she asked that her father-in-law be re-instated as King of the kingdom that was rightfully his. Finally she asked to be the mother of a 100 sons! Yama immediately granted her all her wishes before he realized he would have to bring Sathyavan back to life for her to be a mother!!
So Karadaiyan Nonbu celebrates Savithri’s courage, persistence and intelligence to bring back her husband to life. We make Karadaiyan Nonbu Adai on this day to offer with prayers. Nonbu Adai are steam cooked flat rice cakes. They resemble doughnuts with a hole in the centre, but are nothing like them. They’re made both sweet and savoury, from rice flour. A cooked dough is made from the flour, shaped and then steam-cooked and served with fresh home-made unsalted butter.
Nonbu means fasting and traditionally women fast before the prayers on this day. They break their fast with these Adais. Some people claim the name Karadaiyan Nonbu Adai comes from Karamani or the black eyed beans added to them. Others say Savithri made these for offerings with wild rice (Kaarai Arishi) she found in the forest. There’s probably very little truth in either claim.
These recipes for the sweet and savoury Adais are my mother’s and this is how we make them. You will find many similar recipes for them with minor ingredient variations. The traditional way of steaming these rice flat cakes is by patting them out them on lightly greased plantain leaf pieces. These are then steam cooked, leaves and all. You can also shape them on lightly greased palms and steam cook them in Idli moulds.
Karadaiyan Adai can be made from raw rice or store bought rice flour. I usually use store bought rice flour. To make them rice, wash and soak about 2 cups of short or medium grain raw rice in water for about 1 1/2 hours, for each variety of Adai. Drain the water out and spread the rice out on a clean cotton towel. Let it air dry at room temperature for another hour or so. Then powder the rice as fine as possible and sieve so that you obtain fine rice flour. Do not use par-boiled or basmati.
Please note this post was originally published in March 2011, and has been updated with text and images since.
Karadaiyan Nonbu Adai
Ingredients
For Sweet Vella Nonbu Adai :
- 1 cup powdered jaggery
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups rice flour
- 3 tbsps cooked black eyed beans (vellai payar/ kaaraimani/ chowli)
- 1/3 cup finely chopped coconut slivers
- 1/3 cup finely chopped ripe jackfruit pieces (optional)
- 4 to 5 pods powdered cardamom
- 1 tbsp ghee
- Plantain leaves to steam the adais, if available
For Savoury Nonbu Adai :
- 2 tbsps sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tsps mustard seeds
- 2 tsps black gram lentils (urad dal)
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1 or 2 finely sliced green chillies
- 1 large sprig shredded curry leaves
- 1 1/2 cups rice flour
- 3 cups water
- to taste salt
- 3 tbsps cooked black-eyed beans (vellai payar/ kaaraimani/ chowli)
- 1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
- Plantain leaves to steam the adais, if available
Instructions
For the Sweet or Vella Nonbu Adai :
- Start by dry roasting the rice flour in a pan till a faint aroma emanates but do not brown. In a largish pan, put the powdered jaggery and the water and bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve the jaggery. If you are using freshly powdered rice flour you might need a little less water, about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of water instead of the 3 cups for store bought flour.
- Add the rice flour, the cooked beans, the coconut, cardamom and the jackfruit, and take the pan off the heat. Stir everything together taking care to break up the lumps of rice flour.
- Place the pan back on the stove, and over medium heat, stir the mixture until the water is absorbed by the rice flour. Add the ghee and cook the dough till it keeps leaving the sides of the pan and coming to the centre as a thick ball. Take the pan off the heat and allow the dough cool to a temperature where it can be handled comfortably (warm but not cool).
- Knead the dough by hand a couple of times so it is smooth and malleable. Pinch off bits the size of a small lemon and place on a greased square of plantain leaf or foil or even your greased left palm. Flatten the dough, with your fingers into a flat disc about 3-inch in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Using you finger to poke a hole (about 1/2-inch big) in the centre so it looks doughnut-like.
- Place it in your steamer. You can also greased Idli moulds, like I do, to cook them. Repeat with the remaining dough. Steam cook the "adais", for about 10 to 12 minutes till they're well done. When cooked, they should feel sticky to touch. Let them cool, and then remove them.
- Serve them with a small pat of fresh home-made unsalted butter. This recipe makes 25 to 30 Sweet or Vella Adais (of 3" diameter).
For the Savoury Nonbu Adai :
- In the same way as for the sweet Adai, dry roast the rice flour in a pan till a faint aroma emanates but do not brown.
- In a largish pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the lentils and stir till they turn golden. Add the asafoetida, the chillies and the curry leaves and stir once or twice and then add the water. Make sure the asafoetida does not burn.
- If you are using freshly powdered rice flour you might need a little less water, about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of water instead of the 3 cups for store bought flour. Bring the water to boil, and then add the cooked beans, the coconut and the salt. Now add the rice flour, and take the pan off the heat. Stir everything together taking care to break up the lumps of rice flour.
- Place the pan back on the stove, and over medium heat, stir the mixture until the water is absorbed by the rice flour. Cook the dough till it keeps leaving the sides of the pan and coming to the centre as a thick ball. Take the pan off the heat and allow the dough cool to a temperature where it can be handled comfortably (warm but not cool)
- Knead the dough by hand a couple of times so it is smooth and malleable. Pinch off bits the size of a small lemon and place on a greased square of plantain leaf or foil or even your greased left palm. Flatten the dough, with your fingers into a flat disc about 3-inch in diameter and 1/4- inch thick. Using you finger to poke a hole (about 1/2-inch big) in the centre so it looks doughnut-like.
- Place it in your steamer. If flattening on your palm, like I did, place the flattened disc in one depression of a greased idli mould. Repeat with the remaining dough. Steam cook the "Adais", for about 10 to 12 minutes till they're well done. When cooked, they should not be sticky to touch. Let them cool, and then remove them.
- Serve them with a small pat of fresh home-made unsalted butter. This recipe makes 25 to 30 Savoury Adais (of 3-inch diameter).
You might have noticed that I’m giving away 2 cookbooks for my readers with a shipping address in India. If you would like a chance at winning one of these, please leave a comment at the giveaway post. I see any comments without the city in India where the books could be shipped. Please note that if you do not leave the name of the city in your comment, you will be ineligible for the giveaway.
The giveaway is open till the midnight of the 20th of March, 2011. THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
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