Traditional South Indian Rice Dishes – Heralding in Sravana Maasam

The coming Sunday signals the start of Sravana Maasam (the month of Sravan according to the Hindu Calendar) in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. This is perhaps the most auspicious of all months and signals the start of the Chaturmasyam (4-month auspicious period). Almost every day of Sravana Maasam is significant for some reason and the Chaturmas  is dotted with festivals.

Festivals mean poojas; and poojas, but of course, are incomplete without food. Rice plays a very important part in all the naivedyam/prasadam and so I thought I would post a round-up of some of the popular rice dishes that are made during festival days.

I am limiting this post to the savoury rice dishes. Sweets made with rice are reserved for another round up!

• Chintapandu Pulihora or Tamarind Rice. This dish is perhaps the most omnipresent of all Andhra festival dishes.
• Lemon Rice or Nimmakaya Pulihora. A variation of pulihora that uses lemon juice instead of tamarind for sourness.
• Mammidikaya Pulihora. Raw mangoes add a touch of tang to this pulihora.
• Gongura Pulihora. A different kind of pulihora that is green and tangy because of the gongura leaves.
• Kobbari Annam or Coconut Rice. A quick and easy dish to make. All you need is some rice and fresh coconut.
• Nuvvula Annam, Ellu Sadam, or Sesame Rice. Nuvvulu or Sesame is one of my favourites and so this dish ranks high in my list of priorities.
• Daddojanam, Thayir Sadam, or Seasoned Curd Rice. No South Indian meal is complete without some rice and curd. Why go into the trouble of mixing the two when we can give you spiced and seasoned pre-mixed curd-rice?