Neer Mor and Panakam(Panagam) /Rama Navami Festival Recipes

Rama navami is a Hindu festival,celebrating the birth of Lord Ram.It falls in the month march mostly and special poojas and prayers are held everywhere.The most common prasad offered to Lord Ram on this day are panakam(jaggery drink) ,neer mor(spiced buttermilk) and kosambari(salad with moong dal).These recipes are prepared for Rama navami because it comes in summer and these drinks keeps the body cool and refreshing a midst the intense heat.My mom prepares panakam and neer mor every year not only for ramanavami but also for tamil new year and for other bhajans or poojas held in our house.It is really very cool and soothing for our tummy.The recipe is very simple and is as follows.

For Panakam:

Preparation time:10 mins

Serves:3

Panakam/Panagam

Ingredients:

Purified water-2 cups+ 1/2 cup(for jaggery)

Jaggery(powdered)-4 tbsp

Cardamom powder-1 tsp

Dry ginger powder-1 pinch

Pepper powder-1 pinch

Lemon juice -from 1/2 lemon(optional)

Procedure:

1.Heat jaggery in half cup of water till it dissolves.

2.Switch off the flame and filter the jaggery mixture and add it to the 2 cups of water in a vessel .

3.Add the cardamom powder,pepper powder,dry ginger powder to it.Squeeze lemon juice out of half a lemon and add it to the jaggery drink.Panakam is now ready to be served.Add the cardamom peels to the panakam for additional flavor.

 For neer mor:

Preparation time-10 mins

Serves:3

Neer Mor

Ingredients:

Curd/yogurt-1 cup

Water-2 cups

Chopped coriander leaves-1 tbsp

Asafetida/Hing-1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Oil-1 tsp

To temper:

Mustard-1 tsp

Cumin/jeera-1 tsp

Curry leaves-few

Procedure:

1.Beat the yogurt/curd well and add two cups of water to it .Add the asafetida and salt to it and mix well.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add the tempering ingredients to it and once the mustard splutters , add it to the buttermilk. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve chill.

Panakam and neer mor are ready.

Tips:

*The leaf in panakam is thulasi(holy basil) as we put a little before offering it to god.
*You can avoid lemon in panakam if you wish.