Festival recipes | Tamil new year
Tamil new year 2024
Happy Tamil New Year! or Puthandu as it's traditionally known, marks the beginning of another promising year—one filled with happiness, joy, peace, and prosperity.
This auspicious day is celebrated with a grand feast made using fresh country vegetables and seasonal produce, symbolizing a bountiful harvest. The meal beautifully brings together all the essential tastes—sweet, tangy, spicy, and even bitter—creating a well-rounded and meaningful culinary experience.
Puthandu—a time for fresh starts, big smiles, and all the good vibes.
It’s the beginning of a brand new year, and what better way to welcome it than with a delicious, home-cooked feast? Think vibrant country vegetables, fresh harvest goodies, and a perfect balance of flavors—sweet, spicy, tangy, and yes, even a little bitterness (hello, neem flowers!).
Neem might sound unusual, but it’s a must-have! Whether it’s stirred into a zesty rasam or mixed into a tangy pachadi, it brings a touch of tradition and meaning to the plate.
If you're wondering what to cook, don’t worry—I have got you covered. Explore my blog for a whole bunch of elai sapadu recipes, from the super simple to the wonderfully elaborate. Pick and choose, mix and match, and create a spread that your family will love and remember.
Whether you go all-out or keep it low-key, your Tamil New Year menu is sure to bring joy, flavor, and a little sparkle that lasts all year long.
Here’s to new beginnings, good food, and even better memories—Happy Puthandu!
A key ingredient in this festive spread is neem flowers, which are thoughtfully included into dishes like rasam and pachadi, adding depth and significance to the celebration.
Check out a comprehensive list of dishes you can prepare to create a memorable feast your family will love. The blog features a variety of elai sapadu recipes—from simple to elaborate—perfect for creating your own Tamil New Year menu.
Whether you go traditional or modern, your spread is sure to bring a spark that lingers throughout the year.
Wishing you a joyful and prosperous Tamil New Year!
A traditional South Indian festival lunch is a grand affair, celebrated with a variety of dishes that are meticulously prepared and served on a banana leaf. The meal is typically vegetarian and includes a balance of flavors—sweet, spicy, tangy, and savory. Here’s a general description of the items usually included:
Rice: The centerpiece of the meal is plain steamed rice, served in generous portions.
Sambar: A hearty lentil stew made with vegetables, tamarind, and a blend of spices, sambar is a staple in any South Indian meal.usually ground coconut with spices is added to sambar .
Rasam: A thin, tangy soup made with tamarind juice, tomatoes, and a mix of spices, often flavored with a hint of pepper . Onions garlic are avoided during festivals.
Poriyal: A dry vegetable curry, usually made with green beans, carrots, or cabbage, sautéed with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and grated coconut.
Kootu: A thick stew of vegetables and lentils, seasoned with coconut and tempered with spices.
Aviyal: A medley of vegetables like yam, plantains, and carrots, cooked in a coconut and yogurt gravy, flavored with cumin and green chilies.
Pachadi: A yogurt-based side dish, similar to raita, made with vegetables like cucumber or beetroot, and sometimes with a touch of sweetness from fruits like pineapple.
Vadai: Deep-fried lentil fritters, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, often served as a savory snack.
Appalam: Crisp, thin wafers made from lentil flour, similar to papadums, providing a crunchy contrast to the soft dishes.
Payasam: A sweet dessert, often a rice or lentil pudding made with milk, sugar or jaggery, and flavored with cardamom, nuts, and raisins.
Pickles: A variety of pickles, typically made from mango, lime, or ginger, to add a burst of tangy flavor.
Curd: Fresh, homemade yogurt served to cool the palate and aid digestion.
Banana or Sweet: Often a ripe banana or a special sweet like Mysore Pak or Kesari is served to complete the meal. Other sweets like halwa , milk Poli, dal Poli , appam , sojji , Suzhiyam are prepared.
This spread is a beautiful representation of the rich culinary traditions of South India, where each dish complements the other, creating a harmonious and fulfilling dining experience.
Our lunch menu in above pic consists of
Happy Tamil New Year 🙏Happy Vishu .
Our Tamil new year Vishu combined menu 😋
🍀Manga pachadi
🍀Cucumber curd pachadi
🍀Vazhakkai podimas ( raw plantain crumble )
🍀Avarakkai Thoran
🍀Cluster beans Thoran
🍀Avial
🍀Potato fry.
🍀Beans Paruppu Usili
🍀Thalagam
🍀Kalyana Mor Kuzhambu
🍀Vepampoo rasam
🍀Paruppu vadai
🍀Thengai Boli
🍀Pal payasam
🍀Inji puli
🍀Pavakkai gojju
🍀Cut mango pickles
🍀Citron pickle
🍀Sharkara Varatti
🍀home made Nendrankai chips
🍀home made pappadams
🍀Rice dal ghee
🍀Curd
🍀Sambaram ( spiced buttermilk)
Tamil New Year
Our lunch menu in above pic consists of : Happy Tamil New Year to all . Our 😋meal on this auspicious day
☘️Cucumber curd pachadi
☘️Raw mango 🥭 Pachadi
☘️Puli Inji ( Ginger Tamrind chilies relish )
☘️neem flower pachadi
☘️instant cut mango pickle
☘️Raw plantain Kari
☘️avarakkai Thoran / beans
☘️spicy potato Kari
☘️neem flower rasam
☘️capsicum potatoes Sambar
☘️Bonda Mor Kuzhambu
☘️vadai
☘️Millet chana dal moong dal coconut 🥥 milk payasam
☘️rice , dal , ghee
☘️mukkani Pazham ( jackfruit Banana Mango )
☘️appalam
☘️curd
Tamil New Year
The lunch menu in above pic consists of :
Vepampoo Rasam
• Rasa Kalan
Olan
Erisseri ( with yellow pumpkin )
Beans Thoran
Raw plantain stirfry
• Podalangai kootu ( Snakegourds)
› mango Pachadi
•Vendakkai pachadi
Jackfruit coconut
milk payasam
Paruppu vadai
Raw plantain chips
Rice, dal, ghee
a curd and Vadu manga
* mango grapes and jackfruits
Elai sapadu
The above was a Thai Ammavasai special lunch menu consisting of :
Today, observing Thai Ammavasai and Thai Velli (Auspicious Friday), I was on a cooking marathon 😁Despite cooking for just the two of us, I was committed to savoring the joy of a traditional elai sapadu 😋While the spread may seem elaborate, only small portions of each was cooked
☘️ginger cucumber curd pachadi
☘️Manga sweet pachadi
☘️Pavakkai gojju
☘️Raw plantain podimas
☘️Cluster beans Thoran
☘️Sweet potatoes stir fry
☘️Podalangai poricha kootu
☘️Cumin pepper rasam
☘️Bonda Mor Kuzhambu
☘️Ulundh vadai
☘️Elaneer payasam
☘️Kothamalli Sadham ( coriander rice )
☘️raw plantain chips
☘️ginger raw mango Pesarel
☘️Curry leaves Pirandai Thogayal
☘️rice , dal , ghee
☘️Curd
Tamil New Year, also known as "Puthandu," is celebrated with much enthusiasm and joy among Tamil-speaking people worldwide. It marks the first day of the Tamil calendar year and usually falls on April 14th. This day is filled with rich traditions, cultural festivities, and a sense of new beginnings.
Families begin the day with a ritual known as "Kanni," where they view auspicious items such as gold, fruits, vegetables, rice, and silver articles first thing in the morning, believing it will bring good fortune throughout the year. Homes are cleaned and decorated, often with kolams (intricate designs made on the ground using rice flour or white rock powder) at the entrance to invite good luck and prosperity.
Special prayers are offered in temples, and people wear new clothes to symbolize a fresh start. A significant aspect of the celebration is the preparation and enjoyment of a festive meal, which includes a variety of traditional dishes. One of the highlights is the "Mango Pachadi," a dish made from sweet, sour, and bitter ingredients, symbolizing the different aspects of life.
Exchanging greetings and wishes with family, friends, and neighbors is a key part of the Tamil New Year celebrations. Cultural programs, including music and dance performances, are also organized to mark this special occasion.
Puthandu is not just a time for festivity but also a moment for reflection, setting new goals, and embracing the future with hope and enthusiasm. It’s a beautiful testament to the rich cultural heritage and the vibrant traditions of the Tamil community.
Here are few recipes that you can try and create a fantastic Elai sapadu ( banan leaf spread ) and stun your family members .
Neem flower rasam( Vepampoo )
Tamil New Year
Tamil new year 2024
Our Tamil new year Vishu combined menu for 2024
Manga pachadi
Cucumber curd pachadi
Vazhakkai podimas ( raw plantain crumble )
Avarakkai Thoran
Cluster beans Thoran
Avial
Potato fry.
Beans Paruppu Usili
Thalagam
Kalyana Mor Kuzhambu
Vepampoo rasam
Paruppu vadai
Thengai Boli
Pal payasam
Inji puli
Pavakkai gojju
Cut mango pickles
Citron pickle
Sharkara Varatti
home made Nendrankai chips
home made pappadams
Rice dal ghee
Curd
Sambaram ( spiced buttermilk)
Check out these video recipes too from my youtube channel , more than 60 video recipes are available .
