• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

My Cooking Journey logo

  • Home
  • Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
×

Home » Festivals

Published: Mar 3, 2021 · Modified: Mar 12, 2022 by Sandhya Ramakrishnan · This post may contain affiliate links

Karadayan Nombu Adai | Vellam Adai and Uppu Adai

Jump to Recipe
Nombu vellam adai and uppu adai
Karadayan Nombu adai with text

Karadayan nombu is a major Tamil festival celebrated during the Meena Sankranti or the Sankramana that comes in the month of March. This is also known as the ‘Savithri Vratham’ or ‘Savithri Nombu'. Karadaiyan Nombu Adai is the neivedhiyam for this festival.

This Karadaiyan Nombu festival is celebrated at the precise moment when the month of Maasi ends and the month of Panguni begins. The prayers are offered and the rituals are done at that exact moment.

Karadayan Nombu sweet and salt adai with butter on top
Jump to:
  • How to celebrate Karadaiyan Nombu?
  • Ingredients needed
  • Step by step process
  • Expert tips
  • More Festival recipes
  • Recipe

Karadayan nombu is celebrated by married women for the well-being of their husbands. This is celebrated in honor of Sathi Savithri bringing back her husband Sathyavan from the footsteps of death and freeing him from Lord Yama.

collage of one sweet adai and one salt adai in hand

How to celebrate Karadaiyan Nombu?

Married women have the sacred yellow thread tied around their neck from their husband and the unmarried / young girls get it tied from their mothers.

Sign up to my newsletter

This is the sloka that the women chant when tying the sacred thread around their necks and offer the prasadam.

"Urugaada Vennaiyum Oaradaiyum Naan Tharuven
Orukaalum En Kanavar Ennai Piriyadirukkanum"

which translates into - "O God, I offer butter and adai to you, please make sure that me and my husband do not ever separate from each other."

As with any Indian festival, this also has its unique neivedhiyam offered to God. We make sweet adai that is prepared with rice flour, jaggery and karamani. To go with the sweet, a salt adai is also prepared and is made with rice flour and seasonings.

The Nombu adais are served with a dollop of freshly churned butter. When offering the prasadam, women chant the above mentioned verses and pray for the well being and long life for their husbands or future husbands.

collage of sweet adai and salt adai in a green plate

Ingredients needed

Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipe.

For Karadayan Nombu Vellam adai

  • Rice flour
  • Vellam / jaggery
  • Karamani (Black eyed peas)
  • Coconut (grated or finely chopped)
  • Elaichi powder / cardamom powder
  • Water

For Karadayan Nombu Uppu adai

  • Rice flour
  • Karamani (Black eyed peas)
  • Coconut (grated or finely chopped)
  • Water
  • Green chilies
  • Red chilies
  • Mustard seeds
  • Oil
  • Curry leaves
  • Asafetida
  • Salt

Step by step process

Common steps for both sweet adai and salt adai

  • Fry the rice flour very well until the color slightly changes to pinkish red. For both the sweet and the salt adai, we need to fry the flour. So fry 2 cups of rice flour and then split it.
frying rice flour in a pan with a wooden ladle
  • Traditionally raw rice is washed, dried and then ground to rice flour to make the karadayan nombu adai. But it works equally as well using the rice flour. If you want to make your own rice flour, refer to this post here on how to make homemade rice flour.
  • Dry roast the karamani to reddish color and then soak it overnight in water.
  • Then pressure cook it and keep aside. This step is also common for both the adais. It take about 12 minutes on pressure cook mode in the Instant mode. I have used the dark red cow peas. We could also use the regular black eyed peas and they cook much faster.
cooked cow peas in a blue colander

For Karadaiyan Nombu Vellam Adai / Sweet adai

  • In a heavy bottom pan, melt the jaggery in the water and let it come to a boil.
  • To this add the coconut, karamani, elaichi powder and then the rice flour and mix well to form dough.
  • The dough should not be too wet. If so add more rice flour. The dough should appear slightly crumbly. At this stage take it off the flame, cover it and keep aside.
process shot to make dough for nombu sweet adai
  • Once it cools down a bit, mix it well using hands. At this stage to bring the dough together a little bit of hot water could be sprinkled.
  • Make balls out of the dough and flatten it in between the palms and make a dent in the center.
  • Steam the adais in greased idli plates / steamer plates for about 12-14 mins. I use my instant pot to steam. I set it on steam mode and have the vents open. Make sure to keep the timer externally as the Instant pot timer won't kick on with the vents open.
  • Once taken out of the steamer / instant pot, the adai should appear glossy. The sweet adais are very soft and fragile right after they come out of the cooker. Let it rest for few minutes and then remove them.
process shot to shape and steam karadayan nombu sweet adai

For Karadaiyan Nombu Uppu Adai / Salt adai

  • Add oil and fry the seasonings (Mustard seeds, red chilies, green chilies, curry leaves and asafetida).
  • Add around 1 ¼ cup of water and let it boil well.
  • Once the water boils add the coconut and the karamani along with salt.
  • Then add the rice flour and mix it well. Take it off the flame and cover the dough and leave it aside for a few minutes.
  • Once the dough cools down a bit, bring it together using hands.
  • Make balls out of the dough and flatten it between the palms. Make a dent in the middle and steam it the same way, we steamed the sweet adais. I use my instant pot to steam. I set it on steam mode and have the vents open. Make sure to keep the timer externally as the Instant pot timer won't kick on with the vents open.
process shot to make karadayan nombu salt adai
  • The salt adai does not need as much time as the sweet adai to cook. It should be ready in about 10 mins. Let it rest for few minutes and then remove it carefully.
  • Serve the karadayan nombu adai with dollop of butter.
karadaya nombu adai in a plate with pooja accessory in the background

Happy Karadayan Nombu to all my friends and Family!!!

Expert tips

  • Using homemade rice flour from soaking and grinding the rice gives a very authentic flavor and texture. I have had good luck with the rice flour here in the US. We can use Idiyappam flour as well to get soft adai.
  • Roasting the karamani / black eyed peas, gives it a very distinct flavor to the adai. I would highly suggest that you patiently roast it.
  • My mother always used chopped small pieces of coconut in the adai. This gives a lovely crunch and a burst of fresh flavor.
  • The adais are very fragile right after they are done steaming. So let them rest for few minutes before removing it from the steamer plate.
  • Serve the karadaiyan nombu adai with butter. This is one day when I would not hold back on the butter as they taste the best with butter.

More Festival recipes

  • Karthigai Pori Urundai | Aval Pori Urundai
  • Chakkara Pongal | Sakkarai Pongal | Sweet Pongal Recipe
  • Ukkarai | Okkarai | Diwali Special Recipe
  • Thiruvadharai Kali Recipe | Thiruvathirai Kali

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter

Recipe

karadayan nombu adai

Karadayan Nombu Adai | Vellam And Uppu Adai

Karadayan nombu is a major Tamil festival celebrated during the Tamil month of ‘Masi’. This is also known as the ‘Savithri Vratham’ or ‘Savithri Nombu'. Karadaiyan Nombu Adai is the neivedhiyam for this festival.
5 from 7 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert, sweets
Cuisine: Indian, South Indian, Tamil Nadu
Diet: Vegetarian
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 20 Adai
Calories: 136kcal
Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

  • pan

Ingredients

For Karadayan Nombu Vellam Adai / Sweet adai

  • 1 cup Rice flour
  • 1 cup Vellam/jaggery
  • ¼ cup Karamani Black-eyed peas
  • ½ cup Coconut Grated or finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Elaichi powder/cardamom powder
  • ¾ cup Water

For Karadayan Nombu uppu Adai / Salt adai

  • 1 cup Rice flour
  • ¼ cup Karamani Black-eyed peas
  • ½ cup Coconut Grated or finely chopped
  • 1 cup Water
  • 2 Green chilies
  • 2 Red chilies
  • 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
  • 2 tbsp. Oil
  • few Curry leaves
  • ½ teaspoon Asafetida
  • to taste Salt

Instructions

For Karadayan Nombu Vellam Adai / Sweet adai

  • Fry the rice flour very well until the color slightly changes to pinkish red. For both the sweet and the salt adai, we need to fry the flour, so fry 2 cups of rice flour and then split it. Traditionally raw rice is washed, dried and then ground to rice flour, but it works equally as well using the rice flour.
  • Dry roast the karamani to reddish color and then soak it overnight in water. Then pressure cooks it and keep aside. This step is also common for both the adais.
  • In a heavy bottom pan, melt the jaggery in the water and let it come to a boil. To this add the coconut, karamani, elaichi powder and then the rice flour and mix well to form dough. The dough should not be too wet. If so add more rice flour. The dough should appear slightly crumbly. At this stage take it off the flame, cover it and keep aside. Once it cools down a bit, mix it well using hands. At this stage to bring the dough together a little bit of hot water could be sprinkled.
  • Make balls out of the dough and flatten it in between the palms and make a dent in the center. Steam the adais in greased idli plates for about 12-14 mins. Once taken out of the cooker, they should appear glossy. The adais are very soft and fragile right after they come out of the cooker. Let it rest for few minutes and then remove them.

For Karadaiyan Nombu Uppu Adai / Salt adai

  • Fry the rice flour very well until the color slightly changes to pinkish red. For both the sweet and the salt adai, we need to fry the flour, so fry 2 cups of rice flour and then split it. Traditionally raw rice is washed, dried and then ground to rice flour, but it works equally as well using the rice flour.
  • Dry roast the karamani to reddish color and then soak it overnight in water. Then pressure cook it and keep aside. This step is also common for both the adais.
  • Add oil and fry the seasonings (Mustard seeds, red chilies, green chilies, curry leaves and asafetida). Add around 1 ¼ cup of water and let it boil well. Once the water boils add the coconut and the karamani along with salt. Then add the rice flour and mix it well. Take it off the flame and cover the dough and leave it aside for few minutes.
  • Once the dough cools down a bit, bring it together using hands. Make balls out of the dough and flatten it between the palms. Make a dent in the middle and steam it the same way, we steamed the sweet adais. The salt adai does not need as much time as the sweet adai to cook. It should be ready in about 10 mins. Let it rest for few minutes and then remove it carefully.
  • Serve the adais with dollop of butter.

Notes

Expert tips
  • Using homemade rice flour from soaking and grinding the rice gives a very authentic flavor and texture. I have had good luck with the rice flour here in the US. We can use Idiyappam flour as well to get soft adai.
  • Roasting the karamani / black eyed peas, gives it a very distinct flavor to the adai. I would highly suggest that you patiently roast it.
  • My mother always used chopped small pieces of coconut in the adai. This gives a lovely crunch and a burst of fresh flavor.
  • The adais are very fragile right after they are done steaming. So let them rest for few minutes before removing it from the steamer plate.
  • Serve the karadaiyan nombu adai with butter. This is one day when I would not hold back on the butter as they taste the best with butter.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 136kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 13IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!
« Broccoli Potato Kurma | Spiced Broccoli And Potato Stew
Crostini with Cherry Tomatoes And Mozzarella »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ramanathan Srinivasan says

    June 28, 2021 at 3:50 am

    It would have been helpful if nutrition values are specifically mentioned separately for both vella adai and kara adai

    Reply
    • Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      July 22, 2021 at 9:35 am

      I will work on getting them separately.

      Reply
  2. Jagruti's Cooking Odyssey says

    April 08, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    Such an informative and detailed post on karadayan nombu. Everything looks so delicious and tempting, send me your address, keep these ready for me:)

    Reply
  3. Archana says

    March 15, 2021 at 11:11 am

    5 stars
    Learnt a lot about the Karadayan Nombu and the delicious adai that are made to celebrate the occasion. I had heard about the festival but did not know what was the ritual. Love the detailed post you have shared. T

    Reply
  4. Seema Sriram says

    March 13, 2021 at 10:57 pm

    5 stars
    I have my mother's recipe that starts from the soaked rice. I found that process so long that I hardly make it. I will like to try yours now as the recipe starts with rice flour. Do you have a recommendation of the type of flour or rice fo this?

    Reply
  5. Priya Srinivasan says

    March 13, 2021 at 12:11 am

    5 stars
    Brilliant post sandhya! Love how detailed you have explained the process of karadayan nombhu adai, with step by step pictures in the post. Both adai's arranged so beautifully on that plate, looks very inviting!!! Happy nombhu to you !

    Reply
  6. Pavani says

    March 12, 2021 at 6:12 pm

    5 stars
    Beautiful post Sandhya. Learnt a lot about the Karadayan Nombu and the delicious adai that are made to celebrate the occasion. Thanks for sharing the detailed recipes.

    Reply
  7. Poonam Bachhav says

    March 12, 2021 at 6:37 am

    5 stars
    Such a lovely post with the details of the traditions associated with the Karadayan Nombu festival. Both the dishes sound super flavorful.

    Reply
  8. Lata Lala says

    March 11, 2021 at 8:16 am

    The beauty of indian festival shines through the various rituals we all follow. It's so good to read about Karadayan nombu and the rituals associated with it. Didn't know about this at all previous your post.
    Vellam adai and Uppu Adai look so delicious Sandhya. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  9. Bless my food by Payal says

    March 10, 2021 at 11:41 am

    5 stars
    Every State/region has its own culture & traditions and this is the beauty of our country. Loved reading about Karadayan nombu and the rituals associated with it. Also Vellam adai and Uppu Adai look so fantastic.

    Reply
    • Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      March 10, 2021 at 7:25 pm

      You said it absolutely well! Love the Indian festivals and the stories associated with it and of course the yummy food.

      Reply
  10. Mayuri Patel says

    March 09, 2021 at 4:32 am

    5 stars
    Sandhya, so happy to read about Karadayan nombu festival and the traditions followed. Also to celebrate it with traditional vellum adai and uppu adai. So well explained and both look so tempting.

    Reply
    • Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      March 09, 2021 at 10:15 am

      Thanks a lot Mayuri! It is so much fun with all our Indian festivals and the food that comes with it.

      Reply
  11. Sangeetha Priya says

    March 14, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    delicious n perfect festive recipes...

    Reply
  12. Kitchen Queen says

    March 13, 2013 at 8:07 pm

    Wow. Really hard work for this dish u did.

    Reply
  13. divya says

    March 13, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    Looks inviting... Delish...

    Reply
  14. Ramya Krishnamurthy says

    March 13, 2013 at 5:53 am

    so authentic sis:)

    Reply
  15. Gayathri Ramanan says

    March 13, 2013 at 2:15 am

    lovely recipe..adai looks fabulous..
    https://foody-buddy.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  16. Rohini says

    March 13, 2013 at 4:45 am

    wow Sandhya...Looks sooo yummy and easy.. Will try it for the first time in all these years...Thank you...

    Reply
  17. Swathi Iyer says

    March 13, 2013 at 3:47 am

    Delicious uppu and vellam adai Sandhya, Karayaan nombu is coming on this Thursday?

    Reply
    • shasan18 says

      March 13, 2013 at 1:21 pm

      Yes Swathi, It is this Tomorrow 🙂 Thanks 🙂

      Reply
  18. Amazing Race Sydney says

    January 28, 2013 at 9:11 am

    Amazing. Please tell me who did the work and further details

    Reply
  19. SpicyTasty says

    March 23, 2012 at 12:30 am

    Lovely adais. I made it too..

    Reply
  20. UthraVaidhyee says

    March 13, 2012 at 8:34 pm

    Thanks My cooking Journey. I had small doubt about preparing the adai, Your recipe cleared everything.

    Reply
  21. My Cooking Journey says

    March 13, 2012 at 1:22 pm

    Thanks Lavanya !!!

    Reply
  22. Lavanya says

    March 13, 2012 at 1:16 pm

    uppu adai and vellam adai look so yummy

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Sandhya

I am Sandhya Ramakrishnan, author, recipe developer and photographer in this journey! 'My Cooking Journey' is all about family friendly Vegetarian and Vegan recipes from around the World with focus on Indian cuisine.

Learn More about me →

Popular Posts

  • Boulanee Katchalu | Afghani Bolani | Stuffed Flatbread
  • Xian Bing | Chinese Stuffed Pancake - Vegetarian
  • Spicy Roasted Makhana | Roasted Foxnut
  • Gur Papdi | Gol Papdi | Sukhdi
  • Saag Aloo | Vegan Spinach And Potato Curry
  • 4 Ingredients Fruit Salad With Mango Pulp
  • Ginger Chutney | Andhra Allam Pachadi
  • Kerala Style Peas Masala Curry

Street Foods

  • Spicy Schezwan Fried Rice
  • Bhutte Ka Kees | Indore Style Grated Corn Snack
  • Churumuri | Beach Style Masala Pori
  • Green Peas Kachori | Bengali Matar Kachori
  • Air Fryer Arancini | Italian Rice Balls
  • Gobi Manchurian | Cauliflower Manchurian
  • Masala Chaas | Spiced Buttermilk
  • Dry Garlic Chutney Powder Recipe

Sign Up to Newsletter

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • About

Contact

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2022 · MyCookingJourney LLC

Sign Up to Newsletter

We'll keep you in the loop with our latest news and new content that we add at MyCookingJourney.com.

Enjoy the journey with us and share it with your family and friends!