Surya Murthe namosthuthe - lyrics & meaning

PallaviSurya Murthe Namosthuthe Sundara Chayadhipathe

Anupallavi
Karya karanathmaka Jagat prakasaka Simha rasyadhipathe,
Arya vinutha theja sphoorthe Aarogyadhi phaladha keerthe

Charanam
Sarasa mithra , mithra , bhano , sahasra kirana, Karna soono,
Kroora papa hara krusaano , Guru guha modhitha swa bhano,
Soori janeditha Sudhitha mane, Somadhi graham shikamane,
Dheerachitha karma sakshine, divya thara sapthaswa radhine,
Sourashtrarna manthra athmane, , Sourna swaroopathmane,
Bharatheesa hari harathmane, Bhukthi mukthi vithranathmne

Translation

Pallavi
Salutations to the Sun God, the Lord of the pretty Chaya

Anupallavi
The cause of all actions, illuminator of the world, Lord of Simha Rasi,
He who gives luster to the gentlemen, He who is noted as giving health.

Charanam
Friend of Lotus, Friend, resplendent one, God with thousand rays, Father of Karna,
The fire wiping away cruel sins, He who makes Guru Guha shine,
He who is praised by the knowledgeable, the head jewel among the planets like moon,
He who is the witness of acts of brave, the holy star who rides on chariot drawn by seven horses,
He who is the soul of eight syllabled chant, He who is golden in colour,
He who is the soul of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and he who gives salvation and wealth.

How to tie saree

In my previous post, I wrote about dhotee. Here we will learn how to tie saree. A sari is an Indian subcontinental women's garment. It has been worn historically many times, being the native dress of India. There are today several types of saris and many different fashions. The main section is about 6 yards long, but don't let that frighten you! Dressing in a sari is very easy and it looks gorgeous on anybody. Here are a few steps that you can take to be sure that you dress in your sari appropriately.

1.  Determine the shoes that you plan to wear. The height of your heels is important for determining where the bottom of the sari should reach. Since some saris might be transparent, try to wear an underskirt too. The shoes should be elegant, like golden sandals
2. Hold the sari so the fall is facing towards you. The fall is a long piece of unadorned cotton.
3. Wrap the sari around your waist and tuck it in once. The pallu (decorated side) should be on the outside.
4. Wrap it around again, but don't tuck it in. Pull the pallu until it is as long as your outstretched arm when your arm is by your side. Tuck it over your shoulder.
5. Tighten the cloth and tuck it in 3 to 4 inches to the left of your belly button.
6. Pleat it. Stretch your left hand and hold the cloth with your thumb and pinkie fingers. Wind the cloth with your right hand through the thumb and pinkie holding with alternating fingers. You should end with 5-6 pleats, but you can have more if your hands are small.
7. Tuck in your pleats. It is a good idea to pin the pleats together so that they stay in place the whole day. Generally speaking, 20 centimeters below the waist is a good basis.
8. Drape the remaining fabric around yourself from left to right, and over your shoulder.
9. Secure the end portion on your shoulder with a safety pin

  Here's a video

How to tie panchakacham (dhotee)

The pancha kachcham (panja kacham or kacham) is a form of wearing the dhoti, typically worn by grihasthas (men who are married) on special occasions such as Pujas or festivals and some orthodox persons daily, during their routine Puja times. It is typically a dhoti of eight to ten square yards (according to the height and girth of the person) worn in a specific way. The steps below describe the way as according to Iyers (South Indian Brahmins).

source

1. Main and important thing is that pancha kachcham should be worn by married men and not a bachelor (It's not like a jeans or other dresses)
2. Open the 8 or 9 hands (4 - 4.5 yards )dhoti completely.
3. Hold the dhoti such that you are right down the center of the dhoti (lengthwise). Both the ends should be free and you should be holding the dhoti such that there is enough dhoti to go around you just once.
4. Wrap it around you once keeping the wrap a little tight at the stomach portion
5. Fold the dhoti a few times so that the it is held firmly at your hip.
6. Take the end that is on top (typically should be the one to your left); Starting from the end, slowly make folds of about 2 inches each (kosuval). 
7. Insert the folds into the wrap around the hip
8. Take the breadth portion of the top fold and starting from the end (so that the border coloring is visible), make similar fold
9. Insert this second set of folds on top of the previous one
10. Take the other free end of the dhoti, starting breadthwise, make similar folds.
11. Run this between your legs and bring it behind you
12. Ensure that the folds are not twisted.
13. Insert the new set of folds behind your back

For step by step pictures - read this.

Green Cutlets

A very simple Cutlet that you'll enjoy

 

 

What you’ll need – (Makes 4 big Kebabs or 8 mini kebabs)

1. Spinach – a bunch (around 25 leaves or more) [It may seem like a lot of quantity to make 4 kebabs. But when you blanch them, they reduce to 1/4 th of their size!]

2. Potato – 1 large or 2 medium

3. Peas – ½ cup boiled (I didn’t have peas so I skipped)

4. Salt – as per your taste (around 1.5 teaspoons)

5. Green Chilis – (optional) 2 – roughly chopped

6. Fresh coriander / cilantro leaves – a handful (around 4 tablespoons)

7. Mint Leaves / Pudina – 2-3 tablespoons (I just had different edible green leaves at home so I decided to use them. And they gave an amazing flavour!)

8. Ginger Garlic paste – 2 teaspoon (optional)

9. Bread Crumbs – to coat the kebabs (about ½ cup) [[ if you don’t have bread crumbs, you could use Semolina / Rava or even Cornflour ]]

10. Red Chili Powder – 1 teaspoon

11. Chaat Masala or Garam Masala – 1 teaspoon

12. Oil – 1 teaspoon per kebab for shallow fry. (Alternatively, you can deep fry)
13. Tofu / Cottage Cheese (Paneer) - 50 grams

How to proceed -

I. To make the stuffing

1. Boil, peel & mash the potatoes. I boiled them in microwave. It just took 6 minutes! :-)

2. BLANCHING THE SPINACH – To blanch the spinach, you must –

    - Wash the spinach leaves well

    - Add them to water (enough to cover the leaves) and let it boil. (Takes about 5 minutes if the water isn't pre-heated)

    - As soon as the water comes to a boil, filter out the water & transfer the leaves to ice cold water for 1-2 minutes

3. In a mixer/grinder/food processor/blender, add the ginger paste, garlic, chilis, mint & coriander leaves.

4. Grind them to a coarse paste.

5. Then squeeze the water out of the spinach and add the blanched leaves to the blender.

6. Blend/Grind well for 1 minute to get a smooth paste. Then transfer to a mixing bowl.

7. Add the boiled potatoes & mix. If using tofu or cottage cheese (paneer), mash & mix in this step.

8. Then goes the salt, red chili powder, chaat masala (or any other spice you like). Mix well. Your mixture for the Kebab is now ready! :-)

 

To make the Kebab

1. Take some mixture in your hand & give it a round shape.

2. Gently press the ball vertically to flatten it into a disk shape

3. You can then coat the kebab with bread crumbs.

4. Heat 1 teaspoon oil on a pan & add the kebabs

5. Cook on medium flame. After about 3 minutes, flip to the other side & cook for another 3 minutes! Your kebab is ready

6. To plate up, take some hot rice on a plate, arrange the hot kebabs on the rice & serve it as a Sizzler!