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Maa Vilakku (Rice Flour Lamp)

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Maa Vilakku (Rice Flour Lamp)


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Maa Vilakku (Rice Flour Lamp) is made during special occasions such as aadi velli,purattasi sani, thai month, karthigai deepam etc.

Maa Vilakku is a special lamp made with freshly ground rice flour and jaggery kneaded together as a dough placed on a banana leaf with a dent in the middle where we pour ghee,place the wick(thiri) and lit the lamp...we also apply kumkum on all 4 sides of maavilakku and place flowers on/near when we offer to god as shown in the pics.

Ingredients

Raw Rice(Pacharisi) - 1 cup

Jaggery - 3/4 cup

Cardamom - 2

Ghee - 2 tsp

Gingelly Oil - 2 tsp


Method:


  1. First rinse the raw rice twice, and soak it in water for 1 hour. Drain water completely and then spread the raw rice in a soft towel and allow it to dry say for 30-45mins.It will be slightly moist only.Then transfer this to a mixer.
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  2. Grind it to a fine powder in a mixie in batches.Then sieve it. If you find small balls break and sieve it.
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  3. Sieve until you get rava like mixture.Add it to the next flour batch and grind it again. Now take sieved rice flour,jaggery and cardamom in a mixer and pulse it once or twice not more than that....this is to ensure even mixing.Transfer to mixng bowl and leave it aside for 10mins for the jaggery to slightly leave water.
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  4. When you press with your hands it will hold its shape....Start kneading...the moisture in your hands and the melted jaggery will give a soft smooth dough. Add gingelly oil at this stage and mix well. Roll it like a ball and transfer it to banana leaf.Using a tumbler slightly press to get a dent in the middle.Add ghee in the dent and lit the lamp as shown and offer to god as neiveidhyam.
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Soft mavillaku ready to be served! Serve it along with coconut pieces, tastes yum!!
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My Notes:


  • Though the traditional way of making maavilakku is using freshly pound rice flour...you can use readymade riceflour too but sure will have compromise in taste.If you are using readymade rice flour then for 1 cup of rice flour use 1/2 cup powdered jaggery.
  • Just pulse it once or twice not more than that else jaggery will let out water making the dough sticky and watery too.
  • I didnt add water at all, but if you feel its too dry then drizzle few drops while kneading.
  • Keep on kneading till it comes together and forms a smooth dough.
  • The amount of jaggery depends on the jaggery variety too.I used urundai vellam, it may differ slightly if you use achu vellam / paagu vellam.
  • You can even replace gingelly oil with ghee itself.
  • This keeps well in for 3-4 days in room temperature itself. You can even keep it refrigerated but it becomes slightly hard, so bring it to room temperature and then serve it.
  • As its just raw rice flour......consuming more of it the same day will cause stomach ache.

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Maa Vilakku Recipe - Maavilakku Maavu Recipe | Karthigai Deepam Recipes | Sharmis Passions
 
Hello PJ Sir ,Oh Thanks a lot to post in our TB forum ,The snaps gives a wonderful eye treat ,self explanatory also.Any person to perform first its a wonderful guide ..
 
hi p j sir,

its our family tradition....every year puratasi maasam saturday......any saturday ..preferably first or third....MAA VILAKKU

FOR SRI VENKATESWARA SWAMY.....2 MAA VILAKUS...ONE FOR BALAJI/ONE FOR THAAYAR.....after malayerina priagu....

one maa vilagkku deepam for sumangali...this is our family annual tradition....still we follow in USA every year.....without break

so far....
 
PJ sir,
I did not know this I have never seen this before.....You mean its edible?? But isnt it raw rice flour..how to eat raw rice flour??? and that too used as a lamp..with wick etc..wont there be contamination when there is so much contact with hands to knead it?
 
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tbsji has kindled old memories. Yes, the vilakku is edible after 'venkateshwara' ascends the mountain. It is distributed as prasad to family members and neighbours. The burnt darkened strip is tastier than the rest and is fought for for by the kids.

PJ sir,
I did not know this I have never seen this before.....You mean its edible?? But isnt it raw rice flour..how to eat raw rice flour??? and that too used as a lamp..with wick etc..wont there be contamination when there is so much contact with hands to knead it?
 
These Traditions of Ma Vilakku Poojai is slowly vanishing among new generations;When i was a kid, our grand parents used to do this Puja during Puratasi month.

Same thing with SAMARADHANAI after Thirupathi Visit !!

In olden days elders used to do SAMARADHANAI Pooja to Lord Venkateswara after returning from the Trip on a Saturday!!

Raji Madam can write more about this tradition.
 
Hello PJ Sir, Nice to see our people go in for more nostalgic feel .Both in my in laws place ,My Mom place used to perform Maa vilakuma on Thai velli ,Any One Friday Of Thai--january -febuary month .And its for Ambal ,I Still remember my paternal grand mother in her 9 yards with all my chitti s also tied 9 yards ,my aunt used to come ,wow super days .In my in laws me along with my Mil , co sisters are 4 ladies with 9 yards ,kutties in pattu pavadai ,nice occasion .:) :) :)
 
Pj sir,

I still dont understand..how is it possible to eat uncooked rice flour? Isnt that hard to digest..that too after using the dough to make lamps and the soot from partial combustion that might actually settle down on the dough?
 
Dear Renu,

It is not eaten as snack! Just a little bit (size of a big candy) is given as prasAdham, along with a piece of coconut (thEngAi paththai).

I guess the coconut is added to avoid any pain in stomach by eating raw rice. Not much soot will fall on the lamp. Any loose black

particle will be removed. So, not to worry! We will be awaiting for the 'maa viLakku' days in months of 'Thai' and 'Adi'. :)

You were worrying about the 'handling' of the maavu! In fact many of the urundais and lAdus we make are hand made!

Eg: Laddu, mA lAdu, rava lAdu, pori urundai, kadalai urundai, eL urundai and so on... Hands are washed well before 'uruttifying'! :D
 
Renukaji,

This is a tradition in many of the TB families even today. This ritual is done by TB women only. In my family cow ghee is used instead of oil. After the puja is over the ladies of the house do a namaskaram to the elders in the house and then offer them the dough ball (the size of a lemon) along with a piece of coconut. All the traces of ghee, burnt crust of the dough etc are mixed together before offering it with coconut to people. As for the worry about the carbon particles in the burnt crust near the wick, we do make tandoori chapathi every day by exposing the chapathis to the flame and eat the chapathi with traces of carbon wherever it is burnt. Similarly a roti made in a chulha is relished greately.
 
Renukaji,

This is a tradition in many of the TB families even today. This ritual is done by TB women only. In my family cow ghee is used instead of oil. After the puja is over the ladies of the house do a namaskaram to the elders in the house and then offer them the dough ball (the size of a lemon) along with a piece of coconut. All the traces of ghee, burnt crust of the dough etc are mixed together before offering it with coconut to people. As for the worry about the carbon particles in the burnt crust near the wick, we do make tandoori chapathi every day by exposing the chapathis to the flame and eat the chapathi with traces of carbon wherever it is burnt. Similarly a roti made in a chulha is relished greately.

Dear Vaagmi ji,

I wondering when the dough is used as a Lamp..may be the heat generated by the wick has a partial heating effect to the dough and this might actually render it half cooked..God knows.

BTW TB females have surely lots of work to do at home..cooking..falling on feet of people at home.

Seems to me being a TB female is a busy full time work!

BTW what do the Maamas do besides eating the Maa Vilaku?LOL
 
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Dear Vaagmi ji,

I wondering when the dough is used as a Lamp..may be the heat generated by the wick has a partial heating effect to the dough and this might actually render it half cooked..God knows.

BTW TB females have surely lots of work to do at home..cooking..falling on feet of people at home.

Seems to me being a TB female is a busy full time work!

BTW what do the Maamas do besides eating the Maa Vilaku?LOL

Renukaji,

What about Non TB females? Do they have a lot of free time? What do they do with all that? Just curious.

And speaking about falling at the feet of people, nowadays no one does dandavat pranAm. They zip it and make it a simple anjali at a higher and comfortable level. LOL.
 
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