Dusshera- the End of Navratri

Dussehra is the day after the nine nights of Navratri- the wrap up day. The word Dussehra comes from the Sanskrit Dasha (sun) and Hara (defeat). It's the day to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, and marks Lord Rama’s victory over the ten-headed demon king Ravana.

In some parts of India, people burn huge straw effigies of Ravana. Also, people put on plays in which scenes from the epic saga of Ramayana are enacted by professional troupes.

Agenda:
1. Clear my altar:
After the last week, with Navratri, Al Higra, and Winter Nights, my altar has gotten quite full. 

Today I cleared it off entirely, and replaced only the items that I want to continue to use as a focus. I am adding back:

• God's eyes- to watch over us
• my straw doll- for luck and protection
• a blue candle- for unity
• an early photo of me and W- as a symbol of synergy
• The rune "Hail"- meaning "the wrath of the elements and the power of fundamental forces of nature" (This rune came up in my rune reading last week as 'that which I can expect in my path' --I want to think about that some more!)

2. Use sprouts to make Spinach Wheatgrass Rice:

I am left with this beautiful bowl of sprouted grains from my altar.

In India these seedlings are a symbol of good luck- the taller they grow, the better the winter harvest will be. 

On this day the sprouts are either put into a river to release the power that is blossoming in them, or they are given to people to wear in their caps or behind their ears, for luck.

My sprouts are very long and lush and I want to serve them to my family as actual food-energy. This is an Indian spinach rice recipe to which I’ve added the sprouts- you could wash the soil off and use the grains, but I've chosen to cut the grass at the soil line.

Ingredients

ALL of these veggies are from my garden, except the ginger.

• 1 c. rice
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger
• sprouted grains (just the grass)
• 1 bunch fresh spinach
• 1/2 big onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tsp. oil
• 2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 2 curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala
• salt to taste

1- Wash the rice and cook in 2 cups of salted water.


2- Mince the jalapeno, garlic, and ginger. Cut the sprouted grains into small pieces with scissors. Chop the spinach leaves, the onion, and the tomatoes.

3- Heat oil in a frying pan. Add jalapeno and mustard seeds, and fry for 2 minutes. Next add curry leaves, ginger, and garlic, and sauté on low heat for another few minutes.








4- Add the sprouts, chopped spinach, onion and tomatoes. Mix well and add garam masala and salt to taste.

















5- Cover the pan with its lid and cook on medium high flame until spinach is cooked.

Add cooked rice and mix well. Serve with yogurt.