Nanjil Nadu (Nagercoil)cuisine is one among the famous cuisines of Tamil Nadu such as Chettinadu cuisine, Kongunadu cuisine and Tamil cuisine. Since, Nanjil Nadu being home for many Keralites there is no wonder of its richness with coconut oil and coconut as regular ingredients in all dishes and curry.
Delectable recipes prepared here is a mix of Kerala and Tamil Nadu traditions. Seafood, chicken, mutton, beef, banana, and jack fruit are widely available and commonly used among the people.
Here we are listed top 6 famous foods to tease your taste buds with delicious Nagercoil cuisines but not limited to.
Ulunthan Choru made of lentil (Urad Dal) and white rice is one of the traditional dishes of Nagercoil. It is best served with Black chutney, egg avail, and Pappad. This is a nutritional and protein rich food good for kids and women. Some people eat this dish with ghee and jaggery as well. Ulunthan choru is ‘healthiness with taste’.
2. Vendhaya Kuzhambu (Fenugreek Stew)
It is a tangy flavored semi-thick stew made of Fenugreek seed. Though the Vendhaya Kuzhambu is prepared all over Tamil Nadu in different styles, in Nagercoil the stew is very unique in taste and preparation. If you are a lover of spicy stews this is definitely for you.
Kinnathappam is a famous traditional dessert prepared almost all in occasions of Nagercoil. Kinnathappam literally means ‘Plate cake’ where Kinnam is plate and appam is cake. It is a Nagercoil version of Pancake with white rice and coconut milk. Kinnathappam is the best source of energy as it includes carbohydrates and nutrition.
Elay Appam, a much adored delicacy of Nagercoil, is an interesting sweet smelling dessert. In Tamil, Elay means Leaf. The mixture of rice flour, coconut, jaggery and other aromatic spices are wrapped with plantain leaf and steamed. You can feel the freshness and smell the sweet aroma of spices with plantain leaf.
Theeyal is a traditional vegetable stew, usually dark brown in color, served with plain white rice. Theeyal can be cooked with varieties of vegetables like drumstick, snake gourd, brinjal, pumpkin, black chenna or can be simply made with baby onions. Theeyal is a famous recipe you can find in almost every household of Nagercoil. It is an ideal food to take for picnic as “Kattu Saatham”.
6. Nanjil Fish Curry
Nagercoil cuisine cannot be complete without Nanjil Nadu Fish curry recipe. Nagercoil is best known for its seafood recipes. Nanjil Fish curry is the queen of all sea foods and a must have menu on your visit to Nagercoil. Traditional fish curry is cooked with grinded raw coconut called, ‘Pachai Thengai Curry’. The cooking style is more similar to Kerala cuisine. The special flavor and aroma of coconut oil lasts with your taste buds forever.
The Nagaraja Temple is located in the town of Nagercoil on mountain Mahendragiri in Kanyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu. Nagercoil which is the name of the town was coined from the name of the temple, Nagaraja. Nagaraja (king of serpents – Vasuki) and Ananda Krishna are the temple’s main deities but there are other deities being worshipped in the temple. The temple has a huge pond.
Devotees pray in the temple and seek solace from the unfavorable aspects of serpent planets. They offer turmeric powder, offer milk and sanctify Naga idols in the temple as a part of their prayers. Subrahmanya Swami, Dwarapalaka, Shiva, Devi, and Ganesha are the upadevathas of the Nagaraja Temple. As an ancient custom, the priests are Namboothiri Brahmins are assigned by Pambumekkat mana in Thrissur, Kerala.
In the temple, there is a shrine for Mother Durga. The idol of Mother Durga was discovered in the sacred spring there. Devotees pray for the relief from unfavorable aspects of Rahu and/or Rahu-Kethu planets in the Mother Durga shrine.
History of the Nagaraja Temple
The precise age of the Nagaraja temple is very hard to ascertain but findings have shown that temple is in the range of 1000-2000 years old. The origin of the Nagaraja temple according to the traditional background tells a tale of a day when a woman was working in the field, cutting paddy crops, she noticed blood dripping from a bunch. She found out that her sickle had slit into a five-headed serpent. Stricken with fear, the woman ran to the nearest village and narrated her experience to the people. The people followed her to the place to witness the miracle. They were amazed at what they saw. They discovered that it was a Nagaraja idol. They cleared and built a small shrine around the Nagaraja to preserve it for worship. People from other places also visited and worshipped at the shrine on hearing the miraculous discovery.
King Marthanda Varma of Kerala was suffering from leprosy and went to the Nagaraja temple on Sunday to worship. He was cured of his disease miraculously. He then built a big temple in appreciation. Since then, numerous devotees visit the temple for worship every Sunday during Aavani.
The Specialty of the Temple
A temple is a perfect place of prayer for devotees who are seeking relief from unfavorable aspects of serpent planets. Devotees pray to Nagaraja by consecrating Naga idols, offering milk porridge, and turmeric powder in the temple.
The Temple Festival
There are different festivals celebrated in the Nagaraja temple. They are:
The Thai Brahmmotsayam festival celebrated between the months of January and February.
The Aavani Sundays, Aavani Aslesha star day also known as Aayilyam and Krishna Jayanthi festivals are all celebrated between the months of August and September.
The Tirukarthikai festival always celebrated between the months of November and December.
Visitation Time
The Nagajara temple is always open to worshippers and devotees from 4:00 am to 11:30 am and from 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
Nagaraja Temple Dress Code
Below general statement as per high court order [Men should wear a “dhoti or pyjama with upper cloth or formal pants and shirts” to temples and women should wear “a sari or a half sari or churidhar with upper cloth.” Children could wear “any fully covered dress.”]
Requesting all the tourist to abide the dress code rules to avoid disappointment.
Nagaraja Temple Phone Number
You can contact the temple using these numbers +91- 4652- 232 420, 94439 92216
Nagercoil, literally means “the temple of Nagas”, is a peace city positioned in the southernmost tip of Indian peninsula locked with Western Ghats on all sides. Nagercoil and its surroundings was earlier known as Nanjilnadu which was ruled by Chera, Chola, and Pandian kingdoms known for its rich cultural heritage.
The Ancient sangam literatures reveal that the Nanjilnadu was occupied and ruled by Naga tribes. These rulers left behind themtemples, forts, rock cut caves, palaces with paintings, inscriptions carvings and much more!
We have listed few of must-see places in Nagercoil which you can’t afford to miss at all!
1. Padmanabhapuram Palace
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Padmanabhapuram Palace, is one of the chief attractions of Tamil Nadu located in Padmanabhapuram village of Kanyakumari District about 15 km from Nagercoil. It was built by King Iravi Varma Kulasekhara Perumal around 1601 A.Dwhich is best known for its antique and tricky woodworks. This Palace speaks history and stands as a hallmark of traditionalKerala style architecture. It spreads over an area of 6 acres which is around 24,000 m2.
The Padmanabhapuram place complex consists of Mantrasala (council chamber), Thai Kottaram (Queen Mother’s Palace), Nataksala (Performance Hall), Uppirikka Maliga (Central mansion), and Thekee kottaram (Southern Palace).
2. Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a popular tourist attraction in Kanyakumari built in 1970 in honor of Swami Vivekananda and his teachings. Vivekananda is the spiritual teacher, prophet, and patriot-monk of modern India. This is a very spiritual and pleasant place to visit, located on the tiny rock island in Kanyakumari. You can reach there by boat or ship. It’s been said that Vivekananda stayed here before he start to Chicago. Vivekananda Rock Memorial is interpreted as a symbol of unity and sanctity.
Devi Kanya Kumari temple is one among the 108 Shakthi Peethas in the world was built by sage Parshurama around 3000 year ago and dedicated to the goddess Bhagavathy Amman. It is located on the union of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean.You can find the sayings about this temple in the books of Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Sangam works Manimekalai and Puranaanooru. The Devi stands as a charming young girl with a rosary in right hand as weapon, and a sparkling nose jewel that sheds lustrous radiance.
Kanyakumari beach is definitely one of the most beautiful beaches in south India with multi-colored sand and rocky shoreline. Due to strong frequent waves that hit rocky shore, makes the sea bath or step into shallow watermore dangerous. Hence, people are warned to get closer to seashore and they are asked to stay within the prescribed man-made zone. However you can feel the nature’s power and wildness when you visit this gold sanded mighty beach. You can shop for beautiful shells and can enjoy the enchanting view of the sea from the top of lighthouse.
Nagaraja Temple, a temple of serpent King, is located in the heart of the Nagercoil town. It is 2000 years old built by King Marthanda Varma and it is the only temple built exclusively for Nagaraja worship in Tamil Nadu. Some believe that Nagercoil derived its name from this temple, which means Naga – The serpent and Coil -The Temple. The two main deities of this temple are Lord Krishna and Nagaraja.This temple attracts thousands of believers from all over the world every year.
6. Mahatma Gandhi Memorial
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial is located very near to Devi Kumari Amman Temple on the seashore. Here his ashes were kept for public view before immersion in the sea on February 12, 1948. It is built in Orissa Style of architecture and designed in such a way that on October 2, the rays of the sun falls exactly on the spot where his urn was kept.Its central shape is 79 feet high representing Mahatma’s age.
7. Kalikesam
Kalikesam is part of Kanyakumari wild life sanctuary protected by the Government of Tamil Nadu. A Kali Temple is situated here which attracts many devotees across India each year. Kalikesam is a scenic picnic place which will never fail to delight your eyes with outstanding prettiness of Mother Nature.
8. Thiruvalluvar Statue
Thiruvalluvar statue is located on the tiny island in Kanyakumari and adjacent to Vivekananda Rock memorial. It was built in honor of Thiruvalluvar, the Tamil Poet and the philosopher,who wrote Thirukkural. Thiruvalluvar statue is 133 feet (40.6m)height representing the 133 chapters in the Thirukkural. The statue symbolically and artistically signifies that the theme of Porul (Prosperity) and Inbam (Happiness) are based on Aram (Good deeds). There is no wonder that you will get thrilled by the hugeness of this statue.
9. Chitharal
Chitharal is a small village situated at a distance of 7 kms from Marthandam and 45 kms from Kanyakumari. It is famous for its rock cut temples and caves with rock cut sculptures. Age of this temples dates back to 9th Century A.D you can find Jain sculptures, Hindu deity sculptures which is been preserved by the Central Archeological Survey of India.
Although in the world stage India is known as the country of Hinduism and Islam, the fact remains true that India is also one of the holy land visited by popular saints of Christianity. They established churches and spread the belief all over India. St. Xavier Church in Nagarcoil is definitely one among them built by Saint Francis Xavier around 1600 A.D in Kottar of Nagercoil.
This is a clean and heavenly pilgrimage Centre open for people from all caste and religion.
Kanyakumari district, which lies in the southern most tip of Peninsular India, is famous for its majestic hills, virgin beaches, pristine rivers and meandering rivulets. The district has a fragrance of architecture culture and customs of neighbouring Kerala mixed with the rich deep traditions, culture and architecture of Tamil Nadu. However, for want of promotional campaign and lack of basic amenities most of the tourists coming to this district return back after seeing just Kanyakumari and Padmanabhapuram Palace. It was at this juncture that the district administration decided to take up tourism promotion initiatives in a major way. Attempt has been made to put up basic amenities at the virgin beautiful spots so as to facilitate the inflow of the tourists.
Thiruvalluvar Statue
A statue of Thiruvalluvar is erected near the Vivekananda rocks as a memmorial to the man who gave tamil literature the ‘Word that never fails’. The foundation stone for the statue was laid in 1979 and the work was completed in 1999.
Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Vivekananda Rock Memorial is another place in Kanyakumari which attracts large number of tourists. As its name implies, it is essentially a sacred monument, built by the Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee to commemorate the visit of Swamy Vivekananda to “Shripada Parai” during 24th, 25th and 26th December 1892 for deep meditation and enlightenment.
From very ancient times, the rock has been regarded as sacred place. In Puranic tradition, it has been known as “Sripada Parai: meaning the rock, that has been blessed by the touch of Shripada feet of the Goddess.On the rock, is a projection similar in form to a human fort and a little brownish in complexion, which has traditionally, been revered as a symbol of Shripadam. According to legend, it was on this rock that Goddess Kanyakumari did Tapas.
The memorial consists of two main structures, viz (i) Vivekananda Mandapam and (ii) Shripada Mandapam.
