Every temple has some prasad (edible offering) or the other — first offered to the deity and then distributed among devotees — but a few of them become famous simply for their taste. Many of these heritage recipes are passed down the generations and often kept a well-guarded secret. There are also stories on why and how they came to be associated with a particular temple or deity.
In Kerala, one of the most well-known is the paal payasam — a kheer made of rice and milk — which is the prasad at the Ambalapuzha Sree Krishna temple in Alappuzha. Equally famous for its taste is the unniyappam (dumplings made of rice flour, jaggery and banana) at Kottarakkara Ganapati temple in Kollam. Another delectable yet simple dish is therali, a steamed cake offering, at the Attukal temple. It is believed that their taste and texture can’t be reproduced anywhere else even if one were to use the same ingredients.
Chef Soju Philip is Executive Chef, Club Mahindra Resorts Poovar, Thiruvananthapuram
Ambalappuzha paalpayasam (Sweet rice and milk pudding)
There is an interesting story behind the paal payasam offered at Sree Krishna temple, Ambalapuzha, in Alapuzha. As per legend, Lord Krisha appeared as a sage before the ruler Chempakasseril Pooradam Thirunal Deva-narayan Thampuran and challenged him to a game of chathurangam (shatranj). The king, proud of his mastery of the game, accepted and promised to part with anything if he lost.
The sage said all he wanted was some grains to be placed in each square of the board in a particular sequence, that is, one grain in the first square, two in the second, four (22) in the next and so on. The king agreed to this condition and realised he was in a fix only after losing the game. It took one million grains to fill up the 20th square and one million-million grains for the 40th. The royal granary soon ran out of rice as it required a trillion tonnes of rice to fill 64th square, according to one estimate. Krishna then revealed his identity and gave the king the option of repaying by offering paal payasam to devotes free every day till the debt is cleared. The practice continues and the Lord is believed to be present to partake of the offering.
Ingredients
Pounded red rice 500 gm
Sugar 1.25 kg
Fresh milk 5 litres
Water 2.5 litres
Method
Mix milk and water and pour into a brass urli (container) and boil. Add the washed rice and cook on a low flame for 4-6 hours till the rice has cooked and the mix had condensed to one fourth. Once the rice has cooked and reached the required consistency, add the sugar and mix well. Remove from fire. While the traditional method involves a long-drawn process of cooking, it has been tweaked for the benefit of home chefs.
Kotarakkara Unniyappam
The story goes that Perumthachan, a master builder of yore, was carving a jackfruit log when the figure of Lord Ganapati suggested itself. He took it to a nearby Shiva temple and made it a minor deity there. He then asked the priest to give prasad and he prepared unniyappam with rice flour, bananas and jaggery. He predicted that though the father is the main deity, the son (Ganesh) will eventually be more popular. Not only did the prediction come true but the prasad also became famous throughout the state and is prepared in front of the idol.
Ingredients
Raw rice flour 500 gm
Jaggery 300 gm
Yellow bananas 3
Coconut shredded
½ cup
Cardamom powder
½ tsp
Dry ginger powder
½ tsp
Cumin powder ½ tsp
Coconut oil for frying
Black sesame seeds
1 tsp
Ghee 100 ml
Salt a pinch
Method
Heat ghee in a pan and fry the coconut pieces in that and keep aside. Melt the jaggery with little water in moderate heat and strain and keep aside. Mix rice flour, mashed banana, jaggery syrup, spice powders and sesame seeds, and make a smooth batter. Heat oil and the balance ghee in the unniyappam mould, heat it well and pour a spoonful of batter into each mould of the vessel and cook on a moderate fire. Turn around the unniyappam and fry till all sides are brown in colour and cooked well. Remove from the oil and strain. Sprinkle sugar and serve.
Aattukaal Therali
Aattukaal Devi temple near Thiruvananthapuram with its famous Ponkala festival holds a Guinness World Record for the highest number of women devotee participation. A sweet porridge made of rice and jaggery is a special offering and so is a steamed cake known as therali.
Ingredients
Rice flour roasted 600 gm
Jaggery 400 gm
Yellow bananas 5
Coconut 1
Cardamom powder 1 tsp
Method
Powder the jaggery and mix with rice flour. Mash the banana. Grate the coconut and mix together. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Make a cone out of the vayana leaf (a type of bay leaf) and hold it together with a toothpick or coconut stem. Fill the cone with the rice mixture and steam it for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.
