Sarkarai Pongal at Parthasarathy temple - From The Hindu as a part of Madras 375 celebrations ‘Madaipallis’ or temple kitchens play an important role in preserving the food culture of communities. After offering prayers at the sanctum sanctorum, devotees then head over to the ‘prasadam’ stall where traditional foods, first offered to the deity, are sold. Delicacies such as atkaravadisal, puliyodharai, sarkarai pongal, adhirasam, sojji appam and thenkuzhal, are infused with the fragrance of ghee and the quintessential aroma of a wood fire. And it’s not just the older folks who love these items, but youngsters too who are eager to keep in touch with their past. Sarkarai Pongal at Parthasarathy temple, Triplicane: Those who walk along the street to the south of the Parthasarathy Temple will find it difficult to resist the aroma of this temple delicacy — a rice-lentil-jaggery pudding topped with raisins. A specific recipe is carefully followed. For every two kilos of rice, half a kilo of cashew nuts, 400 grams of dried grapes and 700 grams of ghee is added. The rice and lentils are cooked to a blend separately as jaggery boils in another huge vat. The trick is to bring the two together in the precise proportion. C. Rajagopalachari was said to be a great lover of this delicacy and whenever he was in Chennai, a portion used to be sent to him. Cricketers too seemed to have been fans according to V.Ramanujam, an official with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. He recalls inviting Sunil Gavaskar, G. Vishwanath, and S. Venkataraghavan to his house and serving them sarkarai pongal. Even the West Indians were great fans of the delicacy, he says. For time being, reminisce the taste from your previous tasting :D Regards PB Lakshmi Narasimhan
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 05:11:56 +0000
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