Organising my kitchen cabinets is an earthly process, however typically it’s surprisingly rewarding. Components that I by no means discover once I want them materialise like Banquo’s ghost in Macbeth, however with happier penalties. On one current cleansing effort I chanced upon a packet of kalkandu or mishri, rock sugar. It transported me again to childhood when temple visits had been typically rewarded with crinkly yellow-cellophane wrapped treasures of khajoor (dry dates), mishri, raisins and cashew. They stayed recent for a very long time, although I didn’t normally put them to the check. The considered rolling round an outsized chunk of rock sugar in my mouth until it dissolved introduced a lot pleasure.

Kalkandu is outwardly a favorite of the gods too. In my 2019 travels throughout India exploring sacred meals choices, I learnt of a scrumptious sounding naivedyam utilizing kalkandu in a number of historical temples in Tamil Nadu. I notably bear in mind an early morning go to to Thillai Kali Amman Kovil, a Shakti Peetham positioned a brief distance from the well-known Chidambaram Nataraja temple. Legend speaks of the celestial dance competitors between Shiva and Kali, the place the goddess is defeated and banished from Thillai to the place the Kali Amman temple is now positioned.

After my darshan of the goddess, the gurukkal (priest) gave me a donnai or leaf bowl crammed with steaming scorching kalkandu sakkarai pongal. It is a concoction of rice, passi paruppu (moong dal), rock sugar and ghee, garnished with plump fried raisins and aromatic with saffron, cardamom and pachchai karpooram (edible camphor). Kalkandu sakkarai pongal is best often called a signature merchandise within the naivedyam of the Chidambaram temple.

Kongu delicacies

I first tasted this flavourful candy whereas staying with my good friend, Mangalam, through the Pongal/ Sankranti pageant. Her residence city, like mine, is Coimbatore, as soon as a part of the traditional Kongu Nadu area. Kalkandu pongal is a well-liked merchandise on this area’s delicacies. Mangalam’s mom ready a unique pongal for every day of the pageant: the same old jaggery-based sakkarai pongal with rice and lentils, millet pongal with karuppatti (palm jaggery), savoury ven pongal, and my favorite, kalkandu sakkarai pongal, with brown rock sugar. I used to be blissful that she didn’t add edible camphor: although paying homage to temple prasadam, camphor, if not used judiciously, can overwhelm all different flavours and spoil the dish.

A number of variations are attainable within the preparation of kalkandu pongal. Kalkandu sadam, as an illustration, has rice (no lentils) cooked in milk. Powdered rock sugar is added, adopted by saffron, cardamom and a garnish of ghee-fried raisins and cashew. Alternatively, rice could also be cooked in water and milk added (or not) later. Kalkandu could also be powdered, melted into a skinny syrup, or used as is. Whereas saffron and cardamom are normal elements, nutmeg could or is probably not included.

Distinctive flavours

Within the southern States, sakkarai pongal, with rice, moong dal, milk and jaggery, is a well-liked preparation for bhog/ naivedya in properties and temples. Wealthy with ghee and studded with fried cashew and raisins, it’s an all-time favorite, and kalkandu sakkarai pongal is an attention-grabbing various, with rock sugar, saffron, cardamom and nutmeg every contributing their distinctive flavour.

The packet of rock sugar in my kitchen introduced immediate recollections of this delectable dish and I put it to good use in a recipe broadly much like the one used within the Chidambaram temple.

I exploit my grandmother’s vengala paanai or bronze pot to make the pongal. It’s heavy-bottomed and permits the dish to slow-cook on low warmth. Alternatively, rice and dal could also be pressure-cooked and different elements added (as within the recipe beneath). On this recipe, kalkandu could also be powdered. Nonetheless, when the crystal chunks are allowed to dissolve progressively in cooked rice it brings a particular flavour. Stirring the saffron gently into the pongal helps it infuse the rice with its aroma and color, giving the sakkarai pongal its basic pale yellow hue.

Chidambaram temple Kalkandu Sakkarai Pongal

Components

Rice ½ cup

Passi paruppu/ cut up moong – 2 tablespoons

Kalkandu/mishri – 3/4 cup

Salt – 1 pinch

Saffron – 4-5 strands

Ghee – 1 teaspoon + 2 tablespoons

Cardamom – powdered 1 pinch

Nutmeg – powdered 1 pinch

Cashew, raisins – a number of

Technique

1. Soak rice and dal individually for 20 minutes. Drain.

2. Roast dal in 1 teaspoon of ghee. Add rice, roast for two minutes.

3. Prepare dinner rice and dal until mushy. Mash effectively whereas scorching.

4. Add kalkandu. Let it dissolve (about 10 minutes on low warmth). Stir ceaselessly.

5. Add salt, stir.

6. Add saffron, stir for two minutes.

7. Add cardamom, nutmeg. Stir.

8. Fry cashew and raisins in ghee. Add them (with ghee) to pongal.

The writer is a chartered accountant, and writer of Bhog Naivedya: Meals Choices to the Gods.