There are a wide range of temple cuisines, but what holds a dear place in the hearts of most people is the temple prasadam. The panchamirtham given at Sri Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple at Palani in Dindigul district is a crowd favourite. It was the first temple prasadam in the State to have bagged the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2019.
The secret of this unique taste in every batch lies in blending the five main ingredients — banana, country-sugar, ghee, honey and cardamom — in the precise ratio, says S. Satish, superintendent at the temple kitchen at Adivaram. The current kitchen where the prasadam is made was established in 2008 and expanded in 2010.
It is an ‘abhishega prasadam’: the religious food offering made to the presiding deity, Lord Dhandayuthapani Swamy. Every day, around 500 grams of panchamirtham is used in the abhishegam to the Utsavar (the processional deity).
