Roasted and ground puzhukkalari (double boiled rice) is mixed with jaggery, grated coconut and crushed pappadam. The sweet is served on banana leaves kept at four corners outside the house. It is for the ants! This is Urumboottal or feeding the ants, an age-old ritual in Kerala done on the evening of Thiruvonam, which has been documented on the social media handle, Dakshina.
While the practice may not be known to many, siblings Kannaki Sarang and Unniyarcha Sarang have been doing it every year at their home, Sarang, near Attappady in Palakkad district. They, along with their friends and siblings, Vishnujith Unnikrishnan and Indulekha Unnikrishnan, have recorded it for Dakshina.
