Krishna was fond of butter and consumed it by sneaking into the households of gopikas, says Thirumangai Azhwar in his ‘Siriya Thirumadal’, part of Naalaayira Divya Prabhandham. But in Triplicane, looks like the presiding deity Parthasarathy won’t touch butter even if it was offered in a golden platter, for he gets something more delicious, specially prepared for him in the temple kitchen, madappalli .
Sarkarai Pongal, infused with the fragrance of ghee and the quintessential aroma of wood fire, is the famous delicacy here. The aroma fills the Mada streets, attracting passersby. After darshan, they dash to the prasadam stall to buy the sweet dish. Although akkaravadisal, puliyodharai, adirasam, sojji appam and thenkuzhal are offered as prasadams, Sarkarai Pongal is the most-sought-after prasadam.
A specific recipe is carefully followed. For two kilos of rice, half a kilo of cashew nuts, 400 grams of dried grapes and 700 grams of ghee are added. The rice and lentils are cooked to a blend separately as jaggery boils in another huge vat. The trick is to mix the two together in precise proportions. 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 were fans, and V. Ramanujam, the then official with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, used to invite Sunil Gavaskar, G.R. Viswanath, and S. Venkataraghavan to his house and serve them sarkarai pongal. Besides Sarkarai Pongal, Puliyodharai and Kancheepuram idlis are also famous, says Ramanujam who is in charge of the temple kitchen. He says cooking is done in the traditional method and chillies and sugar are prohibited.
When asked about the delicacies offered to Parthasarathy, Ramanujam gave the menu card. Soon after the temple opens, the presiding deity is offered raw milk during Viswaroopam. Around 7.30 a.m., (Kalasandi) Venpongal and Suddha Annam (plain rice) are offered. The breakfast is at 9.30 a.m. when Puliyodarai, Dadhiyonam (curd rice) and Sarkarai Pongal are offered. The presiding goddess, Vedavalli Thayar, is specially offered Jeera (a type of Kesari) on a daily basis.
At 12 noon, it is sumptuous lunch for Parthasarathy -- apart from rice, there’s the traditional Kuzhambu, Saatramudhu and curd. It is snack time at 4.30 p.m. and the deity is offered, Kancheepuram Idli, Dosai or Sundal. Thirumaal Vadai too is offered then. At 7.30 p.m, Kancheepuram idlis and dosais are offered. And before the deity retires for the day, Aravanai Payasam or Ksheerannam (rice cooked in milk) is offered. Lord Thelliyasingar or Narasimha is offered panagam (jaggery syrup) daily.
