Palani Panchamrutam or Pazhani Panchamrutam
This is the GI-tagged prasadam of the Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple in Pazhani, so it is technically not possible to reproduce unless you are working with the specific fruits and sugars and honeys of that very region—but you can come close if you have at least virupakshi bananas. The temple prasadam also uses much more sugar than we would in making home-naivedyams, which do not need the guarantee of long preservation. I’ve kept to an ingredient list that’s exactly what the temple uses, but for the black pepper and edible camphor, which are optional additions, the latter especially evoking temple atmosphere. Even with reduced sugar, this panchamrutam is a hand-mixed jammy sweet preparation, to be had just a spoonful at a time.
Ingredients
- 10 ripe virupakshi bananas
- 10 tablespoons Khandasari sugar, preferably from Kangeyam near Coimbatore, or substitute with naattu chakkari or powdered jaggery
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 5 dates seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon rock candy or kalkandu
- 1 tablespoon raisins
- A generous pinch of cardamom
- A pinch of freshly ground black pepper (optional)
- A small pinch of edible camphor
- 3-4 teaspoons ghee
Instructions
- Mash the bananas with clean fingers in a clean mixing bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients in the order shown, mixing and mashing with your fingers after each addition.
- Finish with the ghee.
Notes
Note that although I've been reasonably faithful to the specific ingredients used to prepare Palani Panchamrutam, I've not been so faithful in proportions. Perhaps that results in a less-authentic panchamrutam, or pehraps it just GI-tags this recipe to Pondicherry!