CHENNAI: There’s nothing better than returning from temple visit with a packet of prasadam for all those at home. Delicious pongal, buttery kesari, and crunchy vadas — kovil prasadam comes in many shapes and forms, and is loved by all. To bring these favourite delicacies to the Chennai foodie’s table, iD is hosting a Temple Food Festival, with a special menu curated by celebrity chef and food historian Rakesh Raghunathan.

Over the last one-and-a-half months, Raghunathan travelled across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka and visited iconic temples to taste their famous prasadams in order to replicate them to the best of his ability. “I feel that prasadam is something that many people have tried, but many don’t know the stories behind it. Food is universal, and biting into prasadam is a slice of history,” said Raghunathan.
From the Sri Krishna Matha temple in Udupi comes the Pineapple Menaskai, a sweet and spicy dish served to pilgrims.

Raghunathan’s take on the Udupi dish is a thinner, spicier curry with small cubes of pineapple that offer a sweet and tangy break between mouthfuls of appam and gravy. To stay true to the taste of these prasadams, iD will only use local fruits and vegetables such as bitter gourd, raw banana, and yam, as opposed to English vegetables such as capsicum and carrot.

“Most of the temple food is prepared without the green chilli or red chilli. The main source of spice is black pepper. Coriander too, is not typically given in temples, so we only use coriander as a garnish,” said L Muthu Kumar, chef de cuisine, SPI Cinemas. All the rice used is unhusked and raw, to retain maximum nutritional value and stay authentic to the taste.

Of the sweet dishes available, Kerala’s Ambalapuzha paal payasam from Ambalapuzha Temple is a must try. Prepared with ground red rice, ghee, and milk, this pinkish-silver dish is just sweet enough for the Chennai palate. “We want people of all ages to enjoy these prasadams. We want younger people to go their grandparents and say, ‘I had this prasadam today’. We want them to share these memories of food,” said Siddharth Yadav, customer experience designer, SPI Cinemas.

The Temple Food festival will be held at all iD outlets, (Besant Nagar, Sathyam Cinemas, Forum Vijaya Mall and Harrington Road), till  January 3, 2019. The cost of each dish ranges from `100-`130 excluding tax.