Panchamritham is a sweet offering served in Murugan temples. While many temples offer this neivedhyam, the divine PALANI/ PAZHANI MURUGAN temple in Tamilnadu is very known for this. Palani is a pilgrim town in the Dindugul district of Tamilnadu famously known for the Dhandayudhapani temple. The story of the shrine is that Lord Murugan wanted to get enlightened from his boyhood when he was denied the sacred fruit from Lord Shiva and stood on top of the Palani Hills as a hermit. It is also said that the famous Tamil Poet Ovvaiyar sang to Lord Murugan that he is a sacred fruit himself and helped in calming him.
The memories of this temple go way back to when we traveled to Palani temple as a child. The shrine is located on the hills and one can reach there by steps or a rope car or a winch operated with three tracks that take devotees up and down. Palani Panchamritham is a divine delicacy served as an offering in the temple. It is also sold in plastic bottles and trust me the flavors are out of the world. I tried to recreate the panchamritham at home and it took me back to those days of memories. Try this panchamritham for the Vaikasi Vishakam and serve as an offering to Lord Murugan.
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a bowl, add one banana. Use a ladle to mash them.
- Add one tsp of chopped dates, jaggery powder, honey, and a teaspoon of raisins to the mashed banana.
- Add a pinch of dry ginger powder, cardamom powder, and a teaspoon of ghee. Combine all of them together. Transfer to a bowl and offer as prasadham.
Notes
- Use medium ripe bananas for best-tasting panchamirtham.
- I did not add sugar crystals to this. If you like them you can add them too.