Best temple foods in Chennai – a food lover’s list

Chennai is home to some very famous temples. Each temple has a story behind it, and devotees flock on special days and festivals to seek blessings from the deity. Each temple offers a specific food as “prasadam” (an offering made to the divine, presiding deity). The prasadam is later distributed to devotees at particular times in each temple. Temples have a rich culinary heritage, and Chennai is a hub for temple foods.

Most temple foods are traditionally prepared, with utmost devotion, by the priests or cooks using authentic recipes. Temple kitchens are called Madapallis, and prasadam is cooked with dedication and passion. They follow strict guidelines and rituals to ensure purity and sanctity. Most dishes follow South Indian recipes. Food items use aromatic spices, such as ghee, coconut, lentils, rice, and sometimes fruits and vegetables. Prasadam items could range from panchamrutham (a mixture of fruits and sugar or jaggery with aromatic cardamom), puliyodarai (tamarind rice), Pongal (cooked rice and lentil mixture that can be made sweet or savoury), vadai (lentil batter fried crisp) or even idli.

Temples in Chennai serve some delicious, divine prasadams. Let us outline some options for you.

Parthasarathy temple, Triplicane

This ancient temple was built in the 8th century and dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Lord Parthasarathy). It is a Pallava-era temple located in the heart of Chennai in Triplicane. The temple has a time-tested recipe for chakkarai pongal (sweet pongal). They use 700 g of ghee and 400 g of cashew nuts to make sweet pongal from 2 kg of rice. They make a special puliyodarai here using pepper powder and tamarind, as this temple does not use red chillies for heat.

Anjaneya temple, Nanganallur

This is a relatively new temple for Lord Anjaneya or Hanuman. It hosts one of the tallest statues of Lord Hanuman (32 feet). Devotees throng the temple to seek blessings. A morning darshan and a visit to this temple are often rewarded with piping hot, savoury pongal, which is distributed to all devotees. The iconic Pongal is very non-greasy and has subtle flavours from peppercorns, jeera (cumin), and curry leaves.

Anjaneya temple, Alwarpet

The Anjaneya temple in Alwarpet is tiny and has a statue of Lord Hanuman in a standing posture with folded hands. The shrine faces east and is said to be very powerful and attracts huge crowds. It is situated inside a bank compound. You will find flower sellers outside, and it is very easy to locate. It is a tradition to offer Lord Hanuman a garland made of pepper vadais. People often pray that they will offer the Lord a garland of pepper vadais if their wishes are granted. These vadais are different from the traditional vadais that we eat at breakfast. They are also made of urad dal but are thin, crisp, and have a long shelf life. They are an excellent snack and very crunchy.

Murugan temple, Vadapalani

A very famous temple dedicated to Lord Murugan in Chennai, devotees throng this temple to seek blessings and find solutions to various problems in life. People believe that visiting the temple will ensure that all their problems vanish. It is a serene temple and offers prasadams of Pongal and Kesari (a sweet dish made from semolina).

Ayyappan temple, Mahalingapuram

A very famous temple of Lord Ayyappan in Chennai, this temple is located in Mahalingapuram. The temple also has a shrine dedicated to Lord Guruvayurappan (Krishna). The temple is known for being very clean and tidy. The prasad served here is sweet banana appam, an authentic dish made with rice flour, banana and jaggery. It is a traditional Kerala preparation and is made in an authentic style. They also have a conventional nei payasam and kadum payasam made in Kerala style with jaggery.

Famous temple foods in South India

South India has several temples offering scrumptious food, especially for the presiding deities. The Uppiliappan temple in Thanjavur is famous for delicacies made without salt. The Ranganathaswami temple in Srirangam is renowned for the kovil sambara dosa, which is available throughout the year, and the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kancheepuram is the birthplace of the iconic Kancheepuram idli. The Murugan temple in Palani is famous for its panchamrutham (a mash of fresh fruits with jaggery and edible camphor). The Brihadeeshwara temple in Tanjore is well known for the puliyodharai or tamarind rice they offer.

The Meenakshi temple in Madurai has several prasadam stalls serving seven varieties of prasadam daily. The temple’s kitchen makes delicious puliyodharai, murukku (chaklis) ladoos, and puttu once a week. The laddoos from the Tirupati Balaji temple in Tirumala are extremely famous. A visit there is incomplete without the laddooos.

Do not miss the thayir sadam (curd rice) or dadyodanam at the Jagannatha Perumal Temple, Thirumizhsai on the Chennai-Bangalore highway. The curd rice has a lovely tempering of spices that ensure it stays fresh and does not sour.

Summary

Temple foods hold a special significance apart from delicious offerings to the deities. They represent the heritage and the identity of the people and the history and tradition of the temple. They are prepared with natural ingredients in a nutritious manner and promote a healthy diet. It is believed that consuming these temple foods offered to the deities has spiritual benefits by promoting well-being and inner peace. Temples continue to preserve traditional recipes and encourage bonding in the community as devotees consume the prasadam together.