Panchamrita


Panchamrita is a mixture of five foods used in Hindu worship and puja and Abhiṣeka which are usually honey, liquid jaggery, cow milk, curd and ghee. After pachamrita is used in puja and abhisheka, it is distributed as prasad.

Preparation

Panchamrita is prepared by mixing cow milk, curd, honey, jaggery, and ghee.
However, there may be certain regional variations in ingredients. Most south Indians add ripe banana as well. Panchamrita is an Ayurvedic preparation but has been manipulated in several places to cut costs and increase keeping value.
Some people use sugar instead of jaggery, which is not accepted by all, as sugar is not a natural element like jaggery and sugar is sometimes refined using bone charcoal which makes it inappropriate to use for pooja.
In Palani Murugan temple, Tamil Nadu, panchamrita consists of banana, sugar, ghee, honey, seedless dates, cardamom and sugar candy. The banana used is the Virupatchi variety, which grows only in the Palani hills and has very low water content.
Keralites may also include tender coconut. Some recipes also include grapes.

Usage