How a packet of rock sugar in my kitchen brought back memories of childhood temple visits

Kalkandu is apparently a favourite of the gods too

Organising my kitchen cupboards is a mundane task, but sometimes it is surprisingly rewarding. Ingredients that I never find when I need them materialise like Banquo’s ghost in Macbeth, but with happier consequences. On one recent cleaning effort I chanced upon a packet of kalkandu or mishri, rock sugar. It transported me back to childhood when temple visits were often rewarded with crinkly yellow-cellophane wrapped treasures of khajoor (dry dates), mishri, raisins and cashew. They stayed fresh for a long time, though I did not usually put them to the test. The thought of rolling around an oversized chunk of rock sugar in my mouth till it dissolved brought so much joy.

Kalkandu is apparently a favourite of the gods too. In my 2019 travels across India exploring sacred food offerings, I learnt of a delicious sounding naivedyam using kalkandu in several ancient temples in Tamil Nadu. I particularly remember an early morning visit to Thillai Kali Amman Kovil, a Shakti Peetham located a short distance from the famous Chidambaram Nataraja temple. Legend speaks of the celestial dance competition between Shiva and Kali, where the goddess is defeated and banished from Thillai to where the Kali Amman temple is now located.

After my darshan of the goddess, the gurukkal (priest) gave me a donnai or leaf bowl filled with steaming hot kalkandu sakkarai pongal. This is a concoction of rice, passi paruppu (moong dal), rock sugar and ghee, garnished with plump fried raisins and fragrant with saffron, cardamom and pachchai karpooram (edible camphor). Kalkandu sakkarai pongal is better known as a signature item in the naivedyam of the Chidambaram temple.