Panakam
Panakam is a Sanskrit word that translates to a “sweet drink”. In the simplest and the most traditional form it is simply water sweetened with jaggery, flavoured with crushed cardamoms and spiced with ground black pepper. This basic drink is known as Panakam in Telugu, Panaka in Kannada and Panagam in Tamil. There are various beliefs about the significance of serving panakam on this day. Some believe that since Rama Navami is celebrated during the summer, panakam is offered as a cooling beverage. You will find various versions of panakam where ingredients like lemon juice, dry ginger, fresh ginger, honey or even Tulsi leaves are added. But the panakam I make is the most basic which I learnt from my grandmother. Every year she would send a pot of this to the temple for the offering. That’s what I have shared in this post. This 4 ingredient drink is immensely popular among the Telugu-speaking people as a welcome drink, served during Hindu rituals like weddings and poojas. In the temples of Andhra Pradesh, Kalyanothsavam meaning a wedding ceremony is also performed on the day of Rama Navami, to celebrate the wedding of Lord Sri Rama & Goddess Sita. So offering panakam to the Lord (who happens to be the bridegroom) is an age old tradition. Till day the Telugu-speaking people’s wedding celebrations start by offering a glass of panakam to the bridegroom as a welcome drink. Later all the guests are offered the same. We also have the tradition of offering panakam during Varalakshmi Vratham, Gauri Pooja and Durga Navaratri.
What to offer during Sri Rama Navami?
During Sri Rama Navami, we offer panakam in combination with vadapappu and chalimidi. Vadapappu is simply soaked and drained moong dal. It is similar to the Karnataka kosambari but the lentils are kept plain here. Chalimidi is a traditional sweet made with rice flour, jaggery, cardamom and a splash of water. There are two ways of making this – pachi chalimidi and pakam chalimidi. I have included the recipes of both in the recipe card. For pooja we usually prepare the pachi chalimidi. Related Recipes Poornam booreluGareluRava appalu,Bellam paramannamSenaga pappu paysamChakkara pongal Related Recipes
Recipe Card
