SRI OPPILIAPPAN PERUMAL TEMPLE

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SRI OPPILIAPPAN PERUMAL TEMPLE:

When I stayed in Papanasam, a place near Kumbakonam, I started  going to Oppiliappan temple every saturday. The temple is just a few minutes travel from Papanasam. My periyappa, who hails from Papanasam, used to make  a specific kind of mixture since it is a very special neiyvedyam (food) for perumal.  This mixture is rather a dry fruit mix made with all dry fruits along with coconut and kalkandu. 
Dry fruit Mixture is the only prasadam accepted from devotees in the Oppiliappan temple.

Oppiliappan Temple Shrine Facade

From that time, I have been a great devotee of lord oppliappan….even my son’s first Mottai (head shave) was done there. Whenever I go to the temple, I feel all my pressures and worries have gone….

Balaji's first mottai

Here are some details I know about that temple…..

Oppili Appan means: None equals him Oppili means no equal. 

God Oppiliappan in center, left side in the pic is Bhoomi Devi and right side in the pic is Markandeyar

How TO REACH:

The temple is situated about 7kms south of Kumbakonam in Tanjore district of Tamilnadu. It is located at Thirunageshwaram post. Buses, autos and private vehicles are available to reach Oppiliappan temple from kumbakonam I normally go in mini bus from kumbakonam. Staying facilities are available near the temple as well as at Kumbakonam. Kumbakonam being a major hub, has better accommodation facilities. Number of town buses and mini buses ply frequently between Kumbakonam and Opiliappan Temple. Naganatha Swamy Temple (Rahu Sthalam) is also very near by.

HISTORY:

Bhoomadevi (or, Bhoomidevi) is the daughter of Rishi  Markandeyar. The Rishi was in search of a bridegroom for his small daughter. The Lord came to him as an old aged man and wanted to marry Bhoomadevi. Markandeya pointed out his age to him but the Lord (old man) insisted his demand. The Rishi said that his daughter did not know even how to cook and the salt may go more or less which may cause anger against his daughter. Then the Rishi prayed to the Lord to relieve him from the confusion. A voice from the sky came, “let your daughter cook without salt and that would suffice to me. Are you now ready to give your daughter to me”. Markandeyar now understood that the caller was none other than the Lord perumal himself… Markandeya gave his daughter Bhoomadevi to perumal in the wedding that followed. This is the shrine, where the Lord began his life with Bhoomadevi. The main thing in this temple there is no separate   shrine for thaiyar and no salt in prasadams. 

History and reality:
Well, in the above story, there are a lot of things that go against the modern laws or seem impractical, in terms of child marriage and food without salt etc. Most of these stories are meant to be very imaginative and were probably told to pass on legacy to the future generations. That way, I like these stories and like to tell my son about the same.

UNIQUE FEATURE OF THE TEMPLE:

All food offerings at the temple are strictly and completely salt less. Salt or any food item containing salt is not allowed in the temple beyond Garuda’s Sannidhi.

There is no separate shrine for Bhoomidevi here and as already stated, Bhoomidevi is sitting with folded hands by the side of the Lord in the main sanctum sanctorum. The utsava deity of Oppiliappan is never taken out of the temple, without his consort, Bhoomidevi. The lord  Oppliappan is also known as elder to lord Venkateshwara in thirumala and so those devotees who are unable to visit  tirupati to fulfill their promises can do so here

"Maam Ekam; Saranam Vraja" are the words written in the right hand palm of Lord Oppliappan  pointing to his feet which means “I take care of those surrendering to me”.

One more speciality in this temple is the kunkumam given as prasadam. It is made inside the temple itself ….. The heavenly smell of kunkumam is fantastic and I normally buy in packets and store.

Do Visit this temple and let me know what you saw. 

TEMPLE TIMINGS:

This temple remains open from 6.00AM to 1.00PM in the morning and 4.00PM to 9.00PM in the evenings.

TEMPLE CONTACT DETAILS:

Arulmigu Venkatachalapathi Swami Temple
Oppiliappan Koil
Tirunageswaram – 612 004
(Kumbakonam Taluk)
Phone: 0435 – 2463385, 2464260

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My innovations - Karuveppilai Podi / Curry Leaf Powder

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Spicy  Karuveppilai  Podi /Curry Leaves Powder

   

Karuveppilai also known as  Curry  Leaves  are an essential ingredient in South Indian Cuisine. It is widely used as a flavor enhancer for food while seasoning.

Curry leaves have a unique aroma & taste and has a lot of medicinal properties. It is very rich in calcium, iron and vitamin A. It makes the eyes cool and reduce the body heat. Also it is very good for hair growth and it prevents graying of hair. I would rather say that if curry leaves do not aid hair growth then, there is nothing that would help the process. If at all you need sure shot results, intake of curry leaves is what will work rather than trying all the hair oils available in the market.

Traditional Approach:

In general, karuveppilai podi is made with these ingredients:
Curry leaves -1 big cup, 
Pepper -2 tsp, 
Jeera -2 tsp,
Toor Dal- 2 tbsp,
Urad dal - 2 tbsp, 
Channa Dal - 2 tbsp, 
Red Chillies- 3-4  and Salt as required . 

Making podi with these ingredients will be good but I wanted to make a twist in taste since most of them do not like the taste of curry leaves and it is normally set aside from regular food intake. 

My Approach:
So decided to change the ingredients but I ensured that it will enhance the health benefits too. So I decided to add Toor Dal, Horse gram/kollu ,Tamarind, Red Chillies, Pepper, Jeera, Flax seed, Dry ginger, Hing,  along with curry leafs and used Gingelly Oil to fry few things 

In  this karuveppilai podi , I added Horse gram (Kollu) because it adds more health benefit....Normally we use Kollu in Parrupu podi only But I add in most of my recipes wherever the taste and flavor suits very well, and I added Flax seed  since I prefer to avoid mustard seed and include flax seed even in day to day cooking.. because of its health benefits. And in this I have added dry ginger pepper and jeera as it increase digestion and increase appetite….Tamarind gives a tangy taste. I used these  ingredients because they enrich the taste and flavor of the podi… 

Curry  leaves  powder  is a very delicious recipe and nothing can beat the delicious flavor of homemade version.

This aromatic spice powder tastes heavenly, when mixed along with ghee / gingely oil and hot steamed rice. 

Ingredients:

·                      Curry Leaves – ½ kg

·                     Toor Dal- 1 cup

·                      Horse gram/kollu -1 cup

·                     One lemon size of Tamarind

·                     Red Chillies- 30

·                     Pepper -  50 grams

·                     Jeera -  1 tbs

·                     Flax seed – 2 tbs

·                     Dry ginger – 50 grams

·                     Salt to taste

·                     Hing – 1 tsp

·                     Gingelly Oil -2 tsp

Method

1.   Wash curry leaves well, pat it with a towel to remove excess water and dry it well in the shade. Spread the washed curry leaves in a cloth and let it dry for 5-6 hours. There should not be moisture in the curry leaves.

2.   Heat the kadai and add the flax seeds and allow it to splutter. Keep it aside.

3.   Dry roste toor dhal , fry it in low flame till it become golden brown and Keep it aside.

4.   Now add the Horsegram / kollu and fry till they become roasted.roast toor dal, urad dal, channa dal until dal turns golden brown. Then dry roast pepper and jeera separately until you get a nice aroma.

5.   Dry roast red chillies for a few minutes.

6.   Add half tsp of oil and fry dry ginger till it turns brown do not burn it.

7.   Now add oil half spoon and roste tamarind in low flame till it turns black and dry no moisture should be there in tamarind.

8.   Now add 1 more teaspoon of oil and fry curry leaves well. Do not burn it .

9.   Dry grind the dal, kollu, dry ginger, tamarind, red  chillies,pepper , jeera first. Then add curry leaves and grind everything together (slightly coarse) along with salt required and Hing.

10. Store it in an air tight container so that it does not loose its freshness.

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Appam, Thengai Pal(coconut milk), Egg Appam, Cheese Appam (without soda approach)

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Appam is a very popular and traditional breakfast of Kerala. Till 5 years back I was under the opinion that Appam is a tough dish to make thinking it needed more practice and more experience to prepare but once when I was telling the same thing to my very good friend Divya ,  she told me few simple and easy techniques making appam a simple dish. For  making simple appam Divya is my Guru….. :-) 

Coming back to Appam,  it  is very good for health as it does not require much oil. Appams are soft and spongy in the center and has a  lacy border. This recipe can never  go wrong as I have tried it many times and every time it comes out very spongy and very soft. Am giving few  important and  simple tips, which Divya gave me to make  appam a simple dish . Here, I have given recipe for making 3 variety of appams like normal,egg and cheese Appam. The batter is  same for all three appams.

Innovation:Generally to make appam we use two variety of rice (raw rice and boiled rice) and coconut milk but here boiled rice and cooked rice  are used and instead of coconut milk  grated coconut is used, this gives wonderful color and aroma. Cooked rice makes the appam soft and makes  fermentation easier.

Note: This procedure is completely different from normal procedure you do since this does not need any yeast or soda. 

Key Ingredients:

·         Boiled rice -2 cups

·         Urad dal – 1/2 cup

·         cooked rice – 1 cups

·         Grated coconut- 1 cup

·         Salt to taste

  

How to make:

·        Soak boiled rice,urad dal together for 4 hours.

·        Grind them with cooked rice and grated coconut ground it to a fine paste.

·        In general we add coconut milk but when you add coconut at the time of grinding itself it gives wonderful colour and aroma. Cooked rice makes the appam soft and make it to fermenting easily.

·        Add salt to the ground batter and mix well.Keep aside overnight for fermenting. In the morning the appam batter would have raised nicely.

·        Next morning,mix the batter well.

·        Traditionally appams are made in iron skillet called appa chatti. You can use the Prestige non stick appam pan. If you do not have appa chatti or appam pan, you can make it in any other non stick pan with lid or any other cooking kadai with lid. I have used normal kadai today.(If you are using normal kadai like me use it to fry applam or something one day before then use to make appam)so that appam comes out very well.

·        First coat the appam pan with oil using a cloth. (Add a drop of oil into the pan and wipe it all over with a cloth.)

·        Heat the appam pan, then reduce the heat to low. Now add a ladle of batter in the center of the pan.(pan should not be too hot)

·        Heat non stick appam kadai,grease with oil.

·        Pour 1 small laddle of appam batter to the kadai and swirl the kadai slowly to spread the batter to the sides of the kadai.

·        After that close the pan with the lid. The flame should be kept in low. Once the appam is cooked and the edges start turning brown, remove the appam from the pan. (the appam will come off easily if you lift it with your hands)

·        Remove from kadai.

·        Serve with Thengai pal(coconut milk).

Egg Appam:

·        Pour 1 small laddle of appam batter to the kadai and swirl the kadai slowly to spread the batter to the sides of the kadai.

·        Then break a egg and pour in center.

·        Sprinkle salt and pepper. After that close the pan with the lid. The flame should be kept in low. Once the appam is cooked and the edges start turning brown, remove the appam from the pan. (the appam will come off easily if you lift it with your hands).

·        Remove from kadai.

·        Serve with kadala curry.

Cheese Appam:

·        Pour 1 small laddle of appam batter to the kadai and swirl the kadai slowly to spread the batter to the sides of the kadai.

·        After that close the pan with the lid. The flame should be kept in low. Once the appam is cooked and the edges start turning brown, remove the appam from the pan. (the appam will come off easily if you lift it with your hands).

·        Before removing from kadai put cheese in center.I use cheese sheets .

·        Sprinkle salt and pepper.

·        Remove from kadai.

·        Serve with kadala curry/egg curry.

Thengai Pal(coconut milk):

Key Ingredients :

·        Grated coconut - 2 cups

·        Jaggery - 1 cup(according to your taste)

·        Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

How to make:

·        Grind the grated coconut with 1 cup water and squeeze the coconut milk using a thin filter. Keep aside.

·        Add 1/4 cup water to the jaggery and mix well till the jaggery becomes watery in consistency.

·        Filter the jaggery water to remove any impurities.

·        Mix the coconut milk and jaggery water together and boil it till it till it reaches thick consistency and with cardamom powder.

·        Serve with Appam.

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