All about Pappadam!!!

mmmmmm....

The plates containing coconut, betel leaves and fruits were exchanged. There were hand-shakes and exchange of pleasantries. Narayana Iyer heaved a sigh of relief that all the rituals associated with the engagement ceremony of his son went very well. It was this moment he was waiting for. He escorted all the guests to the dinning hall nearby for the next interesting part of the ceremony, the feast. He made sure that the guests were comfortably seated and served. Standing at a corner and watching the arrangement, he made sure that all guests are properly taken care of. Suddenly, he observed some whispers and murmurs among a section. A sign of tension was visible among the bride’s party. Gone are the days when bride-groom’s party made some demands or showed signs of resentment. Now-a-days, it is the turn of bride’s party to ‘dictate terms’ or even to ‘get annoyed’. The worried Narayana Iyer enquired whether there was any lapse on their part. It then came to be known that a serious mistake had indeed been made. The Pappadam was not served to bride’s father. The apologetic host came to bride’s father and offered with reverence a plate containing couple of Pappadams. Of-course, peace was restored and the marriage was also solemnized at the scheduled date. Like the bride’s father, there are numerous Pappadam lovers in Kerala who would never compromise on Pappadam. I am a Pappadam lover too. When I see the full moon on Pournami days, I remember my favourite Pappadam. Whenever I sit for a feast, I used to ask my wife to take a seat near me so that I can take her Pappadam too.

Pappadam is the most favourite dish of Kerala. Its counter-part in Tamil Nadu is known as Appalam. Anyway, Pappadam or Appalam constitutes an important part of feast in down South. But the Appalam can never come near Pappadam in taste and size. Pappadam has a special taste of its own. Besides, on big occasions like marriage and Onam, there comes, apart from the usual small sized ones, a giant sized Pappadam. Unable to manage the situation of Valiya Pappadam occupying the entire space, the Pappadam lover would then splinter it into pieces, squeeze it with the sambhar rice and take it at one go. In any case, a feast associated with any function is never complete without this important and special delicacy. A loving mother would like to add spice and taste to the food she serves to her children by offering Appalam of all varieties.

What are the ingredients necessary for making Appalam? How to prepare the tasty Appalam? It is an art that only our great grandmothers have perfected. Our present house-wives, who have acquired expertise in Information Technology, cannot have any idea on these questions. We have to go many centuries back to know what constitutes the true Appalam. Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi has given the ideal method of Appalam preparation. Azhagammal, the mother of Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi initially stayed away but kept visiting her son at Virupaksha cave and later joined him at Kandasramam. When Maharshi came down to the base of the hill, a full fledged Ashram consisting of a common hall for worship, meditation and a kitchen started operating from there. Azhagammal rendered whatever service she could do for the maintenance of Ashram and its kitchen. She recalled her son's fondness in his younger days for the spicy delicacy of Appalam. She then decided to prepare the Appalams by herself and serve her son. It was not an easy task as she imagined. Neither the required items were available nor was there anyone to render her help. However, determined as she was, she went to the market, brought the necessary ingredients like Urat Dal etc. and started preparing Appalams. She could not do all the labour like sieving, grinding and making the round-size Appalam by herself. She then sought the help of her son, Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi but the saint-son was not readily willing to oblige. Rather than lending his helping hand or guiding her in the preparation, Maharshi started explaining the art of making a ‘real’ Appalam. He gave expression to it in the form of a song that made all Appalam lovers to think seriously. The song, known as Appala Pattu went like this: “Take the Urat Dal of ego that is kept in the container of the mind. Remove all the dirt like desires and attachments in the sieve of knowledge. Add the required quantity of salt called devotion. Grind it well in the instrument of Self-enquiry and ensure that all traces of ego are scattered to pieces. If you fry it now in the fire of knowledge, what you get is the real Appalam, the Appalam of Self-knowledge. Experience the bliss of this Appalam and you would get liberated.”

Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi has beautifully brought out the philosophy behind Appalam. Perhaps, it is for this reason Pappadam is brought during the Nalangu ceremony and the married couple break it to pieces over other’s head as a symbolic gesture of removing the ego. Once the ego is gone, it paves the way for a very happy and prosperous married life.