Mangalorean Sweet Poha Prasad: A popular and easy-to-make naivedyam and prasadam recipe prepared traditionally using poha, coconut, jaggery, sesame seeds, and cardamom powder. This sweet dessert can be made in less than 10 minutes.
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Recipe card
Mangalorean Sweet Poha Prasad | Avalakki Panchakajjaya
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup Jaggery
- 1 cup Coconut fresh grated
- 1 tablespoon Sesame seeds or til roasted
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- 2 tablespoon Ghee divided
- 6 to 8 Cashews or Almonds chopped optional
- 2 cups Thin Poha Flattened rice, more or less as needed
Optional, read tips
- ½ tablespoon Honey
- 1 Ripe banana chopped
Instructions
Preparation
- Chop the banana into rounds or cubes. Add honey to it and keep it aside.½ tablespoon Honey, 1 Ripe banana
- Heat tablespoon of ghee in a pan. Add cashews and saute till golden. Keep this aside2 tablespoon Ghee, 6 to 8 Cashews or Almonds chopped
- If sesame seeds are not roasted, add them to a pan, dry roast until aromatic, and keep them aside.1 tablespoon Sesame seeds or til
Mangalorean sweet poha panchakadayi
- In a bowl, add jaggery, coconut, sesame seeds, cardamom powder, and ghee and mix well.⅔ cup Jaggery, 1 cup Coconut, ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- Add poha and roasted cashews and mix until poha is incorporated well. You may have to use a squeezing motion while mixing so that poha is properly coated in the mixture.2 cups Thin Poha
- Now add the banana if adding it and mix gently. (optional)
- Offer as naivedyam and serve as prasadam. This will remain fresh at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Notes
- For Ganesh Chaturthi or ganahoma, banana modaks, chopped banana and sugarcane can also be added.
- Traditionally, fresh grated coconut is used in the recipe. But in the picture above, I used dry-grated coconut.
- Adding cashews and almonds is optional. It gives a nice flavor and crunch.
- This is the simplest version of sweet poha. You can check panchakajjaya by making jaggery syrup. This will last for a long time.
- Based on the color of the jaggery, the color of the sweet will change accordingly.
- This sweet also tastes good when served with sheera or rulavu (upma)
Nutrition
Poha - Naivedyam and prasadam recipe
Sweet poha, popularly known as avalakki panchakajjaya or pova panchakadayi, is a must-do festive recipe from the coastal regions of Karnataka. This sweet is always prepared at home during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Janmashtami, Diwali, and Navratri or during poojas like ganahoma, chudi pooja, tulsi puja and auspicious occasions.
In Mangalore, Karkala, and Udupi temples, sweet poha is prepared every day as an offering to God and then distributed among devotees as prasadam.
Pancha in Panchakajjaya means five in Sanskrit. So, this simple recipe is prepared using five key ingredients. In Konkani, it is colloquially called panchkadai or panchkajai.
You can make panchakajjaya by mixing all the ingredients without any cooking involved, just like the one below, or by making jaggery syrup. You can read more details about panchkadayi (panchakajjaya) with jaggery syrup here.
Ingredients
The 5 ingredients used to make this sweet poha panchakajjaya are jaggery, coconut, sesame seeds, cardamom powder, and poha (flattened rice or beaten rice flakes).
Ghee and nuts add unique flavor and crunch, and I add it while making this recipe at home.
While making special pujas like Gana homa, during Ganesh Chaturthi, banana , chopped sugarcane, and modaks are added to this sweet poha.
Check out the recipe card for the full list of the ingredients.
Preparation
- Chop the banana into rounds or cubes. Add honey to it and keep it aside.
- Heat tablespoon of ghee in a pan. Add cashews and saute till golden. Keep this aside
- If sesame seeds are not roasted, add them to a pan, dry roast until aromatic, and keep them aside.
Mangalorean sweet poha panchakadayi
- In a bowl, add jaggery, coconut, sesame seeds, cardamom powder, and ghee and mix well.
- Add poha and roasted cashews and mix until poha is incorporated well. You may have to use a squeezing motion while mixing so that poha is properly coated in the mixture.
- Now add the banana if adding it and mix gently. (optional)
- Offer as naivedyam and serve as prasadam. This will remain fresh at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Tips
- For Ganesh Chaturthi or ganahoma, banana modaks, chopped banana and sugarcane can also be added.
- Traditionally, fresh grated coconut is used in the recipe. But dry or frozen grated coconut will also work.
- Adding cashews and almonds is optional. It gives a nice flavor and crunch.
- This is the simplest version of sweet poha. You can check panchakajjaya by making jaggery syrup, which will last a long time.
- The sweet's color will change according to the jaggery's color.
More Mangalorean prasadam recipe
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Note: We originally posted this sweet poha prasadam recipe in Sept 2016. It has now been modified in March 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Nava K
Anything simple to make is always my take. Not a great moment sweating to make fabulous desserts, this never heard of the name sweet treat is quite a pleasure, also, as god's offering for blessing we all need all the time.
Kushi
Thank you Nava 🙂
Anu
Tempting one!!
Kushi
Thank you Anu 🙂
Sapna
So you do need to wash the poha? Won't it have that smell of unwashed poha carried through the dish.
Kushi
No. For this recipe you do not have to wash the poha. We eat this from our childhood and never had the issue 🙂 If you are concerned, use fresh poha or keep it in sunlight for 30 minutes or microwave for 30 seconds. Hope this helps 🙂