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| Alternative names | Kurishappam |
|---|---|
| Serving temperature | Dinner[1] |
| Main ingredients | Rice batter |
| Variations | Palappam (fermented bread for festivities and other days) |
| Other information | Cultural cuisine of the Nasrani |
Pesaha appam or Kurisappam[1] is a firm rice cake made by the Christians of Kerala, India, to be served on the night of Maundy Thursday (Pesaha).[1] It is made from rice batter like palappam,[2] but is not fermented with yeast in its preparation.[3] A cross is made using the palm leaves from Palm Sunday, and placed in the middle of the batter.[3][4]
The Pesaha celebration of Christians falls on Western Maundy Thursday and lasts for a single day.[5][6][7] Traditionally, Pesaha appam is served in a ceremonial manner at night in Christian households across Kerala.[8] The head of the family cuts the appam, dips it in paalukurukku (syrup) or Pesaha pal (coconut milk), and serves it to the other family members.[2][8] The brown palkurukku is made mainly using jaggery and coconut milk. The meal also includes small banana variants in Kerala such as poovan pazham or njalipoovan pazham.[1] Some families[who?] have the custom of singing traditional Kerala Nasrani Christian songs during this meal.[9]
The Pesaha appam is said to have been derived from traditional Jewish matza.[10][11][12][13][14][15][8][16] Like matza, it is prepared without yeast.
