Paramannam, Pulihora, Poornalu, and Ariselu are the primary offerings made during Diwali. To avoid last-minute stress, items like the dough for Ariselu and the stuffing for Poornalu can be prepared a day in advance. Fresh items like Pulihora are best made on the day itself.
On Diwali morning the kitchen gets busy early. Milk boils on one burner, oil heats for Ariselu on another, and someone keeps calling you away for the puja items. Try to make everything on the day itself and you will be exhausted by the evening puja. This post covers which naivedyam to make, how long each takes, and what can be prepared a day ahead.
For the full map of the five-day festival, read our Deepavali 2026 complete guide.
Which Diwali Naivedyam to Prepare
- Main Offerings: Paramannam, Pulihora, Poornalu.
- For Kedara Nomu: Chalimidi, Vadapappu.
- Day-before Prep: Preparing Ariselu dough and Poornalu stuffing.
- Rule: It is not mandatory to make everything; you can make 1 or 2 items based on your time and capacity.
For Diwali Lakshmi Puja, Telugu homes mostly offer Paramannam, Pulihora and Poornalu as naivedyam, the food offered to the deity. Many families also make sweets and snacks such as Ariselu, Sunnundalu and Kajjikayalu. Chalimidi and Vadapappu are special to those observing Kedara Gowri Vratam. There is no rule that all of these must be made in one day. One sweet and one tangy dish, Paramannam and Pulihora, are enough for a complete Lakshmi Puja offering. For timings in other cities, see the series pillar guide.
What Is the Difference Between Naivedyam and a Regular Meal
Naivedyam is food offered first to the deity during the puja; family members eat it only afterwards, as prasadam. The curries and dal cooked for the festival lunch are separate from what goes to the puja.
Many homes follow a few rules while cooking naivedyam: bathing and wearing clean clothes before cooking, not tasting the food midway, and keeping its vessels separate. To be sure of salt and sweetness without tasting, measure the salt and jaggery in advance.
If you cannot make many dishes, there is no reason to feel bad. Elders say that a piece of jaggery or a banana offered with devotion is also naivedyam. For families celebrating between office hours and children’s studies, that is reassuring.
The value of naivedyam lies in the care that went into it, not in the number of dishes on the plate.
How to Make Paramannam
Paramannam is a sweet dish of rice, milk and jaggery. It is the easiest main offering for the festival and takes about thirty minutes. These quantities serve four or five.
- First, take one cup of rice and half a cup of moong dal, wash them thoroughly, and soak for 30 minutes.
- In a thick-bottomed vessel, boil three cups of milk and one cup of water.
- Once the milk boils, add the soaked rice and dal, and cook until very soft. If you press a grain of rice, it should mash easily, indicating it is properly cooked.
- Turn off the stove after the rice is fully cooked, add one cup of grated jaggery, and mix well. (Adding jaggery while the stove is on can curdle the milk).
- Finally, in a separate small pan, heat two spoons of ghee, fry cashews and raisins, and mix them into the Paramannam.
Some homes make Paramannam with rice alone and no moong dal, which is equally correct. Stir now and then so it does not stick to the bottom. Paramannam thickens as it cools, so it should be slightly runny when you switch off the stove. Waiting a minute before adding the jaggery lowers the chance of the milk curdling, and a pinch of cardamom powder adds fragrance.
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How to Make Pulihora
Tamarind Pulihora is an offering found in almost every Telugu home at festival time. It takes about twenty-five minutes, and less if the tamarind paste is ready in advance.
- Cook two cups of rice so the grains remain separate, and spread it on a wide plate to cool. While the rice is hot, mix in a little turmeric and a spoonful of oil.
- Soak a large lemon-sized ball of tamarind in hot water for 15 minutes and extract a thick paste.
- Heat two spoons of oil in a pan, add the tamarind paste, salt to taste, and two slit green chilies. Cook until the paste thickens. Mix this paste into the cooled rice.
- Finally, prepare the tempering (popu) by heating oil and frying mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal, peanuts, dried red chilies, and curry leaves. Mix this into the rice.
For separate grains, use only one and a half cups of water for every cup of rice. Mixing the paste into rice that has gone completely cold makes it lumpy, so mix it while the rice is still slightly warm. Some homes add asafoetida and chana dal to the tempering.
Pulihora tastes best when it rests for about two hours before being offered, as the tang soaks into the rice. That is why many homes make it at midday and offer it at the evening puja.
How to Make Poornalu
Poornalu are sweet balls of chana dal and jaggery filling, dipped in a urad dal and rice batter and fried in oil. They make the festival plate feel complete. These quantities make about fifteen.
For the filling, cook one cup of chana dal until soft and drain all the water. Add one cup of grated jaggery and stir on a low flame; in about ten minutes it thickens into a mass. When it comes away from the sides of the pan, the filling is ready. Once cool, mix in cardamom powder and roll into balls the size of a small lemon.
For the batter, soak one cup of urad dal and two cups of rice for four to five hours and grind them slightly thicker than dosa batter, adding a pinch of salt. Dip the filling balls in the batter and fry them in oil on a medium flame until golden. If the oil is too hot, the outside burns while the inside stays raw.
How to Make Chalimidi and Vadapappu for Kedara Nomu
Chalimidi and Vadapappu are the main offerings for Kedara Gowri Vratam. Neither needs a stove, so they are quick to prepare on the vratam day. Full details of the vratam are in Part 6.
- Soak one cup of raw rice overnight and dry it in the shade in the morning. While it is still slightly damp, grind it into a fine powder in a mixer.
- Add three-fourths of a cup of grated jaggery and a pinch of cardamom powder to the rice flour, and knead it well into a dough with your hands. This is called Chalimidi.
- Soak half a cup of moong dal in water for an hour and drain the water to get Vadapappu. Both are offered together.
If the Chalimidi will not hold together, add a spoon of milk or a little ghee. Some homes also mix grated dry coconut and sesame seeds into it. Many families offer Panakam, a drink of jaggery, pepper and cardamom, alongside the Vadapappu.
Which Offerings Can Be Prepared the Day Before
To ease the pressure on the festival day, half the work on fried sweets can be done a day early. Fresh dishes such as Pulihora and Paramannam are best made on the day itself.
| Recipe | Day Before Task | Festival Day Task |
|---|---|---|
| Ariselu | Soaking rice, milling flour, making jaggery syrup, and preparing the dough. | Frying in hot oil. |
| Poornalu | Cooking chana dal, making jaggery stuffing balls, and keeping them in the fridge. | Dipping in the outer batter and frying. |
| Pulihora | Cooking the tamarind paste and keeping it ready. | Cooking rice, adding tempering, and mixing. |
You can divide the festival day like this: fry the Poornalu and Ariselu before ten in the morning, make Pulihora at midday, and cook Paramannam an hour before the evening puja so it can be offered warm. Chalimidi and Vadapappu take half an hour before the vratam.
If two or three people are at home, share the work: one handles the batter and chopping, one does the frying, one washes up. Give children easy jobs like grating jaggery or sorting cashews, and they become part of the festival too.
Spread the work over two days, and you will sit down for the puja calm rather than tired.
One Thing to Do Today
Tonight, soak a lemon-sized ball of tamarind, extract the paste and keep it in the fridge, and cook a cup of chana dal to make the Poornalu filling.
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In the Next Part
The offerings are ready, but how should the home look to welcome Goddess Lakshmi? How to clean the house in the week before the festival, how to tie a mango-leaf toranam at the door, and how to draw the Ashtadala Padmam rangoli with rice flour are answered in the next part.
Frequently asked questions
What naivedyam should be made for Diwali?
Paramannam, tamarind Pulihora, Poornalu, and Ariselu are mainly prepared as offerings. You can make what is possible according to your family tradition.
Can we taste the naivedyam while cooking?
No, you must never taste the naivedyam meant for the deity while cooking. Doing so breaks the rule of purity.
How to prevent milk from curdling in Paramannam?
Turn off the stove entirely after the rice and dal are cooked, take the vessel off the heat, and only then add grated jaggery. Adding jaggery to boiling milk will curdle it.
What is the special offering for Kedara Nomu?
Chalimidi (made of raw rice flour and jaggery) and Vadapappu (soaked moong dal) are the primary offerings for the Kedara Gowri Vratam.
Is it mandatory to make many varieties of offerings for Diwali?
There is no strict rule dictating a specific number of items. Depending on your time and capacity, making even a single sweet dish with devotion is perfectly fine.
Sources
Traditional Telugu Vratakalpam
Information checked: 21 October 2026. Dates and times follow Drik Panchang; final check on 5 November.
