We visited the shrine to see how these devotees prepare their prasad, or religious offering, in such big batches. More from Big Batches How New York's best pizzeria makes 140,000 pizzas in its ...

2. Add the coconut to a dry heavy bottomed pan or pot (a karahi will work too). Place on low heat and dry toast the coconut; do not let it develop a colour, you just want it a little dry.

Guruvayur Temple is known for its special prasad called palpayasam, a sweet rice pudding made with rice, milk, and sugar. It is offered to the deity and later distributed to devotees.

Rice Pudding, similar to kheer but often flavoured with cardamom and saffron, is another prasad option. Its creamy texture and sweet taste are enjoyed by devotees after rituals.

Ms. Singh said the most important desserts in Indo-Caribbean celebrations, she noted, were sweet rice, or rice pudding, sometimes made with coconut milk, and prasad, or farina, cooked in ghee with ...