Kiriya goes back to the distant past. The Kiriya Pooja is one of the foremost food offerings to the Goddess Pattini. Many of the deities worshiped in the East originated in India. Or the belief in such a god or goddess was first born in India.
Goddess Pattini is considered to be one of the most important deities in our country. With great compassion for children and women alike, the goddess Pattini is revered as a miracle worker in the actual story. Many shrines have been built in India as well as Sri Lanka.
The worship of Pattini in Ceylon dates back to the region of King Gajaba. He first went to the Chola country as an invader. However, a friendship developed between king Gajaba and Chera, the ruler of the Chola dynasty.
King Gajaba who later visited the Chola lands at the invitation of the Chola king, was presented with the Pattini matha as a milestone in friendship. King Gajaba, a member of the Abhayagiri sect, was a devotee of Mahayana concepts and accepted the beliefs and rituals with devotion.
Goddess Pattini’s real name is Kanngi.
The most important special offering for the Kiri Amma Dana is the food called kiriya. It has a very delicious taste and is a very popular food in our country. Kiriya also has a special place in the Aluth Sahal or new rice festival and milk offering for the Esala poya by Buddhists.
How to make Kiriya
Ingredients
* 250g rice flour
* 50g wheat flour
* 300g brown sugar
* 70g jaggery
* ¼ bottle of honey
* 3 cups of coconut milk
* 3 cardamom seeds
* Vanilla 1 tablespoon
* 100g of cashew
* Almond 50g
* 60g of raisins
* ¼ teaspoon of salt
Metod
Cut raisins into small pieces.
Spread butter on a baking tray and set aside.
Add rice flour, wheat flour, salt, vanilla and cardamom
Add a little jaggery dissolved in water.
Add ½ cup of sugar and make a brown honeycomb.
Add honey, castur sugar and melted jaggery to the flour mixture.
Add about 1 ½ cups of coconut milk and mix well.
Take a container that has a larger capacity.
Put it on the stove now.
Add coconut milk a little at a time.
When it is brown, and thick add the raisins.