Keelakarai Thothal Halwa (Karupatti | Palm Jaggery Halwa)

Keelakkarai is a coastal town in Ramanathapuram district, Tamilnadu. This historical town is famous for two things; the sea surrounding environment and other one is the trademark Keelakkarai sweet thothal halwa. It is also known as dodol or nudhal and ‘sarkarai kazhi’ in Srilanka. thothal is prepared with coconut milk, rice flour, roasted cashew nuts, palm sugar, and cardamom powder. This dark-colored thothal halwa festooned with cashews has a creamy, moistened texture that makes it stand unique among the other remarkable halwas like Thoothukudi muscoth halwa, Thirunelveli halwa, Parangipettai badam halwa, and Bombay halwa, etc. this centuries old delight is said to have Indonesian origin, brought across the sea by ancient travelers to Srilanka. merchants of Keelakarai have had a strong trade relationship with Srilanka for centuries long and the thothal recipe has entered Keelakkarai through this bonding. Having reached Keelakarai the recipe took a new dimension through the local hands and the rich tasty coconuts of Keelakarai. The abundance of coconut groves in and around Keelakarai supplies an enormous amount of coconuts throughout the year and is also an important reason that naturally pave way for extensive production of thothal halwa in every house of Keelakkarai. Thothal, which has its presence on all the occasions of Keelakkarai people, is exported to many countries around the world.

யாழ்ப்பாணத்தில் இப்பலகாரம் சர்க்கரைக் கழி என்று அழைக்கப்படுகிறது சிங்களவர்கள் இதனைக் களுதொதல் என்பார்கள். அவர்கள் கித்துள்பனங்கட்டியையே தொதலுக்குப் பயன்படுத்துவார்கள்.