Pesaha appam

Pesaha appam, or Kurisappam, is a dense rice cake prepared by Kerala's Christians for Maundy Thursday night, known locally as Pesaha. Unlike the fermented palappam, this batter uses no yeast. A cross fashioned from Palm Sunday palm leaves is pressed into the center of the batter before cooking.

The Pesaha observance lasts just one day. That evening, the senior man of the household ceremonially cuts the appam, dips it into paalukurukku—a brown syrup of jaggery and coconut milk—or into plain coconut milk (Pesaha pal), and serves it to his family. Small Kerala bananas like poovan pazham or njalipoovan pazham accompany the meal. Some families sing traditional Nasrani Christian songs during this ritual.

The cake is also called Indri appam or INRI appam, referencing the Latin inscription "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum" placed on Jesus's cross. Its lack of yeast connects it to Jewish matza and the Passover unleavened bread, which the Book of Exodus explains as a result of the Israelites' hasty departure from Egypt.