Sabarimala (Kerala), Nov 22 (IANS) As many as 1.2 lakh cans of the special 'aravana prasadam' made out of rice, jaggery and coconut are being sold on an average every day at Kerala's famed Sabrimala temple during the annual two-month pilgrimage season.

Sold in containers weighing 250 ml, this prasadam is available only at the temple counters that are open on all days the temple is open to its devotees. Each can costs Rs.50.

Though the temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, is now open on the first few days of every Malayalam month, the peak pilgrimage season begins on the first day of the Malayalam month in November and closes on the first day of the Malayalam month in January.

The Sabarimala temple opened its doors to the annual pilgrimage Nov 16.

V.S. Jayakumar, executive officer of the Travancore Devasom Board that runs the temple, said that the shelf life of a can of 'aravana prasadam' is one year.

"Unlike in the past when prasadam, at times, was in short supply, this season we have a buffer stock of 16 lakh cans... the daily production of prasadam is around 100,000 cans and the daily average sale since the temple opened is 1.2 lakh," Jayakumar told IANS.

Every day during the two-month-long season, 100 batches of prasadam are prepared in the special kitchen situated near the temple, with 968 cans of prasadam being produced in each batch.

"The ingredients for each batch include 38 kg of rice, 200 kg of jaggery, 3.6 kg sugar candy, 1.8 kg of raisin, 0.720 gm cardamom, 0.360 gm cumin powder, 10 litres of ghee and 16 coconuts," said Jayakumar.

According to Travancore Devasom Board officials, over 40 million devotees are expected to visit the hilltop shrine this year during the nearly 60-day long festival season.

Sabarimala temple is situated in the Western Ghats, at an altitude of 914 metres above sea level. The temple is accessible only by foot from Pamba, the main halting point.

Some of the ardent devotees observe a 41-day penance before the pilgrimage during which they do not wear leather sandals, are attired in black dhotis and eat only vegetarian food.