Race takes place at Aranmula, near a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna and Arjuna. The President's Trophy Boat Race is a popular event conducted in Ashtamudi Lake in Kollam. Thousands of people gather on the banks of the river Pamba to watch the snake boat races. Nearly 50 snake boats or chundan vallams participate in the festival. Payippad Jalotsavam is a three-day water festival. It is conducted in Payippad Lake which is 35 km from Alappuzha district of Kerala state. There is a close relation between this Payippad boat race and Subramanya Swamy Temple in Haripad. Indira Gandhi Boat Race is a boat race festival celebrated in the last week of December in the backwaters of Kochi, a city in Kerala. This boat race is one of the most popular Vallam Kali in Kerala. This festival is conducted to promote Kerala tourism. Festivals Malayalis celebrate a variety of festivals, namely Onam, Vishu, Deepavali, and Christmas. Cuisine Malayali cuisine is not homogeneous and regional variations are visible throughout. Spices form an important ingredient in almost all curries. Kerala is known for its traditional , a vegetarian meal served with boiled rice and a host of side-dishes. The is complemented by , a sweet milk dessert native to Kerala. The is, as per custom, served on a banana leaf. Traditional dishes include , , , , , , , , (tapioca), (steamed rice powder), and . Coconut is an essential ingredient in most of the food items and is liberally used. is a culinary specialty in Kerala. It is a steamed rice cake which is a favorite breakfast of most Malayalis. It is served with either brown chickpeas cooked in a spicy gravy, and boiled small green lentils, or tiny ripe yellow Kerala plantains. In the highlands there is also a variety of served with (the boiled-down syrup from sweet palm toddy) and sweet boiled bananas. to steam the , there is a special utensil called a . It consists of two sections. The lower bulkier portion is where the water for steaming is stored. The upper detachable leaner portion is separated from the lower portion by perforated lids so as to allow the steam to pass through and bake the rice powder. is a pancake made of fermented batter. The batter is made of rice flour and fermented using either yeast or toddy, the local spirit. It is fried using a