Divinity and the Divine

This book is written as an ode to divinity and the divine . The divinity of food cooked as an offering which is Brahman, for we were , are food and going to become food. Tvan tat         . food cooked as Prasad or offering carries its own history , legacy, tradition and heritage . i have worked on this for the last 4 years , travelling to various places, temples , sampling , eating and verifying what is cooked as Prasad and how did it come into being and what influenced it.

There are so many different versions , but i managed to get some relevant answers. - Each temple district has a special cuisine, known as "Prasad" associated with it. This cuisine is identified, documented, and prepared. The rituals around food selection, preparation, presentation and the history of the ingredients used form the central core of the project

. We gather first-hand knowledge by participating in the preparation of the foods, interviews and observations and we supply recipes from each experience. Our emphasis is on taste - that spiritual food is regarded as the best in India because it is prepared with devotion, purity and affection.

THE MOST INTERESTING THING IS UNLIKE OUR BELIEF India has more non vegetarians than vegetarians , but when it comes to Prasad food it is mostly vegetarian except amongst the Christians and muslims. Th Syrian Christians and the konkan Christians food have both been influenced by the invading portugese, dutch, , while Syrian Christians have influences fom Syria, turkey and even the muslim invaders , for eg the Malabar parantha.  And biryani. Konkani Christian and muslims are influenced by portugese, and traditions of south kanara and all the invaders.

I have taken the festival dishes and famous heritage dishes of these places . According to Vedas, the one who does annadanam to devotees attains heaven (Punya Loka) in this Universe (Brahmanda) itself. In this whole universe, the creation and its progression depend on food. Hence giving food to the devotees is more than attaining heaven. Most of the temple and holy places Prasad which i have researched on and used in my book are from suyembu temples and places, meaning, the original statue was not man made but materialized on its own. Udipi Krishna, SRI BALAJI, manavinayakular , Kamakshi amman, Moogambika devi, Palani murugan to name some. Later on the statues have been crafted again . the energy in these old heritage temples is very powerful and the Prasad eaten here is supposed to cure aall ailments. Each Prasad hasa special meaning and ignificance , which i will deal with in detail in my second book. Similarly the Santhome church , Naagur dargah , Velankini church  Cochin synagogue or Bidar Nnak jira have very powerful historical, spiritual significance most of them have come up due to the spiritual presence of the divine or divine being. . one or two stories on how these temples came up is included to validate the significance of them .

·        Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple is a landmark vaishnavite temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in  Andhra Pradesh,  The Temple is dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, an incarnation of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind .  The myth has it that the lord froze himself i

·         SRI MANAkula VINAyAKA TEMPLE  PONDICHERRY

·        Hindu temple in the Union Territory of Puducherry, India. Dedicated to the god Ganesa,  The temple is of considerable antiquity and predates French occupation of the territory. During the tenure of Dupleix, there were attempts to destroy the temple but the idol on being thrown in the sea, kept re-appearing. , till the French turned believers and the temple became very famous.

Velankini church -----mother Mary appeared to an innocent cowherd and changed his life forever . where she appeared , stands a beautiful church in testimony and there is  belief that every illness is cured .

 We also trace the influence of food, by  not only invading countries like the French on Pondicherry, the Portuguese on Goa and Chennai,  British on a major part of India. The Greeks, the mughals, the Afghans, Turks, Persians are some to name., but  it was the ruling dynasties of India like Chola and Pandava, mauryan, gupta, Maratha, mughal, delhi sultanate, and various small kingdoms, which largely, influenced  food to a large extent. , especially offerings to the gods.

 We start our journey  in south india .The emphasis on the kind of food cooked here as offerings for festivals, celebrations and as Prasad.  

All these places boast of spiritual recipes, 1000 of years old and the Prasad and food was influenced by the rich heritage of kingdoms who ruled it be it the Pandavas , cholas., mauryas or hoysalas..Most of these places of worship date back to early 14^th century onwards. When food started being influenced to the spice trade and outside influences.  Now you can cook the very dishes you've wanted to have more of by following the recipes collected meticulously by the Budhirajas. , namboodiris , iyers and priests.The  Guruvayoor's unforgettable Pal Payasam - 800 litres of milk are cooked daily in a massive brass cauldron over a raging coconut husk fire to make this smoky delicacy in the temple. And of course, there's Kheer in leaf cups served as  prasad  in major temples.
Bhog / naivedyam ,introduces us to rarities such as the urundai koambu[ lentil ball kadi] served at the historic vaitheeswaran  temple tanjore, harbi or yam vegetable of the goddess, , acquires a different taste dimension (maybe because of the earthen pots in which it is cooked) in tamilnadu.
Palapayam (jackfruit) earns pride of place at the  temples,  in kerala and mangalore, where it's cooked with different ingredients depending on whether a payasam is being made or an uppari[sbzi]., and Guruvaryoor, where the Puzhukku, pepped up with kala chana, sendha namak and grated coconut, is served on plates made with supari (arecanut) leaves.
Even the stuffed matti gulla (small green brinjals) at Udupi are a heavenly treat blessed by Lord Krishna and the horseheaded deity, Hayagreeva. Temples worship the palate with the same love and care they dedicate to their divine charges.
Whenever one eats, the magnum laddus of Tirupati or the kadha prasad redolent of desi ghee at the bidar gurudwara or the pongal ,in dhonais[leaf cups] at manavinayakular temple, I have imagined a book being written somewhere about the holy morsels that live and breathe these immortal words of the Bhagavad Gita: "Saintly persons get relief from all kinds of sins by partaking of the food that has been first offered to gods as sacrifice.".
: Festive offerings to the gods” is like a chhappan bhog of visuals and words spread out by the holy priests, to  inveigle readers into the secrets of our divine kitchens - from tirupathi D to Guruvayoor, from udipi(historically famous for its aval linked with Sudama) to the meenakshi temple at Madurai,where the maha priest cooks, creators of the mahaprasad, are forbidden to cook in their own homes.

• The pleasure of the palate is taken seriously by our ancient temples and the book presents evidence of it in the form of dishes and recipes recorded . Unsurprisingly, temples associated with Lord Krishna, ganesh and devi  have the most sumptuous culinary traditions in the country, whiles shiva temples is simple, but the kadha prasad of Shri nank jira Sahib, whose recipe you'll find in the desserts,, and the divine offering ofvarious rices , rice kanji  and panchamridum  served at palani and other templesand holy places, are reminders of the delicious spreads which form offerings to the go