To taste or not to taste

We had a couple of people over for a festival and we were exchanging naivedyam. Theirs was a bit bland and ours was tasty as usual. Then the lady says she did not taste it while cooking as it is said that we should refrain from tasting the naivedyam before offering it to God. That pushed me to put this ranting on paper. One side of the coin is that as a cook your job is to know a person's taste without needing to taste the food while cooking and yet be sure of the perfectness of the food. It takes experience/practice/passion to do that. But for people who lack in this area, I think it is not wrong to taste it before offering to God. I do not support the notion that tasting a food before offering it to God contaminates the food in any way. For us or for our relatives, we sometimes taste it to check if it will satisfy us or our guests. I see no harm doing the same with naivedyam*. It depends on what one believes. As for me, I can tell if the flavours and spices are sufficient without tasting. But I do taste it to confirm that I'm right. It's no different than getting the right answer to a question :) Now you think I'm crazy....no problem :)

People, how can God be offended when you just want to make sure he/she gets tasty food? This

reminds me of the beautiful story about Sabari and Rama. Sabari tasted the fruits she from her basket and she offered to Lord Rama those she found sweet and ripe.Rama relished the fruits she offered with so much devotion; while partaking of them he said, "Mother! these fruits are as sweet as your own heart. Really, these are not fruits that grew on trees. These are the fruits that have grown on the tree of life, on the branches of the pure mind, in the sunshine of love. I am indeed debted in all manner of ways for you have offered me devotion that is pure, steady, and selfless and which is love springing from the heart and surging from it in all directions and towards all beings. You have not cast aspersions on anyone, even while dreaming ! That is what makes your mind so pure. Your mind does not blossom when good comes to you, nor does it wither when bad comes. You are blessed in all ways". Seeing Rama in this mood Lakshmana was happy beyond words, for Rama had not eaten fruits with joy since all these days Lakshmana had to persuade him to taste a few, with a good deal of parley, pleading and praying even after the fruits were peeled, cut and placed before Him. Rama was so afflicted by the separation from Sita. Inspite of all the efforts of Lakshmana, Rama would eat only half a fruit or so, never was Lakshmana satisfied with the quantity that his brother ate. Today, Sabari gave him the fruits which had dropped ripe from the trees, she used to dust them and clean them and keep them for him everyday and when Rama did not arrive, she consumed them herself as sacramental food, given to her by Rama himself! Day after day, she roamed the forest in search of sweet ones to be placed before Rama. Thus, daily the fruits were saturated with her love and devotion and the fruits became doubly desirable. Lakshmana noticed that this was the reason Rama was eating them with joy. He was filled with delight and he admired the devotion of Sabari that was so richly rewarded.

So if you are devoted to God, the little things like what you offer and how you offer will never matter.

patram pushpam phalam toyam

yo me bhaktya prayacchati

tad aham bhakty-upahritam

ashnami prayatatmanah

(If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.)

(Bhagavad Gita 9.26)

* Naivedyam is created by a process of giving and receiving between a devotee and God. It is any material thing we offer to God along with prayer and then distributed in the God's name. The Naivedyam has the deity's blessing residing within it.

Chocolate cake with coconut-date topping

Happy Birthday to dear Bharath ! Hope it surprises you.

Egg - Potato Gravy

Ingredients

Eggs - 3

Potatoes - 1 (large) cubed

Onion - 1/2 (large) chopped

Tomato - 1/2 (large) chopped

Mint leaves - 2 tbsp chopped

Tamarind paste - 3-4 tbsp

Jaggery/sugar - 2 tsp

Cilantro Leaves - handful

Oil

Salt

For masala

Onion - 1/2 (large)

Tomato - 1/2 (large)

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

coconut powder - 3-4 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Ginger-garlic Paste - 1 tbsp

Peanuts - 2 tbsp

Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp

Yoghurt - 1 tbsp

Steps

1. Hard boil eggs with some salt in a pot of water. Drain and cool them. and remove hard shell. Halve them and set aside.

2. Grind the masala ingredients into a fine paste.

3. Heat oil in a pot. Add mustard and cumin seeds. After they splutter, add the onions and salt and fry for few minutes. Now add the tomatoes and potatoes and fry them for a few minutes.

4. Add the masala and fry till the raw smell goes away. Now add the mint leaves, tamarind paste and water and cook till the potatoes are tender. Lastly add the jaggery/sugar and cilantro leaves. Turn off the heat.

5. Now add the eggs into the curry and rest for a while so that flavours seep into the eggs. Take care not to mix the curry too much after adding the eggs as it will disrupt the yolks.

6. Serve with white rice or biryani or rotis.

Meal Today: Coconut Rice and Egg-Potato Gravy

Tips

You can fry the whole eggs before adding them to the curry. Also, you can marinate the potatoes in the masala to make them taste better.

Rasmalai

Ingredients

(makes 10-12 pieces)

milk - 7 cups

sugar - 2 cups

water - 3 cups

lemon - 1

cardamom powder - 1/2 tbsp

Chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews)

saffron - few strands

Steps

For the syrup

1. Take a thick bottomed pot and boil 3 cups of milk on medium heat for about half an hour. The milk level should be slightly reduced by now.

2. In a bowl, add about 2 tsp of custard powder with a bit of milk/water and mix it into the pot. Take care that you do not add too much of custard powder and cardamom powder as the milk should not be too thick. The milk should be light yellow in colour. Keep stirring regularly so that the milk does not burn and stick to the bottom. Pour this in a bowl and cool.

For the patties

1. Boil 4 cups of milk in a pot. Squeeze out the lemon juice into a separate bowl.

2. Add the lemon juice to the milk and stir it continuously at the same time. The milk breaks and water will separate. Turn off the heat.

3. strain using a muslin or cotton cloth. Pour some cold water immediately over the paneer and squeeze it thoroughly. Hang the paneer in this cloth for atleast 40 minutesto get rid of the remaining water.

4. Now knead the paneer and make small patties out of it. Pat the edges as they tend to crack up.

For Rasmalai

1. In a pot,boil 3 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar. Add the paneer patties and boil for 5 minutes. They will swell up.

2. Put them into cold water for a minute or two to stop the cooking process.

3. Now transfer them into the cooled syrup and sprinkle the chopped nuts and saffron on it.

4. Let it rest in the fridge for atleast two hours before serving so that the syrup is absorbed into the rasmalai.

Tips

You can add powdered cashews and almonds to the milk (for the syrup) while boiling and strain it before adding the custard powder. This enhances the flavour further.

Rasmalai tastes very good when you rest it for a few hours after cooking. All the flavours get absorbed by then.

Coconut Rice / Kobbari annam

Ingredients

Grated raw coconut – 1 cup

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Rice - 2 cups

urad dal- 1 tbsp

Green chillies – 4

Ghee- 2 tablespoons

mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

curry leaves - 4-5

Cashew nuts - 6 (broken)

salt

oil

Steps

1. Cook the rice using three cups of water and one cup of coconut milk. Meanwhile, scrape the coconut and keep aside.

2. In a pan, heat some ghee and add the mustard, cumin seeds and curry leaves. After they splutter, add the green chillies, salt, urad dal and cashew nuts.

3. Now turn off the heat, add the coconut scrape and mix well.

3. Now add this to the rice and mix well. Serve with any curry.

Meal Today: Kobbari annam with Egg masala

Tips

You can avoid adding the scraped coconut if you do not like texture to your rice. Instead you can use coconut milk instead of water to boil the rice.

To extract coconut milk - Add hot water to grated coconut and rest it for half an hour. Grind it to a fine paste and strain into a bowl using a muslin or cotton cloth.

Repeat this process of grinding and straining once again.

You can add vegetables and cook this rice.

Ugadi Thali

Greenery in the neighbourhood, fresh blossoms everywhere, jasmines adorning every woman's hair, sparkly clean houses, entrances filled with vibrant rangolis, the aroma of poli and pulihora, the recital of Panchangasravanam can mean only one event - the festival UGADI

Ugadi is a Telugu festival marking the beginning of a new year. While it is called Ugadi in Andhra and Karnataka, it is Gudipadava in Maharashtra. Ugadi is celebrated on the Shukla Paksha of the first month (Chaitra Masam) in the first season of the year i.e. Spring (Vasanta Ritu). It is believed that the creator of the world Lord Brahma started creation on this day - "Chaitra Suddha Padhyami" or the Ugadi day.

Ugadi Pachadi and Poli (bobbattu) are a must on Ugadi. Mango pulihora provides a nice contrast to the poli. Vadalu are made for most festivals. Pappu, Potato talimpu and Poli charu are other mouthwatering dishes that accompany the rice. Finish it off with a glass of majjiga (lassi) to digest everything. Being well-fed, you will find sleep just around the corner and your bed inviting you.

Ugadi Meal : Ugadi pachadi, Poli, Mamidikaya pulihora, minapa vadalu, pappu, bangaladumpa kura, poli charu and majjiga

Ugadi Pachadi

"Ugadi Pachchadi" is a dish that is synonymous with Ugadi. It is traditionally made of shadruchulu (6 tastes) using jaggery from fresh crop of sugarcane, raw mango, neem flowers, chillies, salt and new tamarind. This dish signifies that life is a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow and they have to be treated alike.

Medicinally, Ugadi pachadi is a great cleanser. It acts as a prophylactic.

Ingredients

Raw mango - 1 cup (grated)

Jaggery powder - 1 tbsp

Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp

neem flowers - 1 tsp

Chilli/pepper powder - 1/4 tbsp

Salt

Steps

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl

Tips

You can add slices of fresh coconut.

If neem flowers are not available, you can use fenugreek powder.

If you like the pachadi to be runny, add some coconut or plain water.