Simple Prasadam Recipes

Srila Prabhupada called the Hare Krishna movement "the kitchen religion." A devotee's cooking is simple, clean, and offered to Krishna, and it uses no meat, fish, eggs, onion, garlic, or mushrooms. These three recipes were the first ones every new bhakta learned in the temple. Each one feeds four. Read Kitchen Standards and how to offer the food before you begin.

Kichari

Rice and dal cooked together with vegetables. The staple of temple life, complete in itself, and forgiving of mistakes.

• 1 cup basmati or other rice
• ½ cup split mung dal (yellow), rinsed
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• ½ teaspoon turmeric, ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing), 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups mixed vegetables, cut small: potato, cauliflower, carrot, peas, or whatever you have
• 6 cups water
• Fresh coriander leaves and a squeeze of lemon to finish

1. Heat the ghee in a heavy pot. Add the cumin seeds and fry until they darken, then the ginger, then the asafetida and turmeric for a few seconds.
2. Add the vegetables and stir for two minutes so they take up the spices.
3. Add the rice, dal, salt, and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice and dal are soft and the kichari is thick and porridge-like. Add water if it dries out.
4. Stir in the coriander and lemon, offer, and serve with yogurt.

Halava

The sweet everyone associates with the Sunday feast: semolina toasted in ghee and cooked in sweet water. Srila Prabhupada cooked it himself for his first guests in New York.

• 1 cup coarse semolina (farina, sooji)
• ½ cup ghee
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2½ cups water
• A handful of raisins, a few cashews or almonds, and ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

1. Bring the water, sugar, and cardamom to a boil in one pan and keep it hot.
2. In a heavy pot, melt the ghee over medium heat and add the semolina and nuts. Stir constantly for 10 to 15 minutes until the semolina turns golden and smells nutty. Do not let it burn.
3. Lower the heat and pour in the hot syrup carefully; it will bubble violently. Add the raisins. Stir until the liquid is absorbed and the halava pulls away from the sides of the pot, about two minutes.
4. Cover and let it stand for five minutes, then fluff with a fork, offer, and serve warm.

Basic vegetable sabji

The method is what matters; use it with any vegetable. Cauliflower and potato is the classic.

• 2 tablespoons ghee or oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 small green chili, minced (optional)
• ½ teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon asafetida
• 1 small cauliflower in florets and 2 potatoes in cubes, or 5 cups of any vegetable
• 1 teaspoon salt, ½ cup water, fresh coriander

1. Heat the ghee. Add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop, then the cumin, ginger, and chili, then the ground spices for a few seconds.
2. Add the vegetables and salt and stir to coat. Add the water, cover, and cook on low heat until tender, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
3. Uncover to let any liquid cook off, finish with coriander, offer, and serve with rice or chapatis.

For the full art of devotional cooking, Yamuna devi's book Lord Krishna's Cuisine is the standard reference, and the Bangalore temple's kitchens publish many of their recipes online. As you gain confidence, remember the principle behind every dish: it is cooked for Krishna's pleasure, with a clean body, a clean kitchen, and the holy name on your lips.