During the festival of Janmashtami, people will prepare 56 special dishes and celebrate Lord Krishna’s affection for food and devotion to his believers. The tradition of food preparations relates back to the Braj that observed Lord Krishna lift the Govardhan Hill to shelter farmers from torrential rain down pours.
During this timeframe, Krishna would fast for 7 days and in devotion he would skip his 8 daily meals, refreshing mind and spirit to protect the villagers. Upon completion of the 7 days many villager made him a grand offering of 56 dishes as a symbol of appreciation 7 days multiplied by 8 meals a day.
The bounty of the 56 bhogs would include a wide range of sweets, savoury dishes, dairy items, fruits, nuts etc. Indian foods are bountiful and come in many different forms. Most of these recipes are hundreds of years old and handed down from grand mothers to mothers, and mothers to daughters.
Common savoury foods include khichdi, pakoras, kadhi, puris, chila, and tikkis. Each dish offer salty bits, spicy bits, and pleasing bits.
Common sweet dishes are kheer, rasgulla, laddus, malpua, rabri, ghevar (if you are in Rajasthan or Delhi). Each course contains significant amounts of milk, sugar, ghee, and of course, love.
Common dairy products made from Hooved animals would mainly include milk, yogurt, butter, cream, lassi, and mattha or salted yogurt drink. Commonly used condiments could include all types of chutneys, fennel paan and cardamom to help expedite digestion and enliven flavour.
Common fruits included mango, banana, grapes, and apple served fresh. Nuts included all types such as almonds, pistachios, and raisins. All fruits and nuts assist with nutrition, sustenance, and richness.
The final chore of paaniphalu is to arrange the dishes to look attractive. Sweets and savoury items go together, and colourful fruits are arranged in some symbolic pattern. The arrangement creates eye appeal and dishes display love in food presentation.
Preparing 56 bhogs requires teamwork and time. Families work together in the kitchen and recipes are passed down from grandparents to grandchildren. Some temples, like ISKCON Dwarka, start preparations ten days ahead of time. A kitchen team of volunteers assist in cooking, preparing, and serving the food offerings.
Crowd favourites are sweet rice kheer, laddus, pakoras and malpua. Flavours of saffron, cardamom, ghee and khoya represent India’s rich culinary traditions, and together they provide a variety of taste, texture and aroma.
Families can help by trying a few bhogs at home. Recipes such as kheer, laddus and mattha can be made relatively easily. Everyone can join the celebration in a meaningful way when you present food that is homemade.
Also Read: Healthy Foods For Men Over 40 To Stay Young
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