Readers interested in the subject matter
of this book are invited by
the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to correspond with its Secretary.
International Society for Krishna Consciousness 3959 Landmark Street
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© 1973 the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
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Fourth Printing, 1973
International Standard Book Number: 0-912776-42-4 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73-83769
Printed in the United States of America
ALL GLORY TO SRI GURU AND GAURANGA
RECIPES FOR THE SATISFACTION
OF THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD
compiled by with an introduction by
KRSNA DEVI DASI and SAMA DEVI DASI His Holiness KIRTANANANDA SVAMI
THE BHAKTIVEDANTA BOOK TRUST
New York • Los Angeles • London • Bombay
Cover illustration: Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, enjoying lunch among His cowherd friends in the transcendental land of Vrndavana. This is an illustration from Teachings of Lord Caitanya by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Prasadam means mercy, and this Prasadam Cookbook is dedicated to the fountainhead of all mercy, the spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He is by nature kind to every living entity, but that ocean of mercy becomes fully visible in his devotees.
Srila Prabhupada has not given us some dry, canned philosophy to chew; he has given us the nectar for which we have sought so long: he has taught us how to render transcendental loving service to the Lord in all our daily activities. This book illustrates one of them.
The process of Krsna consciousness is usually described as one of singing, dancing and feasting. We have already demonstrated to the world how anyone can sing and dance to the holy names of God, Hare Krsna, and now, with the publication of this Prasadam Cookbook, we hope that the whole world will feast in honor of the Supreme Lord. That will make this world like Vrndavana, the transcendental abode of Krsna, where Krsna, Balarama and the monkeys visit every kitchen with thieving intent and bless the devotees with pure love of God.
FOREWORD 8 INTRODUCTION 10
I. BASIC COOKING INGREDIENTS 14 II. RICE 20 III. DAHL 24 IV. BREADS 28 V. VEGETABLES 32 VI. SAVORIES 42 VII. CHUTNEYS, RAITAS AND CURRIES 48 VIII. SWEETS AND MILK SWEETS 54 IX. BEVERAGES 66
INDEX 75
Almost six years ago, I published the first article
on Krsna cookery, entitled “Krsna Prasadam: Food
for the Body, Food for the Soul, and Food for God.”
Since I had just begun my life as a devotee, the
article revealed my intrigue with the idea of cooking
for God. Perhaps I was still rebelling against my
puritan background, in which God had been depict
ed as a stuffy old man who certainly needed nothing
like food. Actually, I still wonder at the idea of His
eating—but a little differently. Today I think of how
great God must be. On the one hand, He is sustain
ing all the planetary systems, men, animals and
whatever might be, and on the other, He becomes
“hungry” for the loving offering of a pure devotee:
” If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a
flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (Bhagavad
glta, 9.26) Within this simple promise to His friend
Arjuna, Krsna has given the rarest gem in all three
worlds—loving reciprocation with Godhead. Were I
not an individual, were God not an individual, and
were there not the possibility of loving exchange,
what would be the possibility of Absolute Pleasure?
Pleasure cannot exist in a void or vacuum, for it is
a product of activity; and the supreme activity is
the exchange of love between persons. Everyone
8 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
hankers for a lover. Then why should we settle for anyone less than the Supreme Lover, Krsna? Srila Prabhupada has given us the formula of how to attract Krsna. Krsna, being God, is not in need of anything. He is atmdrdma, or self-contained. But He is also the highest Pleasure Absolute, and for the purpose of pleasure He expands Himself by His pleasure potency into millions and billions of living beings who are all meant for His enjoyment. In the spiritual world such spiritual sparks of the Lord are eternally enjoying with the Lord, and their existence is called sac-cid-ananda-eternal, full of knowledge, and blissful. The living beings in this material world are also part of that pleasure potency, but due to forgetfulness of their relationship with Krsna, they are living independently, trying to lord it over the resources of material nature for their own pleasure. Such pleasure is only illusory, but the eternal plea sure resulting from loving communion with Krsna can at once be revived by the simple Krsna conscious process of dedicating all one’s activities to the en joyment of the Lord.
This transcendental cookbook is designed to help you transform one of the most important daily chores into a spiritual reservoir of bliss. You may
follow it in all or in part. The idea is to completely engage you in service to Krsna, and it is promised that if you agree to be thus engaged, you will also enjoy unlimitedly. If you cannot follow all the rules and regulations, follow what you can. At least one can prepare pure vegetarian foods with all care for cleanliness and then offer them simply with love and devotion. Even offering such foods with only the repetition of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is sufficient to render the highest benefit. The main point is to begin. Offer something nice to Krsna with love and devotion and see for yourself what happens. That is the miracle of prasadam!
THE YOGA DIET
Lord Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita that yoga is not for him who eats too much or for him who eats too little. Rather, one who is actually practicing yoga sees the body as a valuable boat which has to be maintained very nicely in order to get across this ocean of material existence which is full of birth, old age, disease and death. Therefore, the yoga diet is designed to supply the body with all necessary nutrients, without pandering to the whims of our
changing senses.The principle of regulation is strictly
adhered to, and the daily fare is almost unchanging.
This is very important for a brahmacari, or celibate
student, for if the tongue is agitated for sense en
joyment, all the other senses follow. We do not
suggest that you have to follow this diet, but it is in
cluded for those who desire to know it. The Sunday
feast is an opportunity for everyone to participate
in the opulence of Krsna. Again, the principle is
regulation, and the particular feast menu included
here is chosen for its authentic quality, all of the
preparations being great favorites of our beloved
spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakti
vedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Morning prasadam: raw chick-peas, ginger, fruit,
cereal and milk.
Noon prasadam: dahl, rice,chapatis and curried
vegetable.
Bedtime prasadam: milk.
The Sunday love feast: rice and peas, wet cauli
flower and potatoes, puris, samosa, halavah,
sweet rice, sweet balls, pineapple chutney
(sweet and hot), rhubarb chutney (salty and
hot) and dahi.
Kirtanananda Svami
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 9
Food for the Body, Food for the Soul, and Food for God
by Kirtanananda Svami
Prasadam means food for the body, food for the soul and food for God. More specifically, it is food which has been sanctified by special selection and preparation and then offered to Krsna, God, in love and devotion. Cooking for God? How absurd that sounds to the sophisticates of this modern age! How anthropomorphic! Even most transcendentalists will smile a smile of condescension at the suggestion: cooking for God! But why not? We cook for every conceivable nonsensical purpose. Why not cook instead for the Lord? Why shouldn’t this most important and central activity of life be dedicated to the Supreme? Why not cook transcendentally?
We are not so naive as to suggest that God needs our food, but we are suggesting that we need God to bless the energy of our hands and thus to sustain us by means of daily bread. He does this by accept ing and eating the food which we prepare and offer to Him, and then giving it back to us in the form of prasadam.
In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna says: “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it. O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.” (Bg. 9.26- 27) Of course, He doesn’t need food; He is supreme, absolute. He is full of all opulences, namely, wealth, fame, beauty, strength, knowledge and renunciation. He is never in need or want of anything. Still, He asks His devotee to offer Him these simple fruits
of the earth. The key word is devotion. Twice it is used: “If in full devotion a pure devotee offers a little leaf, a little flower, a little fruit with a little water, because he offers it with great devotion, the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts them and eats them.” So it is not as if the Lord were in need of something; He is fully satisfied in Himself. Indeed, He is everything. So whatever we are offering Him, be it a grain or a fruit, is already His; it is not, and never was, “ours.” But out of His causeless mercy, He is so kind to His devotees that any small offering given in devotion He accepts and eats. The Lord is not hungry for our food but for our hearts; He is not wanting for our substance but for our con sciousness, our love, our union.
This is why prasadam is “mercy.” In shopping, in preparation, in eating, we are given a chance to remain conscious of Him, to be engaged in His transcendental loving service. This is why the word bhakti, or devotion, is so stressed—it is this bhakti which makes the Supreme Lord “transcendentally hungry.” Even the greatest banquet cooked by the most renowned chef has no appeal to one who is not hungry; so, too, Krsna’s acceptance of our gifts is dependent upon His being “hungry,” and only our love and devotion can do that. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada writes: “The devotee is so humble and submissive to the Supreme Lord that whenever he prepares something for the Lord, he takes all care to finish the preparation nicely. And for such offering a devotee asks nothing.
10 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
It is the exchange of love. That love is accepted by the Supreme Lord, and He eats. . .Therefore, devo tional service is the only way to offer anything to the Supreme Lord, to understand the Supreme Lord, to be in the confidence of the Supreme Lord, and to go back to the supreme abode of the Supreme Lord.” Devotional service begins with the chanting of the Lord’s holy names, as in the maha-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. That is the first great activity of transcendental service, and the next is to prepare and offer food to the Lord. There are a number of reasons for doing so. First of all, Krsna commands it: “The devotees of the Lord are released from all sins be cause they eat food which is offered first for sacri fice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin. All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains come from performance of yajna [sacrifice], and sacrifice is born of man’s work.” (Bg. 3.13-14) Here, then, the Lord asserts that everything belongs to and comes from Him alone. It is already His, but He invites us to take it and offer it to Him first and then eat the remnants for our bodily demands.
Similarly, because everything belongs to Him, we have no right to take anything we please, but only what He allots us; and our allotment, accord ing to the Gita and the Vedas, is what can be offered to Him: a leaf, a fruit, etc. At no point does He
ask us to offer meat, or fish, or eggs; but, on the
contrary, the prohibition against animal slaughter
is so strong that even if one has only an indirect
dealing with animal slaughter, such as selling or
transporting meat, he is,guilty of murder and must
pay a murderer’s price. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 1.7.37)
Therefore, we cannot offer Lord Krsna animal
flesh, and to do so is an offense.
If I am preparing a dinner for my friend and I
know he does not like spinach, I do not fix spinach.
I go to all pains to prepare only those things which
he likes. That is the meaning of friendship. If one
has no regard for Krsna’s wishes, how can he claim
to be the Lord’s friend? If we want to cook nicely
for Krsna, we must dovetail our desires with His
desires, and that is clearly expressed in the above
quoted verses.
There is another reason why we must offer our
food to Krsna if we wish to make spiritual progress.
Not only are we thieves if we do not, but we be
come further implicated in the wheel of samsara
by sinful reactions. That every action has a reaction
is as true in regard to our personal behavior as in
the laboratory test tube. The slaying of life auto
matically provokes a like result upon the slayer,
and if I sustain myself on another’s life, at some
point my life will be demanded in return. That is
nature’s law.
This applies equally to those who take animal
life and to those who take plant life. Life is life,
and the slayer will be slain. Then what is the
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 11
difference? The difference is that Krsna says that
we may offer the leaves and flowers to Him, and by
accepting them (He also accepts all the sinful reac
tions, leaving the purified remnants, free from all
reactions, for our consumption. But those who eat
that which is not offered to Krsna, or that which
Krsna will not accept, are left with all the reactions
on their own heads. That is why the Lord says:
“The devotees of the Lord are released from all
sins because they eat food which is offered first for
sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal
sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.”
Of course, the devotee’s primary concern is not
for himself, nor even for liberation, but always for
Krsna. Therefore suitable foodstuffs—suitable, that
is, for Krsna—are the concern of the pure devotee:
vegetables should be fresh and appealing to the eye,
grains should be wholesome, fruits large and sweet,
and milk fresh and pure. Obviously, living under
the conditions of the modern metropolis, these are
often impossible to procure—at least on our bud
gets; but we must do the best we can. That is Krsna
consciousness.
No canned foods—please!
Having selected the items for preparation, our
next concern is cleanliness. Since it is the Supreme
for whom we are engaging our energy, we want to
be super-hygienic—not for ourselves, but for Him.
Wash your hands thoroughly as soon as you come
into the kitchen; wash the food as you prepare it;
12 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
use nothing that touches the floor or other con taminated areas, such as the sink and garbage pail, unless it can be cleansed. In all preparations, use only fresh things; no leftovers should be mixed in (they should not even be in the kitchen, but rather kept in a specific area of the dining room). Remem ber, we are cooking for the Supreme, and that which has been offered once should not be offered a second time. And, as good Vaisnavas (devotees), we refrain from using garlic, onion, mushroom, and from mixing salt with fresh milk (although there is no restriction with any other kind of milk culture).
Finally, and probably hardest for American cooks, don’t taste the food during preparation— not even to see if it is seasoned properly. I know that it is difficult, but it is worthwhile; we are cooking for Krsna, and He must be the first to relish it.
When the food is nicely prepared we offer it back to the Source from which everything emanates. If we remember that His “hunger” is proportional to our love, the offering is sure to be successful. Simply place love, and a generous portion of each item to be offered, on a plate or metal tray, along with a glass of fresh water, and set it before the Deity or picture of Krsna. Then prostrate yourself and pray to Lord Krsna to accept your humble offering. Acknowledging that it is through the mercy of the spiritual master and the golden incar nation Lord Caitanya that Krsna accepts our offer
ing, the devotees of the Krsna consciousness move ment offer food to the Lord with these prayers:
7) nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhutale srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate devam gaura-vanl-pracarine nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krsna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
“Our respectful obeisances unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvati Gosvami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.”
2) namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te krsnaya krsna-caitanya-namne gaura-tvise namah
“I offer m,y respectful obeisances unto the Su preme Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya, who is more mag nanimous than any other incarnation, even Krsna Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given—pure love of Krsna.”
3) namo brahmanya-devaya go brahmana hitaya ca jagadd-hitaya krsnaya govindaya namo namah
“I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme
Absolute Truth, Krsna, who is the well-wisher of
the cows and the brahmanas as well as the living
entities in general. I offer my repeated obeisances
to Govinda, who is the pleasure reservoir for all the
senses.”
After offering the food to the Lord, you may
distribute the prasadam to all who are present.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a great spiritual master
in the disciplic succession, has written a nice prayer
which you may recite before eating:
sarira avidya-jal, joraendriya tahe kal, five fele visaya
sagore, tar madhye jihvati, lobhamoy sadurmati,
thake jeta kothina samsare, krsna bora doyamoy,
koribare jihva joy, saprasad anna dilo bhai, sei
annamrta pao, radha-krsna-guna gao, preme dako
caitanya-nitai
“O Lord, this material body is a place of ignorance,
and the senses are a network of paths leading to
death. Somehow, we have fallen into this ocean of
material sense enjoyment, and of all the senses the
tongue is most voracious and uncontrollable; it is
very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world.
But You, dear Krsna, are very kind to us and have
given us such nice prasadam just to control the
tongue. So now we take that prasadam to our full
satisfaction and glorify You, Lord—Radha and
Krsna—and in love call for the help of Lord Caitanya
and Nityananda.”
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 13
CHAPTER I
In the Vedic scriptures it is stated that the
Supreme Lord has provided ample varieties of food stuffs for all living creatures and that one should
take only that which is allotted to him by the Lord, not more. For humanity the Lord has set aside
simple foods such as grains, vegetables, fruit and
milk products, and He has requested that we offer Him such pure and nourishing foods. In this way,
there are hundreds and thousands of palatable
dishes that may be prepared and then offered to
Lord Krsna.
Listed below are some of the ingredients most
commonly used in preparing Krsnaprasadam.
white flour (unbleached if available)
whole mung beans *
chick-pea flour, sometimes called besan
or gram flour *
whole chick-peas
yellow split peas
split, cleaned urad dahl * split, cleaned mung dahl * farina (cream of wheat) powdered milk
almonds (raw and shelled) walnuts (raw and shelled) peanuts (raw and shelled) sugar
white rice flour *
Most of these ingredients are readily available from regular grocery stores. The items marked with asterisks would more likely be found at
Chinese food stores or Indian specialty stores.
Spices determine the taste of a preparation, and they are the jewels of cooking for Krsna. Food stuffs are spiced in three different ways.
Massala is prepared by heating ghee in a pan, adding spices, and cooking them until they become fragrant; then the vegetable is added to the ghee and spices. Most of the vegetable recipes are cooked in massala. Chaunche is prepared by heat ing a small amount of ghee in a small pot. Spices are added and cooked until fragrant, and the con tents of the pot are added to an already cooked preparation, such as dahl or chutney. The third process is to add certain uncooked spices to a preparation. This is usually done in savories such as samosa or kachori filling because they will be deep-fried. Using uncooked spices keeps the taste fresher after the deep-frying. Adding or omitting a spice varies the taste quite a bit. Crushed or whole chilis or ground cayenne pepper have no taste; they provide the heat sensation. After preparing certain dishes several times, you will become familiar with the spices and be able to make up your own massala or chaunche.
Hot and spicy preparations should not be mixed with unspiced preparations. Salt should never be put into milk or butter. Salt may be added to yoghurt, however. Some spices are sweet, and some are pungent. For instance, luglu would never be made with asafoetida. In preparing pra sadam it is a good policy to stick to parampara (disciplic succession) and not experiment too much on one’s own.
The spices that are mentioned here also have a role other than taste. They serve certain functions
for maintaining good health. Turmeric is a blood purifier, chili peppers aid digestion, asafoetida is an anti-convulsant, ginger controls the intestines, etc. If possible, spices should be bought whole and ground at home in small quantities. The taste of freshly ground spices is incomparable.
Some of the common spices used in prasadam preparations are listed below:
ground allspice ground coriander asafoetida ground cumin seeds whole anise seed whole cumin seeds ground black pepper fresh ginger
whole caraway seeds ground ginger whole cardamom pods dried mango powder cayenne ground nutmeg crushed chilis whole peppercorn ground cinnamon rose water
whole cinnamon sticks saffron
ground cloves whole sesame seeds whole cloves ground turmeric Most of these spices are available at supermar kets and spice shops, but some will have to be purchased at Indian specialty stores. If there are none in your area, you can probably have these spices shipped to you. Asafoetida and mango powder will have to be purchased from a specialty store, and ginger root may only be available in a Chinese food store.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 15
There are a few basic recipes which are used over and over again in preparing food for Krsna’s pleasure. Yoghurt, curd, bean sprouts and such rare and costly ingredients as ghee may be simply and inexpensively prepared from the recipes given here. Generally we do not use commercially pre pared cheeses, buttermilk or sour cream because many commercial products contain a nonvegetari an stabilizer called rennet which is an extremely impure ingredient. Generally, sour cream and yoghurt marked “kosher” or “pareve” do not contain this, but it is always best to check care fully. Even if rennet is not listed on the label, it is a good idea to call the dairy company that makes the particular product and ask if rennet has been used. In any case, it is not difficult to make cottage cheese, cream cheese, yoghurt and other such preparations, and this is a good opportunity to render service to Krsna by cooking for Him with devotion.
16 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
BEAN SPROUTS
1 cup mung beans
Soak whole mung beans overnight in a sufficient amount of water to allow for expansion. Take a large 2 gallon glass jar and punch holes in the tin cover. Place beans in the jar and fill the jar with lukewarm water. Turn upside down and allow the water to escape by itself through the holes in the lid. When the beans have been “irrigated,” shake out excess water and place the jar in a dark warm place. Every four hours, irrigate them in the same way, each time returning them to a warm dark place. Leaving them overnight without irrigation will not harm them if you have tended them regu larly all day long. In two or three days they will be nice bean sprouts, like the ones sold in the store, but more flavorful and much cheaper. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for about a week and still retain their freshness.
COCONUT MILK
Coconut milk is prepared by adding ½ to 1 cup milk to ½ freshly grated coconut or ¼ cup com mercially grated coconut. Then heat to the boiling point and let sit for 20 minutes. Strain milk through cheesecloth to remove coconut pulp.
COTTAGE CHEESE (Panir)
Heat 1 pint milk in a saucepan. When it boils, add ½ teacupful of yoghurt which has been made a day or two in advance. Bring to the boiling point again. When solid lumps are formed, strain through a fine cloth. The whey (excess liquid) can be used in soups and breads. Press the cloth bag containing the panir with a heavy weight so as to squeeze out all whey.
Basic Massala
CREAM CHEESE
Allow fresh cream to sour at room temperature. This will take about 2 days. Pour the soured cream into a clean cheesecloth bag and let the liquid drain. Remove solid cream cheese from the bag.
CULTURED BUTTERMILK
3½ cups fresh or skim milk
½ cup buttermilk
Shake the whole milk and the buttermilk together in a quart jar or milk bottle. Cover the jar or bottle and set it in a warm place (perhaps near a hot water heater) overnight or for 10-12 hours. The temperature should be about 80-85° F. When milk has coagulated, shake or stir well and refrigerate.
CURD (A light natural cheese)
½ gallon whole milk
2 lemons
large square muslin (18″ x 18″)
Bring milk to a boil, being careful not to burn it. Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the lemons and strain it. When the milk boils, add the lemon juice. The milk will curdle. Remove it from the heat and cool it. Then again bring it to a boil. This will nicely separate the curds and the whey. Use the muslin square to line a colander, and pour curds and whey through it. Allow it to drain a few minutes, then tie up the curds in the muslin. Hang this bag up to drip, using a good heavy string. Different preparations using curd call for different amounts of dripping time. Curd is the basis of many different delicious preparations. It has no substitute.
GHEE
3 lbs. sweet butter, as fresh as possible
Used for deep-frying and regular cooking, ghee is the best cooking medium; it has the most delicate flavor and has no substitute.
Place the butter in a heavy pot. It is easiest if the liquid fills between ½—¾ of the pot when the butter has melted. Let the butter melt on a medi um flame until it begins to foam up. Take a large spoon and a bowl and skim the foam off into the bowl. Lower the heat and keep cooking. Gradually the butter will clarify and the solids will keep rising to the top. The solids will begin to be crusty rather than foamy. Be very careful not to burn the ghee. Keep skimming every 10 minutes or so until the ghee is an amber color and no more solids rise to the top. (Preparation time is from ½ to 2½ hours). The few impurities which remain at the bottom can be strained by pouring the ghee into a container through muslin. Ghee can be stored indefinitely without refrigeration. The solids can be used in making bread, biscuits, steamed vegetables and cereals.
BASIC MASSALA
Heat 1 T. ghee. Add 1 t. whole cumin seed. Brown cumin seed and 1 t. crushed chilis. Cook until brown.
GRAM MASSALA
1 T. cloves 2 T. cinnamon 1 T. ground coriander 1 T. ginger 1 T. nutmeg 2 T. ground cumin Mix together all spices.
There are many different mixtures of spices, and they are all called gram massala. You can purchase Indian spices at specialty stores. When you are familiar with the different spices, you can prepare your own.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 17
KHOYA
Boil milk fairly quickly in a pan for 1 hour, stirring continuously as it thickens. When cool, the residue is khoya, which becomes stiff and is used in pastry and sweetmeats. 1 pint milk makes about 3 oz. khoya. The cooking and stirring process takes patience and time.
SOUR MILK COTTAGE CHEESE
1 qt. raw milk
(sour or clabbered whole milk)
Heat milk over hot water until lukewarm. It should curdle and thicken. Remove it from the heat and stand it in a warm place for curd to collect. Pour cheese into cloth-lined strainer. Drain whey. (If milk was very sour, rinse with cold water and drain again). Hang until all whey is drained off. Moisten with cream or sour milk.
TAMARIND WATER
lump of tamarind
about the size of a walnut
5 oz. hot water
sugar or molasses
for sweet and sour sauce (optional)
Soak the tamarind in hot water. When the water is cool, squeeze and strain into a cup. This amount is equal in sourness to the juice of 2 lemons. To increase sour taste, increase amount of tamarind used. Tamarind can be bought at an Indian specialty store.
18 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Krsna is notorious as a transcendental butter thief because He used to break the butter pots of His mother and distribute the contents to His friends and playmates.
YOGHURT
one gallon whole fresh milk
1 pint prepared yoghurt (plain)
Bring milk to a full boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to burn it. Remove from fire and place in refrigerator or sink with cold water to cool. When milk has cooled to a little warmer than normal body temperature, stir yoghurt until very smooth—no lumps—and add to the milk. Stir and mix thoroughly. The yoghurt tends to stay on the bottom of the pot, so carefully stir the bottom. On your stove, pile 4 burner rings one on top of another and make sure they are very steady. Turn on the pilot light to medium, or use the smallest flame in the ring, and place the covered pot of milk and yoghurt on the burners. Leave covered and maintain the tem perature at approximately 110° (use a cooking thermometer), only until the yoghurt thickens. Place the yoghurt in a convenient container in the refrigerator until thoroughly cool. Do not put it in the freezer. When it is cold, it is yoghurt.
Take out 1 pint and set it aside for use in starting the next batch. You should make yoghurt about twice a week to be sure the culture doesn’t weaken. If one gallon is too much, then make ½ gallon and use ½ pint yoghurt for starter. Yo ghurt should be stirred very well before it is offered, and sugar should be added to sweeten it. There are many prasadam recipes requiring yo ghurt. Every month or so, or if the yoghurt starts turning out thin and watery, you should purchase fresh yoghurt at the store to use for starter.
Here a transcendental feast is offered to the Lord in ISKCON’s Hawaii temple on the Appearance Day of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
CHAPTER II
It is explained in the Upanisads that in order to live a life of peace and happiness and make progress in self-realization, one should live in a very simple and pure manner. One should know that because he is an eternal part and parcel of Krsna, Krsna will surely provide whatever he needs for his mainte nance and sustenance. Therefore one should be contented with the simple food which Lord Krsna has provided for human society, and he should not take more than that. Knowing that everything actually belongs to Krsna, the devotee first offers all his food to Krsna, and then he joyfully accepts the prasadam remnants as Krsna’s mercy.
In order to be accepted by Krsna, food need not be very opulent, but it should be offered to the Lord with love and devotion. In the Krsna Book Srila Prabhupada relates the story of a poor devotee who had nothing to offer the Lord but a few grains of the lowest grade of rice. But because of his sincere devotion, the Lord was so pleased by this offering that he turned the devotee’s small hut into a palace and granted him unlimited opulence. Srfla Prabhupada comments, “What the devotee
actually offers to the Lord is not needed by the Lord. He is self-sufficient. If the devotee offers something to the Lord, it acts for his own interest
because whatever a devotee offers comes back in quantity a million times greater. One does not become a loser by giving to the Lord, but he becomes a gainer by millions of times.”
Even plain steamed rice will be accepted by the Lord as a very opulent offering if it is offered with love and devotion. Rice is a very simple prepara tion, but to cook it nicely for Krsna requires practice. Each grain should be separate; it should be neither mushy nor hard. To cook plain rice, use two parts water for one part rice, bring it to a boil, cover it, lower the flame, and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. Rice should first be washed and rinsed several times, until the water becomes clearing The pot should be deep and the cover tight-fitting. Just before removing it from the fire, “flake” the rice gently with a fork.
Plain steamed rice can be made fancier by adding some peas in the last five minutes of cooking, and of course plain steamed rice can be offered with curry. Rice also combines with vegetables, nuts an curd in a very pleasing way. The most important consideration, however, is not the elaborateness of the preparation but the devotee’s sincere desire to please the senses of Lord Sri Krsna.
COPRA CANA
2 cups extra long grain rice
1 qt. thick coconut milk
10 whole cardamoms
10 whole cloves 2 cinnamon sticks ½ cup butter
½ t. turmeric
½ t. allspice
Cook rice as usual with ½ t. salt. Soak 1½ cups chick-peas for 3 hours and drain. Fry the beans in ¼ cup ghee until crisp. Then mix them with turmeric. Toss spices, lime juice and salt into cooked rice. Garnish with thin rounds of lime.
Lime Rice
Fry the spices in ghee for a few minutes. Then fry rice in this mixture for about 3 minutes. Add boil ing coconut milk to the depth of 2″ above the rice. Cover and let simmer. Do not stir this dish. It must be carefully folded with a fork about twice during cooking.
POTATO RICE
1 cup rice
1 cup cubed potatoes ¼ cup butter
½ t. cumin seeds
½ t. coriander seeds
1 t. turmeric
½ t. salt
¼ t. cayenne pepper 2 cups water
½ lemon
LEMON RICE
2 cups rice
¼ cup butter ½ t. cumin seeds
1 t. turmeric ½ t. salt
4 cups water
Fry rice and potato chunks in butter and spices. Add water to cover and cook until tender. Add the juice of ½ lemon for each cup of rice.
PULAO
½ t. coriander seeds
2 lemons
2 cups rice
1 t. ground cumin seed
Fry rice, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric and salt in butter. Add water. When done, after about 20 minutes, add the juice of a lemon to each cup of rice.
10 oz. peas
1½ cups butter 4 cups water
1 t. salt
1 t. gram massala
1/8 t. cayenne
1/8 t. ginger
1/8 t. black pepper 1/8 t. turmeric
LIME RICE
1½ cups chick-peas 2 cups rice
1 T. turmeric
1 fresh lime
¼ cup ghee
½ cup fresh lime juice ½ t. salt
1 t. ginger
½ t. cayenne
Saute rice in 1 cup butter. Set ½ cup butter and peas aside. Add all other ingredients to rice and cook until done. Cook peas in butter separately and add when done.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 21
PUSHPANA WITH CASEIN 2 cups rice
2 or 3 lemons
1 qt. fresh milk
ghee for frying
massala
1½ t. cinnamon ½ t. ginger
½ t. nutmeg
pinch black pepper pinch cloves
a layer of peppers, a layer of zucchini and one tomato cut into chunks. Sprinkle with paprika and toss to marble the colors. Finish all ingredients in this manner. Top with melted sweet butter.
RED RICE
3 T. butter 1 t. turmeric 4 cups water
¼ cup sugar
¼ t. asafoetida a little corn starch
2 cups rice
1 t.. gram massala ¼ cup sweet butter
1 sliced green pepper 1 cup stewed tomatoes water
Casein:
for hands
Wash rice. Heat 1 t. massala in butter. Add a sliced
Prepare curd (see recipe, p. 17).Let hang 6-8 hours. Remove from muslin and knead on a smooth sur face until curd is smooth and oily. Pinch off bits of curd and roll into little balls. Use corn starch on hands to prevent sticking. Deep-fry balls in ghee using medium-low heat until golden. Stir for even
green pepper and saute until tender. Add rice and cook until it begins to color or stick to the pan. Add tomatoes and enough water to rise 1 ” above the rice. Bring to the boiling point. Simmer until quiet and liquid is absorbed.
RICE WITH PEAS
frying. Remove and drain.
Rice:
Make massala. Add rice, turmeric, asafoetida and water. Cook until done. Then add cheese balls, butter, spices and sugar.
4 T. ghee
½ T. cumin seed
1½ t. crushed chilis
½ t. ground black pepper 1 cup white rice
½ T. turmeric 1 T. salt
½ Ib. peas
1¾ cups water
RAINBOW RICE
2 cups rice
1 t. salt
slivered green peppers 2 zucchini’s
4 cups water
ghee
2 t. turmeric
1 tomato
¼ cup sweet butter 1 t. gram massala
Heat ghee and add cumin seed. When it browns add crushed chilis and black pepper. Add washed, drained white rice and stir. Add salt and turmeric. When rice sticks a little to the side of the pan, add peas. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and lower flame. Wait 15-20 minutes and check to see
Steam rice, adding salt. Saute one green pepper in ghee and massala. Fry zucchini’s in ghee and flavor with turmeric. In serving bowl, place a layer of rice,
22 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
if rice is done. Do not stir until after rice is cooked. Casein may be added to rice about 5 minutes before it is done. A very nice rice dish—colorful for feasts and very tasty.
RICE WITH PEAS AND PEANUTS
a high flame, cover and turn heat very low. Cook
1½ T. ghee
½ T. crushed chilis ½ t. ground black pepper
¼ cup raw peanuts
1¼ cups washed long grain rice
½ t. salt
1/3 Ib. peas
2 1/8 cups water
about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, wash spinach very carefully and drain. After rice has cooked 12 min utes, add spinach and coriander. Do not stir. Cook another 5 minutes and test by sticking fork into rice to see if it is done. Uncover and cook another 2
Put the ghee in a saucepan and heat it on a medium or low flame. Add crushed chilis. When they turn black, add black pepper. Add peanuts and stir until peanuts are golden brown. Add washed, drained rice and continue to stir until rice sticks a little to the bottom and sides of the pot. Add salt and peas.
minutes to dry out rice. Fluff with a fork, distri buting spinach throughout. Add peanuts and stir lightly again.
SPICY RICE
basic massala
Stir a little more and then add water. Bring to a boil on medium-high flame, cover and turn heat very low. Cook 15-20 minutes covered—do not stir. After 15-20 minutes check the rice by sticking a spoon down into it. Do not stir. If it is still wet,
2 cups rice
4 cups water
½ of a cardamom pod pinch of cloves
1/3 cup butter
½ t. nutmeg 1 t. cinnamon 1 t. ginger
1 T. ghee
Rice with Peas and Peanuts
cover and continue cooking. It is done when dry. Fluff a little with a fork.
RICE WITH SPINACH
Prepare basic massala in 1 T. ghee. Add rice and stir until rice is brown. Add water, bring to a boil, then cover rice and cook until done (about 20 minutes). Add all the spices and butter. Stir gently.
1½ T. ghee
¼T. crushed chilis ½ t. ground black pepper
1¼ cups washed long
½ t. salt
2 1/8 cups water ½ Ib. spinach (fresh) 1 t. ground coriander ½ cup fried peanuts
YELLOW RICE 2 cups white rice 4 cups water
1 t. salt
1 t. turmeric sweet butter
grain rice
(drained)
Wash rice and drain. Measure water into a pot along
Put the ghee in a saucepan and heat it on a medium flame. Add crushed chilis. When they turn black, add black pepper and rice. Stir until rice begins to stick to pan. Add salt and water. Bring to a boil on
with the salt, turmeric and rice. Stir nicely and cover tightly. Cook over a low flame for 20 min utes. Garnish with sweet butter to taste.
CHAPTER III
Bhagavad-glta explains that in order to achieve self-realization and God realization, one should be temperate in his activities of eating, sleeping, work ing and recreation. “There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogi,” Lord Krsna says, “if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.” (Bg. 6.16) It is not that one should artificially try to eat less than one needs, but eating should be regulated for the purpose of spiritual progress.
Modern so-called civilized men are addicted to eating meat, which they accompany with liquor to help aid their digestion. This meat and liquor agitates them, and they cannot control their senses. Thus they become trapped in nature’s modes of passion and ignorance and behave more like animals than civilized men.
Therefore, one should not eat anything and everything but should eat only food which is offered to the Lord. As explained in Bhagavad-gita, when offered to the Lord one’s eatables are sancti fied, and by eating sanctified foodstuffs, one’s very
existence becomes purified; by the purification of existence, finer tissues in the memory become sanctified, and when memory is sanctified, one can
think of the path of liberation, and all these combined together lead to Krsna consciousness, the great necessity of present-day society.
There is no need for human beings to resort to eating meat, fish or eggs to get protein because there is ample protein available through split peas, nuts, dahl, whole wheat, etc. The main source of protein in the daily Krsna consciousness yoga diet is dahl, which is made from different types of dried beans. Most varieties are easily available in Indian specialty stores, the most delicious being split mung dahl and split urad dahl. Ordinary split peas or whole mung beans may also be used. Dahl can be a very plain but wholesome soup, or it can be used to make the most delicate and unusual pancakes. It is also used in kachoris, which are the best of all savories and a favorite of Srimati Radharani, Krsna’s eternal consort.
Chick peas (garbanzo beans) are usually offered in the morning and may be prepared as follows. Soak the chick-peas overnight (½ cup is sufficient for a family of four). In the morning, drain them well and sprinkle over them the juice of ½ lemon. Add ½ t. salt, a light sprinkling of black pepper and a pinch of asafoetida. Offered with small pieces of ginger, they are a wonderful source of energy.
BASIC SPLIT PEA DAHL 1 cup split peas
5 cups water
juice from 1 lemon ghee for deep frying
½ t. turmeric ¼ t. cayenne
1 red pepper
1 cup variety cut vegetables
2 T. ghee
1 t. salt
2 t. turmeric ½ t. cumin seeds
Soak chick-peas overnight. Drain very well. Fry pea nuts and chick-peas until golden brown (separately). Combine all spices with lemon juice and pour over fried chick-peas and peanuts. Mix well.
Chick-peas and Yoghurt
Wash peas and place in a saucepan with water, tur meric and salt. Bring to a boil. Add vegetables. Reduce heat and simmer until dahl is a smooth soup (about 1 hour). In a small pan heat ghee until smoking. Add cumin seeds and cook untiI black. Add the broken red pepper and cook until black.
CHICK-PEAS & YOGHURT 1½ cups chick-peas
2 cups yoghurt
¼ t. ground red
pepper
1 T. salt
½ t. ground black pepper
Pour contents in a fell swoop into the dahl and cover quickly to avoid splashing.
CHICK-PEAS (Garbanzo Beans)
Wash chick-peas thoroughly. Soak 8 hours or over night in 4 to 5 cups water. When ready to prepare, use same water and bringto a boil. Cover chick-peas and simmer until they are tender and can be easily
2 cups chick-peas 8 cups water
1 red pepper
½ cup freshly grated coconut
juice of 1 lemon ¼ cup ghee
1 T. salt
1 t. turmeric
1 t. cumin
mashed. Test by mashing one between the fingers. Drain off water and mash well; then add yoghurt, salt and pepper. Mix well.
DOSA PANCAKES
Soak peas overnight. Bring peas and water to a boil. Add salt and turmeric. Simmer gently until tender. Add lemon juice and coconut. Prepare chaunche as with BASIC SPLIT PEA DAHL*.
1 cup raw white rice ½ cup urad or mung dahl (split)
½ cup yoghurt
water
2 t. salt
¼ t. cayenne
Serve with CUDDY SAUCE*. CHICK-PEAS & PEANUTS
Soak the dahl and rice overnight. Drain. Blend in an electric blender, adding salt and cayenne with just enough water to help blending process. Pour into a
1 cup chick-peas 1½ cups raw peanuts
2 t. salt
bowl and add the yoghurt. Mix well. The batter should be like any pancake batter. Lightly grease a skillet. Pour batter into nice circles. The bottom is
*These recipes are elsewhere in this book and may be found in the Index. The Hare Krsna Cookbook 25
done while the top is still bubbling. Turn over and brown other side. This may be served plain, or best, with tender potatoes fried in spices with a little water. It can be served with potatoes and cabbages.
½ cauliflower or cabbage 2 cups string beans 1 small potato
¼ cup butter
5 cups water
1″ piece of fresh ginger 1 t. anise seed
½ t. asafoetida
2 t. ground cumin
FRIED DAHL
1½ cups split peas 1 crushed red pepper
¼ cup ghee
½ t. gram massala 1 t. cumin seeds ¼ t. ginger
Wash rice and dahl very thoroughly. Place in large sized pot with tight cover and add water. Bring to a boil. Add salt and spices. Cut cauliflower in large flowerettes, or cut cabbage in large pieces. Cut potato in 1½” chunks; remove strings from
Wash and soak peas in water overnight. Drain. Heat ghee and make massala. Add peas and fry slowly for 20-25 minutes or until tender and spices have been absorbed. These are not crispy. Spice now with gram massala and ginger.
HARD DAHL
string beans and snap into 2″ pieces. Add vege tables immediately or after kith has been sim mering on a medium flame, covered for ½ hour, for more crisp vegetables. Stir once or twice, but not too often. Frequent stirring makes the kith too mushy. Cook on low-medium flame until it is well cooked and the vegetables are very tender. Add
1 Ib. yellow split peas (or any other dahl) 1 t. red pepper
1 t. cumin
1 t. cinnamon 1 t. ginger
butter and stir lightly. Offer to Krsna. MUNG BEAN DAHL
3 cups ghee
½ t. salt
¼ t. black pepper
½ t. nutmeg
¼ t. ground cloves
1 cup mung beans 6 cups water
½ t. finely chopped
3 T, ghee
1 t. salt
1 t. turmeric
Soak peas overnight and drain. Heat ghee and slow ly pour in peas and fry slowly until hard. Drain off excess ghee. Then add remaining spices. Stir well
fresh ginger
1 large fresh sliced tomato
½ t.. cumin seed 1 t.. red pepper
and serve.
KITRI
1 cup rice
1 cup urad or mung dahl or split peas
26 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
1 T. salt
1 t. turmeric
2 crushed red peppers
Wash beans and put into a saucepan with water. Add tomato, ginger, turmeric and salt. Bring to a boil. Turn to a low boil and cook until the beans are soft and broken up. Spice as with basic split pea dahl.
SPLIT PEA BARA
2 cups yellow split peas (green if not available) 2 cups yoghurt
ghee for frying
1½ cups water
¼-½ cup salt
2 T. sage
1 T. ground cumin 1 T. turmeric
½ t. cayenne
1½ t. salt
¼ t. allspice
URAD DAHL
1 cup urad
dahl
½ sliced tomato 6 cups water
1 t. salt
optional chaunche
¼ t. anise seed 1 t. turmeric ¼ t. asafoetida 1″ piece fresh ginger
¼ t. cinnamon
1 T. ground coriander
½ t. asafoetida
Wash dahl and put dahl, tomato and water into sauce pan. Bring to a boil and add all other ingredients.
Wash split peas well. Soak 2 hours and then drain. Grind in a food grinder into a pan. Place another pan under grinder to catch excess water. Grind a second time. Discard excess water. Add spices to
Cook on a high flame for five minutes; then cover and simmer until beans are soft and expanded.
URAD DAHL BARA
Urad Dahl Bara
ground peas and mix until well-blended. Heat ghee in a deep fryer (about 1/3 full).
In another pot make a solution of salt and water—2 handfuls of salt to 6 cups of water. Shape ground peas into flat cakes the size of a half dollar.
1 cup urad dahl (split) 2 cups yoghurt
ghee for deep frying ¼ cup water
½ t. cinnamon
1½ t. salt
1 t. cumin ½ t. allspice 1 t. cayenne
It is helpful to put a little salt water in the palm of the hand while patting the split peas into baras. Place a layer of baras in the frying basket and deep fry until hard, but not brown. Put the fried baras in the salt water solution and soak until they are
slightly soft. Remove them and mix the baras in with the yoghurt. Before offering, place baras and yoghurt in oven for 10 minutes under low heat. Yoghurt will separate and the nice flavor is increased.
Soak dahl overnight. Drain, then grind in a blender, adding a little water (no more than ¼ cup) to a paste. Beat the paste a little. Heat the ghee. Make a mix ture of salt and water—a handful of salt to 3 cups water. Wet your palms with the salt water mixture and pat the paste into little cakes no bigger than half dollars. Fry the baras in the ghee on a medium flame until golden brown. Drain. Soak the baras in the salt water mixture about five minutes and then remove them and squeeze them so that the water is removed. Beat the yoghurt and spices together with salt. Pour the yoghurt over the baras. These are more delicate than split pea baras.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 27
CHAPTER IV
Although it is very good to pray to the Lord to
supply our daily bread and in this way acknowledge our dependence on the Lord, to ask the Lord for
bread is actually unnecessary, since He is already
supplying food for all living entities, without our
needing to pray for it. Knowing this, pure devotees, not concerned with their own self-interest, prefer
to bake bread for the Lord’s enjoyment and offer it to Him in love. This is just like the love of a child
for his father. A father may have many sons and
give them all a weekly allowance of money to
spend in their own ways for their pleasure, but if
one son uses the money to buy something for his
father, the father is very much appreciative.
Actually the money already belongs to the father,
who is not in need of anything from the child, but
nevertheless he cannot help being pleased when the son expresses his affection in this way. The son
knows: “It is not the money which is wonderful
but my father—he is wonderful.” Similarly, the
pure devotee is not very much concerned with making the Lord his order supplier for daily bread, but he wants to serve Krsna in love and devotion. This is Krsna consciousness.
The breads described here are very delicious as well as wholesome, and they are easy to prepare with a little practice. None of them are cooked in an oven, although regular baked bread (without yeast) is very nice to offer. All the breads described here (except bread sticks) are round and require a little skill in rolling, but it soon becomes easy to do. Chapatis, which are made from whole wheat, are the daily bread of the classical Vedic diet. Puris and chapatis are especially exciting to make be cause they blow up almost to bursting during the cooking. The perfect chapati should have no trace of burns on it, and the perfect puri should be white, with no brown areas. Both, however, must be fully cooked.
BREAD STICKS
2 cups whole wheat flour ½ cup white flour
1 t. salt
1½ T. sesame seeds or caraway seeds ghee for deep-frying
CHAPATIS
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup melted butter
warm water
Mix together flour and water. Add water gradually
Chapatis
Mix together flours, salt and seeds. Add ghee solids and mix with hands until flour is the con sistency of coarse corn meal. Add enough warm water to make a soft and damp dough (but not wet). Add water gradually to avoid using too much. Knead the dough until done for 5 to 10 minutes. Divide it into 12 parts. Roll the bits of dough into long shapes, no longer than 5″ long and 1″-1½” in diameter. Deep fry the bread sticks, several at a time. They should be covered as much as possible by the ghee. Deep fry on a medium flame until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove with tongs and drain. Delicious buttered or plain, they are very good for traveling and will keep nicely for 2 to 3 days. They also make elegant rolls.
until dough is soft but not wet and can be kneaded. Knead the dough until fairly soft (about 10 min utes). Cover and let stand 1 hour. Sprinkle flour on the rolling area and pinch off balls of dough about 1½ inches in diameter. Flatten balls and roll out to about 4-5″ in diameter. Heat a skillet (you should have one just for this purpose; always keep it clean and free from oil or ghee—cast iron is best) and place the chapati on it. Watch carefully. When bubbles appear, turn chapati quickly and watch for bubbles again. Using tongs, hold the chapati over a direct flame from the stove. You can rest the chapati on the burner, but be very quick to turn it. Place the chapati down on the first side that it was cooked on in the skillet. Within a few seconds the chapati will puff up. Quickly turn it over, put on the burner a few seconds, and then remove. Butter both sides with the melted butter, using a pastry brush. Cover the chapatis with a clean cloth to keep in the heat.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 29
CHEPURIS
1 cup whole wheat flour (or ½ cup whole wheat flour, ½ cup white flour)
½ t. salt
water
ghee for deep
PARATHA
1½ cups whole wheat flour ½ cup white flour
water
¼ cup ghee or melted butter
2 T. ghee solids, ghee or butter frying Prepare dough as for PURIS*, and then fry in the same way. Chepuris are very delicious and tasty be cause they combine the wholesome taste of chapatis with the delicacy of puri’s.
CHIPS
Work butter or ghee into flour with fingertips. Add enough water to make a medium-soft consistency. Cover and let stand for one-half hour. Knead for about 10 minutes. Make large balls, 2″ in diameter, using ½ cup flour for each paratha, and roll out about 8″ round so it’s nice and thick. Spread top with melted butter and fold in half. Smear with
2 cups white flour
2 T. caraway or sesame seeds ½ T. coarse salt
3½ T. ghee solids
½ t. baking powder scant ¾ cup cold water
ghee for deep-frying
butter and fold into quarters (¼ pie shape). Roll out Place in a medium hot skillet, turning frequently. With each turn, add a spoonful of ghee on the sur face and rub lightly with the spoon. Press the edges
Mix together flour, seeds, salt and baking powder. Add ghee solids, mixing with hands until flour is corn meal consistency. Slowly add cold water, mix ing constantly. Knead dough, then roll out to ¼” thickness. Cut into diamond shapes and deep-fry until golden brown.
COCONUT BREAD
occasionally to insure doneness. Cook until it turns reddish and is crispy.
STUFFED PARATHA
Prepare regular paratha, but before folding, add 1 T. grated radish, cauliflower, or green pepper with a sprinkle of salt and ground coriander. These are very delicious and can be offered in an assortment
½ cup whole wheat flour 1 cup grated coconut 3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
pinch coriander few drops rose water
to Krsna. PARATHA II
Mix ingredients with enough cold water to make a soft dough. Pat into dollar-size patties and fry in
1 cup whole wheat flour water
a few tablespoons of butter or ghee
ghee until crisp and light brown. 30 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Mix water into the flour, stir a little, and then press or knead lightly again. Make a 2″ ball from the dough and then roll out a round paratha about 1/3″
Puris
to ½” thick. Place a little ghee in a heavy round bottom pan (or Indian tala). Put the paratha down on one side into the pan; in a short while it will puff up. Turn it over and cook the paratha in a small amount of butter or ghee until both sides are a light brown. A few turnings on each side should be sufficient.
STUFFED PARATHA II
Roll out paratha in the same way. On one paratha place a few teaspoonsful of vegetables (raw spinach, grated white radish, grated cauliflower, grated carrot, mashed potatoes, etc.) and sprinkle vege tables with a little gram massala and salt. Place another paratha on top, and then roll them together to seal. Roll very carefully. Cook them the same as regular parathas. Offer hot.
PURIS
Place puri in hot ghee. Push it to the bottom and bathe it in ghee. It will rise up and puff up, like a balloon. Turn over quickly; remove with tongs. To drain them nicely, prepare in advance a cardboard box lined with paper toweling. Stand puris up in long lines to drain. Puris are traditionally served plain, but they may be sprinkled with con fectioner’s sugar or spread with chopped walnuts, raisins and honey. They are delicious served with fruit chutneys or with WET POTATOES AND CAULIFLOWER*.
SOPAI PILLAS
4 cups white flour 2 T. ghee
2 t. black pepper milk
3 T. sugar ghee for frying Work ghee into sifted dry ingredients with finger tips. Add enough milk to make a firm dough. Cover and let dough stand for 30 to 40 minutes. Then roll
2 cups white flour 2½ T. ghee or ghee solids
little over ½ cup water ghee for deep-frying
out to a ¼” thickness. Cut into diamonds and deep fry in ghee.
Add ghee solids to flour and mix with hands until flour is consistency of coarse corn meal. Add water a little at a time; keep mixing. Knead dough about 10 to 15 minutes. Cover with a dampened cloth and let sit about ½ hour. For rolling, rub a little ghee on a table top and onto rolling pin. Pinch off bits of dough into balls 1½” in diameter. Roll into round, flat, thin puris. It takes a little practice to get them perfectly round.
WHOLE WHEAT DIAMONDS
2 cups whole wheat flour 1 T. coriander ¼ cup ghee water
1 cup powdered sugar ghee for deep-frying Mix coriander into the wheat flour. Rub in ghee with fingertips. Add the powdered sugar and enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll out ¼” thick and cut into diamonds. Fry in ghee.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 31
CHAPTER V
In Bhagavad-glta Lord Krsna declares, “I enter
into each planet, and by My energy they stay in
orbit. I become the moon and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables.” (Bg. 15.13) SriIa
Prabhupada further explains: “It is due to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead that the moon
nourishes all vegetables. Due to the moon’s
influence, the vegetables become delicious. Without the moonshine, the vegetables can neither grow nor taste succulent. Human society is working, living
comfortably and enjoying food due to the supply from the Supreme Lord. Otherwise, mankind could not survive. Everything becomes palatable by the
agency of the Supreme Lord, through the influence of the moon.”
Most vegetables in season can be offered to
Krsna. From the recipes in this section you will see
how you can transform simple vegetables into classic, flavorful dishes. The potato is called the “king” of vegetables because it can be prepared in many delicious ways. Eggplant and cauliflower, being great favorites, are also an integral part of the Vedic diet, as are okra, string beans and peas. Onions, garlic and mushrooms are considered un clean vegetables and are therefore never offered to Krsna. Vegetables can be prepared with spices or steamed in a small amount of water with butter ad ded at the end. Fresh lemon squeezed on plain vegetables prepared by steaming is very delicious, and the correct amount of salt brings out the wonderful natural flavor of any vegetable. Each recipe calls for fresh vegetables. One should not offer Lord Krsna canned vegetables and fruits. However, frozen vegetables may be used, since they retain their freshness.
BEAN SPROUTS
6 cups bean sprouts (fresh) 2 T. ghee
½ t. ground ginger ¾ t. salt
CAULIFLOWER
3 medium cauliflowers, grated or chopped very small
7 T. ghee 1½ T. salt
¼ t. asafoetida
¼ t. ground coriander
Heat ghee on a medium flame. Add the cauliflower,
Heat the ghee and add all spices except salt. Fry spices 2 minutes and then add well-drained bean sprouts. Fry bean sprouts, constantly turning, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until sprouts become translucent and slightly soft. Add salt; fry and mix for 2 minutes more. This is nice as an accompaniment to a green vegetable and TOMATO RICE*.
stirring until vegetable becomes clear and slightly tender. Add salt. Stir a few minutes more, being careful not to brown the cauliflower. Do not over cook or the vegetable will become watery. This is very simple, but very delicious and unusual.
CHINESE PEA PODS
(sometimes called snow peas or sugar peas)
Cabbage
CABBAGE
2 medium heads cabbage 8 T. ghee
1 t. cayenne 1 t. turmeric
½ Ib. pea pods 2 T. ghee
¼ t. ginger
¼ t. asafoetida ½ t. salt
1 T. salt
Core cabbages. Chop into tiny pieces. In a large frying pan heat the ghee, adding the cayenne and turmeric. Stir, then add the cabbage. Fry on medium flame until cabbage becomes clear. Add salt. Stir and cook another few minutes. The cab bage should be neither browned nor watery; it should be slightly crisp.
Heat ghee. Add spices except salt. Fry spices 2 minutes and add pea pods. (The stems of the pods should be removed as you would for string beans). Fry the pods 5 minutes and then add salt. Fry another 5 minutes until pods are just tender. This green vegetable is very delicious and delicate. Be very careful not to burn.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 33
CHINESE PEA PODS AND GREEN PEAS
CUCUMBERS
½ Ib. pea pods
1 lb. green peas
¼ cup fried peanuts (opt.) ½ cup diced pineapple
¼ t. ginger
½ t. coriander ½ t. salt
½ t. ground black
2 cucumbers
1 small piece fresh ginger
¼ t. salt
½ t. black pepper pulp from 2 lemons or limes
4 T. ghee
¼ t. asafoetida
pepper
Cut cucumber into tiny pieces. Grind ginger and citrus pulp. Add salt and pepper. Serve cold. Very
Remove the stems of the pea pods, and wash and drain well. Heat the ghee and add all the spices ex cept the salt and coriander. Add the pods, and fry for 5 minutes stirring constantly, but gently. Add the salt. Fry another 5 minutes. Add the peas, and stir all together. Cover the pan and let the peas gently steam until they are almost tender. Add pineapple, peanuts, and coriander; stir and cover.
cooling in summer.
EGGPLANT BHARATA 1 eggplant
2 small green chilis, saute’ed
small piece fresh ginger 2 T. butter
¼ cup shredded coconut ¼ cup golden raisins ½ t. ground coriander ½ t. salt
When peas are just tender, uncover and cook one minute more.
DRY CAULIFLOWER AND POTATOES
1 cauliflower 1 t. turmeric 4 potatoes 1 t. salt
massala
Wash and cube potatoes. Wash cauliflower and break into small flowerettes. Make massala. Add vegetables, salt and turmeric. Cover with water and cook over medium heat covered until dry.
34 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Boil eggplant with stalk. Remove from water when tender. Peel, remove the stalk, and mash the pulp. Heat butter, add the pulp, raisins, chilis, salt, finely chopped ginger. Keep frying for 5 minutes. Add shredded coconut and coriander and remove from fire.
EGGPLANT FAVORITE
1 eggplant, cubed 1 cup chopped green massala beans ghee 2 sliced tomatoes Heat ghee in a pan and make massala. Add eggplant and green beans with a little ghee and cook until soft in covered pan. Add tomatoes. On a high flame, cook and stir until wetness has evaporated.
EGGPLANT PUKI
1 medium eggplant 3 T. salt
3 T. turmeric ½ cup ghee Cut the eggplant in quarters. (It is best to use an eggplant that doesn’t have a long neck. A short, squat eggplant works best.) After the eggplant is
EGGPLANT AND TOMATOES 1 eggplant
ghee for frying
3 cubed tomatoes
½ t. cumin powder
¼ t. cayenne
2 t. turmeric
1 t. salt
1 green pepper
¼ cup golden raisins 1/8 t. asafoetida
quartered, cut in thick slices. You should have 12
Wash and chop the
green pepper, then saute in
to 14 thick slices. Mix the salt and turmeric to gether and place in a flat plate. Heat the ghee in a frying pan. The ghee should cover about ½ inch of the pan. Dip each slice of eggplant in salt-turmeric mixture (the slices should be thoroughly dry) and rub the mixture on the slice as a coating. Fry the pieces in the pan of ghee on a medium-high flame, turning as necessary. Hold a small sharp knife over a piece of eggplant puki and let it drop. If it falls
ghee until tender. Drain and set aside. Cube egg plant and fry in ghee until done. Drain and set aside. Put a little ghee in a pan. Cook tomatoes, spices, green peppers and raisins for 5 minutes, then add eggplant and cook an additional 5 minutes, uncovered.
EGGPLANT, TOMATOES AND CHICK-PEAS
straight through, hitting the bottom of the pan, and the eggplant is as soft as butter, it’s ready to offer. If there is excess ghee, strain it through a piece of muslin and pour it on plain rice. The
1½ Ib. tomatoes 4 medium eggplants ½ cup chick-peas ½ cup ghee
1 t. turmeric
½ t. crushed chilis pinch asafoetida
muslin will remove the salt and turmeric.
Although Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He appeared in this world as a cowherd boy to enjoy transcendental pastimes as the son of Nanda Maharaja and His wife Yasoda in the land of Vrndavana.
Soak chick-peas overnight. Boil until tender, drain and set aside. They may be mashed. Cut tomatoes into quarters and cook until they are almost all liquid. As they cook, cut eggplant into thin wedges. Heat the ghee and add chilis. When chilis are brown, stir in asafoetida and turmeric. Add eggplant and fry, stirring constantly. When eggplant is soft and coated with spices, add chick-peas and tomatoes. Cook covered, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender and mixture thickens. This is delicious with rice and lemon.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 35
EGGPLANT AND ZUCCHINI
1 eggplant ¼ cup ghee solids 2 Ib. zucchini 1 t. salt
1 t. cumin seed ½ t. turmeric ½ t. crushed chilis
Wash and cut vegetables into 1″ chunks. Make basic massala. Add vegetables and spices and stir. Cook covered on medium heat, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes, lower heat and continue cooking until vegetables are done. Then remove cover and let excess water steam off.
KOFTA (for 6)
Balls
2 med. heads cauliflower 2 potatoes
1½ t. turmeric
1½ t. salt
Sauce
10 tomatoes
½ t. whole cumin seed ½ t. crushed chilis
½ t. whole coriander seed ¼ t. asafoetida
about ½ cup chick-pea flour
pinch asafoetida
ghee for deep frying
¼ t. ground ginger 1 t. salt
2 bay leaves
½ t. oregano
2 T. ghee
GREEN PEPPERS
2 T. ghee
6 chopped green peppers ¼ cup chick-pea flour ½ cup grated coconut
½ t. coriander ½ t. turmeric salt
Grate the cauliflower and potatoes together. Drain excess water. Add all the spices and enough chick pea flour to hold ingredients together in 1″ balls. Deep-fry the kafta balls in medium hot ghee. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
Simmer peppers in ghee until tender. Drain. Mix in other ingredients and fry for 5 minutes.
GREEN VEGETABLES BHAJI
2 bunches spinach 1½ t. salt
Sauce: dry roast the cumin seeds and add chilis. Brown chilis and add asafoetida and ginger. Chop 3 tomatoes and add. Simmer 10 minutes on a low heat. Meanwhile, blend 7 tomatoes and add to sauce with bay leaves and oregano. Cook slowly for
Kofta
1 bunch turnip leaves 1 bunch white radish leaves
2 T. ghee
1 T. coriander
¼ t. cayenne
1 small piece ginger
½ hour to one hour. Tomato sauce can be begun first and balls can be fried during the simmering time. When tomato sauce is ready to offer, add the kofta balls. Serve with melted butter and LEMON
Wash vegetables. Remove the hard stems and cut roughly. Heat 2 T. ghee. Add spices and vegetables and stir well. Cook, uncovered, on low flame until all water is evaporated. Stir again. Add butter.
36 The Hare Krjna Cookbook
RICE* and CHEPURIS*.
OKRA AND COCONUT 1 T. ghee
¼ Ib. okra (halved long way)
½ t. salt
½ t. ground turmeric
¼ cup coconut ½ t. ginger
1½ cups yoghurt ¼ t. cayenne
½ t. coriander
PEAS AND CASHEWS 2 Ib. peas
½ cup raw cashews 4 T. ghee
pinch asafoetida 1 t. salt
½ t. cayenne
½ t. ground black pepper
1 T. ground coriander ½ t. cinnamon
Heat ghee. Add halved okra. Fry 5 minutes, then add salt, turmeric and ginger. Fry until done. Com
¼ t. turmeric
½ t. allspice
bine yoghurt, cayenne, coriander and coconut. Toss with okra.
PEAS AND TOMATOES WITH CASEIN (serves 4-6) curd from ½ gallon of milk 1 t. cayenne
Heat the ghee in a frying pan. Add a pinch of asafoetida. Add cashews and cook until light golden brown, add peas and stir lightly. Add salt and spices one at a time and stir until all are well mixed. Cook until peas are tender.
½ Ib. tomatoes
6 T. ghee
1 t. turmeric
1 t. ginger
2 t. ground coriander
1 Ib. peas
1½ t. salt
1 cup whey (save from curd)
ghee for deep frying
POTATOES AND PEPPERS 2 Ib. potatoes, diced ¼ cup ghee
1 t. basic massala
1 green pepper 1 t. turmeric 1 t. salt
Let curd hang 3-4 hours and reserve 1 cup whey. Make casein balls, (see p. 22) Set aside. In a frying pan heat ghee and add all the spices except salt. Heat for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes. When the tomatoes cook down a little, add the peas and whey and salt. Lower flame and cook until peas are tender. Add the fried casein balls and simmer about 15 minutes. This is a very rich and tangy vegetable, especially good for festive celebrations.
Make basic massala and add green pepper. Add potatoes. Stir. Add turmeric and salt. Cover with water and cook uncovered until done.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 37
MASHED POTATOES AND CABBAGE 4 potatoes ½ t. anise seeds
DEEP-FRIED POTATOES (serves 6) 5 Ib. potatoes, cut in one 2 T. ghee
1 t. turmeric juice of 1 lemon 1 large cabbage ¼ cup brown sugar ½ cup ghee 1 cup yoghurt basic massala
inch cubes
ghee
1 cup chopped green pepper (opt.)
1 t. cumin seed 1 t. crushed chilis pinch asafoetida salt
Wash vegetables. Boil peeled potatoes in turmeric water. Mash. Make basic massala. Fry shredded cabbage in ghee with anise. Sprinkle with lemon juice and sugar. Add to potatoes. Add yoghurt and mix.
POTATOES, CAULIFLOWER AND PEAS
4 potatoes ghee
1 t. turmeric 2 t. salt
1 cup green peas ¼ t. cayenne
Using frying basket, deep-fry potatoes in ghee until potatoes are light golden color and are easily pierced with a sharp knife. Do not brown. When they are all done, heat 2 T. ghee in a small pot. Add cumin seed and heat until brown. Then add asafoe tida and chilis. When chilis are brown, add ghee and spices to potatoes and salt well. Add green peppers and mix.
POTATOES AND YOGHURT
1 cauliflower ½ t. cumin powder Boil all vegetables. Mash into a paste. Add spices and make into patties. Fry in pan until crust is
2 Ib. potatoes 2 cups yoghurt 1 t. salt
1 t. turmeric
1 t. ground cumin
formed. Turn often and add more ghee as necessary.
POTATOES, CAULIFLOWER IN YOGHURT
1 small cauliflower 1 T. turmeric 4 potatoes ½ t. ginger
ghee 1½ t. salt
1 cup yoghurt
Break washed cauliflower into flowerettes. Wash and slice potatoes. Deep-fry both in ghee until golden. Drain. Toss into spiced yoghurt.
38 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Wash and cut potatoes in half. Boil in a pot with water. When done, drain, mash and add spices. Add yoghurt and mix well.
Potatoes, Cauliflower and Peas
SPINACH IN COCONUT MILK
1 cup dried grated 2 Ib. spinach coconut 1 t. lemon juice 1 cup milk ½ t. pepper
Combine coconut and milk in a saucepan. When it boils, remove from heat and discard pulp. Wash spinach and drain well. Chop. Combine spinach, lemon juice, pepper and coconut milk in a sauce pan. Cook covered over low heat for 20 minutes.
SPINACH, EGGPLANT AND CHICK-PEAS
massala ½ cup chick-peas 2 bunches spinach 1 T. turmeric 5 large tomatoes 1 T. salt
1 eggplant ½ cup melted butter Soak chick-peas overnight. Drain and set aside. Stew tomatoes in simmering water until soft. Drain off excess water and mash. Set aside. Wash and chop spinach and eggplant. Make massala. Add eggplant, tomatoes, chick-peas, spinach and spices. Cook over medium heat until done. Add butter.
STRING BEANS (serves 4-6)
2 Ib. string beans ½ t. black pepper ¼ cup ghee solids 1 T. ground coriander juice of 1½ lemons ½ cup fried peanuts (strained) (opt.)
1½ t. salt
Wash string beans well. Break off both ends and remove strings. Put them in a saucepan and put one inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Place on medium flame. When water begins to boil, cover and lower flame slightly. Steam string beans until they are tender. Check frequently to see that water does not evaporate. Add a little more water if necessary. When string beans are done, drain them. Keep the water, as it is very nutritious and flavor ful, to use in rice or dahl. Add the ghee solids. When they melt, add salt and spices and lemon. Mix very well. Add peanuts.
STRING BEANS AND EGGPLANT
1 eggplant, chopped ½ t. salt
½ Ib. string beans ½ t. turmeric ¼ cup ghee 1/3 cup water 1 t. cumin massala
¼ chili, crushed
Boil string beans in water until soft. Drain and set aside. Put ghee in a pan and make massala. Add chopped eggplant and stir. Add water and other spices. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the eggplant is soft as butter. Mix in the string beans. Cook five minutes uncovered.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 39
SWEET POTATOES (serves 6) 2½ Ib. sweet potatoes (or yams)
1 cup grated coconut ½ stick butter (2 oz.) 1 t. ground black pepper
½ t. cinnamon 1 t. ground cumin ½ T. salt
¼ t. cayenne
½ t. allspice
UPMA
1½ cups farina (cream of wheat)
1½ cups diced string beans, peas and cabbage 2 t. salt
½ t. cumin powder 1 broken chili
2 cups water
¼ cup butter
Cut yams in halves or quarters if large. Boil until soft. Peel and mash. Toast coconut. Add butter, coconut, salt and spices to yams. Mix well.
TOMATOES AND PLANTAINS (serves 6)
8 plantains, peeled and 2 t. salt
Put farina into a dry skillet and stir briskly and continuously over medium flame until browned. When nicely browned, remove from fire and pour into a bowl. Heat butter. Make massala. Add vegetable. Let cook for a few minutes. Then add 2 cups water. Let it come to a boil and cook until
cut in 1 inch chunks 8 large tomatoes
6 T. ghee
1 t. cumin seed
½ t. crushed chilis
ghee for deep frying 1 T. amchur (mango powder)
1½ T. ground coriander
the vegetable is done. Add 2 t. salt. Add farina, stirring as you put it in. It will soak up water quickly and is done in no time. It has the con sistency of dry halavah.
Cut tomatoes in quarters or eighths. Boil plantains in water until they are bright yellow and slightly tender. Test by piercing with a sharp knife. Drain plantains. Heat ghee for deep frying and deep fry plantains until they are golden brown. Remove. Heat 6 T. ghee and add cumin seeds. When cumin
UPMA II (serves 4)
4 T. ghee
½ cup peas
2 med. green peppers (cut in small pieces)
1 small cauliflower or cab
1 cup farina (cream of wheat)
strained juice of
lemon
2 T. butter
browns, add crushed chili peppers. When chilis are brown, add tomatoes. Cook until soft and semi liquid. Add plantains, salt and spices and keep cooking until tomatoes form a nice sauce and plantains are tender. Cover and cook on a low flame, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or burning.
40 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
bage (cut in small pieces) ½ t. turmeric 2 t. salt pinch asafoetida ½ t. cayenne pepper
Put the ghee in a deep pot and heat it well. Add the chopped cauliflower or cabbage until it becomes clear and slightly soft. Add green pepper and saute about 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Add water, peas and spices and bring to a fast boil; then turn
the heat slightly down and cook several minutes
WET CAULIFLOWER AND POTATOES (serves 6-8)
until vegetables are tender. Add farina by pouring it slowly with one hand and stirring with the other to avoid lumps. (The farina should be dry roasted beforehand.) Add the lemon juice and butter. Stir very firmly until upma is perfectly blended and not mushy—about 5 minutes. This is very tasty and easy
3 Ib. potatoes, cut in 1 inch cubes
2 small-med. cauliflowers, cut in small flowerettes 1 T. salt
¼ cup yoghurt
1 T. turmeric
3 T. ghee
1 t. cumin seed 1 t. crushed chilis pinch asafoetida
to prepare.
WET CAULIFLOWER 4 med. cauliflowers 7 T. ghee
2 t. turmeric
1 t. crushed chilis
1½ T. salt
2 T. butter or ghee solids
water to cover
Deep fry potatoes and cauliflower in deep fryer until tender, but still white. Keep putting fried vegetables in a separate large pot until all vegetables are done. In a separate pot, make massala (asafoe tida, cumin seed, chilis and ghee). Fill the pot with water sufficient to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil on a high flame, then add salt, turmeric and
Cut cauliflower in flowerettes. In large frying pan heat ghee and add crushed chilis. When chilis brown, add turmeric, stir, and add cauliflower. Saute cauliflower 5 or 10 minutes and add enough water to cook the cauliflower. Cover and salt. Cook covered, stirring occasionally until tender. Add butter. The juice is delicious poured over plain rice.
When Krsna’s cowherd friends came to beg food from some brahmanas who were per forming Vedic rituals, the brahmanas refused them, but the wives of the brahmanas, out of spontaneous affection, immediately went out into the forest to offer a nice feast to Krsna and His brother Balarama.
yoghurt. Add vegetables, bring to a boil and turn off flame.
note: Split pea baras may be added to this vege table preparation. The fried baras should be first soaked in salt water, then added to the cooked vegetables to soak up the juice. The baras do not have to soak in yoghurt for this preparation.
ZUCCHINI AND PEPPERS
2 Ib. zucchini ¼ cup ghee
2 green peppers ½ t. turmeric massala ¼ t. salt
Fry washed and sliced zucchini and peppers in massala and ghee. Add salt and turmeric.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 41
CHAPTER VI
The preparation of savories shows the sophistica
tion of prasadam cooking. The great spiritual
masters in Krsna consciousness recommend that
one should not be attached to material sense
enjoyment, but one should accept everything
enjoyable which is in relationship to Krsna.
For example, eating is necessary, and we want
some palatable dishes to satisfy our sense of taste. Therefore, for the satisfaction of Krsna rather than for the satisfaction of the tongue, some palatable
dishes may be prepared and offered to Krsna. This is renunciation. Let the palatable dishes be pre
pared! However, unless they are offered to Krsna
one should not eat them. This vow of rejecting
anything which is not offered to Krsna is actually
renunciation, but it is not dry and artificial renun ciation, for by such Krsna conscious renunciation one is fully able to satisfy the demands of the senses
For an impersonalist, the Lord, or the Absolute, being impersonal, cannot eat. Therefore an imper sonalist artificially tries to avoid good eatables. But a devotee, knowing that Krsna is the supreme enjoyer and that He eats all that is offered to Him in devotion, offers good eatables to the Lord and then enjoys the prasadam remnants. The devotee takes prasadam in Krsna consciousness, whereas the nondevotee rejects it as material. The imper sonalist, therefore, cannot enjoy life due to his artificial renunciation, whereas the devotee enjoys full bliss in relationship with Krsna.
CHUDY NOODLES 1 cup chick-pea flour 1 t. turmeric
1 t. salt
1 t. cayenne pepper ghee for deep frying
water to make a soft dough. Prepare chudy noodles using enough flour to yield 2 cups. If possible, use a ricer with small holes to make long, thin noodles. Set aside.
Chudy Noodles
Mix together flour, spices and a few tablespoons hot water to make a firm dough. This should not be like a batter, but it should be wet enough to squeeze through a ricer. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, and meanwhile heat the ghee in a deep pot. When the ghee is almost smoking, place a nice amount of dough in the ricer, and squeeze it through into the ghee. In a minute the noodles will be done; they will have a brown color. Do not fry too long because they keep cooking when removed from the ghee. These are very crunchy and spicy and delicious. They are very nice with puffed rice, fried peanuts and golden raisins, all combined, or they can be mixed with hard dahl.
MUNG BEAN KACHORIS
Now,with the white flour dough, make a ball about one inch in diameter. Push your finger into the ball to make a depression about 3/8 inch deep. Make a ball from the chick-pea flour dough a bit bigger than a pea. Place the chick-pea ball inside the depression in the white flour dough, and then pinch the white dough together, completely enclosing the chick-pea ball. Again roll the ball lightly in your hands so that it is evenly round. Now, very care fully roll a nice-sized puri from the ball. (Be very careful that nothing is stuck on the rolling pin or on the rolling surface to break the puri.)
Heat the peanut oil (oil is used for this preparation so that the puri will be very hard and crisp rather than tender) and fry the puris. Fry until they puff up. Then continue to fry until the puris are very
2 cups white flour
1 cup chick-pea flour 1 t. salt
1 t. cayenne pepper
peanut oil for deep frying 4 medium potatoes
2 cups chudy noodles tamarind sauce
gram massala
1 cup yoghurt
¼ cup mung beans
hard and crispy.
Before you begin the frying process, boil the pota toes, peel them, and dice them in 1 inch cubes. Boil the mung beans until they are soft, but not mushy or broken. Set both aside. Prepare tamarind sauce and add 2 T. salt. Set aside. Begin fry
Make a soft dough with sufficient water using the white flour. Do not put any butter or ghee in the dough. Mix the chick-pea flour with the salt and cayenne, and dry roast the chick-pea flour in a pan until nicely browned. Mix the chick-pea flour with
ing the puris. When they are all done, in the center break a hole about 2″ in diameter in the crispy, puffed-up puri, and drop a few pieces of boiled potato inside. On top of the potatoes, put some mung beans, then a big spoonful of yoghurt,
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 43
on top of the yoghurt put some chudy noodles, and then sprinkle gram massala. Finally, put a generous amount of tamarind sauce on top of all the layers. Prepare all the kachoris in this way, and offer. This preparation is described as being so delicious that it appears that kachoris are from the upper plane tary systems.
PAKORA
batter:
no bigger than 2″ long and they should be thin. Dip vegetables into batter and deep fry until golden. Remove and drain. The little fried batter drips can be removed and saved for salad or peas and peanuts.
POPPERS
Poppers are not prepared, but they are bought at Indian specialty stores. They are round, incredibly thin and crisp crackers. They come in a variety of brands and spice mixtures. The two best brands are
1 cup chick-pea flour 1 t. ground cumin seed 1 t. turmeric
1½ t. ground coriander ½ t. each—allspice & cinnamon
¾ t. salt
½ t. crushed chilis ¾ t. baking powder little less than 1 cup water
ghee for deep frying
Ambi’s or Bedekar’s. The three main flavors are: red chili (hot), black pepper (tasty but not hot), and plain.
The poppers should not be offered uncooked. They are fried in this way: heat ghee in a large frying pan. It isn’t necessary to fill the pan; 1/3 full is
Sift chick-pea flour. Add all spices, salt and baking powder. Mix with hands until blended. Add water a little at a time to avoid lumps. Heat ghee for deep frying.
plain pakora:
Pour a small amount (about 1 T.) into hot ghee. It will puff up and become similar to a ball. Turn over and brown. Tap with a spoon—if it sounds hollow it’s done. Remove with a skimmer and drain on paper toweling. Fry several at a time.
filled pakora:
Filling: thin-sliced eggplant wedges or strips, small cauliflower flowerettes, green pepper strips, aspara gus tips, parsley sprigs, thin rounds of zucchini or cucumber, carrot rounds or strips. Pieces should be
44 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
plenty. When ghee is very hot, place a popper in the pan. In a matter of seconds it will expand sideways and become light in color. Immediately remove with tongs and stand sideways in a pot lined with paper toweling. Drain very well. These fry very quickly, so don’t allow the popper to curl up. These are very delicious and delicate and go very well with rice and peas, or potato preparations. Before offering them, be sure that they are placed so as not to absorb any juices and become soggy. The poppers are prepared from different flours made from beans.
Pakora
POTATO KACHORIS Filling I:
2 medium potatoes ½ cup peas
½ t. turmeric
1 t. whole cumin seeds ½ t. crushed chilis 1″ piece ginger root, cut in small pieces Filling II:
pinch asafoetida
½ t. salt
¼ t. each of cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg
1 t. ground coriander 5 T. ghee
cauliflower. Fry cauliflower until it is as soft as butter. Mash, then add potatoes. Fry as for I, mash ing and adding spices. Mix thoroughly and mash well when done.
To stuff: Pinch off 1″ balls of dough and roll out to 2½” circles. Place 1 t. or more of filling on one side and fold in half, making a half-circle shape. Using a tiny bit of water, seal very well. Fry in medium hot ghee until done. Kachoris fry about the same assamosa. Test by noting the golden brown
All ingredients the same but omit the peas, add ¼ of one medium cauliflower cut in tiny pieces. Dough:
1¼ cups white flour ghee for frying ¾ cup whole wheat flour water
ghee solids or butter
Prepare dough as for puris, soft but not wet. Knead well, cover with dampened cloth and set aside. Cut potatoes in large chunks and boil until cooked but not very soft. Drain, peel and set aside.
Filling I: Heat ghee and add ginger. Fry until ginger browns, then remove ginger and add cumin seed. Brown and add asafoetida and chilis. Brown chilis and add all spices except salt. Heat spices thor oughly and add potatoes. Fry potatoes, mashing slightly as they cook, and then add peas and salt. Fry five minutes more and then mash thoroughly.
Filling II: Heat ghee and add ginger. When brown, remove and add cumin seed. When cumin seed is brown, add asafoetida and chilis. Brown and add
color and a hollow sound when tapped.
PUFFED RICE (for 4-6)
8 cups puffed rice salt
1 cucumber peeled, cut in black pepper very thin slices 3/8 cup butter
Heat butter until melted. Soak cucumber in salted water for ten minutes. Then drain very well. When the butter is cool, pour over puffed rice and mix in well. Sprinkle salt and pepper and mix in with dry cucumbers. If it is too dry, add a little more melted butter.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 45
RADHABALLABHA KACHORIS
Be very careful not to break the surfaces. If neces
ghee for deep frying 1 cup of cleaned, split urad dahl
2 cups white flour salt
cayenne pepper asafoetida
2 T. freshly ground anise seed
butter or ghee solids
sary, pat them out by hand. Deep-fry the kachori in fairly hot ghee as you would a puri. Stand up kachoris on paper toweling to drain. Before offering them, refry very quickly, but do not brown.
This preparation is one of Srimati Radharani’s
Wash urad dahl thoroughly. Soak in water overnight. Drain, leaving a tiny bit of water. In a blender, grind urad dahl until it is a smooth paste, adding a little more water if necessary. The paste should be very thick. Set aside. Add anise seed to paste. Using white flour, butter or ghee solids and water, make a soft dough, like puri dough. (Not wet.) Let the
favorites and is always prepared for Her appearance day. There is nothing in the material world to com pare with the flavor of Radhaballabha Kachoris.
SAMOSA—30 flaky, delicious samosas
Filling:
dough sit for one hour under a dampened cloth. Meanwhile prepare three very small bowls in the following manner:
1. Put in a mixture of 1 T. water and ½ t. asafoetida. 2. Put plain salt in the second.
3. Put cayenne pepper in the third.
Pinch off balls of dough one inch in diameter. Roll them out into circles of 2½ inches in diameter. Pinch off a ball of kachori paste about one inch in diameter; dip into each of bowls in succession, and place in the center of the circle of kachori dough.
1 small cauliflower ½ Ib. peas
1/8 cup ghee
½ T. cumin seed ¼ t. asafoetida ½ t. ground ginger ½ T. salt
Dough:
2 cups white flour little over ½ cup warm water
1 t. cayenne pepper ¼ t. allspice
¼ t. cinnamon
¼ T. ground cumin seed
½ T. ground coriander
4 T. ghee solids or ghee
ghee for deep-frying
Samosa
Gather up the dough around the paste as you would gather a paper bag. Make sure all the urad dahl is covered, and seal the top edge very well using a little water. Flatten the sealed kachori with a roll ing pin, and then roll gently as you would a puri or chapati.
46 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Cut cauliflower in tiny pieces. Heat ghee and add cumin seed. When they brown, add asafoetida. Fry cauliflower in ghee and spices on medi um flame until cauliflower is tender but not browned. Add peas and cook until peas are tender.
Add salt and all other spices. Cook until vegetable is very soft and can be mashed easily and then continue until the paste is quite dry and a little dark in color.
Dough:
Cut ghee solids or butter into the white flour. Mix together with hands until it is the consistency of
URAD DAHL KACHORIS ½ cup urad dahl
1½ cups white flour or 1 cup white flour and ½ cup wheat flour
5-6 T. ghee solids or butter
water
½ t. salt
1 t. cayenne
¼ t. asafoetida
ghee for deep frying
coarse corn meal. Slowly add warm water. Mix very well and then knead until dough is completely soft — about 10 minutes. Pinch off balls about an inch in diameter. Roll out in circles 3/2-4″ in diameter. Cut in half. Place half circles across the left hand with rounded edge towards fingers. On straight edge put a thin line of water with finger. Pull top corner down, twisting over slightly until you have a cone. Press firmly on the seam to seal. Fill 2/3 of the cone with filling and then seal the top edge, first moistening the two sides with a little water. Pinch, twist and fold the sealed edge in successive folds to form a fluted top. Each samosa should have 10-12 little pressed-down folds. The final objective is to have a uniform triangular or fan shaped samosa. They must be well sealed so that they will not break open during the deep frying. Heat ghee for deep-frying. Fry samosas till golden and flaky. Test for doneness by tapping lightly with tongs or spoon. If it sounds hollow, it is done. This is the most delicious pastry ever made. (See illustrated diagram.)
Soak urad dahl for 5-6 hours. Drain, and crush the beans. Heat 2 T. ghee in a frying pan, and fry the urad dahl with salt, cayenne and asafoetida. Fry for 10 minutes, then add a little more ghee to make the filling smoother. Prepare a very soft dough from the flour and ghee solids or butter. Add a little water and when the dough is well-kneaded, make small balls, ½” in diameter, and stuff in the same way as potato kachoris. Roll out the kachoris like pun’s, using a rolling pin rubbed with ghee, and the rolling surface rubbed with ghee. The puri should be carefully rolled so as not to break, and should only be 1½-2½” in diameter. Heat the ghee for deep frying. Fry until they puff up, remove from the ghee and drain, and when they cool off, deep fry in ghee a second time. If you like you can wait until a few minutes before offering to re-fry. These are very similar to Radhaballabha Kachoris.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 47
CHAPTER VII
Chutneys and raitas are accompaniments or side
dishes served with rice, vegetables, bread and
savories. Generally, chutneys are made with fruits
and are hot and sweet. Raitas usually consist of a
vegetable prepared with yoghurt and salt; they are
similar to salads and are simple to prepare.
With a little experience, it is easy to determine
which chutney or raita will be most palatable with
each offering. For instance, peach chutney is very
tasty with cauliflower pakora, and cucumber raita
goes well with steamed rice, plain cuddy and plain
pakora. Tomato chutney is excellent with potato
kachoris, Radhaballabha kachoris, samosas, baras
and so on. Raitas and chutneys should also be
chosen for their colors and arranged very nicely on
the offering plate.
As it is said, “Variety is the spice of life.” The
Supreme Personality of Godhead, being the reser
voir of all bliss, cannot be impersonal. The idea of
impersonal oneness is monotonous and dull, where as the unlimited spiritual varieties which are present within Krsna are an eternal source of
transcendental pleasure for His devotees. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has prescribed a very simple program by which anyone can easily make progress in the spiritual life of Krsna consciousness even in the present age of quarrel and hypocrisy. It is simply to hear about Krsna’s philosophy and activities from authorized scriptures like Bhagavad gita As It Is and Srimad-Bhagavatam, to chant the Hare Krsna mantra and dance in ecstasy, and, when one feels tired after chanting and dancing, to rest and enjoy sumptuous Krsna prasadam. When Lord Caitanya was propagating this sankirtana movement in the holy city of Jagannatha Purl, there were standing orders to the managers of the Jagannatha temple that Lord Caitanya’s devotees should have as much prasadam as they wanted. Every evening there would be chanting and dancing with thousands of devotees, and then there would be profuse distribution of Krsna prasadam. Therefore this sahkirtana movement of Lord Caitanya is simply transcendentally pleasing, and every living entity can take part in it and relish the essence of all bliss.
APPLE CHUTNEY 5 lbs. apples
½ cup water
¼ cup butter 2 T. crushed chilis
1 t. nutmeg
¼ t. cloves
1 t. turmeric 1 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon 6 cups sugar
BANANA SAMBAL
4 bananas 1 t. nutmeg
¼ cup sugar ½ cup butter
juice of 2 limes
Sprinkle bananas with sugar, lime juice and nutmeg. Saute in butter until light brown. Serve as a side dish.
FIG AND DATE CHUTNEY
Apple
Wash, core and peel apples. Measure spices. Steam apples in water until done. Remove lid and cook off excess water. In a deep skillet heat butter and make massala. Add all other spices immediately. Stir; add apples and let cook on a high heat, cook ing away excess liquid. Add the sugar until mixture becomes jam-like. Remove from heat. Serve cold to Krsna.
AVOCADO CHUTNEY
Mash 3 avocados to a pulp. Spice with lemon, chili powder, ginger, honey and salt.
BANANA CHUTNEY
1½ lbs. figs 1 T. turmeric
¾ Ib. dates 1½ cups sugar 2 T. cumin seeds 6 T, ghee
5 crushed chili peppers water
Grind or chop dates and figs very fine. Put ghee in a pan. Make massala and add other spices. Add fruit and stir. Add water to cover and boil for one hour. When cooked, add sugar. When mixture re sembles a hot jam, remove from fire and cool. This can also be made with figs or dates alone.
GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY
2 qts. green tomatoes 2 T. turmeric 1 cup green pepper, 1 cup golden raisins
12 bananas
1″ piece tamarind ¼ t. nutmeg
¼ t. cinnamon
¾ cup sugar
¼ t. ground cumin ¼ t. ground red pepper ¼ t. ginger
¼ t. black pepper
chopped 1/3 cup ghee
1 t. cumin seed 1 t. salt
Chop tomatoes into quarters. Fry green pepper in ghee with cumin seed. Add tomatoes. Cook on a medium heat. Then add turmeric and raisins. Do
Soak tamarind overnight in a small amount of water. Push through a strainer into a large bowl and add all other ingredients. Mash, mix and serve cold.
not overcook.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 49
LEMON PICKLE
1 Ib. fresh lemons, 2 oz. gram massala cleaned properly sugar (optional)
and dried very well 2 oz. salt
Prepare a jar large enough to hold the lemons. Wash it thoroughly and then dry it until there is no mois ture left. With your hands and the knife perfectly dry, quarter the lemons, without cutting all the
PINEAPPLE CHUTNEY 2 fresh pineapples, chopped small
½ cup butter, melted cumin seed
red pepper
1 t. coriander
½ t. turmeric
1 t. cinnamon
¼ t. cloves
1 T. nutmeg
½ t. ginger
2½ cups brown sugar 1 cup golden raisins
way through. Put a few teaspoonsful of massala, sugar, and salt mixture in the bottom of the jar, and also put the spice mixture inside the cut of the lemons. Place 2 layers of lemons in the jar, and then a layer of salt and spice mixture, alternating in this way until all the lemons are in the jar. Place a square of clean cloth on top of the jar, and then put a tight-fitting cover on. It will be ready in 3 months. After one week check and see if mold has formed on any of the lemons; if it has, remove the lemon with the mold and place the remaining lemons in the sun. Cover the lemons in the jar with salt and sugar completely. After a day in the sun, covered by salt and sugar, they will be all right. Re-cover the jar with a new cloth and seal tightly. When ready, small pieces may be offered with rice, vegetables and dahl preparations.
50 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Chop two fresh pineapples into small pieces. Melt
butter, adding cumin seed and red pepper. Cook
until brown. Toss in pineapple. Cook until pine
apple reaches liquid consistency. Add remaining
ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer for two
hours, stirring occasionally until liquid cooks down
to a mush.
PLUM CHUTNEY
2 qts. plums 1½ cups milk
3 cardamom pods 2 t. coriander
1 grated coconut 2 cups sugar
Pit plums and cut into chunks. Put into a deep pan
over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients and
cook to a chunky puree. Cool and serve cold. Pineapple Chutney
RAISIN CHUTNEY
¾ Ib. raisins water
TOMATO CHUTNEY
2 lbs. tomatoes ½ t. cumin seed
1 t. cumin seeds sugar
2 chili peppers ghee
Heat ghee. Make massala. Add raisins, stir, and add
2 t. salt
1 t. crushed chilis
2 T. ghee
1 t. coriander
water. Cover and cook on high heat. When water is evaporated, add enough sugar to make jam-like consistency. Serve cold.
RHUBARB CHUTNEY
3 lbs. fresh rhubarb water
1 T. salt basic massala
1 T. turmeric
Trim rhubarb and cut into cubes. Make massala. Add rhubarb, stir, add salt, turmeric and stir. Cover with water and cook until water is evapo rated. Serve cold.
ROSE PETAL PRESERVES
3 cups fresh rose petals 2 cups water 8 cups sugar 1 T. lemon juice Wash rose petals in cold water. Drain, place in a pot and cover with 2 cups cold water; bring to a boil. Strain liquid into a second pot, setting aside petals for later use. Add sugar to liquid and boil into a thick syrup. Add lemon juice. Return petals to the syrup and cook for 20 minutes on a low flame. Pour into jars, seal tightly, but do not store in the refrigerator. Offer with PURIS* or use in HALF MOONS*
Cut tomatoes in eighths. Cook covered until tomatoes are liquid. Add salt and coriander while cooking. In a small pot heat ghee and add cumin seed. When it browns, add crushed chilis. Add ghee and spices to cooked tomatoes.
CUCUMBER RAITA I
1 large cucumber ½ t.. salt
2 cups yoghurt pinch of cayenne
½ t. cumin powder
Peel and thinly slice cucumber. Add yoghurt and spices. Gently toss. Chill.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 51
CUCUMBER RAITA II 5 cucumbers
1 T. salt
½ t. black pepper
¼ t. cayenne pepper 1 1/3 cups yoghurt
When Krsna ate lunch with His friends in the forest, Krsna appeared like the whorl of a lotus flower, and the boys surrounding Him appeared to be its different petals. These transcendental activities of the Lord are described by Srila
Cut off an inch slice from each end of the cucum bers. On each end make ten tiny cuts in each direction. This is done by flipping the knife quickly. The cuts should be no more than 1/8″ deep. Fit the cut ends back on to the cucumber and rub together vigorously. Do one end at a time. This process will completely remove the bitterness from the cucum ber. Peel cucumbers. Cut in half lengthwise, and cut each half into quarters. Then slice strips cross wise. Mix the yoghurt, salt and spices together and add to cucumber bits. Very tangy and refreshing.
POTATO RAITA I
Prabhupada in his book Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
1 Ib. potatoes 2 cups yoghurt ¾ t. salt
½ t. gram massala ½ t.. cayenne
Boil potatoes, peel and dice into 1″ cubes. Beat the yoghurt and add the potatoes. Add salt. Sprinkle with gram massala and cayenne.
POTATO RAITA II
½ Ib. potatoes
2 cups yoghurt
1½ t. cumin seed,
crushed, dry roasted
¾ t. salt
cayenne (optional)
Prepare potatoes as in RAITA I*, but blend the cumin seed with yoghurt. Add cayenne if you like.
52 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
CUDDY (serves 6-8) 1 cup yoghurt
4 cups water
¾ T. salt
1 t. turmeric
½ cup chick-pea flour 3 T. ghee
2 t. cumin seed
1 t. chili peppers
POTATO CURRY
6 medium potatoes 3 T. ghee
1 t. whole cumin seed 1 t. turmeric
1 t. salt
1 t. ground coriander 1 t. cayenne pepper ½ cup yoghurt
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
Mix yoghurt and chick-pea flour together in a deep
2 cups water
(optional)
pot. Add water, salt and turmeric. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil until cuddy foams up to the top of the pot. Remove from the heat. In a small pot heat ghee and add cumin seeds. When they brown, add chili peppers. Add to the cuddy. The sauce can be served plain over white rice or, best of all, it can have plain PAKORAS* added to it and be served over rice. Very quick and delicious.
MIXED VEGETABLE CURRY
1 cup green peas ¼ t. asafoetida
Chop potatoes fairly small. Heat the ghee and add cumin seeds. When the seeds brown, add turmeric and cayenne. Cook spices 2 to 3 minutes and then add potatoes. Fry potatoes, stirring constantly for 10 minutes, then add the water and salt. Simmer slowly for ½ hour. Add the yoghurt and coriander. Cook another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cucumber after it is on the serving dish. This is very nice to serve with plain steamed rice and CHEPURIS*.
POTATO AND TOMATO CURRY
6 potatoes 1 t. whole cumin seed
1 cup diced carrots 1 cup diced potatoes 2 cups fresh string beans cut in 1″ pieces
4 T. ghee
2 t. whole cumin seed 1 t. salt
2 t. turmeric
2 whole chilis or ½ t. crushed chili
3 tomatoes 1 t. salt
3 T. ghee 1 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. turmeric ½ cup yoghurt
Chop potatoes and tomatoes and keep separate.
Put all vegetables and salt in a pot with barely enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer gently until vegetables are barely tender. Set aside after draining. In a large skillet heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds. Brown the seeds until they begin to smoke. Add chilies, then, after a few seconds, add spices. Add vegetables and fry until dry.
Heat ghee and add cumin seeds. Fry until brown, add turmeric and cayenne, heat spices 2 to 3 min utes. Add the vegetables and salt and fry on high flame for 5 minutes. Stir constantly. Barely cover vegetables with water and simmer about 20 minutes to ½ hour. Add yoghurt and cook 5 minutes more. Offer with plain steamed rice.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 53
CHAPTER VIII
It is important that one should not only offer
nice palatable food to Krsna and then accept the
remnants of such an offering as Krsna’s mercy or
prasadam, but one should also distribute such
prasadam to others. This is Krsna consciousness.
Even if one does not accept all the principles of
Krsna consciousness, if he simply eats Krsna
prasadam he can gradually become fully qualified
to become a devotee of Krsna. In this way even the
most ignorant people—or even an ignorant animal
can get the benefit of Krsna consciousness.
Sivananda Sen, a devotee of Lord Caitanya, once
gave a little prasadam to a dog; thus the dog later
met Lord Caitanya Himself and attained liberation.
Once, after a lecture, a disciple asked Srila
Prabhupada what happens if a devotee gives some
one a little morsel of prasadam, such as the “simply
wonderfuls” described later in this section. Srila Prabhupada replied, “Then that is wonderful. Simply wonderful! He has not tasted such a won derful sweet in his life. Therefore, you give him a simply wonderful, and because he is eating that wonderful sweet, one day he will come to your temple and become wonderful. Therefore it is simply wonderful. So go on distributing these simply wonderfuls.” He thought for a moment, and then said, “Your philosophy is simply wonderful, the prasadam is simply wonderful, you are simply wonderful, and your Krsna is simply wonderful. The whole process is simply wonderful.” The devotees responded, “Srila Prabhupada is simply wonderful!” it is said, yasya prasadad bhagavat prasadah: “It is only by the mercy of the spiritual master that one can receive the mercy of Krsna.”
BRAHMIN SPAGHETTI
1 Ib. rice flour sugar
water ghee
Mix rice flour with water to make a stiff dough. Let dough stand long enough to sour (usually one day).
COCONUT BURFI 1 cup ground fresh coconut
1½ cups sugar
6 cups milk
½ t. ground nutmeg ground seeds from 6 cardamoms
Then squeeze dough through a potato ricer into smoking hot ghee. Deep fry until golden brown and drain off excess ghee. Soak in sweet nectar made of 4 cups sugar and 2 cups water.
BURFI
¾ cup butter 3½ cups powdered milk 1¼ cups sugar 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup whole milk or almonds
Melt the butter. Add sugar and mix together. Add the whole milk, stir and bring to a boil on medium
Grind the coconut with a special coconut grinder, or you can use a food grinder. Put the coconut and sugar in a pot, or deep frying pan, and cook for about 10 minutes, being careful not to let it burn. Then add the milk and cook it down for ½ hour or 45 minutes, until it is fairly thick. Add the nutmeg and cardamom seeds and roll into balls, or pour it onto a flat sheet and cut squares or diamonds when it is cool.
CELESTIAL BANANAS
Burfi
flame. Lower flame and add powdered milk, a little at a time. Keep stirring and add coconut and nuts. When all powdered milk is added, stir to get out all lumps. Use an electric beater if you have one. Light
8 bananas
½ Ib. homemade cream cheese
2 T. butter
4 T. brown sugar cinnamon to taste 1 cup yoghurt ghee for frying
ly butter a rectangular or square cookie sheet. Pour burfi mixture onto the sheet and refrigerate. When it is cold and hard, remove it from sheet and cut into small diamonds. Place the diamonds on a plate. You can sprinkle finely chopped pistachios on top. For an added nice touch, mash a ripe banana and add it during the cooking.
Halve the peeled bananas lengthwise and brown lightly in ghee. Butter a pie plate and place 8 halves on the bottom. After creaming the sugar and cream cheese with cinnamon, spread half of the mixture on the 8 halves. Place remaining bananas on top and spread with butter and cheese mixture. Place yoghurt on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 55
PERA (Makes 6 pera)
10 oz. milk 4 t. granulated sugar 4 t. powdered milk 6 grated pistachios 2 black cardamoms ground
coarsely (green if black not available)
Put whole milk in a small wok and place on a high flame. Prepare khoya (see basic preparations chap ter). Let the khoya dry for a few minutes; then add the powdered milk and mix well. Thoroughly mix in sugar. Add the cardamom and mix again. Form balls by rolling between the palms. Do not make smooth round balls—make rough ones. Place pera in the palm of the left hand; with thumb of the right, pick up grated pistachios and press into the middle of the pera, making a depression. Do not offer the same day, but keep aside a day or two to harden. The cracks in the pera increase the won derful flavor.
COCONUT SWEET BALLS
HALF MOONS
puri dough made from one cup of flour for orange filling: the juice of 4 oranges 2-3 T. corn starch
sugar
Cook orange juice in a pan, and when it cooks down a bit, add corn starch. When the orange filling is thickened to a jelly, add twice as much sugar to the filling. Cook 5 minutes. Cool.
for banana filling: 2 mashed bananas ½ cup dates, walnuts,
or coconut
Add twice as much sugar to the mashed bananas and mix well.
for strawberry filling: one pint box fresh strawberries (or any
berry)
3 t. corn starch
sugar
Cook strawberries on a medium flame. When they
1 finely shredded coconut
3 cups sugar
pat of butter
pinch of ground camphor
salt
pepper
are liquid, add corn starch and cook until they thicken. Add twice as much sugar to the filling. Cook 5 minutes, and then cool. ROSE PETAL JAM* also makes a very nice filling.
Add 3 cups sugar to coconut and fry in a heavy pan until the mixture thickens and sticks together. Add butter, camphor, salt and pepper. Cool slightly and shape into balls.
56 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Make 10-12 balls one inch in diameter. Roll them out to 4 inch diameter and very thin. Add approxi mately a teaspoon of filling (not too much or the pastry will break open during cooking) and then fold circle in half, pressing ends tightly together; moisten with water if necessary. With the tines of a fork, press all around the sealed ends on both sides.
On one side prick with fork to let steam escape while baking. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake ½ hour in a preheated 400 degree oven. Check every 10 minutes to see the progress. When one side is golden, turn all the half-moons over very gently, and bake another 10-15 minutes. When both sides are golden, remove from oven and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. It is nice to offer these warm.
JALLEBI
JEEBE GAJA
½ cup flour ½ cup sugar 1/8 t. baking powder ¼ cup water ghee for deep 1 T. ghee
frying
Make a soft dough from flour, baking powder, water and ghee. Make 16 balls. Roll thin and oblong. Prick with fork. Deep fry in ghee. Soak in sugar water solution.
LADDU
4 cups white flour 2 T. baking powder pinch saffron
¼ cup yoghurt
2 cups sugar
1 t. rose water
ghee for frying (deep)
1 cup unsalted butter 2 cups sifted chick-pea flour
2 cups sifted
1 1/3 cups dry shredded coconut
½ cup chopped
walnuts or almonds
Sift flour and baking powder together. Dissolve
confectioner’s sugar
(unsalted)
Laddu
saffron in 2 t. warm water. Beat yoghurt until smooth. Add saffron and water, yoghurt, and enough water to make a thick batter of the flour. Leave for 1 hour. Make a thick syrup with sugar and 2¼ cups water. Boil until thick and add rose water. Keep sugar water warm. Heat the ghee in a frying pan and put some batter in a forcing bag. Pipe round swirls of batter into the ghee and fry on both sides until crisp. Drain the jallebis and put them in sugar water for about 3 minutes. Remove and put on serving plate.
Melt butter in frying pan. Slowly add sifted chick pea flour. Stir continually until chick-pea flour is roasted and turns a bit darker. Add coconut and stir a bit longer, then add sifted confectioner’s sugar gradually and mix in thoroughly, crushing lumps with a spoon. Remove from heat and cool until it can be handled comfortably. Squeeze into round balls about 1″ in diameter. ¼ t. cinnamon or nutmeg can be added for variation.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 57
LUGLU
1½ cups chick-pea flour ghee for frying
water
1 t. cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
¾ cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds or
MANGO CREAM 4 – 5 ripe but firm mangoes
¼ cup powdered sugar
1½ cups whipped cream
¼ t. nutmeg ¼ t. ginger dash cloves
pistachios)
½ cup golden raisins ¼ cup chopped dates or figs
Wash the mangoes and cut up into small pieces, but do not peel. Simmer in a small amount of water for 25 minutes or until tender. Press through a very fine sieve. Cool the pulp, fold into the whipped
Make thin batter of chick-pea flour and water. Drop, shaking from a colander over hot ghee so small pearls of batter are fried until golden color. These form little crispy balls. Make a thick syrup
cream. Add the powdered sugar and gradually blend all together. Place into cups and chill.
MYSORE PAK
of sugar and water and cook down until it begins to crystallize on sides of pan. Slightly cool. Add drained pearls, nuts & fruits and cover evenly in sugar syrup. Mix well. Cool until you can form into
1 cup chick-pea flour
2 cups butter 1½ cups sugar
5 oz. water
chopped raw pistachio nuts
balls. Make walnut-sized balls. When cool they will stick together.
MALPOURI
Sift chick-pea flour. Make sugar water with sugar and water, and boil about five minutes until sticky. Melt ½ cup of butter and add chick-pea flour, fry on medium flame and stir constantly. After 10 minutes,
1 cup powdered
sugar
1 cup white flour water
ghee for frying 3 cups yoghurt (plain)
1 cup strawberries (opt.)
add the sugar water and keep stirring. Put remainder of butter into a small pot and bring to a simmer. Pour dribbles of butter into the chick-pea flour and continue stirring. Fry 10 minutes more and then pour onto a flat greased pan to harden. It hardens
Make fairly thick batter from sugar and flour and enough water. Drop by tablespoonfuls into hot ghee. Remove when golden brown. Drain. Cover with yoghurt and strawberries. Serve immediately.
58 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
quickly, so cut into nice diamond shapes as soon as it is a little cool.
Luglu
NAKALDANA
2 cups sugar 1’½ cups raw peanuts 1 cup water ghee for frying
Boil sugar and water until sticky. Test with fingers, taking a small bit off stirring spoon. It will feel a little hard. Then roll together in a small, slightly hard ball. Remove sugar solution from heat. Fry some peanuts in ghee slowly for about 15 minutes until done. Then put them in a large flat pan. Add sugar solution spoon by spoon and stir into peanuts.
PEANUTS AND RAISINS
Grind peanuts which have been cooked in ghee as usual. Also grind raisins (an equal amount). Add sugar syrup (2 sugar/1 water) and cook all together until thick and can be rolled. Roll into nice balls. Raw cashews or almonds may be substituted.
SIMPLY WONDERFULS (a great favorite) (Makes 3 dozen)
2 cups powdered milk ½ cup chopped unsalted
Peanuts turn whitish and are like candy-coated peanuts.
1 cup unsalted butter 1¾ cups confectioner’s sugar
nuts, or coconut or raisins
COCONUT NAKALDANA
2 cups coconut or 1 1½ T. ghee grated fresh coconut ½ cup water 1 cup sugar
In a frying pan heat the ghee. Add coconut and fry over a medium flame stirring constantly until coco nut turns a light golden brown. Remove from heat. In a small heavy pot, mix together sugar and water. Keep boiling until a thick syrup is formed. Test by putting a drop of syrup in cold water—it should form a semi-hard ball. Pour the syrup over the coconut and stir very rapidly. The sugar will crystallize and you will have a dusty, sandy, sweet coconut.
Melt butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add confectioner’s sugar and stir until it becomes a creamy consistency. Add powdered milk gradually and mix continually. Try squeezing a small amount into a 1″ ball. If it is too wet, add a little more powdered milk. If it is too dry, add a little more melted butter. Roll into balls 1″ in diameter.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 59
SWEET POTATO BALLS 4 med. sweet potatoes a little flour
½ t. nutmeg
2 cups sugar 1 cup water ghee for frying
WATERMELON SHERBERT 6 cups pitted watermelon pulp
juice of ½ lemon
2½ cups sugar
2 cups whipping cream
Wash and peel potatoes. Boil in water until tender. Mash, add spices and flour. Knead. Make a syrup of sugar and water and let boil for 5 minutes. Pinch off olive-sized balls and fry in medium hot ghee until brown and firm. Remove and drain. Soak in hot syrup. *Variation: Roll dough into cylinders and proceed as above.
SWEET POTATO CRISP
Mash watermelon well and add lemon juice and sugar. Pour into a large bowl and place in freezer. Let it thaw about ½ hour before offering. Pour cream over sherbert and let it be nicely absorbed. Very cooling and refreshing for Krsna on hot days.
ALMOND HALAVAH
8 oz. almonds, 1 cup water blanched ½ cup butter
1½ cups sugar 2 T. flour
12 sweet potatoes ¾ cup butter
¼ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
1½ t. ground black pepper
½ cup heavy cream ¼ cup finely ground nuts
Pound or blend almonds to a powder. Melt butter and mix in almonds and flour. Cook well. Make a thick sugar-water syrup, adding it to the almond mixture. Stir and cook until it thickens and leaves the sides of the pan. Pour into buttered dish and
Farina Halavah
Cook potatoes. Peel and slice ½” thick. Spread on buttered large, shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with butter, flour and all other ingredients. Broil until bubbly and caramelized.
cut into squares when cold.
CARROT HALAVAH
2 bunches of carrots
1 cup sweet butter
3-4 cups sugar
crushed seeds of 5 cardamom pods
Wash and grate carrots. Put ½ cup butter in frying
pan and add carrots. Cook slowly until soft (takes
about 40 minutes). When soft, add remaining butter
and sugar. Cook for 10-15 minutes until thick, jam
like consistency is obtained. Sprinkle with car
damom.
60 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
FARINA HALAVAH
1 cup farina 1 cup sugar ½ cup butter handful golden raisins 1½ cups water
Mix water and sugar and bring to a boil. Melt butter in a pan. Toss in grain and raisins, stirring constantly at a low heat for 20-25 minutes until golden in color. Then add grain by single spoonfuls to water and sugar, which should be simmering. When all grain is added, keep on fire for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove and serve hot.
BANANA HALAVAH (Kela Halavah)
6 bananas (ripe) 1¼ t . cardamom seeds 4 T. butter (peeled) 1½ cups water 2 T. blanched almonds 1 t. rose water saffron
Melt butter in a heavy skillet. Peel and cut bananas into 1″ pieces. Fry in butter 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Stir often and mash after they have fried for 5 minutes. Add ½ cup water. Simmer with care on low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir the sugar into the remaining 1 cup water and add to the bananas. Boil gently 15 minutes. Stir often to prevent scorching, and also to thicken mixture. Add rose water, remove, and pour into a shallow dish. Bruise the cardamom seeds and sprinkle on halavah. Sliver the almonds, and sprinkle enough saffron to color the halavah golden. Offer hot or cold.
CARAMEL
1 can sweetened condensed milk
In a deep pot, bring enough water to boil as will completely cover the can of condensed milk. When the water is at a rolling boil, place the unopened can in the water. Boil constantly for 2 to 2½ hours. Remove the can from the water and refrigerate. When the can is cold it can be opened and the cara mel offered to the Deities. Any chopped unsalted nuts or coconut can be added.
CARROTS IN MILK (Gajja Kheer)
½-¾ Ib. carrots 1/8 Ib. ground almonds 5 cups rich milk ½ t. ground cardamom ¾ cup sugar seeds
pinch of saffron threads
Wash and grate the carrots finely. Bring the milk to a boil and add the grated carrots. Cook until the carrots are soft and the mixture has thickened (35-40 min.). Stir occasionally with wooden spoon. Add sugar, almonds, cardamom and saffron. When sugar is completely dissolved and mixed in, remove from fire. It may be offered warm or cold.
The Hare Krjna Cookbook 61
CHANDRA MURTI
1 qt. milk 3 cups sugar 1 cup water
Make PANIR* (curd). Make sweet nectar very thick. Roll balls smaller than marbles and cook in nectar until crunchy.
FIRNI
HASPIA
2 cups fresh milk 2 t. cornstarch 4 cups grated coconut 2 T. sugar Heat milk until scalding. Pour over coconut and let steep for ½ hour. Pour through cloth and squeeze all possible liquid from coconut into a bowl of liquid. Mix cornstarch with liquid. Add sugar. Heat again to just under boiling point. Stir constantly
2 oz. rice flour
2¼ cups rich milk ½ cup sugar
10 chopped blanched
1 t. rosewater or ground cardamon seeds from 2 cardamoms
10 shelled, chopped
until smooth. Pour into a shallow pan. Let set until firm. Slice in 2″ squares. Serve cold.
KHEER (Serves 4-6)
almonds
pistachio nuts, unsalted
¼ cup long grain
1 cup milk
Mix the rice flour in a little cold milk and water to avoid lumping during cooking. Bring the milk to a boil, then remove it from the heat and mix in the flour mixture. Cook over low heat until thick, then
white rice
½ cup water
2 cups half milk and half cream
almost ½ cup sugar 10 whole cardamom pods
add the sugar and cook until a little thicker. Add the rose water or cardamom and pour it into a bowl. Sprinkle the nuts over top. Refrigerate and offer cold.
62 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Soak rice in water for 4-5 hours. When ready to prepare, bring milk and cream to a boil. Be very careful not to burn. (For this preparation a wooden spoon is necessary.) While milk is boiling, add rice and water and cardamom pods. Bring to a boil again and then lower heat. Stir constantly after about 15 minutes of cooking. It will thicken and rice will dissolve into milk. The color will be pale peach. At this point, add sugar and mix until it melts into pudding. Put the kheer in refrigerator and chill. Remove cardamom before it becomes cold.
KHOYA BOATS
2 cups rich milk 3 rounded handfuls sugar
shelled unsalted pista chio nuts
RASAGULLA
curd from ½ gal. of milk 2¼ cups sugar 3 cups water
Let curd hang 4-5 hours. Remove from muslin and
Cook milk over high flame with wooden spoon. Stir vigorously so that it doesn’t stick. Remove from heat when milk dries up and becomes one slightly hardened lump. Continue stirring until siz zling stops. It takes about 25 minutes to prepare one pint of milk in this way. (One pint of milk produces about 3 oz. of khoya). Then add the sugar and mix well. Take small lumps of khoya and press in your palm, closing your hand. With the thumb of the other hand, make a depression in the center. Press a pistachio nut into depression. The finished shape and size is like a small boat.
knead on smooth surface until curd is smooth and oily. Pinch off bits of curd and roll into balls about ¼” in diameter. Bring water and sugar to a boil and then simmer. Remove 1/3 of this sugar syrup and put it in another pot off the heat. Place several balls in the simmering syrup and cook about 20 minutes until they are slightly cracked and swollen. Remove carefully with slotted spoon and place in cooled syrup. Continue until all rasagulla are done. Serve cool. These are very subtle and delicate sweets.
BENGALI RASAGULLA
Rasagulla
KULFI
2 qts. rich milk or 2 qts. regular milk with half
1 t. rosewater
1 cup frozen raspberries,
curd from 1 gallon of milk
1/8 cup farina
sweet nectar (1 part sugar—4 parts water)
pt. of cream ¾ cup sugar
blackberries or straw berries, thawed
1 small pkg. rock candy (white)
Knead the curd with the farina. The farina will
Cook milk until it is the consistency of thick cream, stirring almost constantly with wooden spoon, (about 25 min.). When milk is like thick cream or thin yoghurt, add sugar, rose water and berries. Mix well and place in freezer. Remove from freezer ten minutes before offering.
prevent the curd from falling apart. Roll balls of curd 1 inch in diameter. In the same way that cardamoms are inserted in rasaballi, insert a piece of rock candy about ¼ inch long in the rasagulla. Reshape the ball firmly, to prevent falling apart. Prepare the sweet nectar, and bring to a boil. Add the rasagullas and cook on a fairly rapid simmer for about 20 minutes. If you cook them in batches, then remove some sweet nectar to soak the cooked
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 63
ones in. As you cook the rasagullas, the rock candy will melt from the heat and cause the sweet juice to rush into the ball to fill up the empty space, thus causing the rasagulla to rise up. After all the rasagullas are cooked, soak them in the sweet juice
SANDESH
curd from ½ gallon of milk
1 t. rose water
(opt)
1¼ cups sugar (not more than 1 part sugar to 4 parts curd)
5 hours before offering.
RASABALLI
curd
seeds from cardamom pods
sugar water in the following proportion: 3 sugar to 4 water (use a sufficient mixture of water both to boil and then to soak)
Knead the curd until creamy, and then roll
Let curd hang 4-5 hours. Remove curd from muslin and knead on a smooth surface until curd is smooth and oily. Mix curd and sugar and rosewater to gether in a small pot and place on a very low heat. Be very careful not to burn it. Stir constantly until curd begins to pull away from the pan and is not so sticky. Remove and knead again. Roll into balls.
SOMETHING ELSE
rasaballis into balls of one inch diameter. With the small finger, make a depression in the balls 1/3 of the thickness of the rasaballi. Put in one seed from a cardamom pod and ¼ t. sugar. Pinch to
1 cup rice 4 cups milk 2 T. butter 1 cup sugar
grated lemon rind nuts
¼ t. cinnamon dash nutmeg
gether and re-roll the ball. When all are filled and rolled in this way, put them in simmering sugar water and simmer on medium heat for ½ hour. The balls should be stirred and the sugar water should be almost boiling. These may be done in batches like rasagulla, with some sugar-water taken out for soaking. After boiling, the rasaballis should be left to soak in the sugar water for 3 days, and stirred once or twice a day.
64 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Soak rice in 2 cups milk for 2 hours. Add other 2 cups milk. Cook on low heat in thick pot until rice is tender. Set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 2 quart casserole. Work butter with sugar. Add to rice with rind, spices, nuts, etc. Pour into casserole. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold, plain or with chilled whipped cream.
SWEETBALLS
fresh ghee for deep frying 2 cups water ½ cup whole milk 2 cups sugar 4 cups powdered milk
1 hour. Add sugar, and two grains of camphor and a pinch of black pepper.
SWEET RICE II
Make sweet nectar by mixing sugar and water until it is clear. In a mixing bowl put whole milk and add powdered milk a little at a time. Beat with a fork until all milk is added and you have a stiff
2 cups rice
4 cups milk
2 cups whipped cream sugar to taste (½ cup)
2 bananas, ripe or ½ fresh chopped pine apple
dough. Rub a little ghee onto a smooth surfaced table and on your hands. Knead the dough for a few minutes, quickly, and then pinch off bits and roll into balls ½” in diameter. Make the balls very quickly because the dough tends to dry up. (It will be easiest if you do this in 2 or 3 batches by dividing the milk measurements in half or thirds.) Heat the ghee in a large frying pan that keeps its heat well—cast iron is very good for this preparation. Deep fry the sweetballs very slowly on low heat until they are golden brown. Keep stirring gently. They will swell up during the cooking. When they are done, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in the sweet nectar. Soak them for 1-2 days, stirring gently 3 or 4 times a day. This is the devotees’ most favorite sweet.
SWEET RICE I
Cook the rice as usual. Let stand to cool for 3-4 hours. Then add whipped cream, finely chopped bananas or pineapple, and sugar. Stir well and serve cold.
SWEET RICE III
¼ cup white or ½ gallon milk Basmati rice 15 whole cardamom pods 1½ cup sugar (opt.)
Cook all the rice with 1 cup of milk for about 20 minutes until soft. Then add the cardamom pods. Gradually, over a period of 2 hours, add the remain ing amount of milk, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. The sweet rice should be thin, and the consistency like fresh cream: the color should be whitish. Before you remove the sweet rice from the fire, add the sugar and stir until the sugar is completely absorbed. If cardamom is used, re
Sweet Rice
4 cups fresh milk ¼ cup rice
pinch camphor
Cook rice in milk,
3¾ cup sugar
pinch of black
pepper
stirring constantly until the
move them before the sweet rice cools. Place the sweet rice in the refrigerator and offer when very cold, if you have the time, you can cook the sweet rice all day, adding more and more milk. Do not
mixture is thick like pudding. This will take about
cook the sweet rice in an aluminum pot.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 65
CHAPTER IX
There are many nice beverages to offer to Krsna,
including fruit and vegetable juices of all varieties,
and in the summer, combinations of different fruit juices can be frozen. The most simple beverage,
however, which is available everywhere in the
world, is water. In Bhagavad-glta Lord Krsna
requests that water be offered to Him in love, and
elsewhere in the Glta He declares, “I am the taste
in water.” Water is universally appreciated for its
pure taste, and that taste is Lord Krsna Himself.
Without water we cannot live, and so a Krsna
conscious devotee glorifies Lord Krsna for kindly
supplying water to quench man’s thirst.
Milk, praised both by modern nutritionists and
the eternal Vedas as the “miracle food,” is the
single most important item in the Vedic diet, for it contains all the vitamins necessary to sustain the
human body in good health. Even more impor
tantly, the proteins, fats and vitamins found
in milk are perfectly balanced for the development of the finer tissues of the brain, and thus milk is the perfect food for one who is seeking advance
ment in spiritual life. By Krsna’s arrangement, the cow eats ordinary grass and transforms it into a delicious drink which is rich in all the food values necessary for good health and spiritual progress. When Lord Krsna appeared on earth He displayed His childhood pastimes as a cowherd boy, and He is worshiped for His childhood activities as a naughty butter thief. Thus He emphasized in many ways the importance of cows and milk products human society. Lord Krsna is also celebrated as “Govinda” because He appeared as the reservoir of pleasure for the cows as well as all living beings. Devotees of Lord Krsna therefore acknowledge the kindness of the Lord by offering Him milk, and they feel great satisfaction in drinking milk prasadam and thinking about the transcendental pastimes of the Lord.
MILK
1 qt. milk (for 4 people)
1/4 – 1/3 cup sugar
Bring milk to a boil three times (as it foams up, turn down, then turn flame up, then down, and then up). Add sugar. Simmer milk about 3 minutes, and stir sugar in well using a wooden spoon. A whole cardamom or a drop of rosewater may be placed in the milk and cardamom removed when milk is done. Honey may be substituted for sugar, using about 1/3 cup per quart. Milk can be offered with a ripe banana or some figs, or dates. Milk should be poured from one cup to another. This cools the milk and also makes it more flavorful.
BANANA NECTAR
MASSALA MILK
2 cups milk 10-12 ground pistachios 2 T. sugar (peeled)
6 ground almonds pinch crumbled saffron (blanched) crushed seeds of two ¼ t. ground nutmeg cardamom pods Bring milk to a boil three times and then lower heat and add all spices, nuts and sugar. Stir and cook for five minutes.
DAHI
equal parts yoghurt sugar
and fruit juice
Mix the yoghurt and the fruit juice and add sugar in this proportion—1/3 cup sugar to 2 cups dahi. This isa wonderful chilled drink during the summer
Banana Nectar
1 qt. milk
1 large ripe banana 1/3 cup sugar
2 T. butter
1 whole cardamom pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch ground coriander
time for Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Krsna.
LASSI
3 parts yoghurt to black pepper
Bring the milk and all the spices to a boil, and crush the banana with your hands. Add the crushed banana and the sugar. Let the milk boil three times and turn flame down to a simmer. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Cool by pouring the milk back and forth from one cup to another.
1 part water salt
dry roasted cumin
seed or sugar
Mix the yoghurt and water. For each 4 cups of yoghurt and water add ½ t. salt, ¼ t. black pepper and 1 t. roasted cumin seed. Mix well. Lassi can also be prepared by mixing yoghurt and water and adding 1/3 cup sugar for each 2 cups lassi. This is another delicious summer beverage.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 67
INVITATION
On behalf of our spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, we invite you to partake of a sumptuous feast of Krsna prasadam every Sunday at any of the Hare Krsna temples listed on the opposite page. The Sunday festival and love feast usually begins around four p.m. Please come and enjoy a whole feast of transcendental food and advance wonderfully in spiritual life. The devotees will be more than pleased to show you how to offer all your food to Krsna, so that your eating may always be simply wonderful and your advancement on the path back home, back to Godhead, will be sure.
Hare Krsna.
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS
CENTERS AROUND THE WORLD
AFRICA: Capetown, S. Africa-150 Long St., Weiner Bldg., Room .# 21; Nairobi, Kenya-P.O. Box 28946 (E. Africa).
THE AMERICAS: Atlanta, Georgia-24 NE 13th St. 30309/ (404) 892-9042; Austin,Texas-1003 E. 14 St. 78702/ (512)476-1558; Baltimore,Maryland-516 Cathedral St.21201; Boston, Massachusetts-40 N. Beacon St. 02134/ (617)782-8892; Buenos Aires,Argentina-Ecuador # 473; Buffalo,New York-132 Bidwell Pkwy. 14222/(716)882-0281; Caracas, Venezuela-Calle Luis Roche No. 61, Colinas, De Los Chaguarans/769-0783; Chicago,lllinois-1014 Emerson St.Evanston 60201/ (312)475-9126; Cleveland,Ohio-15720 Euclid Ave., E. Cleveland 44112/ (216) 451-0418; Dallas,Texas-5430 Gurley St.75223/ (214)827-6330; Denver,Colorado-1400 Cherry St.80220/ (303) 333-5461; Detroit,Michigan-8311 E. Jefferson Ave. 48214/ (313) 824-6000; Gainesville,Florida-1104 N.W.3rd Avenue 32601; Honolulu, Hawaii-2016 McKinley St.96822/ (808)949-9022; Houston,Texas-707 Hawthorne St. 77006/ (713) 526-0475; Laguna Beach,California-641 Ramona Ave. 92651/(714) 494-9172; Los Angeles,California-3764 Watseka Ave.90034/ (213)871-0717; Mexico City,Mexico Gobernador Tiburcio, Montiel No. 45, San Miguel,Mexico City 18/ (905) 515-4242; Miami.Florida-4001 Kumquat Ave.,Coconut Grove 33133/ (305)448-7893; Montreal,Canada-3720 Park Ave., Montreal 130, Quebec/ (514) 849-4319; New Orleans,Louisiana-2936 Esplanade Ave.70119/ (504)488-1313; NewVrindavan, W.Virginia-RD No. 3, Moundsville 26041/ (304) 845-2790; New York, New York-439 Henry St.,Brooklyn 11231/ (212) 596-9658; Ottawa,Canada-224 Besserer St.Ontario; Philadetphia,Pennsylvania-641 E.Chelten Ave. 19144/(215) 849-1767; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-4626 Forbes Ave.15208; Portland,Oregon-2507NE Stanton St.97212/ (503)284-6395; Regina,Canada-226 Retollock St.,Saskatchewan; Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico-55 Jorge Romany.Santa Rita, San Juan 00928; St. Louis,Missouri-4544 Laclede Ave. 63108/ (314) 361-1224;San Diego,California-3303 Second Ave.92103/ (714) 291-7778; San Francisco,California-455 Valencia St.94103/ (415)864-9233; Santa Domingo,Dominican Republic-c/o Enrique Estrada Gomez,Av.lndependencia#28; Seattle, Washington-400 18th Ave.East 98102/ (206)329-9348; Toronto,Canada-187 Gerrard St. East,Toronto 225, Ontario/ (416) 922-5415; Vancouver, Canada-1774 West 16th Ave., Vancouver-9, B.C./ (604) 732-8422; Washington, D.C-2015 “Q ” St. NW 20009/ (202) 667-3516.
ASIA: Bombay, India-Hare Krishna Land, Gandhi Gram Road, Juhu Beach, Bombay 54; Calcutta,lndia-3 Albert Road,Calcutta 17/44-3757; Hyderabad,India-Hare Krishna Land, Nampally Station Road.Andra Pradesh; Kowloon.Hong Kong-45A Broadway, 15/Floor,Mei FooSun Chuen; Mayapur.lndia-ISKCON International Center.P.O.Sree Mayapur Dham, W. Bengal (District Nadia); New Delhi,lndia-66 Babar Road,Bengali Market; Tokyo,Japan-3-4-18,Shimo-Ochiai Shinjuku-ku/951-5809; Vrindavan, India-Radha-Damodar Temole, Seva Kunj, Mathura, U.P.;Vrindavan, India—Chattikara Road, Raman Reti, Mathura, U.P.
AUSTRALIA: Adelaide,Australia-254A Rundle Street,Adelaide, S.A.; Auckland,New Zealand-67 Gribblehirst Rd.,Mt.Albert/668-666; Brisbane, Australia-47 Mary St., Queensland 4000; Canberra, Australia-104 Linestone Ave.,Ainslie,A.C.T.; Melbourne, Australia-14 Burnett St.,St.Kilda,Victoria 3182; Perth,Australia-500 Fitzgerald St.,N. Perth, W.A. 6006; Suva, Fiji-c/o So. Seas Store, P.O. Box 268; Sydney, Australia-12 Wallaroy Crescent, Double Bay, Sydney, N.S.W.
EUROPE: Amsterdam.Holland-Bethanienstraat 39 (C)/020-253160; Berlin,W.Germany-1 Berlin 65,Holzstr.11/491-21-33; Edinburgh,Scotland-14 Forrest Road (U.K.)/031-225-4797; Geneva, Switzerland-9,chemin du Credo,1213 Petit Lancy/022-92-1318; Hamburg,W.Germany-2 Hamburg 54,Kapitelbuschweg 20/ 570-53-82; Heidelberg,W.Germany-69 Heidelberg 1, Karlsruherstr. 31 / 31354; London, England-7 Bury Place, Bloomsbury WC1/01-405-1463; London,England-Bhaktivedanta Manor, Letchmore Heath, Herts./ 779-7244(5); Munich, W. Germany-8042 Oberschleissheim, Dr.Hoffmeister Str.7 (Miinchen)/3150421; Paris,France-4 rue Le Sueur,75016 Paris/727.02.02;Stockholm.Sweden-Solhagavagen 22,16352 Spanga.
BOOKS
by His Divine Grace A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA
BHAGAVAD-GITA AS IT IS
SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM, CANTOS 1-3 (6 Vols.)
TEACHINGS OF LORD CAITANYA
THE NECTAR OF DEVOTION
SRI ISOPANISAD
EASY JOURNEY TO OTHER PLANETS
KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS: The Topmost Yoga System
KRSNA, THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD (2 Vols.)
TRANSCENDENTAL TEACHINGS OF PRAHLAD MAHARAJ
TRANSCENDENTAL TEACHINGS OF CAITANYA MAHAPRABHU
KRSNA THE RESERVOIR OF PLEASURE
THE PERFECTION OF YOGA
BEYOND BIRTH AND DEATH
ON THE WAY TO KRSNA
ELEVATIONTO KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS
RAJA-VIDYA: The King of Knowledge
BACK TO GODHEAD MAGAZINE (Founder)
A complete catalogue of books and cassette tape recordings by His Divine Grace is available from ISKCON BOOKS.3959 Landmark Street, Culver City, California 90230
” This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed’.’
Bhagava-glta 9.2 BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Frabhupada Available from
Softcover $4.95
ISKCON BOOKS 3959 Landmark Street,Culver City, California 90230 Hardcover $10.95
INDE X
B
Banana Nectar 67 Banana Sambal 49 Bananas, Celestial 55 Bara, Split Pea 27 Bara, Urad Dahl 27 Bean Sprouts 16,33 Brahmin Spaghetti 55 Bread, Coconut 30 Bread Sticks 29 Burfi 55 Burfi, Coconut 55 Buttermilk, Cultured 17
C
Cabbage 33 Caramel 61 Carrots in Milk 61 Cauliflower 33 Cauliflower and Potatoes,
Dry 34 Cauliflower and Potatoes, Wet 41 Cauliflower, Wet 41 Chandra Murti 62 Chapatis 29 Cheese, Cottage 16 Cheese, Cottage (Sour
Milk) 18 Cheese, Cream 17 Chepuris 30 Chick-Peas 25 Chick-Peas and Peanuts. … 25
Chick-Peas and Yoghurt. . . .25 Chinese Pea Pods 33 Chinese Pea Pods and
Green Peas 34 Chips 30 Chudy Noodles 43 Chutney, Apple 49 Chutney, Avocado 49 Chutney, Banana 49 Chutney, Fig and Date 49 Chutney, Green Tomato. . . 49 Chutney, Pineapple 50 Chutney, Plum 50 Chutney, Raisin 51 Chutney, Rhubarb 51 Chutney, Tomato 51 CoconutMilk 16 Copra Cana 21 Cucumbers 34 Cuddy 53 Curd 17 Curry, Mixed Vegetable. . . .53 Curry, Potato 53 Curry, Tomato and
Potato 53
D
Dahi 67 Dahl, Basic Split Pea 25 Dahl, Fried 26 Dahl, Hard 26 Dahl, Mung Bean 26 Dahl, Urad 27
Dosa Pancakes 25
E
Eggplant and Tomatoes. . . .35 Eggplant and Zucchini 36 Eggplant Bharata 34 Eggplant Favorite 34 Eggplant Puki 35 Eggplant, Tomatoes and
Chick-Peas 35
F
Firni 62
G
Ghee 17 Green Peppers 36 Green Vegetables Bhaji. … 36
H
Halavah, Almond 60 Halavah, Banana 61 Halavah, Carrot 60 Halavah, Farina 61 Half Moons 56 Haspia 62
J
Jallebi 57 Jeebe Gaja 57
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 75
K
Kachoris, Mung Bean 43 Kachoris, Potato 45 Kachoris, Radhaballabha. . .46 Kachoris, Urad Dahl 47 Kheer 62 Khoya 18 Khoya Boats 63 Kitri 26 Kofta 36 Kulfi 63
L
Laddu 57 Lassi 67 Lemon Pickle 50 Luglu 58
M
Malpouri 58 Mango Cream 58 Massala, Basic 17 Massala, Gram 17 Milk 67 Milk, Massala 67 Mysore Pak 58
N
Nakaldana 59 Nakaldana, Coconut 59
O
Okra and Coconut 37 76 The Hare Krsna Cookbook
Index
Pakora 44 Paratha 30 Paratha II 30 Paratha, Stuffed 30 Paratha, Stuffed (II) 31 Peanuts and Raisins 59 Peas and Peanuts 37 Peas and Tomatoes with
Casein 37 Pera 56 Poppers 44 Potatoes and Cabbage,
Mashed 38 Potatoes and Peppers 37 Potatoes and Yoghurt 38 Potatoes, Cauliflower and
Peas 38 Potatoes, Cauliflower in Yoghurt 38 Potatoes, Deep Fried 38 Potatoes, Sweet 40 Pulao 21 Puris 31 Pushpana with Casein 22
R
Raita, Cucumber (I) 51 Raita, Cucumber (II) 52 Raita, Potato (I) 52 Raita, Potato (II) 52 Rasaballi 64 Rasagulla 63 Rasagulla, Bengali 63
Rice, Lemon 21 Rice, Lime 21 Rice, Potato 21 Rice, Puffed 45 Rice, Rainbow 22 Rice, Red 22 Rice, Spicy 23 Rice, Sweet (I) 65 Rice, Sweet (II) 65 Rice, Sweet (III) 65 Rice with Peas 22 Rice with Peas and
Peanuts 23 Rice with Spinach 23 Rice, Yellow 23 Rose Petal Preserves 51
S
Simply Wonderfuls 59 Sopai Pillas 31 Spices 15 Spinach, Eggplant and
Chick-Peas 39 Spinach in Coconut Milk. . .39 String Beans 39 String Beans and
Eggplant 39 Sweet Potato Balls 60 Sweet Potato Crisp 60 Samosa 46 Sandesh 64 Something Else 64 Sweetballs 65
Index
Sweet Balls, Coconut 56
T
Tamarind Water 18
Tomatoes and Plantains. . . .40
U
Upma 40
Upma II 40
W
Watermelon Sherbert 60
Whole Wheat Diamonds 31
Y
Yoghurt 18
Z
Zucchini and Peppers 41
Rippers notes:
Cashews are better than peanuts. Peanuts and peanut oil are hard to digest – not good for silence and clarity of mind.
Camphor must be purchased from an Indian grocery store and must be labeled “natural”. The synthetic stuff from the phamacy may contain toxic substances.
If you don’t care about clarity and depth of meditation, onions can be added to some of the recipes.
The Hare Krsna Cookbook 77
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