Stories behind the prasadas in Bengaluru temples

A storytelling and tasting session slated for Sunday explores the history of prasadas devotees get to savour in Bengaluru temples. ‘Divine Delicacies’, as the session is titled, will be hosted by professional storyteller Aparna Jaishankar.

Attendees will also get to taste the prasadas. Samples of these will be prepared by the in-house team of Atta Galatta, the venue.

Aparna talks about the culinary legacy of various prasadas, tracking them back to Indian mythology and folklore.

“There is more to mythology than bhakti (devotion). More often than not, we tend to associate Indian mythology only with religion and prayers. But I look at our mythology as a source of stories and lessons one can learn from them. Everyone relishes the delicious food offered at temples, but not many know the story behind these prasadas. Who decides which god likes which food?” asks Aparna.

She will focus on five kinds of prasadas popular in Bengaluru — puliyogare (spicy tamarind rice), kadalekai (groundnut), kosambari (salad made with pulses and vegetables), curd rice, and sakkare pongal (sweet dish made with jaggery and rice).

“Each temple offers a specific prasada and each has its own reason for doing that. For example, you’ll rarely find temples serving kadalekai as prasada, except at Dodda Basavana Gudi in Basavanagudi during the Kadalekai Parishe. The story behind it is quite popular and beautiful — the Bull would consume groundnuts offered by farmers, bless them, and promise to not ruin the fields. The worship itself is a form of gratitude towards the Bull for protecting the crops. Over the years, the temple has experimented with various recipes with kadalekai as the hero,” she explains.

Kosambari is another unique prasada, often offered in temples at Banashankari and Shakambari.

“Using a mix of vegetables for prasada is unique to the Karnataka belt. Kosambari is offered in these temples because Banashankari is the goddess of fertility, growth and agriculture. You’ll rarely find this at the devi temples in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They view the goddess differently,” explains Aparna.

The most common prasada at city temples is puliyogare. The one offered at the Melkote Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple is the most sought-after. “The popularity of puliyogare is interesting because tamarind isn’t originally from south India,” she adds. On the other hand, curd rice can be found across multiple Shiva temples. 

The choice of prasadas depends on many other factors. “During hotter months, most big temples offer curd rice in the morning and afternoon to cope with the heat and then switch to puliyogare or chitranna (lemon rice) towards the evening. Many bigger temples offer full meals as prasadas. The goal has always been to provide nutritious food because, for many, the prasada is often the only source of food,” she adds.

‘Divine Delicacies’, on March 17, 1.30 pm, at Atta Galatta, Indiranagar. Tickets online.