An offering from us all on the launch of shalikuta.org, culled from our past writings to show the great regional and cultural importance of this most simple and minimal of Indian offerings–made with rice, of course.
Ksheerabdhi Kanyaka, or why kheer must always be stirred
There once was a celestial ocean of milk, the kṣīra-sāgara, deep within which lay an immortalizing nectar that of course both devas and asuras both were driven to seek. Together, they churned the ocean with the great snake Vasuki as rope coiled around Mount Mandara, facing enormous difficulty—the sinking of the Mount, the fumes from Vasuki’s nostrils, the release of a terrible poison which Shiva swallowed, turning his throat blue—but then emerged 14 other entities including Kamadhenu, the wish-granting cow; Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree; the Parijat or night-blooming jasmine; the horse Uchhaishravas, the elephant Airavata, Chandra the moon, Dhanavantri the divine physician, and Mahalakshmi, goddess of all things rich and resplendent. The kṣīra-sāgara is also where Vishnu lies in eternal repose; when Mahalakshmi emerges, she becomes his consort.
Kṣīra is of course also the Sanskrit origin of our common, most beloved and purest of ceremonial offerings: kheer. Literally, this is milk; symbolically it is undifferentiated prakriti or primordial matter prior to the emergence of the universe. Now we think of churning as the act which produces butter from milk, but before butter there is cream which rises as the kheer cooks, coaxed upwards by the stirring of rice grains so they absorb all the milk’s water, soften, break, and allow the milk to thicken, mingling their richness with its own. Perhaps Airavata emerges, too, and the luminous white moon; perhaps the night-blooming jasmine showers blossoms—but what we most readily perceive is the creamy richness that is Lakshmi herself.
So, while most recipes will make it easy and say you don’t need to stir your kheer except at the end maybe, really the mixing, churning, stirring, turning of kheer is like the samudra manthan: you are, with rice and sugar, calling to the Goddess who resides within, and you are bringing the world into being.
Deepa, for Shalikuta
GUDANNA PRIYA
She who has a flaming hue, she who dwells in the flesh of living creatures, she who has a deep affection for rice cooked with Jaggery, she who showers all the world’s happiness on all devotees, she who loves offerings of rice married with ghee, and who is uniquely enamoured of sweet rice made of raw sugar, she’s called the Snigdhau danapriya, Payasannapriya, gudanna prita manasayai.
We all have it in our shlokas. There’s no apt reason, why she loves rice so much, and to be precise, the sweetened rice. But its a well practiced communion to bring Devi and Sweetened rice together! To those who keep chanting the Lalitha Saharanama during the course of the day, all these phrases and meanings would sound very familiar!
raktavarnā māṁsaniṣthā gudānnaprītamānasā samastabhaktasukhadā lākinyaṁbāsvarūpinī…
Gudanna priya, is one of Goddess Lalitha’s names. Gudanna/Paramanna has been the constant offering in Devi temples in Karnataka, also, back in Udupi, its called Paramanna (Param Anna: The Divine Rice)
Pratiba, for Shalikuta
A LIFECYCLE OF PAYES
Paramanna or Payes as per the 8th century ‘Isvarasamhita’ is a preparation made with rice, milk and jaggery, considered as the supreme form of oblation to God. But for us Bengalis it’s much more than food. From birth to death, a bowl of payes signifies the love, warmth and blessings that surrounds and protects us in the form of family.
Annaprashan/ Mukhebhat (first rice ceremony) is the first rites of passage for a Bengali infant at his or her 5th month. She intakes her first morsel of solid food in the form of a pristine white fragrant payes.
As she grows up this tradition stays on. Every birthday, the mother would lovingly cook a bowlful of payes which the elders feed her with blessings for a brighter future.
Aiburobhat or a girl’s last meal as bachelorette again needs some payes to give her courage to enter a new life. In the coastal parts of Bengal there is a special type of Payes known as ‘Maa-kheeri’ prepared on this occasion. along with the usual ingredients it also uses a bit of a salt to make the girl remember her time with her family and is flavoured with ginger.
Boubhat marks the ritual of a bride cooking and serving rice to her new family for the first time. In most cases payes is made with a belief that this sweet dish will give an auspicious start to her new journey.
Monglir Kheer’ is a basic form of payes made with rice, milk and jaggery and is prepared and distributed when a calf is born to a farmer.
With Payes being everywhere, no wonder Bengal once grew specific variety of rice for this purpose. While an old folk rhyme talks about Payes made with ‘Chini atop’, other talks about ‘Tulsimala’. Both these rice in question is short grain, aromatic variety just like gobindobhog which now a days has become synonymous as payeser chal (rice for making payes).
Other varieties known to make good payes are ‘Tulaipanji’, ‘Kanakchur’ and ‘Kalo nunia’. In North Bengal people believe that serving payes with Tulaipanji on Bhaiduj strengthens the siblings whereas in the very famous MadanMohan Temple of Kochbihar only highly aromatic Kalo Nunia is used to make the bhoger payes (offering to God).
Sayantani, for Shalikuta
FOr Saraswati on Basant Panchami
Saraswati. One of the powerful Goddess of the Vedic period. The Goddess of wisdom, learning and arts. A deity widely worshipped by the student community on the day of Basant Panchami, one finds her being mentioned in the Rig Veda both as a powerful Goddess and as a mighty river. There is a very famous rigvedic mantra –
अम्बितमे नदीतमे देवीतमे सरस्वति
अप्रशस्ता इव स्मसि प्रशस्ति मम्ब नस्कृधि ।
O Saraswati! You are the best and greatest among the motherly forces, rivers and goddesses. O mother! Make favorable all the unfavorable conditions (of my life).
Though in the later Puranas, the association with the river ceases and gets associated more with wisdom and learning. Popular lore puts it to being a case of a powerful river that disappeared into the depths of the earth after being cursed by Ganesha and later resurrected as a Goddess. But there is a small section in Skanda Purana which mentions her being entrusted with a crucial responsibility by Vishnu which caused her to flow underground.
With today being the occasion of Basant Panchami, I prepared a pristine white kheer for bhog using the fragrant Pimpudibasa rice. Kheer or rather payasa/payasam is one of the finest examples of the gustatory aspect of Hindu worship rituals. And the only one sanctioned both by Buddhist and Jain scriptures. In ancient days, kheer/Payas was made with milk(payam), ghee and honey with the finest possible rice grains. It has a number of therapeutic effects like smoothening the vocal chords, boosting up the brain cells, soothing the mind etc. It is categorized as the best among the sattvik manmade food items. Furthermore, the rice represents unblemished good conduct, milk stands for compassion and purity, honey stands for sweetness and hard work, and ghee stands for sacrifice, smoothness and perseverance. All these qualities are characteristic of any true seeker or worshipper of knowledge.
As I offer this bowl of Kheer made with one of the finest rice that we have to Maa Saraswati on behalf of Shalikuta, I pray to her to show us the way.
Sweta, for Shalikuta
ARAVANA for DEVI
In Kerala, Payasam is traditionally made mostly in two ways: rice cooked with milk and sugar or rice cooked with jaggery and coconut milk.
Then there’s Aravana or Nei Payasam. It is mostly made in temples as neivedhyam for ritual offering and shared as “prasadam” with devotees. Most people know it as the Payasam from Sabarimala. However, it is made in other temples across Kerala, especially in Bhagavathy or Devi temples. Aravana or Nei Payasam is the neivedhyam for Bhagavathy Seva pooja.
One legend credits this Payasam to Sage Aravana who supposedly first made it with rice he was carrying to Sabarimala where he offered the Payasam to Lord Ayyappa. Another says Aravana means “God” and hence the name for the Payasam.
This payasam is made with Unakkalari or Chemba rice, a semi polished raw red rice. It is cooked till soft and then cooked till thick to a porridge like consistency with jaggery and lots of ghee. The finishing touch is the addition of thin coconut slivers fried crisp in ghee. Since it is very rich in ghee and quite sweet, the payasam keeps longer. It is eaten only a teaspoon or two at a time, as prasadam is meant to be.
My version is less sweet and less rich, to serve as a sweet on occasion. Though not traditional, I like to add a little cardamom and ghee fried ripe plantain to my Nei Payasam.
Aparna, for Shalikuta
WEEKLY OFFERINGS
Kheer, a food so simple yet worthy of offering to Gods. An ancient dish that finds mention in mythology, legends, fables and food lore. A dish with numerous regional renditions and part of many food traditions. And yet I have never been a fan of Kheer, maybe because as a community, Gujaratis tend to gravitate towards Doodhpak (Gujju take on Kheer) or that I am yet to find a fellow Gujarati who could feed me the luscious, custardy, creamy, faintly fragrant kheer. Honestly, for Gujaratis, kheer doesn’t feature as a dish to showcase our culinary flair. We might have underestimated its simplicity. I can recall making kheer just couple of times in the past 35 years that I have been cooking.
But that changed two years ago when the looming uncertainties made me follow a family elder’s advice, and I began offering rice kheer to Devi Saraswati Ma and Lakshmiji once every week. I was doing so for the continued well being of the twin Devis of my life, my twin girls.
‘Making Kheer is no rocket science’, we are told. All you need is Milk+Rice+Sugar and a little bit of time. There are recipes that instruct to use creamy milk, but none apprise on rice’s role in giving us creamy Kheer. No one tells us that when it comes to Kheer, rice is the protagonist and one needs to be wise with the choice of rice. The much loved slender, long-grained basmati isn’t an ideal choice, but the stubby and starchy aromatic rice works wonders to give Kheer the desired texture, taste and mouthfeel. Offering Kheer to the divine was set to be a weekly tradition in our household, and I wanted the Kheer to taste the way it should, ambrosial! Kamod, Kolam, Masuri, Jeerasar, Bangalo, Khusboi–I tried them all, but the quest ended with Amba Mor, the very fragrant, sticky, sweet, stubby and highly nourishing rice from Gujarat’s Dangs and Maharashtra’s Western Ghats. A variety of rice named so because it looks and radiates an aroma similar to Amba Mor/ Mango Blossoms. The pearl-like grains of Amba Mor gave me the luxuriant Kheer I had always yearned to make!!
Sheetal, for Shalikuta
Sunset offerings
The Chhat Puja dedicated to Lord Sun and Chhathi Maiyya is celebrated in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand. The 4-day festivities include fasting, holy bathing, offering prayers at sunrise & sunset, and enjoying traditional meals prepared during the auspicious day. The first day is called Nahana Khana (holy bathing followed by a meal), the second day is Kheer Bhojan, the third day is Sandhya Argh (evening offering) followed by the fourth day of morning rituals at sunrise. Devotees, after observing an entire day of fasting refrain from consuming grains and water, and break the fast after an elaborate ritual during sunset, with the special kheer.
The preparation of kheer is done with utmost care, devotion, and reverence for the deities ensuring a high ritual purity standard. Jaggery is used in the kheer as it increases the purity and nutritional value of the food. A common saying is that Surya dev loves anything bright so, the light brown color of the kheer represents the sun. Kheer Bhojan is a sacred meal, often shared with the family & community members to bring in blessing and prosperity.
Jyoti, for Shalikuta
