At street food fest, temples to exhibit signature prasad

NEW DELHI: Puliyodharai (tamarind rice) from Madurai’s Meenakshi Amman Temple, chikki (jaggery brittle) and churma laddu from Somnath Temple in Saurashtra will be among the signature prasad from famous temples being served at the National Street Food Festival in New Delhi between January 12 and 14.

Stalls offering traditional temple foods to showcase the legendary staple served to the Gods will be among the food at the food festival organised by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI).

“The festival is in its ninth year and for the first time, we will have popular Indian temples displaying their bhog. We thought it would be interesting to invite temples to display their prasad and those who haven’t had the chance to travel and enjoy these offerings can get to taste them,” says Pawan Agarwal, CEO, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which is supporting the festival.

About 10 to 12 temples are expected to present their prasad at the festival.

“Nine have confirmed and we are expecting some more temples to confirm their participation soon,” said Arvind Singh, president, NASVI.

The temple managements are happy with the opportunity to showcase their culinary skills. “We offer different types of laddus and chikki as prasad and have our signature recipe to prepare it. Our prasad is very popular and we also take orders online,” says Sanjaybhai Joshi, temple supervisor, Somnath Temple.

Also on display will be stalls offering “festival foods”, such as those associated with Diwali, Holi, Pongal etc.

“The stalls will also showcase a variety of festive cuisines from across the country. This will be a good platform for cross cultural exchange as far as festive foods are concerned,” says Agarwal.

An organic food bazaar will promote organic farming.

“It will be a complete mix of Indian flavours,” says Singh.