The Ayurvedic system of diet categorises all food into three types: satvik, rajsik and tamsik. This is based on their observed effect upon the body. Satvik food energises the body while rajsik and tamsik cause restlessness, hyperactivity, irritability and increase toxins in the body.
Therefore, Sanatan Dharma advises that when one is focussed on any activity that is meant for the purification of one’s body or mind, tamsik food must be avoided.
During Pitru Paksh or when doing a shradh for one’s loved ones, too, the simple rule of thumb is to avoid onion and garlic.
There are some other do’s and don’ts in the food cooked in one’s kitchen, that one may follow as per one’s capacity. They are:
- No turmeric
- No saffron
- No asafoetida
- No peas
- No red chilli
- No gram flour
- Use only ghee – no oil – both for cooking and frying
- Use water from the sacred rivers (Jamuna jal)
In a typical home kitchen, there are a few must items for the shradh ka bhog (offering):
1. Salad or kachumar of cucumber and tomato
2. Grated salad of radish-ginger-lemon
3. Puffed discs of dried lentils (sukhe dal ka bada)
4. Curd with puffed lentil balls (dahi bada)
5. Milk-rice pudding (kheer. If the day is Ekadashi according to the Hindu calendar, one may replace the rice with:
- Puffed lotus seeds or tal makhana
- Pearl sago or sabudana
- Barnyard millet or samak
6. Potato curry
7. Sponge gourd or bottle gourd vegetable
8. One can make something the elder was fond of
9. Fluffy, deep-fried wheat breaks or puri
10. Crispy, urad dal puri or Bedmi
11. Sweet wheat pancakes or puda
12. Water
If you decide to feed a Brahmin, here is the traditional method: Place a mat on a clean spot on the floor for him to sit on and a small stool for the food. A washed and wiped banana leaf is kept on top of the stool. After the food is served and eaten, one does a tilak of the Brahmin.
Prepare a few items for the tilak after the meal: 1. Vermillion or roli 2. Rice or chawal 3. A towel to wipe one’s hands 4. Clove and cardamom (lavang and elaichi) to offer to the Brahmin after he has eaten 5. Dakshina as per one’s capacity and desire: ₹11, ₹21, ₹51, ₹101, ₹501 plus cost of transport 6. Clothes (vastra): dhoti, towel for the shradh of a male family member and sari with blouse for the rites of a female family member.
