Hinduism is unique in that it treats Gods as one among them.
Gods are bathed,dressed up,fed, married, sent to bedroom with consort .
The offerings to God at the end of a Pooja or Payer is mandatory.
Standard daily offering is Betel-leaves, Betel-nuts and Plantains.
Coconut is also included during special functions.
The belief is that what plan to eat must be offered to God as a mark of thanks giving to Him for having provided us with food.
Another reason is that it is the belief of the Hindus that Food articles, whether cooked or uncooked are impure,might contain negative thought waves by those who produced them because of their personal problems or they not having been compensated adequately.
Edible products may also contain some inherent properties which may be injurious to our Physical and mental health.
By offering these to God before we eat, God relieves of these impurities and makes the food fit to eat.
For details please read my post Naivedyam, How to Offer, filed under Hinduism.
Some special food items are offered to Deities in the Temples.
Some items offered are odd.
They are in tune with the local legend of the Deity.
In Uppiliaapn Koil, near Mayuram,Tamil Nadu, Lord Venkateswara is offered Food without Salt.
Legend has it that Father of.Tamil Saint Andal,of Srivilliputtur,wife of Lord Vishnu in his form a manga Mannar, informed and prayed Lord Vishnu that his daughter whom he has married was brought up by him .
He being s Sanyasi used to take less of Salt or no salt at all.
Their fore His daughter may not know how to cook or cook with less or no Salt at all. He prayed God that He bear with her.
Lord Vishnu replied that hence forth He would accept food ony with out Salt at Uppiliappan Koil.
This is being practiced even to-day. Cooked Rice with Kumkum and turmeric powder is offered for Mariamman in general and it is also offered in Samayapuram.
In Madurai and Srivilliputtur a specially cooked Milk, which tastes Divine, called/Arvanai Pal, is offered.
In Sri Rangam and Srivillputhur,a Special Huge Dosa, cooked with out oil and containing dried Ginger is offered.
One can not eat even a half of thi and this Dosa does not go stale even after a week.
Every one knows the Tirupati Laddu. In Sabarimala, Lord Ayyappa is offered Aravanai Payasam, an exquisite sweet delicacy.
In Ujjain Lord Kala Bhairva is offered country liquor!
Special Maha Prasad id offered at Puri, to Lord Jagannath.(Orissa, India) In Andhra Paramaannam is offerd to Gods.
This contains Cooked Rice Jaggery, coconut gratings, a slight variation of Sarkarai Pongal of Tamils ,
Other standard offerings are Ven Pongal, Thayir Sadam.
In Chidambaram Nataraja temple, a special dish, Brinjal Gotsu is offered to the Lord along with Samba Saadam.
I shall post the Recipes for for offering to God and course for us to eat and enjoy.
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