Typical food you get when you're attending an Indian religious puja
in Nickerie, Suriname. It's a vegetarian meal containing:
- Roti or rice
- Dhaal. Dhaal is a kind of soup made of mung bean with indian spices such as, cumin, Panch phoron, tumeric and some Garam masala
- curry potato with eggplant or yardlong bean
- pumpkin. This is also made with indian spices
- karhie. Karhie is also a soup but this one is made of yellow peas.
- Chutney. Chutney is a spicy or savory condiment originating in India and it's made from fruits, vegetables, and/or herbs with vinegar, sugar, and spices.
All of this is cooked on a chulha at the house where the puja will be held. A chulha is nothing more that just a stove made of clay. The food is cooked on the Chulha beacuse it gives a fine flavour to the food. Some also believe that cooking on a Chulha will create a sattva predominant environment in the area.
The first thing you have to do is go find a nice spot on the dining table after washing your hands. After that the waiters will come and distribute the leaves. Then the food-team will come with a jug filled with water and a bowl. They will pour the water on the leaf so you can wash it. Right After that, people of the food-team will walk in a row along you. Each of them has a bowl with one of the food item. They will ask if you want (for example) pumpkin, if so, you say yes and if you don't want pumpkin you say no. And than you can start to enjoy your delicious meal!
This is not the only thing you get to eat! You will also get sweets, deserts and "persad" to eat!
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