Light Hearted Delicacies: A Journey of Faith and Celebration

In life, some things are simply inexplicable. During our youthful years, when faced with unexpected events, both of us lost our faith in God. For several years, we stayed distant from the divine. Yet, deep down, we continued to believe in an unknown power, a force that orchestrates everything. After a few years, this very force guided us from the bustling city of Mumbai to the serene village of Tural and settled us at its feet. In our home, right at the entrance, stands a small yet sacred Gopalakrishna temple. Slowly, as circumstances allowed, this divine presence began to draw us back into a life of devotion and service. Otherwise, no one could have imagined that Nitin would leave his busy professional life, and that I would join him in this unexpected journey. But here we are, 14 years later, still living in this peaceful retreat with no plans to return to Mumbai.

Every year, on the auspicious occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi, I would celebrate the day in a simple manner. However, this year, I was determined to make it special. It’s true that everything needs to align for such a celebration. Since our marriage, I had heard about a family within our relations known for their immense devotion. They served God with all their heart and were equally passionate about food. I had heard stories about their elaborate fasting rituals, especially during Ashadhi Ekadashi. They would begin planning 15 days in advance, discussing what dishes to prepare. In those days, when there were no YouTube or recipe channels, they would create dishes that were unheard of, even making pizza when it had not yet entered our kitchens or markets. Preparing different dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, planning the accompaniments, and ensuring the availability of raw materials for fasting must have been quite a challenge. Ever since hearing these stories, I had a desire to prepare similar fasting dishes, but the opportunity never arose—until today. Everything aligned perfectly—mood, time, and ingredients. This is indeed Vitthal’s grace!

At our homestay, we have a priest who comes to perform the rituals for the deities, so I usually do not interfere in the temple room. However, I have two small idols of Vitthal that I wanted to adorn with beautiful garlands. But with the heavy rains in Konkan, finding flowers was a challenge. Despite searching our large garden, I could only find four flowers. So, I bathed the idols, made a garland with the flowers and tulsi leaves I had, and offered it to them. I thought, even if there aren’t many flowers, let’s find joy in what we have!

Fasting foods are often said to cause acidity, but today I decided to ignore that and set a menu. My colleague was on leave today, as she had to go out for some work. Not for help, but for the selfish reason that there would be one more person to share the meal with, I wished she was here. Because at home, it’s just the two of us, and how much can you cook for just two? In the end, I decided to make everything but in small quantities, like a doll’s kitchen. I also wanted to use the jackfruit flour that I had recently prepared. So, I set my mind to it and got to work.

In the morning, after completing the garland and flower arrangements, and having a simple breakfast of sweet potato sabudana, I felt a bit more energized. Then I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. But I’ve always felt that cooking for 25 people is easier than cooking for just two. How little can you cook? Moreover, my husband, no matter how much he likes something, won’t eat more than half a bite.  And he isn’t particularly fond of fasting foods, so you can imagine… But today, I wasn’t in the mood to listen… So, I made everything!

For the afternoon snack:

Left side: Coconut chutney, pumpkin raita, cucumber salad, and sabudana papads.

Right side: Potato bhaji.

Sweet: Sweet potato slices and jackfruit flour sheera.

Thin dish: Peanut curry.

Main dish: Thalipeeth made of Sabudana flour, jackfruit flour, grated potato, soaked sabudana, with homemade ghee on top.

Curd and buttermilk!

The only failed dish: Sweet potato gulab jamun. Didn’t take a photo!     

I still have many dishes in mind, but there wasn’t enough time for fasting today.

Currently, I’m resting, but in the evening, I’m planning to make…

Sabudana vada, chunda, and if possible, mango mastani?

This story is just one of the many ways we celebrate and honor the divine at our homestay, Rustic Holidays. Whether you are here for a peaceful retreat or to experience our unique traditions, we invite you to join us in the serene beauty of Tural, where every moment is a celebration of life and faith.

Shilpa Nitin Karkare

Tural, Sangameshwar

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