Comments on: A Sacred Sweet: Kheer http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2009/11/01/a-sacred-sweet-kheer/ Cook Local, Eat Global Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:50:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 By: Deborah http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2009/11/01/a-sacred-sweet-kheer/#comment-128781 Deborah Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:11:47 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=1203#comment-128781 This sounds delicious! My local Indian restaurant serves something that sounds very similar to this, bar one thing: There's has a definite coconut flavor. This sounds delicious! My local Indian restaurant serves something that sounds very similar to this, bar one thing: There’s has a definite coconut flavor.

]]> By: Yogi http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2009/11/01/a-sacred-sweet-kheer/#comment-128778 Yogi Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:46:55 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=1203#comment-128778 Hi Barbara, I made this today for my 11-year-old daughter, who is in bed with strep throat. I substituted vanilla sugar and lemon zest for the cardomon and pomegranite seeds (which I didn't have and can't go out for!), and she loved it. Your recipe is perfect. Next try, I'm using ginger while cooking, and topping with crushed candied ginger for a party. Thanks! Hi Barbara,

I made this today for my 11-year-old daughter, who is in bed with strep throat. I substituted vanilla sugar and lemon zest for the cardomon and pomegranite seeds (which I didn’t have and can’t go out for!), and she loved it. Your recipe is perfect.

Next try, I’m using ginger while cooking, and topping with crushed candied ginger for a party.

Thanks!

]]> By: Jayasri http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2009/11/01/a-sacred-sweet-kheer/#comment-128197 Jayasri Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:10:51 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=1203#comment-128197 Hi Barbara, I'm a frequent reader of your lovely blog. Just wanted to let you know that your description of the significance and recipe for kheer are both fantastic. I learned a lot from this post. I'm a South Indian living in updtate NY and and I love reading your blog whenever I'm hungry (which is pretty often)! Thanks for all the wonderful posts. jayasri Hi Barbara,

I’m a frequent reader of your lovely blog. Just wanted to let you know that your description of the significance and recipe for kheer are both fantastic.
I learned a lot from this post. I’m a South Indian living in updtate NY and and I love reading your blog whenever I’m hungry (which is pretty often)!

Thanks for all the wonderful posts.
jayasri

]]> By: Gowri http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2009/11/01/a-sacred-sweet-kheer/#comment-127917 Gowri Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:47:29 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=1203#comment-127917 I'm sorry for repeating my rather long post. My computer decided to take matters into its own hands! I’m sorry for repeating my rather long post. My computer decided to take matters into its own hands!

]]> By: Gowri http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2009/11/01/a-sacred-sweet-kheer/#comment-127915 Gowri Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:43:58 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=1203#comment-127915 An enjoyable post, as yours usually are, but a caveat: there’s nothing ‘sacred’ about kheer. Most Hindus, and not just Vaishnavas, followers of Vishnu, of whom Krishna is a much-loved avatar, or incarnation, would not eat beef, or kill a cow. Whether or not the cow is sacred to Hindus is not easy to answer. As a respected authority on Hinduism put it, ”…’sacred’” means a lot more than not to be killed, and is, in any case, a Christian term that can be, at best, vaguely and inadequately applied in India.” That apart, if being made from milk is the reason for kheer being sacred, a large number of Indian foods would have to be considered 'sacred' - rasagolla, basundhi (both sweets made from milk), cottage cheese, yoghurt, buttermilk, various curries made from yoghurt, or containing cream…. A food doesn't generically acquire special status just because it’s offered to a deity. What is offered is what tradition and folklore say the presiding deity likes to eat. The worshipper is trying to please him or her, after all. Thus, the offering in a temple to Bhagavati (one of the fierce aspects of the female divine) in Kerala that I once went to, is goat curry. Conversely, the offering to Krishna in many temples and on various occasions is food other than milk or milk products. Nor does a food become ‘sacred’ because it’s a staple; foodgrains are consumed far more abundantly than milk. It's interesting that one of the traditionally cooked dishes in many parts of India for Id ul Fitr, the Muslim feast that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan is sevai kheer, also called sheer korma, a kheer made with vermicelli. Payasam is a general term for a type of liquid or semi-liquid South Indian sweet many of which need not contain milk. I haven't come across kushmanda. In which part of the subcontinent is kheer so called? An enjoyable post, as yours usually are, but a caveat: there’s nothing ‘sacred’ about kheer.
Most Hindus, and not just Vaishnavas, followers of Vishnu, of whom Krishna is a much-loved avatar, or incarnation, would not eat beef, or kill a cow. Whether or not the cow is sacred to Hindus is not easy to answer. As a respected authority on Hinduism put it, ”…’sacred’” means a lot more than not to be killed, and is, in any case, a Christian term that can be, at best, vaguely and inadequately applied in India.” That apart, if being made from milk is the reason for kheer being sacred, a large number of Indian foods would have to be considered ‘sacred’ – rasagolla, basundhi (both sweets made from milk), cottage cheese, yoghurt, buttermilk, various curries made from yoghurt, or containing cream….
A food doesn’t generically acquire special status just because it’s offered to a deity. What is offered is what tradition and folklore say the presiding deity likes to eat. The worshipper is trying to please him or her, after all. Thus, the offering in a temple to Bhagavati (one of the fierce aspects of the female divine) in Kerala that I once went to, is goat curry. Conversely, the offering to Krishna in many temples and on various occasions is food other than milk or milk products. Nor does a food become ‘sacred’ because it’s a staple; foodgrains are consumed far more abundantly than milk.
It’s interesting that one of the traditionally cooked dishes in many parts of India for Id ul Fitr, the Muslim feast that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan is sevai kheer, also called sheer korma, a kheer made with vermicelli.
Payasam is a general term for a type of liquid or semi-liquid South Indian sweet many of which need not contain milk. I haven’t come across kushmanda. In which part of the subcontinent is kheer so called?

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