Often when we hear of Purushottama month or Caturmasya (4 months of austerities from certain foodstuffs), we may feel there is just too much restriction, especially in not being able to take our favourite foodstuffs such as tomatoes, honey, runner beans etc.
Instead of looking at it as a bane, we must learn how to look at these months as a boon. It is a time we are restricting such foodstuffs in order to control our senses and to get closer to Sri Guru and Krsna.
In that instance, we cannot also say we will cook some potatoes and rice and that will do for the devotees. Instead, we must remember when we cook, we are indeed cooking for Sri Guru and Krsna. It is a time when we have to think creatively and out of the box to come up with simple yet palatable dishes for our Lordships.
We can take this time and cook something nice for Sri Guru and Krsna and most importantly to cultivate loving relationships and develop out devotion with Them. It's like this. Would we cook something not so palatable for our family members? When we cultivate loving relationships with Sri Guru, we must ask ourselves, "Will Gurudeva like to take this?"
Therefore, we must embrace such months where many inspirational recipes may emerge from our hearts to cook for Their Lordship. After all these holy months are a time when we are tested of our patience, tolerance and devotion.
So, happy cooking and chanting and observing these holy months!
Purushottama month ki jaya!1
Caturmasya months ki jaya!!
Below are some cooking ideas for these months.
a) Dhall and chapati or rice and spinach
b) tofu gravy
c) ladies fingers in grated coconut
d) pumpkin chutney with chapati or white rice
e) apple chutney with chapati
f) fried cabbage and potatoes
g) stir fried asparagus, fried tofu and capsicum
h) pan fried radish with a little bit of chilli powder
and the list goes on.
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