How to Make Kitri (aka Kitcheree) Part I
Kitri is a sadhu’s meal, because it’s a combination of rice and dal and vegetables all cooked in one pot. The sadhus, the holy men in India, since they have no home, are generally wandering, living a very simple life, and they don’t want to be bothered with cooking every day. They don’t have the time, and they don’t have the facility, so they make what is known as kitri, a combination of dal, rice and a variety of vegetables, whatever is available to them. More here… »
We, as human beings, are living at the mercy of nature. The sunlight, the water, the fruits, the vegetables — everything that we require to sustain our life from day to day is provided by nature.
But nature is not acting automatically. We have to ask, “Whose nature?” Just like we have a friend, and we say, “Oh, their nature is to be very happy.” Or we have another friend, and “his nature is always morose.” When we speak of nature, we have to ask, “Whose nature?” And the answer is: Krishna’s nature. It is God’s nature. This is His nature to be magnanimous and to support and nourish all His children.
When devotees cook, we cook with the idea that we are going to accept Krishna’s nature — the fruits, the vegetables, milk, the grains. Everything we accept, we take the ingredients and prepare them in a special way and offer them to Krishna, just as a servant would take the ingredients the master provides, prepare them and offer them to the master at the table. When the master is done eating, whatever is left over, the servant accepts as his food. That is called prasadam, or the mercy of Krishna.
Hansadutta demonstrates how to make fresh cheese (paneer)
Milk is nothing but the blood of the cow transformed. A gallon of milk makes 1-1/2 pounds of curd, equivalent to 1-1/2 pounds of meat. Curd is the civilized way for human beings to consume meat. To consume the animal directly by slaughtering it and eating its flesh is barbaric. It’s also not economically viable, and is very cruel. Ultimately, it is spiritually very destructive, because in nature the law is every action brings reaction.
Hansadutta demonstrates his World Famous Potato Pancakes!
Ingredients
red potatoes, grated (allot one large or two small potatoes per serving)
2 tablespoons ghee
sea salt (optional: sea salt mixed with black salt)
