Vegetarianism

1970’s Devotee Cookbook

03 Aug 2012 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Prasadam, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarian Recipies, Vegetarianism Tags: cookbook manuscript, cooking for Krsna, devotee cookbook, Hare Krishna recipes, Iskcon, Prasadam, prasadam pastimes, Revatinanda dasa, Srila Prabhupada, The Hare Krishna Movement, vegetarian cooking, vegetarian recipes, vegetarianism

Ran across this fine devotee cookbook on the Sampradaya Sun this morning, and thought we should share it with our readers. The recipes did in fact remind us of the early “love feasts”, and devotee diet in the early days of the Hare Krishna Movement. Very Nice!

1970’s Devotee Cookbook
BY: SUN STAFF
Aug 02, 2012 — CANADA (SUN) —

The following cookbook manuscript, which contains a wonderful collection of vintage Hare Krsna recipes, was handed to us several years ago by a devotee, who’d been carrying an old photocopy of it around for many years. While the manuscript doesn’t bear the author’s name, we’re told that it was likely compiled in the early 1970’s by Revatinanda dasa.

A bit of the text was illegible, but the manuscript is reproduced below. Obviously the cookbook was written while Srila Prabhupada was still physically present. Judging from the language and recipes, our best guess is that it’s circa 1972-73. The recipes will be pleasurably familiar to devotees who remember the wonderful prasadam pastimes in ISKCON temples during the ‘early days’.

Devotee Cookbook

“This is a very limited presentation of recipes for prasadam offerings that I have become practiced in preparing over the last few years. The ingredients and basic techniques used in the preparations are according to parampara tradition. Whether the details are as Srila Prabhupada would have exactly instructed, I do not know, but I have experienced on many occasions that He has been pleased by some of these exact preparations. Also I have experienced that devotees especially, and usually karmies (non-devotees) as well, are very much attracted by my preparations. For these reasons – to increase the attractiveness of our offerings to Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, and to increase the satisfaction of both the devotees and karmies with the prasadam they take to purify their existence – I have prepared this small cook-book. It is simply an offering of one devotee’s experience in the matter of prasadam preparation.

Sweet Stuffed Puri

15 Jun 2012 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarian Recipies, Vegetarianism Tags: cooking for Krishna, Prasadam, puri, sweet stuffed puri, vegetarian cooking, vegetarian recipeis

While I was visiting the Prabhupada News web site the other day, I saw this extraordinary image of a Stuffed Puri and following recipe. I thought I would wait until after Ekadasi to re-post it.

Sweet Stuffed Puri
By Joline
Stockholm, Sweden

Puri is a whole wheat bread. This is a recipe especially popular among kids.
Makes 10.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup water (lukewarm)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon butter/ghee
Oil or ghee to deep fry

The Case Against Animal Slaughter

19 May 2012 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Cow Protection, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarianism Tags: animal slaughter, Care For Cows, cow protection, Kurma Rupa dasa, meat-eating, vegetarian, vegetarian cooking, vegetarianism, world food crisis

The Case Against Animal Slaughter
Back to Godhead Magazine 1976, Vol 11, No. 1

From the standpoints of health, economics and ethics, animal slaughter and meat-eating are detrimental to human society.

Health

Although meat is certainly a source of concentrated protein it is a very poor source of other food elements like minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates. In addition, eating flesh from the cow or any other animal is detrimental to the health of human beings for many reasons. For example, if a human, who has a much longer colon than the carnivorous animals, eats flesh, the following problems will ensue:

1. Intestinal bacteria in the long bowel will change from fermentative to putrefactive, thus causing poisons to be absorbed into the bloodstream. These poisons need to be eliminated, so energy is diverted from other essential bodily functions, including thinking.

2. The natural synthesis of vitamin B12 will be inhibited, possibly leading to anemia.

3. Animal toxins will tend to disrupt the proper metabolism of carbohydrates. This can cause diabetes.

4. Nonnutritive substances resulting from the digestion of animal flesh tend to be carcinogenic (cancer-inducing) irritants.

The minimum daily requirement of protein, which nutritional experts calculate to be between seventy and ninety grams, is easily achieved with dairy products and foods from the vegetable kingdom. Protein, is found in ample quantity in milk, cheese, yogurt, whole wheat, corn, many varieties of nuts and beans, and some vegetables. Thus vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy products provide a perfectly balanced diet. Consuming animal flesh, on the other hand, results in excess protein, which produces liver ailments, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries.

Basic Chapati Recipe

13 Feb 2012 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarian Recipies, Vegetarianism Tags: chapati, chapati recipe, The Hare Krsna Cookbook, vegetarian cooking

From The Hare KRSNA Cookbook 1972

Basic Chapati
1 cup Whole Weat Flour
1/4 cup Melted Butter
Warm water

Mix the flour and water together, adding water gradually until dough is soft but not wet, and can be kneaded. Knead the dough until it’s fairly soft (8 to 10 minutes). Cover and let dough rest for one hour. Sprinkle flour on rolling area and makes 1-1/2 inch balls out of dough. Flatten balls and roll out to about 4-5″ diameter. Place the chapati on a heated skillet (dry, free from oil) and cook until bubbles appear. Turn chapati quickly and let cook until bubbles appear again. Using tongs, remove chapati from pan, and hold over an open flame or burner to make it puff up. Heat it first on the side that was first cooked. You can lay directly on the burner for a brief moment, but don’t let it stick. When chapati puffs up, turn quickly and repeat on other side till it puffs. Remove, butter both sides, and cover with a clean cloth to keep in heat while remaining chapatis are cooked.

Pasted from; http://www.harekrsna.com/practice/prasadam/recipes/breads.htm

Understanding Krsna and Christ

25 Dec 2011 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Lord Jesus Christ, Science of Self Realization, Srila Prabhupada Conversations, Vegetarianism Tags: Christ, Christos, Emmanuel Jungclaussen, Father Emmanuel, Jesus, Krishna, Krsna, Krsta, Lord Jesus Christ, Srila Prabhupada, the anointed one, The Science of Self Realization, Understanding Krsna and Christ

Conversation with Father Emmanuel

The Science of Self Realization
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 4 “Understanding Krsna and Christ”

Conversation with Father Emmanuel

In 1974, near ISKCON’s center in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, Srila Prabhupada and several of his disciples took a morning walk with father Emmanuel Jungclaussen, a Benedictine monk from Niederalteich Monastery.

Noticing that Srila Prabhupada was carrying meditation beads similar to the rosary, Father Emmanuel explained that he also chanted a constant prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, be merciful unto us.” The following conversation ensued.

Srila Prabhupada: What is the meaning of the word Christ?

Father Emmanuel: Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning “the anointed one.”

Srila Prabhupada: Christos is the Greek version of the word Krsna.

Father Emmanuel: This is very interesting.

Srila Prabhupada: When an Indian person calls on Krsna, he often says, “Krsta.” Krsta is a Sanskrit word meaning “attraction.” So when we address God as “Christ,” “Krsta,” or “Krsna,” we indicate the same all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Jesus said, “Our Father, who art in heaven, sanctified be Thy name,” that name of God was “Krsta” or “Krsna.” Do you agree?

Father Emmanuel: I think Jesus, as the son of God, has revealed to us the actual name of God: Christ. We can call God “Father,” but if we want to address Him by His actual name, we have to say “Christ.”

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. “Christ” is another way of saying Krsta, and “Krsta” is another way of pronouncing Krsna, the name of God. Jesus said that one should glorify the name of God, but yesterday I heard one theologian say that God has no name-that we can call Him only “Father.” A son may call his father “Father,” but the father also has a specific name. Similarly, “God” is the general name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose specific name is Krsna. Therefore whether you call God “Christ,” “Krsta,” or “Krsna,” ultimately you are addressing the same Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Hare Krishna Cookbook (Free PDF Download)

23 Dec 2011 16 Comments

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Free Downloads, Free eBooks, The Hare Krsna Cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarian Recipies, Vegetarianism Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, devotional service, Krishna, krsna consciousness, Krsna devi dasi, Prasadam, Sama devi dasi, singing dancing and feasting, The Hare Krsna Cookbook, vegetarian cooking, vegetarian recipies, vegetarianism

click on link at bottom to download entire book in pdf format

The Hare Krsna Cookbook
1973 Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
Compiled by Krsna devi dasi and Sama devi dasi

“The Hare Krsna Cookbook”, originally published in 1973, was the first widely distributed book of vegetarian recipes, throughout the Movement. This was the book myself and many early devotees learned to cook from, and remains today my all time favorite cookbook, and is a constant companion in our kitchen. We offer the complete book on a PDF Format as a gift to all our readers this Holiday Season.

Dedication

Prasadam means mercy, and this Prasadam Cookbook is dedicated to the fountainhead of all mercy, the spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He is by nature kind to every living entity, but that ocean of mercy becomes fully visible in his devotees.

Srila Prabhupada has not given us some dry, canned philosophy to chew; he has given us the nectar for which we have sought so long: he has taught us how to render transcendental loving service to the Lord in all our daily activities. This book illustrates on of them.

The Process of Krsna Consciousness is usually described as one of dinging, dancing and feasting. We have already demonstrated to the world how anyone can sing and dance to the holy names of God, Hare Krsna, and now, with the publication of this Prasadam Cookbook, we hope that the whole world will feast in honor of the Supreme Lord. That will make this world like Vrndavana, the transcendental abode of Krsna, where Krsna, Balarama and the monkeys visit every kitchen with thieving intend and bless the devotees with pure love of God. (Dedication from The Hare Krsna Cookbook)

Dwonload PDF Format 5.6MB The Hare KRSNA Cookbook

The Case Against Animal Slaughter

20 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Back to Godhead, Vegetarianism Tags: animal slaughter, Back to Godhead Magazine, economics, ethics, health, meat-eating, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarianism

The Case Against Animal Slaughter
From Back to Godhead Magazine 1976 Vol. 11 No. 1

From the standpoints of health, economics and ethics, animal slaughter and meat-eating are detrimental to human society.

Health

Vegetarian Health and Nutrition

03 Dec 2011 5 Comments

by The Hare Krishna Movement in The Hare Krsna Cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarianism Tags: Hare Krishna Movement, vegetarian cooking, vegetarian health and nutrition, vegetarian recipes, vegetarian times, vegetarianism

Vegetarian Health and Nutrition
From the book “The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking”
By Adiraja Dasa

“Can a vegetarian diet improve or restore health? Can it prevent certain diseases?

Advocates of vegetarianism have said yes for many years, although they didn’t have much support from modern science until recently. Now, medical researchers have discovered evidence of a link between meat-eating and such killers as heart disease and cancer, so they’re giving vegetarianism another look.

Since the 1960s, scientists have suspected that a meat-based diet is somehow related to the development of arteriosclerosis and heart disease. As early as 1961, the Journal of the American Medical Association said: “Ninety to ninety-seven percent of heart disease can be prevented by a vegetarian diet.” Since that time, several well-organized studies have scientifically shown that after tobacco and alcohol, the consumption of meat is the greatest single cause of mortality in Western Europe, the United States, Australia, and other affluent areas of the world.

The Importance of Prasadam

17 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Letters by Srila Prabhupada, Prasadam, Vegetarianism Tags: Aniruddha, Bhagavad-gita 3.13, Letters by Srila Prabhupada, Nandarani dd, non-vegetarian, Prasadam, Srila Prabhupada, vegetarian

Prasadam

Bhunjante Te Agham Papam Ye Pachyante Atmakaramak. Anyone who is cooking for himself, he is eating simply volumes of sin. So in the material world, either a man is vegetarian or non-vegetarian, they’re eating simply sin, and they will have to suffer the consequence. But so far we are concerned, we are eating remnants of foodstuff which was offered to Krishna, so we are not afraid of anything. If Krishna wants vegetable foodstuff, therefore we supply Him vegetable foodstuff, and if He wants non-vegetarian foodstuff, we can offer Him also, but He does not want it, as it is explicitly stated in the Bhagavad-gita. So we are concerned with Krishna Prasadam, neither vegetarian or non-vegetarian. … There are many vegetarians animals also; the monkeys are vegetarians, the pigeons are vegetarians, so to become vegetarian is not very good credit. But to become Krishna Consciousness is the most important business of life. You should try to convince your friends in that way. They should try to learn about Krishna Consciousness. But because they are vegetarians, there is great possibility for them to understand this philosophy.

This article includes both the Bhagavad-gita verse 3.13 and a letter written in 1968 to Nandarani dd which both help explaine the importance of Prasadam

Spiritual Food

16 Aug 2011 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Bhagavad-gita, The Hare Krishna Movement, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarianism Tags: bhagavad-gita, spiritual food, The Hare Krishna Movement, vegetarian cookbook, vegetarian cooking, vegetarian recipes, vegetarianism

Spiritual Food

The Hare Krishna’s are famous for their delicious vegetarian food. Get a cookbook from The Hare Krishna Movement today, and begin your journey into the joys of cooking foods in the mode of goodness.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is
Macmillan 1972 Edition
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 17 The Divisions of Faith
Text 8-10

Foods in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such nourishing foods are sweet, juicy, fattening and palatable. Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, pungent, dry and hot, are liked by people in the modes of passion. Such foods cause pain, distress, and disease. Food cooked more than three hours before being eaten, which is tasteless, stale, putrid, decomposed and unclean, is food liked by people in the mode of ignorance.

PURPORT

Thc purpose of food is to increase the duration of life, purify the mind and aid bodily strength. This is its only purpose. In the past, great authorities selected those foods that best aid health and increase life’s duration, such as milk products, sugar, rice, wheat, fruits and vegetables. These foods are very dear to those in the mode of goodness. Some other foods, such as baked corn and molasses, while not very palatable in themselves, can be made pleasant when mixed with milk or other foods. They are then in the mode of goodness. All these foods are pure by nature. They are quite distinct from untouchable things like meat and liquor. Fatty foods, as mentioned in the eighth verse, have no connection with animal fat obtained by slaughter. Animal fat is available in the form of milk, which is the most wonderful of all foods. Milk, butter, cheese and similar products give animal fat in a form which rules out any need for the killing of innocent creatures. It is only through brute mentality that this killing goes on. The civilized method of obtaining needed fat is by milk. Slaughter is the way of subhumans. Protein is amply available through split peas, dhall, whole wheat, etc.

Foods in the mode of passion, which are bitter, too salty, or too hot or overly mixed with red pepper, cause misery by producing mucous in the stomach, leading to disease. Foods in the mode of ignorance or darkness are essentially those that are not fresh. Any food cooked more than three hours before it is eaten (except prasādam, food offered to the Lord) is considered to be in the mode of darkness. Because they are decomposing, such foods give a bad odor, which often attracts people in this mode but repulses those in the mode of goodness.

Remnants of food may be eaten only when they are part of a meal that was first offered to the Supreme Lord or first eaten by saintly persons, especially the spiritual master. Otherwise the remnants of food are considered to be in the mode of darkness, and they increase infection or disease. Such foodstuffs, although very palatable to persons in the mode of darkness, are neither liked nor even touched by those in the mode of goodness. The best food is the remnant of what is offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā the Supreme Lord says that He accepts preparations of vegetables, flour and milk when offered with devotion. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam. Of course, devotion and love are the chief things which the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts. But it is also mentioned that the prasādam should be prepared in a particular way. Any food prepared by the injunction of the scripture offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be taken even if prepared long, long ago, because such food is transcendental. Therefore to make food antiseptic, eatable and palatable for all persons, one should offer food to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Mung Bean Dahl

09 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in The Hare Krsna Cookbook, Vegetarianism Tags: BBT, Krsna devi dasi, mung bean dahl, Sama devi dasi, the Hare Krishna cookbook, vegetarian recipies

We are going to begin a new series with recipies from the “Original” Hare KRSNA Cookbook, and will weekly post recipies from that wonderful book that most all of the early devotees learned to cook, for Lord Krishna from. The Hare KRSNA Cookbook was compiled by Krsna devi dasi and Sama devi dasi. We are eternaly grateful to these nice devotees, for they have helped us all on our path of devotional service (bhakti yoga).

Mung Bean Dahl

1cup mung beans
6 cups water
1/2 t. finely chopped fresh ginger
1 large fresh sliced tomato
3 T. ghee
1 t. salt
1 t. tumeric
1/2 t. cumin seed
1 t. red pepper

Wash beans and put into a saucepan with water. Add tomato, ginger, tumeric and salt. Bring to a boil. Turn to a low boil and cook until the beans are soft and broken up. Spice with Basic Massala

Making a Basic Massala
Heat 3 T. ghee. Add 1/2 t. cumin seed. Brown cumin seed and add 1 t. crushed red chilis. Cook untill brown and fragrent.

03 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Vegetarianism Tags: Albert Einstein, vegetarian diet, vegetarianism