Prasad
Food first offered to a deity and then shared among devotees, often spiced with cardamom, ghee and cumin.
Also: prasadam, naivedya, bhog, temple food, blessed food
Prasad means grace. It is food prepared with care, offered before the image of a deity, and then received as a blessing. Examples include the laddu of Tirupati, the pongal of South Indian temples, halwa and sweet rice of gurdwaras, called karah prasad, and the sattvic meals of Jagannath Temple in Puri, where thousands of dishes are cooked in clay pots. Temple kitchens often avoid onion and garlic and use ginger, cumin, black pepper, cardamom, saffron and hing for flavour. The practice stresses cleanliness, simplicity and sharing. Some communities treat spiced offerings as a daily act, and others reserve them for festivals.