Jagannath, the deity from whom we get the word juggernaut, receives offerings of food from the world’s largest kitchen.
Sudeep Pramanik [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
One of the traditions of the temple is to offer food to Jagannath every day. Fifty-six varieties of food, to be precise: saag, pakhaḷa, boondi, and 53 more. The collective term for these foods is Mahaprasad, and thousands of them are made every day.
To cook so much food, you need a big kitchen. Rosaghara is the kitchen, and there are none bigger. 300 rooms, 250 hearths, 600 chefs, and 400 assistants. It is said that their cooking is overseen by the goddess Mahalakshmi; mess something up and she’ll send a “shadow dog” to register her displeasure. If the dog shows up, everything has to be discarded and the cooking starts over from scratch.
Categories: Asia Food & agriculture Places Religion & belief Sciences
The Generalist
I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and am curious about most things.
Whoa! Awesome post – I’d have never thought to be curious about the largest kitchen, but here it is – thanks for the fascinating info!
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