The Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Oldham, Greater Manchester, recently organised a special Gujarati Thali dining experience. iGlobal reached out to the temple to find out more about the event and the inspiration behind it.
“The idea for the thali event was inspired by the desire to showcase traditional Indian food and the culture and traditions of the state of Gujarat. We wanted to demonstrate that delicious and wholesome meals can be made without the need for meat, eggs, onion, and garlic,” said the temple’s spokesperson.
As well as sharing Indian culture and cuisine with visitors, the evening also focused on promoting a vegetarian lifestyle, keeping in line with dietary recommendations of the Swaminarayan Faith. In addition to being vegetarian, the quality of the food was also ‘sattvic’. ‘Sattvic’ food is a type of food that is believed to promote good health, clarity of mind and a peaceful disposition. Originating from the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda, ‘sattvic’ food focuses on maintaining a balance between the mind, body, and spirit.
“With a limited number of options for Indian vegetarian food in the Northwest, we thought the event would be a great way to showcase the facilities within the temple and also do something that we have a passion for.”
The dining event – which offered a full thali at very affordable prices – saw a team of around 20 people in the cooking team and another 35 volunteers for serving, dishwashing and table cleaning.
“The temple is run by volunteers, and the kitchen team is amazing and always on hand to provide their services. In addition to such events, we also offer catering services and Indian snacks and dishes on a weekly basis, all run by volunteers from the community.”
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This was the second time the temple held a similar event, with the first one being held in February this year. Both the events saw a very positive response, with just over 250 people attending the February event and over 260 people attending the March one.
During the event, the team also sold homemade bread rolls and homemade kesar pista (saffron and pistachio) ice cream under the ‘MahaPrasad’ brand.
“The MahaPrasad brand currently offers favourite Indian savoury snacks like sev mumra, ghantiya, and chevdo, as well as sweets like barfi and ladoos,” shared the volunteer.
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Going forward, the temple plans to hold similar events on a monthly basis, with the next one tentatively planned for early May.
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“Overall, though, without the selflessness of the people within the community, none of this would be possible,” he concluded.
