Types of Prasads offered in Temples across India

India is beautifully embedded with temples of all kinds, from North to South and East to West. These temples not only make our country religiously rich but also fills us up with historical pride. Indian temples are not only architectural wonders but also attract tourists not just from India but from all across the globe.

Prasad is a staple offering that each temple gives out as a blessing to the devotees. Each temple has its own unique prasad, depending on the deity worshipped there. Here are some popular temples from across India along with the holy prasad they offer. (image credits-istock)

Vrindavan and Mathura are known for their special Peda Prasad, which is now available in a number of different flavours. Shri Bankey Bihari Temple in Vrindavan offers Maakhan Mishri and Peda made with cow milk, both of which were Lord Krishna’s favourites.

Bal Bhog is a special prasad offered to Lord Krishna early in the morning and then distributed among the devotees. It usually includes a mixture of the following items- Kachori, Aloo Sabzi, Besan Barfi, Laddoo and Peda.

Mata Vaishno Devi (Katra, Jammu) offers a packet of mixture as prasad. The packet contains puffed rice, dry apple, dry coconut, dry khajoor and sugar balls. Devotees often buy several packets of this auspicious prasad from the shrine and distribute them among their family and friends. (image credits- Amazon.in)

Also called Sri Vari Laddu, the laddoo of Tirupati is famous all over the country for its huge size. It is prepared using desi ghee, sugar, flour, cardamom and dry fruits. Do you know that Tirupati Laddoo is being served as a prasad in Sri Venkateswara Temple from the past 300 years?

Shrinathji Temple in Rajashtan offers a unique prasad of Mathri to devotees. This Rajasthani-style Mathri is a deep-fried snack that is dipped in sugar syrup to make it sweet. For those who don’t like sweet Mathri, a savoury Mathri prasad is also available.

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Baba Baidyanath Temple situated in Deoghar is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India. The temple offers a prasad of Chura (flattened rice) mixed with elaichi seeds. Pedas made of Khoya, known as Babadham Pedas are also quite popular and are bought by devotees in bulk to take back home.

Most temples across India serve sweets as prasad but this Kali Temple situated in Kolkata is unique in its own way. Known as the Chinese Kali Temple, this temple serves Chinese delicacies like Noodles and Chop Suey as prasad to their devotees. It is said that people from the Bengali and Chinese communities came together to build this unique Chinese Kali temple in Tangra, Kolkata.

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Jagannath Temple in Puri is known for its famous 56 Bhog, also known as Mahaprasad or Mahabhog. The Mahabhog is further divided into two parts- Sankudi Mahaprasad which is made up of different types of savoury dishes and Sukhila Mahaprasad which consists of sweet dishes. Some of the items of 56 Bhog are Dahi Bada, Khichdi, Lucchi, Laddoo, Chenna, Urad Dal, Saag, Raita, Kheer and more.

Devotees at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram can get Paal Payasam and Unniyappam as prasad. Paal Payasam is a type of Kheer prepared using rice and milk, while Unniyappams are sweet fried balls prepared using rice, jaggery, banana, roasted coconut pieces, sesame seeds and ghee.

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