Apologies! I posted this earlier without editing the subject. I receive Silk postings in digest format.
On Sat, 6 Jun 2009 19:19:07 +0530, Deepa Mohan <[email protected]> wrote: > On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 5:19 PM, Kiran Jonnalagadda <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Incidentally, something I didn't grow up with and therefore encountered > > with surprise in the homes of relatives: it is a great offense to serve > rice > > before any other item. Serving rice first apparently implies you're too > > poor to eat anything else. > > > > Is this common practice elsewhere? > > > > I found this major difference between serving of food in Iyer and Iyengar > (two different kinds of Tamizh Brahmins): in Iyer households and feasts, > the > rice is served after several items have been served and before the sambar, > rasam, and thayir (yogurt)...in Iyengar households, the rice is always > served first. I have heard my aunts (Iyers) laughing about it and saying > "these Iyengars are crazy" or the equivalent! > > > In today's buffet/serve yourself world, of course, it's all irrelevant. > > Deepa. > In Kannada Madhva Brahmin lunches [i mean those traditional ones where a complete course is served on plantain leaf] it is mandatory to dab a drop or two of ghee on the leaf before serving anything else, followed by a serving of payasa / kheer [a sweet dish] and only then the other servings follow. This practice is only for a shubha samaradhane or happy ceremony. The rule apparently does not apply in case the lunch is on account of a death ceremony, then salt is first served onto the leaf. Irrespective of the nature of the event, it is bad manners to commence eating until the last dish has been served on the leaf which again is a drop of ghee on the white rice. Then, wait for a signal from an elder or the host to commence eating. -Anil KUMAR
