Do you know what it takes to cook food for thousands of people on a daily basis?
So, you might have seen National Geographic’s MegaKitchens. But watching these in reel life and watching them in real life are two absolutely different things. In fact, here we have 4 crazy MegaKitchens for you to check out in India if you’re a true-blue foodie!
I. Sri Sai Sansthan Prasadalaya
Where | Shirdi, Maharashtra
Sri Sai is one of the largest solar-powered run kitchens in India. Spread across 4 rooftops of the mega kitchen are 73 solar dishes that power the preparation of nearly 40,000 meals a day. In fact, besides just preparing a normal day’s meals, the kitchen also dishes out breakfast packets.
II. The Golden Temple
Where | Amritsar, Punjab
The kitchen at The Golden Temple churns out nearly 2,00,000 rotis on a daily basis. In fact, that’s not it, it also prepares 1.5 tonnes of daal & other dishes to 1,00,000 people every day! The kitchen uses 100 LPG cylinders & 5,000 kgs of firewood daily. The langar the Golden Temple does not discriminate against people from other castes, creed or religion and the food is all free. Moreover, the people working in the kitchen are all normal citizens and if you too want to help, you can join hands!
III. The Dharmathala Manjunath Temple
Where | Dharmasthala, Karnataka
This Shiva dedicated temple in the city of Udupi, Karnataka is one of the most visited temples in Southern India. In fact, the entire complex is managed by one single family named Heggades – who’ve been doing this for 21 generations now. The kitchen here produces nearly 70 quintals of rice, 15 quintals of vegetables & 2,000 coconuts on festive days. The dining hall can seat up to 2,500 people at a time.
IV. The Jagannath Temple
Where | Puri, Odisha
The Jagannath Temple feeds close to 1,00,000 people on a festival day and approx 25,000 on a daily basis. The devotees believe that the Goddess herself cooks in the kitchen and that the cooks are her servants. Moreover, it is believed that if the goddess does not approve of the meals, and a dog appears in the temple premises, the food will have to be thrown and prepared again.
So, the next time you’re travelling to any of these places, don’t forget to check out these temples and their MegaKitchens!
