Ayambil Food Details

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Ayambil Food Details" by SSC Trust Malad Mumbai:

Book Title: Ayambil Food Details Author(s): SSC Trust Malad Mumbai Publisher: SSC Trust Malad Mumbai Catalog Link: https://jainqq.org/explore/249054/1

This document, published by SSC Trust Malad Mumbai, serves as a guide to preparing various dishes suitable for Ayambil, a strict Jain fasting practice. The core principle of Ayambil is to consume a single meal per day, cooked with specific ingredients and adhering to strict Jain dietary laws.

Key Principles of Ayambil as outlined in the text:

• Jayanapoorvak (With Caution/Care): All food and water used in Ayambil meals must be consumed with great care and adherence to Jain principles to minimize harm to living beings (himsa).
• Permitted Ingredients: The text explicitly allows the use of:
  • Hing (Asafoetida)
  • Kala Mari (Black Pepper)
  • Sunt (Dry Ginger)
  • Khwana Soda (Baking Soda)
  • Balvan (a type of processed salt, explained later)
• Prohibited Ingredients (After Cooking): Once the cooking process is complete, raw water or raw salt should not be used.
• Timely Observance: Observing the start and end times of the fast (Pachhakhan and Parana) is crucial.
• Seeking Guidance: If any mistake occurs, one should seek guidance from elders or spiritual teachers (Gurugam/Agam).
• Importance of Ayambil: Ayambil is described as a practice that enhances the splendor of renunciation of juices (Rasatyag).
• Donations: It is encouraged to donate fruits or money to the Ayambil kitchen according to one's capacity.
• Frequency: Ayambil is mentioned as being performed as a Manglik (auspicious) event every month.

List of Ayambil Dishes and Their Preparation:

The book provides recipes and brief descriptions for a wide variety of dishes, all prepared within the Ayambil framework. The catalog lists 35 items, and the provided pages detail many of them. Here's a breakdown of some examples:

• Beverages/Soups:

  • Hingmari-no-Ukalo (Hing & Pepper Decoction): Made by boiling hing, pepper, dry ginger, and salt in water. Highlighted for its health benefits.
  • Mug-nu-Pani (Mung Water): Prepared by boiling mung beans, then grinding and straining them to get a liquid. Mentioned as very beneficial in Ayurveda.
  • Mug-ni-Dal-nu-Pani (Split Mung Dal Water): Involves soaking split mung dal, removing husks, and boiling it with salt.

• Grain-Based Dishes:

  • Sanguam Dhokla, Mandvi, Jula, Dhosa, Idli, Sangeet Dhokla, Sangam Dhokla: Various types of steamed or cooked batters, often made from rice, lentils, and sometimes flavored with permitted spices.
  • Chawal-ni-Paisa (Rice Pancakes/Crepes): Made from rice, water, and salt, cooked until thick.
  • Bhat (Rice): Simple boiled rice with water and salt.
  • Chawal-ni-Khichdi (Rice Khichdi): A mixture of rice and split mung dal, cooked with water, salt, and pepper.
  • Dabka: A dish made from a mix of urad dal, mung dal, and chola dal, ground and formed into dumplings, then cooked in a spiced broth.
  • Tuver-dal-ni-Dal Dhokli: Tuver dal cooked and pureed, mixed with flour dough (made from wheat flour and gram flour with spices) which is then cut into pieces and cooked in the dal.
  • Methi-ni-Bhakhri: Flatbread made from wheat flour, gram flour, and fenugreek powder, seasoned with salt and hing.
  • Chawal-na-Muthiya: Cooked rice mixed with wheat flour, gram flour, bajri flour, salt, hing, and baking soda, formed into dumplings and steamed.
  • Mishra Dhokla: A mixture of various dals (like moth dal, urad dal, mung dal, tuver dal, chola dal), rice, cooked and seasoned.
  • Sandwich Dhokla: A layered dhokla preparation using rice and urad dal batter, with a layer of green peas paste.
  • Makai-ni-Dhani: Popped corn, prepared by heating corn in a large quantity of salt.
  • Gheun-ni-Rab: Roasted wheat flour cooked into a porridge with dry ginger powder and salt.
  • Chana-ni/Gheun-ni-Rotli (Chapati/Roti): The text notes that recipes for rotis, khakhras, and "bai" (likely a type of flatbread) are common knowledge and not detailed.
  • Gathiya-nu-Shaak: Dumplings made from wheat flour, salt, hing, and black pepper, cooked in a broth thickened with gram flour.

• Lentil-Based Dishes:

  • Kathol-na-Chana ane Tenu Pani (Chickpeas and Chickpea Water): Boiled chickpeas, with the water used separately after adding salt.
  • Mishra Dal (Mixed Dal): A mix of gram dal, urad dal, split mung dal, and tuver dal, boiled together.
  • Chhuti Mogar Dal (Split Mung Dal): Split mung dal cooked with water, salt, and hing.
  • Mug-ni-Dal-ni-Bati: A dish made from a mixture of wheat semolina and split mung dal, cooked until thick.
  • Papad: Made from split mung dal and urad dal, mixed with spices, and then dried and roasted without oil.
  • Panoli: A steamed preparation made from gram flour or chola dal batter, seasoned with spices.

• Spices and Condiments:

  • Chutney: A chutney made from roasted "daliya" (chickpeas), salt, and black pepper.
  • Balvan: Salt processed in a clay pot with a little water, heated until the water evaporates, leaving the processed salt.
  • Ayambil-ma-Masala (Ayambil Spices): A list of permitted spices: Paku Mithu (processed salt), Sindhalun (rock salt), Bidlavan, Sanchal (common salt), Hing, Sunt, Mari (Pepper), Kariyata-nu-pani (a bitter herb decoction), and Annahari vastuo (forbidden items).

Overall Purpose:

The "Ayambil Food Details" book is a practical guide for Jains observing the Ayambil fast. It provides a comprehensive list of permissible dishes and their preparation methods, emphasizing the strict adherence to Jain dietary principles and the importance of consuming food with mindfulness and reverence. The publication aims to assist individuals in successfully undertaking this rigorous spiritual practice.