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Janmashtami is the time to celebrate Lord Krishna's birth and honour his life and teachings. And a lot of stories from Krishna’s life are associated with food. There are several mentions of food ingredients that He enjoyed and hence, many of those are prepared on His birthday. Here are some foods that are believed to be Lord Krishna’s favourite and the stories associated with them.
Lovingly called Makhan Chor, Lord Krishna is known to be very fond of makkhan. He used to steal makhan from all the Gopis and would not get caught. His mother Yashoda would feed him enough makhan, but he would still go and steal it from the earthen pots of Gopis. Even they could not say anything to Him because Krishna was innocent and adorable.
Charanamrit
It is believed that once Krishna fell very sick and he asked for a specific remedy from Radha. He asked Her to go to the Gopis, wash their feet and feed the water to Him. She did as instructed and Krishna recovered immediately. Since then, charanamrit is a majorpart of Janmashtami celebrations. It is made with curd, jaggery and milk.
Taler Bora
In Bengali households, Lord Krishna is given Taler boda or palm fritters. There is a famous saying in Bengali language which goes, “Taler bora kheye Nondo nache re!” which translates to Lord Krishna danes in ecstacy after eating the palm fritters. The festival is imcomplete without serving taler bora as bhog.
Poha
The famous tale of friendship between Krishna and Sudama has immortalised the importance of poha or chipped rice in Janmashtami pooja. The story goes like this – Krishna's childhood friend Sudama was very weak because of poverty. His wife asked him to visit Krishna once and see if He could help. Sudama took this as an opportunity to meet his dear friend and asked his wife to pack something for Krishna. She had nothing, so she borrowed 3 handfuls of chipped rice or poha, wrapped it in a potli and bid farewell to her husband. Krishna, upon seeing Sudama hugged him and noticed his potli. Sudama was shy because he only got chipped rice for his friend, the King of Dawarka, but Krishna ate a handful of it with love in his heart.
Chhappan Bhog
Krishna is fed 56 dishes on his birthday to symbolise the time he spent holding Govardhan Parwat on his little finger to save the villagers from Lord Indra’s wrath. He stood there for a whole week, and it is said that Krishna ate 8 servings a day. That is why a bhog for each of those meals for 7 days is served to Him. Chappan Bhog has dairy based items, savoury dishes as well as sweet offerings.
Jamun
Krishna loves fruits and it is believed that jamun is one of his favourite fruits. He would steal bangles from Gopis and sell them to buy jamun for Himself. He would also climb up jamun trees in the forest to pluck the fresh fruits.
