LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA, April 15, 2024 (SFGATE, by Shoba Narayan): It is Saturday morning at the famed Shiva-Vishnu Temple in Livermore. Thousands of devotees arriving in Teslas and Range Rovers throng the shrines dedicated to Shiva, Ganesh and other Hindu Gods and Goddesses. I, on the other hand, can only think about the free food. The first time I came to this temple was in 1992, as a newlywed. My husband and I were living in New York City and visiting family in Fremont. Naturally, they wanted to take us to the famous temple, even back then considered grand and what Hindus would call auspicious — as in bringing good things for those who visit. For newlyweds, visiting Hindu temples with relatives is a rite of passage, and so we went along. I returned to the Bay Area numerous times, always visiting the temple and looking forward to ending each stopover with the sacred food that is served, free of charge, to all who pass through its doors.

On this recent visit, I quickly finish my prayers and head out to the covered courtyard in the back, where two long tables are covered with freshly prepared, aromatic dishes. They are simple and delicious and follow recipes that have been passed down for generations. There is a savory rice dish flavored with tamarind; a lentil-based gravy called sambar; a spicy fried vadai, shaped like a doughnut; and a cooling yogurt rice tempered with spices.  Most of America’s 1,000 or so Hindu temples offer similar sacred foods. Often, though, it is just one dish — a sweet halwa or milky kheer. At the Queens Hindu temple in New York, the canteen food is so good it made the New York Times’ recent list of the best 100 restaurants in the city — but you have to pay for it. The Pittsburgh temple, too, has a kitchen with food for sale. The Livermore temple — its official name is HCCC, or Hindu Community and Cultural Center — is unusual in that the food program is expansive, core to its identity and, most importantly, free.

More on the temple and its food program at source.
https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/bay-area-hindu-temple-free-food-19397859.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=share-by-email&utm_medium=email

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