In the worship of the Great Goddess, the meal is not organized as starter-main-dessert but around naivedya: foods prepared with purity (without tasting them beforehand), presented before the image of the goddess during the recitation of the Devi Mahatmya, then transformed into prasada — blessed food redistributed to devotees. Bhog is its festive and abundant version on major days (Navaratri, Durga Puja). It includes a sweet offering, a rice base dish, a beverage, and a travel food for pilgrims, each cooked in ghee and ideally served on a banana leaf or in a copper bowl.

Unrefined cane sugar (gur/jaggery), golden and fragrant with molasses, and clarified butter (ghee) define the offering cuisine of classical India. Before the arrival of chili from the Americas, black pepper, long pepper, and ginger provided heat; cardamom and saffron provided luxury. No New World products appear in these recipes — faithful to the 5th-6th century.