In ancient India, there was no separation of starter, main course, and dessert: all dishes appeared together on a large banana leaf or a copper plate (thali). Every flavor — sweet, salty, sour, bitter, astringent, pungent — had to be represented to balance the body. Rice occupied the center; around it were arranged vegetables, yogurt, ghee, and at the edge, the sweet dish (payasam) eaten last as a blessing. For Devaki, imprisoned, this ideal feast became a memory, contrasted by the meager prison fare.

Clarified butter (ghee) and dairy products (milk, yogurt, makhan) are the soul of this cuisine and the thread running through the cycle of Krishna, the butter-thieving child god. Ghee perfumes everything, sanctifies offerings, and connects Devaki's table to the legend of her son.