Prabhupada: "You distribute that prasadam, little, everyone. Devotee (1): This lugdu? Prabhupada: Yes. I will also take little. Distribute. What is your program? Karandhara: Well, we thought we could do both because we have a recording studio for sound. So you can come into the recording studio and record as much as you wanted, all day long. The shooting for the TV show... We worked out a program of shooting each week forty minutes. Prabhupada: Oh, you take more. Why little, little? Give more. Give me also little more. Trivikrama: Jaya. Prabhupada: Mm. It is very nice. Devotee (1): Prabhupada distributes mercy to the world. Prabhupada: Who has made it? Karandhara: Dhruvananda. Prabhupada: Oh. He is good cook? Karandhara: Yes. Prabhupada: Mm. He has made nice. Sudama: Shall I save one for later for you? Prabhupada: No. No saving. (laughter) Give me immediately. (laughter) Give them." Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, 04-20-72, Tokyo

My first taste of Krsna prasadam was an intensely wonderful sweetball aptly named a “Simply Wonderfuls”. By the late 1960’s, Krsna devotees had taken to the street across America, handing out all manner of wonderful foodstuffs. More than 35 years later, Simply Wonderfuls still rank as one the favorite prasadam handouts for Sankirtana parties.

It’s best to choose foodstuffs for prasadam distribution that are well suited to the preaching environment. While syrup sweets are delectable, there’s little point in handing them out on the street, where managing sticky hands is a difficulty. Distributing prasadam on the streets is best done by eliminating foodstuffs that don’t travel well, are sensitive to heat or air, or are complicated to distribute and eat.

Following are just a few recipes for prasadam handouts that are simple and always relished by devotees and non-devotees alike. Many more great preps are included in our Recipe section.

Asoka Halva Squares Rava Lugdoo Rice Flake Balls Simply Wonderfuls Sweet Bread

Asoka Halwa Squares

moong dal - 1 cup
wheat flour - 1 cup
sugar - 1-1/2 cup
kesari powder (prepared) - a pinch
ghee - 1 cup
cardomoms - 6
cashewnuts - 10
essence as required
cashew bits and cherry bits - 2 tsp each

Add 1/2 cup water to 1 cup moong dal and cook in pressure cooker until it becomes soft. To 1 cup wheat flour, add 1/2 cup water and make into a thick liquid. Heat this liquid in a fry pan and stir for a while. Mash the cooked moong dal and add it to the boiling liquid. When everything is mixed and well cooked, add sugar and stir well. Add 1/2 cup of ghee and keep stirring. When it is almost done add cardomoms. Roast cashews in 1 tsp ghee and add it to the mix. Add the remaining ghee and stir. It should become a non-sticky paste but not too hard. At this stage remove the pan from the stove. Pour this mix on a large plate greaseed with ghee. Spred the cashew and cherry bits on the top surface of the halwa. Then cut this into diamonds by drawing lines with a knife.

Rava Lugdoo

Fine rava 2 cups
Sugar 2 cups
Small raisins 2 tbsps
Chopped cashewnuts 2 tbsps
Cardamom powder ½ tsp
Ghee 3 tbsps

Fry the raisins and the cashewnuts in the ghee. Drain and set aside. In the same ghee fry the rava till it darkens a few shades. Transfer to a plate. Put the sugar in a pan with a cup of water. Boil till syrup becomes sticky. Mix in the raisins and the nuts along with the cardamom and the rava. Mix well. When slightly cool to handle, shape into lugdoo and store in an airtight tin when completely cool.

Rice Flake Balls

Puffed Rice flakes or puffed paddy flakes - ½ pound
jaggery - 2 cups
peanuts - ¼ cup
cardomoms - 6
dry ginger powder (sukku podi) - a pinch
finely cut coconut pieces - 1 cup

Don’t use ordinary aval for this recipe. Look for the puffed rice or paddy flakes. In a separate vessel, make syrup out of jaggery, adding water until it just gets immersed and heating it. The syrup should become thick enough, so that when you add a drop of it in a vessel of water, it should solidify immediately. When the syrup reaches this stage remove from the stove. Clean the puffed flakes and put them in a large bowl. Roast the coconut and peanuts separately without ghee and add to the flakes. Add the cardamom powder and dry ginger powder. Add the jaggery syrup and mix for about 2 minutes until the temperature cools down to a state where you can handle the mixture. Do not cool it too much, or then the balls will not come out properly. Grease the hand with either rice flour or ghee. Make the mix into medium sized balls, and offer.

Simply Wonderfuls

1 lb. Butter
1 lb. Icing sugar
1 lb. Powdered whole milk
1 cup Raisins or Currants

Melt butter in sauce pan. When melted, add icing sugar and stir over medium heat until the sugar melts. Then turn off the heat. Add of good-quality, powdered or crystalised milk (this is the only thing I used powdered milk for - never to drink) and mix in thoroughly. Raisins or currants can also be added (if desired) at this point. Squeeze this mixture into balls about ¼ inch in diameter, and roll the balls in a bit of powdered milk or sugar to coat them. A very quick and popular sweet.

Sweet Bread

Urad dal (Black Gram), 1 Pound
Rice, 2-1/4 Cups
Coconut, 2 Cups
Jaggery, 2-1/4 Cups
Baking Powder, 2 Teaspoons
Salt, 2 Teaspoons
Ginger, fresh, 2 Inches
Black Pepper, medium ground, 2 Teaspoons
Ghee, 2 Teaspoons

Soak the dal and rice together for 8 hours. Drain and grind to a fine paste using scant water. Add salt and mix well, then set aside for 2 or 3 hours. Grate the coconut. Cut the ginger into very small pieces. Combine the coconut, jaggery, ginger, black pepper and baking powder and mix well with the batter. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a baking pan with ghee and pour the paste into pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes. When the poda is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, it’s done. Cool for 10 minutes, cut into small pieces, and offer.