Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Global Record Holder Chef Vishnu Manohar To Prepare 7,000 kg Ram Halwa

The 'Ram Halwa' will be distributed among 1.5 lakh devotees and other VIPs attending the historic consecration ceremony and the subsequent programmes in Ayodhya.

Chef Vishnu Manohar, who holds nearly a dozen global records, will prepare 7 tonnes of 'Ram Halwa', a special sweet dish, at the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on January 22. A giant 12-tonne cauldron (12,000 kg) will be used to achieve the record-breaking feat.

The 'Ram Halwa' will be distributed among 1.5 lakh devotees and other VIPs attending the historic event and the subsequent programmes in the pilgrim town.

“The Ram Halwa’s preparation would take up to three hours. We plan to start around 6 AM. Then, we shall offer it to Lord Ram as part of the ‘bhog [food offering to deities]’. The bhog will then be distributed among the devotees at the temple and in the town through volunteers,” Manohar was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.

Manohar said that the Shri Ram Temple Trust would pay for the ingredients of the 'Ram Halwa' and he would pay for the cauldron. He has commissioned a special steel cauldron (kadhai) in Nagpur, weighing around 1,300-1,400 kg, to cook the savoury. "The massive cauldron is 15 feet in diameter and has a depth of 5 feet. It's made of steel. The central part is made of iron so that the halwa doesn't get burnt while it's cooked", said Manohar.

A large amount of material will be used to make the 'Ram Halwa'. "As much as 900 kg of rava [semolina], 40 kg of powdered cardamom and nutmeg, at least 300 kg of dry fruits, one tonne of sugar and ghee, and 2,500 litres of water will be used to make the dish," Manohar said.

Using the 'kar seva se paak seva' concept, Manohar and a couple of skilled cooks will use a large 12-foot-long spatula to stir the preparation. Manohar said: "Although there are modern automatic options available to prepare such massive quantities of food, “but this is a special religious occasion, so we shall do all work manually”.

Before transportation from Nagpur to Ayodhya, the cauldron will undergo certain religious rituals at a special event. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Nagpur Collector Vipin Itankar, Nagpur Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, and other dignitaries will attend that event.

Thirty-eight-year-old Manohar's previous "mega servings" include 7 tonnes of millets khichdi in Chandrapur, 6.5 tonnes of Gajanan Khichdi, 6 tonnes of Rambandhu Mahachivda in Nagpur, 5 tonnes of Samarsata mix vegetables bhaji (fry) in Nagpur, and many more.