Religious Dietary Principles

Application of Religious Dietary Principles

For this activity, I chose a Pakistani Hindu. While most of the country is Islamic, there is a small portion of people that practice Hinduism (North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare, n.d.).

Like most Hindus worldwide, vegetarian diets are the mainstay. This comes from the Hindu principles of purity, self-control, and non-violence. The principle of non-violence extends to their diet, precluding them from eating meat. You cannot kill an animal for food if you are practicing a non-violent life. Modern Hindus use their own judgment when it comes to eating meat. Some Hindus eat some meat, mostly chicken, goat, or mutton. There is a stronger taboo with beef, fish, and eggs. While all life is considered sacred, the cow is especially sacred, so beef and dairy products are avoided. But very strict practicing Hindus refrain from all animal products.

The dish I chose to prepare for my Pakistani Hindu friend is lentil, chickpea, vegetable curry by user JustJanS on the website Genius Kitchen (J, 2006). This dish contains onion, pumpkin, garlic, red lentils, chickpeas, zucchini, cauliflower, and curry spices.

It is vegetarian, and also does not contain any ingredients that include any animal products, such as dairy and gelatin, and does not contain any alcohol, all of which are not included in the Hindu diet (Dietary Practices, 2014). I also chose this dish because the flavor profile would be familiar and hopefully comforting, and all of the ingredients are easily obtained in my local area at any grocery store. Although some orthodox Hindus also refrain from onion and garlic believing they “heat up” the body, thereby increasing passions (Meyer-Rochow, 2009). I believe if my Pakistani friend is orthodox, I can leave those ingredients out of the dish, perhaps increasing the spices a little or adding a little more vegetables without altering the whole