Guys and Dals

The team didn't have much time. Guests would arrive for the concert in mid-afternoon. Dinner would be served at 6. Working at two sinks and at every available inch of counter space, the men set about washing, scraping, cutting, peeling and chopping. A kind of controlled frenzy took over. Chef Ramakrishna insisted that each of the vegetables in the bisi bele bath -- carrots, green peppers, tomatoes and cayote squash -- be sautéed separately in ghee. Batches of spices released their pungency into the warm air of the kitchen.

As the men worked they bantered in Kannada, the language of Karnataka, their home state, leveling mildly ribald insults at one another. This fellow had gained a bit of weight and must be pregnant. That one's performance was "weak-livered," his staying power not adequate, he must be getting old. Waves of laughter rolled through the kitchen.

Ramakrishna squatted on the floor in front of a large kettle of hot oil, making the dahi vada. In his hand he rolled balls of lentil dough, punched out their centers and tossed them into the hot oil to fry. Then he turned his attention to the bisi bele bath.

The team conferred and decided to use one and a half -- not two -- packages of hot curry and spice in the dish. American-born Indian children have a limited tolerance for hot food, they decided. The musicians, dressed in bright silks, began arriving and quickly descended the stairs to the music room where a stage, carpeted in red, had been set up next to a flower- decked altar. Soon the sound of singing could be heard.

By 3 p.m., the kitchen was nearly clean -- "not as clean as Usha likes it," Murthy said, "but clean enough." Members of the team went off to shower and change.

Women wrapped in saris, girls in traditional dress and men and little boys in silk tunics floated through the kitchen. Downstairs, the musical performance built to a crescendo. Soon 60 performers, young and old, male and female, were chanting as drums beat and a violin trilled.

Then it was time to remember the goddess with puja aarati , worship with light. Candles were passed before the image of the goddess. Devotees gave thanks for knowledge and for music and art.

Upstairs, the Nala Paka team peeled the aluminum covers off their dishes. The men stood behind the buffet table, their faces intent. They watched as performers and members of the audience filled their plates. Only when the room filled with the appreciative buzz of happy diners did their shoulders relax and their faces break out in smiles.

"All the team feels very strongly that everyone who comes should have a full meal, a good meal," Char said. "To provide this gives us the greatest pleasure."

Freelance writer Michaele Weissman last wrote for Food about the new YWCA chocolate chip cookies.