I've been curious about cow dung cakes for a while now, so in my last batch from aavyaa.com, I ordered these Dhenum Cow Dung Cakes, which are currently available for ₹ 225.00 (approx £2.10 or $2.69). Cow dung is used for fuel, and as incense, and is considered as healthy, though scientific research indicates that the fumes from burning cow dung are toxic and damaging to the environment.
I placed a cake on top of some clay incense cone holders in a brass dish and lit it, but it struggled to catch, so I looked up instructions, and it appears that it's best to pour ghee on the cakes. We don't have ghee, so I tried plant butter, but that didn't help, and just made it smell even worse. In the end I put it in one of my electric incense burners.
The aroma is not good. I got complaints from Chrissie upstairs. To be fair, I don't think this is something to burn in the house, nor is it burned for its fragrance. But I was curious. The smell is a bit like burnt toast, but more green and woody. There's something earthy and organic about it - something like a warm compost heap, or damp grass smouldering. Ultimately it smells like what it is - smouldering cow dung. It's not good. But anyway. Job done. I can tick that off my list. Anyone want some leftover cow dung cakes?
Date: July 2024 Score: 02
The aroma is not good. I got complaints from Chrissie upstairs. To be fair, I don't think this is something to burn in the house, nor is it burned for its fragrance. But I was curious. The smell is a bit like burnt toast, but more green and woody. There's something earthy and organic about it - something like a warm compost heap, or damp grass smouldering. Ultimately it smells like what it is - smouldering cow dung. It's not good. But anyway. Job done. I can tick that off my list. Anyone want some leftover cow dung cakes?
Date: July 2024 Score: 02
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Most hindus use cow dung cakes only in Havan rituals and in some rural areas, they use it like fuel. Dhenum has lovely dhoop sticks and Cycle makes lovely Gavi Sambrani cups, using cow dung.
ReplyDeleteChrissie was stunned at how much they looked like and were packaged as oat cookies. When Phocea came home we joked with her that they were real cookies with a fun name, like Reindeer Droppings, which are actually raisons in chocolate. She totally believed us because they do look so much like biscuits, and we had to stop her from eating one!
Deletelol, did she see some straws and hay before eating it.
DeleteWhen I was a child, our nickname for cow poo we found in the fields was "country pancakes". It was considered a big laugh to ask someone if they wanted to eat a country pancake.
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