5. Preparing a Blessing of Food
In the interior of the Dargah, there are two deghs or pots that are used to prepare the Niaz. This dish involves mixing together rice, saffron, ghee, nuts, sugar and dry fruits. This meal is cooked at night and is distributed to the people only after morning parayers the next day. It is given as a blessing or ‘tabarruk’ as they call it. Around 28 mounds of rice are cooked in the small deghs while the bigger ones are able to accommodate 70 mounds which is about 31 kg of rice. The bigger degh had been a gift by Emperor Ashoka and its circumference is about 10 feet. This was used for years until many years later the smaller deghs were donated by Jahangir to the Dargah.
