Between his elephant head and his big, pot belly, Lord Ganesha is easily the most adorable of all Hindu gods, but he serves a vital function. He is the remover of all obstacles, and the god of beginnings. One of the priests here, Pandit Nagaraja, explains "In our Hindu tradition, whatever work you do, you start with praying to Lord Ganesha. Without that, it will not go a step further."

That said, the belly suggests how much Lord Ganesha loves sweet, round things. So the cooks made mountains of ladoo, dough balls stuffed with coconut, cardamom and nuts.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Ladoo is dessert, and there's plenty of savory dishes to eat first.

Duneja notes "Most of the food is a mixture of grains, vegetables and eaten with yogurt. That makes it a complete meal, you know?"

Duneja adds the explosion of Asian Indians in the Bay Area has brought with it an explosion of Indian restaurants, many of them serving up South Indian dishes. Her favorite is Swagat Indian Cuisine in Milpitas but there are numerous other choices. Here's a list of options to explore, and if you've already made the rounds, please feel free to recommend your favorites in the comments section!

Indian restaurants serving both vegetarian and meat dishes:

Indian restaurants serving only vegetarian dishes:

South IndianSouth Indian

Food & Spirituality: Serving Up a Holy Feast at the Shiva-Vishnu Temple