Food practices

Sikh food practices outside the Gurdwara do not have much uniformity. There is a wide spectrum of beliefs, interpretations and accordingly, practices. We have not sought to comment on the below practices from a religious interpretation perspective. We seek to inform readers of the observed practices of followers of Sikhi to allow for better decision making in accommodating the relevant Sikh’s religious needs. We have listed below some of the more commonly found practices in the Sikh diaspora and likely to be encountered in Australia:

• Some Sikhs will eat any type of meat.

• Many Sikhs will eat meat but will only consume meat that is non-halal meat.

• Some Sikhs who eat meat will also abstain from beef in addition to halal meat.

• Some Sikhs who are vegetarian may be lacto-ovo vegetarian (i.e. consume milk products and eggs).

• Many Sikhs are lacto-vegetarian. They will consume vegetables including milk products but no eggs.

Further sub-types of the above categories:

• Some Amritdhari Sikhs will eat out at restaurants.

• Some Amritdhari Sikhs will not eat food cooked outside their homes.

• Some Amritdhari Sikhs will only eat if their food is cooked by other Amritdhari Sikhs.

• Some Amritdhari Sikhs will only eat food if it is made a certain way in certain iron pots and utensils by other Amritdhari Sikhs who also practice this methodology.