zen meal two
A soup, a grain and vegetables. Served in individual bowls. A monk's meal. A Zen meal. The beauty is not in the complexity of the recipes. It is in the realization that food can enhance spiritual growth.
I recently came across The Zen Monastery Cookbook at the bookstore, and was browsing through it, wondering at the synchronicity in my world: certain things come together only at certain times, even if I had been exposed to it long before.
The other evening, I was too tired to make a fancy meal, so I tried to make a simple meal fancy: Veggies, with mild indian flavoring, along with dosai and chutney presented in a rather unusual way, seemed to do it for us that night.
Ingredients:
for dosai:
3 ladlefuls dosai or adai dosai batter, if handy (else, rava onion dosai batter is good)
1 tsp canola oil (optional)
for chutney:
2 medium tomatoes,diced fine
3 dry red chilies, crushed fine
1 clove of garlic, minced fine
salt to taste
flavoring for veggies:
1 Tbsp Madras curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes (to sprinkle on top before serving)
salt to taste
Veggies of your choice- cauliflower and broccoli florets, lima beans, baby carrots, squash etc.
Preparation:
- heat a non-stick pan and throw in the veggies with a little water, add the flavoring spices and salt, cover and steam till veggies are done; stir well, adjust sat to taste, set aside
- heat a non-stick pan and spread the dosai batter; add oil, if needed, to make sure dosai comes off the pan without much struggle
- in a saucepan, throw the chutney ingredients together, some water, cover and let it cook till flavors meld and the chutney is fairly thick
Served in an inspired yet simple way, it felt like a grand and sumptuous meal that night...
Labels: asian, vegetables, zen meal
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