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:

1. 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
2. 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
3. in a saucepan, throw the chutney ingredients together, some water, cover and let it cook till flavors meld and the chutney is fairly thick

A splash of lemon juice and a sprinkling of dry red pepper flakes adds a nice touch to the vegetables.

Served in an inspired yet simple way, it felt like a grand and sumptuous meal that night...