Years ago I
was asked to give a presentation in a museum on the occasion of the opening of
an exhibition named ‘Religion on your plate’. Quite a difficult task as I had
only 20 minutes for ALL world religions.
Though I do not recall my
presentation, I remember the opening. I showed some uncooked rice and asked the
public how religious this handful of rice was. Not. Food
as such has no intrinsically religious or philosophical significance, nor does
any other object. Any
kind of food product is meant to feed us for its nutritional value. As soon as
we talk about taste, or discuss the assumed difference in nutritional value, we
enter the field of giving meaning.
As any
object, food evidently becomes imbued with
substantial religious, social and cultural connotations as shown in social
gatherings, rituals, celebrations and today even in television shows.
More and more the production of food
is entering the moral debate and vegetarianism and veganism have become more
and more part of this debate. Not a new thing as vegetarianism and veganism
have long histories. I hear you thinking, ‘Yeah, right perhaps in India’, but
not in the West. Au contraire my friend, vegetarianism also has its roots in
Greek philosophy.
But before pondering any further on this
(yes I will continue), first a vegan recipe from my favorite the kitchen, Indian of
course . The Indian culinary tradition makes life for the vegan and
vegetarian very easy with its abundance of recipes. This is not just a vegan dish, it is satvic as well.
However, perhaps next week, I'll get into that.
However, perhaps next week, I'll get into that.
For an easy and healthy breakfast, snack
or tiffin, I love the very tasty dohkla. Very easy and fast to prepare. It’s so
good that even if it wasn’t very nutritious, you’ll still eat piles of it.
Dhokla
Ingredients:
150 gr chickpea flour (Besan)
1 teaspoon
sugar
½ teaspoon
turmeric powder
1 teaspoon
ginger paste
1 teaspoon
salt
1 tablespoon
sunflower oil
1 teaspoon
green chilly paste
200 ml water
1 teaspoon
lemon juice
½ teaspoon
soda bi-carb
1½ teaspoons
citric acid (Eno fruit salt)
For tempering:
2
tablespoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon
mustard seeds
4 green
chillies, slit vertically
¼ teaspoon
turmeric powder
6 curry
leaves
175 ml water
2
tablespoons coriander leaves
For
garnishing:
1 tablespoon coconut, grated
1 tablespoon
coriander leaves
Preparation:
Grease a 22
cm round flat microwave dish
The batter:
Sift chickpea flour and mix in sugar, turmeric, ginger paste, salt,
sunflower oil, green chilly paste and water to make a smooth batter.
Add lemon juice, soda bi-carb and citric acid. Beat for max 3-4 seconds.
Immediately pour this mixture into the greased dish and microwave for 7
minutes on high mode. When done, remove from the microwave, cut into large cubes and temper (see below) while in the
dish itself!
Tempering:
Heat 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil in a pan for 30 seconds;
add mustard seeds, curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds, add turmeric powder and
green chillies. Fry for another 30 seconds add water, bring to a boil and add
coriander leaves. Remove and pour over the prepared cubes in the dish.
Garnish:
Garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut. Serve
after a minimum of 30 minutes.
Serve with
tamarind chutney and green chutney.
Tamarind chutney
Ingredients:
150 gr
seedless tamarind
15-20
seedless dates
3 cups
water
2 teaspoons cumin seed
¼ teaspoon fennel seed
200 gr grated jaggery + 100 gr sugar (or 300 gr
cane sugar)
2
teaspoons red chilly powder
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon black salt (essential for the real
taste)
Preparation:
Soak the tamarind and dates in hot (boiling) water for one hour.
Roast cumin and fennel seed and grind.
Bring the tamarind and dates in water to boil, add all other
ingredients, let the jaggery and/or sugar dissolve completely. Simmer for 5
minutes.
Mash this into a pulp and strain the mixture.
