Vegetarianism--"Ghaas Phoos...."

"Ghaas Phoos"...this is what Neena said about Chef Buddhadev Gupta in the movie "Cheeni Kum", when he revealed that he is a pure vegetarian, in spite of being a chef of a top Indian restaurant in London. There are a lot of Vegans, being not limited to India, worldwide. Else, there would have been no vegetarian specialities around. As a matter of fact, our ancestors had vegetables in their crude form, before consuming meat. Now people are being more health conscious--less meat, more healthy, more greens in their menu, more vegetables in their menu & so on & so forth.
However, "meat chauvinists" like Gordon Ramsay for example, will keep on yelling that there is nothing like meat--true, even I love meat, equally I love a well-cooked simple vegetarian foods--be it Indian, be it Oriental, European or from anywhere.
In India, vegetarian cooking has altogether a different level. The vegetarian foods,differ from region to region, according to the season & availability. Again, it is differed between normal vegetarianism & Jain vegetarianism. The Jain foods, by default, dont have any vegetables added to it, which grows underground, i.e., potatoes, carrots, garlic, onion, ginger etc are not added in their food. Some also dont eat yoghurt or avoid yoghurt. The normal vegetarian food, is simply made of vegetables & there is hardly any exclusion. However, for orthodox Brahmins, scholars & for orthodox families, they avoid anything that increases heat in the body. According to Ayurveda, if the three humors of the body, Kapha[phlegm], Baata[wind] & Pitta[bile] are balanced, the body remains well. If any of these three are disbalanced, it will result in health disorders. So for these people, onion, garlic, meat, red lentils, sugar, eggs are strictly banned!!They use hing[asafoetida], curry leaves, for creating the flavour profile. Abundance cream, milk are used, so is Ghee, which acts as the cooking medium.
The temple cooking also has a few strict rules, for example Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa, India[Eastern coastal area of the country]. This temple can cook food for 1,00,000 people in about one hour. However, the cooking materials, i.e. ingredients are never been processed through machine, but by hand & also new world ingredients like tomatoes, potatoes, green chillies--anything which never originated in the country, is not used in their cooking...
Out of India, if we go to Europe, we will find some important vegetarian dishes, explicitly used as a side-dish for the meat or the fish, however, increasing their portion size & putting something else in the plate, will actually make a vegetarian main course. How about the classic italian "Ratatouille", long been used with Lamb Chops, cant it be served as a main course on a bed moist polenta???Or how about fava beans ragout???The options are endless....
Coming to Oriental, I can discuss only about thai...the noodles, the curries, deep fried foods, the appetisers or the luscious desserts...i simply love it..
Now my veggie friend is asking how to make the perfect poached eggs, so before I close the window & tell her how to make...let me share a recipe...
The Ultimate Ratatouille...
Ingredients:
Olive Oil- 25 ml
Garlic- 15 gm[chopped]
Onion- 100 gm [medium dices]
Yellow Zucchini- 100 gm[medium dices]
Green Zucchini- 100 gm[medium dices]
Green Bell Pepper- 100 gm[medium dices]
Yellow Bell Pepper- 100 gm[medium dices]
Red Bell Pepper- 100 gm[medium dices]
Carrot- 100 gm[medium dices]
Eggplant- 100 gm[medium dices]
Tomatoes- 500 gm[ peeled, seeded & chopped or canned tomatoes]
Thyme- 1 sprig
Basil- 3 sprigs
Seasoning- as required
Bay Leaf -1 no.
Method:-
1. Heat oil in a pan, followed by garlic, bay leaf & the sprig of thyme. Allow to colour the garlic & then add in the onions, followed by zucchini, bell-peppers, carrots & allow to cook in medium heat. Pour a little water if desired.
2. Add in the chopped tomatoes & cook until it becomes semi-dry. Add in the eggplant & keep on stirring.
3. Add the chopped basil, adjust seasoning & remove from heat. Remove the bayleaf before service.
4. Serve hot on a crusty bread.

Buon Appetito!!