Divine Food

Divine food is pure vegetarian food, which Lord Krishna in the Bhagwad Gita described as satvic bhojan, because it purifies the mind, increases life span and contributes to health, joy and cheerfulness. The foods promote bodily health as they contain all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals required to maintain the body in optimum health. These foods comprise of vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds, nuts, milk and milk products. The delightfully delicious Indian, Chinese and Continental dishes that follow do not contain onion, garlic or gelatin and are not just nutritious and healthy, but enchant the taste buds as well.

Capsicums Mazedaar

Ingredients

6 medium capsicums slit in middle

For gravy

½ oz. almonds

½ oz. roasted ground nuts

1 oz. dry coconut

1 tblsp. dhania jeera powder

¼ tsp. turmeric powder

1 medium tomato pureed

4 ozs. yoghurt mixed with 1 tblsp. chick pea flour

For filling 

1 medium eggplant

Fry the capsicums until they wrinkle. Dry roast coconut and nuts and then grind them. Roast eggplant on open flame till it wrinkles and turns soft. Drop in cold water and then skin the eggplant. Mash to a paste. Heat 2 tblsps. oil and add mustard seeds, when they stop tossing, mix in 2 tblsps. nut mixture. Fry for 1 minute, then add eggplant along with all the filling ingredients. Cook until oil floats to the top. Stuff the mixture into capsicums. Heat 2 tblsps. oil and add the ground nut paste along with all spices and tomatoes. Cook till dry. Beat yoghurt with 1 glass water and add to tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and place capsicums side by side on the gravy. Cook until paste thickens. Decorate with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Cherry Curry

½ lbs. mashed paneer

1 tsp. cumin seeds

½ oz. roasted cashew nuts

Mix paneer along with corn flour, cumin seeds and salt. Add enough color to give it a deep red texture. Form into cherry sized balls and fry to a golden color. Drain. Heat 4 tblsps. oil and add cumin seeds, when they stop tossing, add tomato puree, yoghurt, cashewnut paste, all spices, salt, ginger, coriander leaves and chilies. When oil floats on the top, add boiled peas, milk and essence. After a few minutes mix in the cherries. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Place in a serving dish, pour cream on top and decorate with pineapple and cashew nuts.

Mushrooms in Butter

¼ lbs. mushrooms thinly sliced

Mix cream, salt and mushrooms together and set aside for 1 hour. Roll mushrooms in corn flour and deep fry in oil until crisp and golden. Melt butter in a pan over low heat, add sugar and lime juice and mix well. Remove from fire and place mushrooms in a serving dish and add the butter and sugar mixture over the mushrooms. Garnish with toasted cashewnuts, almonds and chopped cilantro.

Manpasand Parantha

½ lbs. whole wheat flour

Salt to taste

For filling 

½ lbs grated radish

Salt to taste

Mix both flours and salt. Add enough milk to form stiff dough. Heat 2 tblsps. oil and add filling ingredients. Cook till dry. Form the dough into balls. Take two balls and roll into small round discs. Squeeze out the water from the radish and mix with remaining ingredients. Spread radish on one round, sprinkle a little dry flour on top. Cover with the second round and seal edges. Sprinkle dry flour on top. Roll out into a parantha and shallow fry to a golden color. Smear with butter and serve with yoghurt.

Rivoli

½ lbs. refined flour

Salt to taste

For filling

4 oz. bean sprouts

Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare filling heat 4 tblsps. of oil and fry all vegetables until almost done. Mix in remaining filling ingredients and use as filling. Mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Add enough water and form dough. Chill for half hour. Divide dough into small balls and roll out into a thin round shape. Place a tblsp. of the filling in the center and fold over to form half moon shapes. Seal the edges with 1 tblsp. corn flour mixed with ¼ cup water. Deep fry to a golden color and serve hot.

Vegetable Fried Rice

1 lb. boiled rice

Heat oil and fry potatoes. Drain. Add carrots, peas, capsicums, bean sprouts, cabbage and salt. Fry over high heat until almost cooked. Mix in rice, ginger juice, pepper and potatoes. Fry 2 to 3 minutes. Place in serving dish, decorate with parsley and serve hot.

Eight Jewel Pudding

½ lbs. rice

Cook rice in 4½ cups of water until soft and dry. Grease small steel bowls and place nuts and fruits in a decorative fashion in bowl. Mix unsalted butter, salt, sugar and vanilla essence into the rice and spoon into bowls, being careful not to disturb the nuts and fruits. Press down firmly for 30 minutes. Place on a bed of green lettuce leaves. Cover with whipped cream, decorate with whole nuts and chill before serving.

Fig Cake

8 oz. refined flour

Pinch of salt

Cut the figs into small pieces and cook in just enough water until tender. Mix together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add butter, figs and enough water to form a batter. Place in a greased pan and bake in a moderate oven for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. When cool, cut into small square pieces and serve decorated with slivers of almonds.

Chocolate Nougat

½ lbs. dark chocolate grated

For nougat 

4 oz. sugar

4 oz. coarsely chopped nuts like almonds, cashewnuts and walnuts

On a slow fire place sugar and butter in a pan and cook until melted. Add nuts, mix well and remove from fire and pour the mixture on a greased platform. Use rolling pin to roll to a ¼ inch thick layer. Slice layer halfway into small squares with the help of a sharp knife. When mixture cools, break into squares. Melt chocolate, dip nut squares one by one in melted chocolate. Set to harden in refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours. Wrap in silver paper