Rainbow Buddha bowl is a healthy, filling and a delicious wholesome meal. It's a colorful bowl composed of vegetables proteins, healthy grains and nutrients.

Rainbow in my bowl!!

Rainbow Buddha bowl is a satisfying bowl of goodness, filled with cooked rice, boiled red kidney beans, blanched broccoli, roasted bell peppers and sliced cucumber. I combined this with almond butter lime dressing to give it a touch of sweetness and it just turned out perfect! Buddha bowl is a simple way where you can also use your leftover food which is sitting in refrigerator. 

I had the most indulgent weekend ever. I had lots of chocolates and yummy treats, so I decided to make Buddha bowl for lunch. I picked up these gorgeous broccoli and colorful bell peppers at the farmer’s market this past weekend. Luckily, I had enough cooked rice and beans in my refrigerator to make this power-packed meal.

While each portion of this plate has its own individuality and uniqueness. Red kidney beans are full of protein, fiber, vitamin and nutrients. Though rice doesn’t offer much in terms of nutrients but is a good source of carbs. You can always switch white rice with brown rice since it has more nutrients and is relatively low in calories. I totally love the combination of broccoli and bell peppers as they add crunch, color and sweet flavor to the meal. Broccoli is one of my favorite cruciferous vegetable. It is rich in dietary fiber, minerals, nutrients and antioxidants and bell peppers are rich in antioxidants and other vitamins.

Buddha bowl is a versatile meal. To make this, obviously you'd have to make rice and beans ahead of time. I always try to make it differently, depending on what is available at my home. Follow these few simple steps to make a this beautiful Rainbow Buddha Bowl that I have listed below. 

RAINBOW BUDDHA BOWL

Serves: 2 People

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes 

Author: The Food Root

INGREDIENTS

Red Kidney Beans:

3/4 cup red kidney beans

2 cups water

3/4 tablespoon salt or as per taste

Rice:

1 cup rice

2 cups water

3/4 tablespoon salt or as per taste

Broccoli:

1 head broccoli

2 cups water

1/2 tablespoon salt or as per taste

Roast Veggies:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 tablespoon salt or as per taste

Chop Raw Veggies

1 cucumber, finely sliced

Dressing

1/4 cup Almond butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

2 tablespoons water

Salt and pepper as per taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare Red Kidney Beans: Wash 3/4 cup red kidney beans, under the running water. Drain and soak them overnight or in the morning for at least 4-5 hours. After soaking the beans, rinse them with fresh water. Now place a pressure cooker, add beans with enough water and pressure cook them for at least 40 minutes on medium-low flame. After 40 minutes, turn off the heat and wait for the pressure to release completely. Add salt and stir it for few more minutes till it's properly cooked. Drain the water off the cooked beans and let it cool for some time.

2. Boil Rice: Rinse 1 cup basmati rice with cold water, soak it for about 30 minutes. Place a saucepan with double amount of water to boil. Add salt and loosely cover the pan. Reduce the heat and cook the rice for about 10 minutes. Stir it once and turn off the flame. Let the rice sit for about 5-7 minutes. Drain the rice using a colander or a strainer. Let it cool for some time.

3. Blanch Broccoli: Wash the broccoli and cut them into large individual florets. You can also cut the stem into thin circular pieces. Bring in a large pot of water to boil. When water starts to boil, add broccoli florets and a pinch of salt into it. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with cold water preferably with ice cubes in it. Set it aside. After 3-4 minutes remove the florets with slotted spoon in a colander or a sieve. Now immediately, plunge the florets into the bowl of cold water. After a minute, strain them. Keep it aside.

4. Roast Veggies: Wash the pepper, slice it into half, remove the excess seeds and slice off the thin strips length wise. Heat olive oil in a skillet, add chili flakes followed by sliced bell pepper and sauté until it turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. Sauté it and season them with salt and garlic cloves. Toss it for about a minute on medium flame and turn off the flame. Set it aside.

5. Chop Raw Veggies: Chop any raw veggies you like. It depends on your taste. I added fresh cucumber in my bowl.

6. Prepare the Dressing: To make a dressing, whisk 1/4 cup almond butter, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon minced ginger and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl, add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Assemble: Assemble your bowl, add red kidney beans, rice, broccoli, roasted bell peppers and sliced cucumber. Season the bowl with salt and pepper. Drizzle the yummy almond butter lime dressing and gently toss them to combine. Enjoy!!

ENJOY YOUR RAINBOW BUDDHA BOWL, AND LET US KNOW HOW YOU LIKE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

 

Soya Chaap Masala

 

Soya Chaap Masala is a dish where Soya Chaap pieces are fried and marinated, and than added into a spiced onion-tomato based fragrant gravy. Pair it with a naan or steamed rice and enjoy!

Soya Chaap Gravy that we made for lunch today, turned out so yum that i wanted to share the recipe with you all, right away!

What is Soya Chaap?

Soya Chaap is a prepared with soybean flour and whole wheat flour. Mostly the ratio of soybean is 60% and whole wheat flour is 40%. This thick flour is wrapped into a stick and comes in a can. Use within 2-3 days after opening the can.

Soya chaap is a great substitute of veg and can be use in alternatives of non-veg, meat eaters and many more. It gives a meaty and chewy texture. It's a good source of protein for vegetarians or vegans.

You can serve it with tandoori roti, naan, kulcha, or steamed rice. These Soya chunks comes in a can which you buy from a nearby supermarket or can also buy online.

What are the variations of Soya Chaap?

Soya Chaap can be used in various recipes like Punjabi Soya Chaap, Tandoori Soya Chaap, Malai Soya Chaap, Tandoori Malai Soya Chaap, Afghani Soya Chaap, Soya Chaap Roll, Soya Chaap Kabab, Soya Chaap Recipe Gravy or Soya Chaap Masala and many others. 

A dry version goes well as a starter. The semi-dry recipes goes well with steamed rice. The gravy version goes well with chapatis, naan, parantha or kulchas. The one I'm making is Soya Chaap Gravy also known as Soya Chaap Masala. 

So, use a packet or tin of Soya Chaap differently cuz you can make variety of dishes from it. 

How to Make Soya Chaap Masala?

Soya Chaap Masala is a popular street dish in Delhi and many other North Indian Cities. Soya Chaap Gravy is vegetarian dish which can be easily made at home. It is full of protein and taste delicious.

Fried Soya Chaap chunks are marinated into yogurt, butter and chaat masala for half an hour, and than added into a spiced onion-tomato based gravy. Pair it with a naan or steamed rice and enjoy! 

Soya Chaap Gravy takes less than half an hour to make. It's suitable for weekday meals or weekend special parties or events. Soya chaap is made from soybean flour and whole wheat flour, which gives it a meaty and chewy texture. It is delicious treat not for just vegetarians but for meat-lovers too.

Step by Step Pictures of making Soya Chaap Masala

How to Marinade the Soya Chaap?

1. The process is pretty simple first, wash and dry all the Soya Chaaps along with sticks. Remove the Soya Chaap from the sticks and cut them into 1-1.5 inch chunks.

2. Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and shallow-fry the Soya Chaap Chunks on a lower-medium flame or till it turns golden brown. This will take about 6-8 minutes.

3.  Marinate the fried Soya Chaap Chunks with butter, chaat masala and yogurt. 

4. Mix until all the fried Soya Chaap Chunks are well coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for minimum for 30-40 minutes.

How to make Soya Chaap Gravy?

1. Grind tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chilli to form a smooth paste.

2. Heat 2-3 tbsp oil. Add sliced onions & cook on a lower medium flame till it turns golden brown. This would take about 5-7 minutes.

3. Grind onions and a cup of water in a blender to form a smooth paste.

4. Add a pinch of asafoetida and cumin seeds in the remaining oil. When seeds starts to sputter, add tomatoes & cook it on a lower medium flame for about 5-7 minutes until all the moisture is gone and the mixture is nicely roasted.

5. Next, add spices like salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and give it a good mix to make sure that the spices are well combined.

6. Add onions into the the tomato paste and stir continuously for about a minute.

7. Add roasted Soya Chaap pieces into the onion-tomato paste and mix it than cover over low heat for 5-7 minutes.

8. Now add 2 cups of water and cover over low heat for 10 minutes.

9. Add chopped coriander leaves and stir for about 2 minutes. Mix properly and turn off the flame.

10. Serve soya chaap gravy with steamed rice, naan or kulcha.

How to make Soya Chaap Masala?

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4-6 People

Author : The Food Root

Ingredients:

for marination

6 Soya Chaap Sticks

Oil for shallow frying Soya Chaap pieces

3 tbsp yogurt

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp chaat masala or 1 tbsp salt

for onion tomato gravy

5 tomatoes, roughly chopped

3 onions, sliced

2-3 tbsp oil

3/4 inch ginger, grated

4-5 garlic cloves

2-3 green chillies

2 cups of water

a pinch of asafoetida

1 tbsp cumin seeds

3/4 tbsp coriander powder

3/4 tbsp red chilli powder

3/4 tbsp turmeric powder

3/4 tbsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp salt or as per your taste

1 handful fresh coriander freah leaves, chopped 

Method:

How to Marinate Soya chaap

1. Wash and dry all the Soya Chaaps along with sticks. Remove the Soya Chaap from the sticks and cut them into 1-1.5 inch chunks.

2. Heat the oil and shallow fry the pieces from both the sides on a lower medium flame or till it turns golden brown. This will take about 6-8 minutes.

3. Marinate the fried Soya Chaap with butter, chaat masala and yogurt. 

4. Mix until all the fried Soya Chaaps are well coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerte for minimum for 30 minutes.

How to Make Onion-Tomato Gravy

1. Grind tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chillies to form a smooth paste.

2. Heat oil. Add sliced onions & cook them on a lower medium flame till it turns golden brown. This would take about 5-7 minutes.

3. Grind onions and a cup of water in a blender to form a smooth paste.

4. Add a pinch of asafoetida and cumin seeds in the remaining oil. 

5. When seeds starts to sputter, add tomato pulp & stir continuously on a lower medium flame for about 5-6 minutes until the mixture is nicely roasted.

6. Next, add spices like salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and give it a good mix to make sure that the spices are well combined.

7. Add onions into the the tomato paste and stir continuously for about a minute.

8. Add roasted Soya Chaap pieces into the tomato-onion paste and mix it than cover over low heat for 5-7 minutes.

9. Now add 2 cups of water and cover over low heat for 10 minutes.

10. Add chopped coriander leaves and stir for about 2 minutes. Mix properly and turn off the flame.

11. Serve soya chaap gravy with steamed rice, naan or kulcha.