10 Indian Buddha Bowls, plus Buddha Bowl Tips
4 Apr
“Eat only as much as your cupped hands can hold“, goes a popular dietary maxim.
“Eat the rainbow“, advises another.
The Buddha Bowl beautifully embodies those two principles of nutrition: there’s a receptacle, a general rule that we put into it an assortment of grains, plant protein and vegetables, and a subgoal that the end result be as pleasing to the eye as it is to health.
So that’s the Buddha Bowl template. What are its details?
YOU own the details – Buddha Bowls are configurable! There is no set directive on what you must or must not put into them. Don’t want grains? Leave them out. More beans today, less salad? Go right ahead. The key is variety and balance.
Which brings us to the question…
Can Buddha Bowls be used for Indian food?
Indian meals are traditionally served in a thali – a large shallow plate on which katoris are placed to hold the curries. With some foresight and creativity, Indian meals can be readily adapted to the Buddha Bowl pattern. The benefits of doing so are many – other than bringing in variety and portion control, those of us who do our dishes ourselves get to have a reduced washing load :P
What does it take to compose an Indian Buddha bowl?
Into an Indian Buddha bowl, add:
- Some grain: rice / millets
- Some protein: dal / beans / peanuts / sattu / kadhi
- Some cooked vegetables
- One or more accompaniments: raita / chutney
- Crunchy toppings: raw salad / bhujiya
A few tips to help you assemble the items in the bowl right:
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Go thick: Do not put in runny curries and dals, or they will seep into the rest of the items and your Buddha Bowl will be a sloppy mess. If you must have sambar or lasooni dal in your Buddha Bowl, prepare them thicker than thali-style.
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Dam up with the grains: It might not be feasible (or even desirable) to entirely skip the fluids with Indian food, which means you must find ways to manage them: build dams of solid in the bowl to rein in the fluids. Here are two ways of doing this:
Arrangement 1: Lay out a cylinder of rice across the Buddla Bowl’s diameter, with dal on one side and curry on the other. Place salads and dry toppings around the rim.
Arrangement 2: Shape rice like a doughnut in the center of the Buddha Bowl. Place chutney within the ring, curry outside it. For further damming, make separators out of raw salad.
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Seek flavor compatibility: Remember that the items in the Buddha Bowl *will* mingle with each other as you eat. Do not put clashing flavors adjacent to each other in the bowl, or strongly flavored dishes that are better eaten standalone. For example, if curry leaf pulao is your carb of choice, place it next to onion moong raita not lauki kofta.
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Break the yellow: Indian thalis gravitate towards the yellow-brown palette. When curating a Buddha Bowl, choose at least a few components that veer off the turmeric hue. Throw in some green beans with shredded coconut, red spinach stir fry, vegetables cooked with black sesame or white aloo mooli kadhi.
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Play with contrast: Place palak paneer alongside moong dal salad, achari gajar next to dahi aloo, baingan masala over jeera rice.
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Try fusion: Introduce elements from non-Indian cuisine that sit well in Buddha Bowls. Says yes to sides of roasted sweet potato, microgreens, avocado.
I hope these tips have set you brimming with ideas for Indian Buddha Bowls. Here’s a gallery of ten Indian Buddha Bowls that you could recreate or generate ideas from.
Buddha Bowl #1: Jeera Rice, Chhole Masala, Baingan Bhaja, Carrot Onion Raita, Tomato Slices
Buddha Bowl #2: Tomato Rice, Sookhi Moong Dal, Amaranth Leaves Stir Fry, Sauteed Cauliflower
Buddha Bowl #3: Ghee Millet, Spinach Toor Dal Tadka, Carrot Beans Stir Fry, Karela Pyaz, Tomato Pickle
Buddha Bowl #4: Boiled Rice, Sesame Bell Pepper Curry, Jhatpat Aloo, Chayote Raita, Grape Chutney, Carrot Sticks
Buddha Bowl #5: Peanut Vegetable Millet, Potato Curry, Stuffed Baby Eggplant, Cabbage Coconut Stir-Fry, Methi Chutney, Homemade Dahi, Cucumber Slices
Buddha Bowl #6: Vegetable Pulao, Bittersweet Baingan, Pomegranate Raita, Crispy Plantain, Fresh Coconut
Buddha Bowl #7: Brown Rice, Palak Paneer, Pumpkin Curry, Broad Beans in Black Sesame Sauce, Kachumber Salad
Buddha Bowl #8: Pudina Rice, Chana Dal with Raisins, Cucumber Tomato Curry, Bhindi Bhujiya Besanwali, Sweet Potato Masala Discs
Buddha Bowl #9: Boiled Rice, Sesame Bell Pepper Curry, Tomato Ginger Chutney with Peanuts, Toor Dal
Buddha Bowl #10: Rajma Chawal, Aloo Methi, Cucumber Raita, Papad, Onion Rings
Notes:
The gallery above is a small illustration of how Indian food can be served in Buddha Bowl style. Try out your own – I promise you, these are as much fun composing as they are cooking and eating!
Thanks, S for posting these ideas. I am inspired by your post.
Thank you Alpa!
This is so helpful. Very thoughtful and balanced combinations.
Thank you Gaya v!
Lovely! So creative and colorful…
Concept is interesting!
Will try out.
Thank you Suchitra!
Awesome! Loved your Indian food inspired Budha Bowls. All the bowls look fantastic , with their combinations.
Now I feel.like trying these, and will definitely try one this weekend.
Thank you so much for all the tips and suggestions.
Are you serving it cold ?
Not really. Many of the items in the Buddha bowls are hot.