Healthy Indian Buddha Bowl

Easy recipe for Indian spiced Buddha Bowl with chana masala, quinoa, veggies, raita and mango

Nourishing, well balanced Buddha bowl with Indian spiced chick peas.

Easy recipe for Indian spiced Buddha Bowl with chana masala, quinoa, veggies, raita and mango
Healthy Indian Buddha Bowl

Have you hopped on the Buddha bowl craze yet?  Are you wondering why they are so popular these days? The answer in 3 words is -easy, nutritious and scrumptious! Who does not want that?Buddha bowls, as I understand them, are a combination of grains, protein, greens/veggies, fruit,some extras…read extra yummy…. and something edgy or spicy. This Healthy Indian Chana Masala Buddha bowl is all that and more! It makes healthy eating easy for a person me, who needs a filling and delicious meal with something spicy, something extra thrown in 🙂

When I first heard of Buddha bowl, the alms bowl is what came to my mind. Giving alms is such an important part of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, as it is in other religions.

My childhood memory is that of a fakir who came to our home every Friday. He would stand behind the closed bungalow gate and sing praises of God. He carried an alms bowl made of stone. My family filled his alms bowl with grains of rice. My mother stored rice grains in huge containers and as kids, when we heard the fakir sing, we scooped up rice from the container in a bowl, ran to the gate to give the rice to the fakir in his alms bowl. Now I wonder what else he got in that bowl from other homes, to make his meal that night. Being able to put together a nutritious meal with the various components received is quite a skill, isn’t it?

Well, back to my Buddha bowl, I especially liked the fact that once I made the chana masala with kale …yes I could easily sneak in the kale:)… and had fresh veggies and fruit, each member of the family could mix and match the flavors they wanted in their Buddha bowl! I was happy I had something spicy in my Buddha bowl and my treat was the mango and the yogurt raita with grapes and walnuts. This is the type of healthy eating that even I can stick to!

Chana Masala with Kale

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients-

  • 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
  • 2 medium onions, diced fine
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  • ½ teaspoon garlic paste
  • 2 tablespoons store bought chana masala powder(with aamchur)
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup water or vegetable stock
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 (29 oz) can chick peas, rinsed and drained
  • 1/ 2 cup frozen chopped kale

To make the Chana Masala with Kale-

  1. In a sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté until it is translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic paste and sauté for another minute or so.
  2. Turn down the heat, add the chana masala powder and turmeric powder and sauté on low for another minute.
  3. Add the tomato paste, sauté until fragrant. Add 1 cup of water or vegetable stock, the brown sugar and salt, stir well, cover and let the mixture cook on low for 5~7 minutes.
  4. Add the drained chickpeas and the kale and let it cook for another 5 minutes or so to assimilate the flavors.

For the Healthy Indian Buddha Bowl, I had cooked quinoa, chana masala with kale served with a wedge of lime, sliced cucumbers, yellow cauliflower florets, scallions, grape tomatoes and sliced mangoes. A yogurt based raita goes well with this meal, in my opinion. I used fat free Greek yogurt,  cooked beets,grapes and walnuts in my raita and seasoned it with cumin seed powder and salt.

I hope everyone enjoys the healthy Indian Buddha Bowl  at Fiesta Friday!

Enjoy!

Love,

❤

Sandhya

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51 thoughts on “Healthy Indian Buddha Bowl”

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    1. Terri, mangoes are my soul food too…so it was so good to have that treat as one of the components in that Buddha Bowl 🙂

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  9. Ahhhh Sandhya, they there are…. those chick peas you told me about.
    Your entire presentation is a work of art here, the vibrant colors, the plating, that gorgeous blue plate, the savory and sweet notes, a great East meets West fusion. Yes, these bowls are definitely “in” these days, I’ve been indulging in some of them too, but you’ve given me a good idea of how to use my leftovers cauliflower and chick pea curry from a few days ago. I’d have thought a yogurt raita would be great with this nutritious and healthy meal too. xo

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thank you so much Loretta for your keen observation and abundant praise! It feels so good when all our efforts as bloggers are appreciated, isn’t it?
      Yes I liked the idea of Buddha bowl as it gives us a chance to have so many components and for a person like me, it seems like a good way to learn portion control 🙂 I like the idea of having some treats in there too. I agree with you that it is a great way to use leftovers.
      We had the telepathy with chickpeas and raita this week 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much Lynn. It is interesting what will take us back in an instant right? The alms bowl reminded me of the black stone bowl the fakir carried:) Thanks so much for your kind words.

      Liked by 1 person

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  15. Hi Sandhya,
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    Liked by 1 person

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  16. I loved the story, and food looks amazing! Im more of a sunday roast kind of guy but honestly i think i could take up this recipe! Each item on there is so healthy! You’ve given me some inspiration for my blog to delve deeper into the health benefits of these ingredients!

    Feel free to have a read at

    http://buffbanana.com/

    It would be great to get any feedback from you, and i look forward to connecting with you again, your recipes look too delish!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much! I absolutely love putting together these Buddha bowls.
      You have a great blog with health benefits of foods ! now you have recipes with those foods here:)
      Thanks for the follow. I am following your blog too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  24. I love hearty buddha bowls like this! All those warm spices sound so good in these cold winter months here in Michigan. And I’d never heard of an alms bowl before… I love that story from your childhood!

    Liked by 1 person

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  26. Heyy Sandhya,
    Thank you for introducing me to Buddha Bowl . I am hearing for the first time and guess this is going to lead me learn more about it online.

    Its definitely hale and hearty!! I would love to have one for sure 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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