Gandhi's Birthday

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Throughout the world today is known as the International Day of Non-Violence. In many parts of India, however, it's simply known as Gandhi's birthday. We decided to celebrate his birth by putting together a meal typical of the region surrounding Mumbai, where he was born.

Saoji Chicken Curry, Garnished with diced red chilis

I found a recipe for Saoji curry using chicken, a common dish from the region. Now before anyone says anything, yes, I know that Gandhi didn't eat meat. I'm not sure how we would have felt about us celebrating his birth by eating chicken. I'm not sure he would have cared. If it's any consolation we did accompany our meal with a vegan mango lassi, using tofu instead of any dairy products.

Vegan Mango Lassi

The recipe calls for a plethora of spices which all make up garam masala. Instead of buying all the ingredients separately, you can probably buy garam masala prepackaged or as a powder. We already had some garam masala powder in the house, so we just used that, even though it's not supposed to be as strong and flavorful. It didn't seem to matter much since it still turned out really amazingly good. We've mostly just made Indian curry in the past from prepackaged pastes. This was surprisingly easy to make and much tastier and cheaper than curry from a jar. We thoroughly recommend it. If you're adventurous you could even experiment with different meats, like lamb, or make it a true vegan meal with either lentils or tofu.