Is something missing?
We recently had some friends come stay with us. One of them is vegetarian and I made dinner for them the other night. Now I have to preface this post by saying I AM A HUGE MEAT EATER… I love meat, especially red meat! Don’t get me wrong, I love vegetables too; but for me a meal isn’t really complete until there is a meat component involved. Most of my vegetable recipesinclude some form of meat; for e.g. when I make a vegetable or potato pulao, I add chicken stock for flavor and nutrients.
So here I was standing in the kitchen trying to put together a meal (not just a single dish) with no time to head to the grocery store. Make do with what I have and about an hour to have it all ready and serve! I managed to pull it off but constantly felt as though something was missing or that I didn’t add everything necessary.
Moral of the story: think creatively! I made a potato pulao but instead of chicken stock I added extra salt and extra green chilli’s. I made a Mulligatawny soup (lentil soup) which usually has not only chicken stock but actual chicken in it. Instead of adding the chicken stock, I pureed some onion, tomato and garlic in to it for flavor. I also made some okra on the side, which mind you was the only true vegetarian dish. It all worked, even despite my feeling that something was missing.
