What a great day. Abdul-Azeez invited me to his home for lunch and chai. In his living room was an elaborately decorated shrine, serving as an altar for worship. It was full of copper and marble idols he had collected over his years of travel, and beautiful images of deities. Before we ate we performed puja where we placed flowers and fruit on a tray near the shrine and presented them to the deities. Abdul-Azeez insisted that we did a traditional 16 step puja, because I had never done one fully. We concluded with the waving of the arati around the altar while we both sang verses of praise. Abdul-Azeez gave me the now blessed flowers as Prasad – a gift from the deities back to a devotee. After our worship we talked in the kitchen as he prepared Murg Masala: Indian Chicken Curry. While we talked he told me the meaning of his name, Servant to the mighty, and how he gained inspiration from the teachings of the bhagavad-gita and based his religious ideals on the concepts of dharma, satya, ahimsa, and moksha. When the meal was ready, we sprinkled water around our plates and recited prayer to purify the food. As we ate Abdul-Azeez described to me the correlation between what we eat and our physical and spiritual well being. He said sattvic (pure) food allows for sattvic beings. After all, food is god.
The recipe I snatched for his delicious curry
For the masala:
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece of ginger, finely chopped
2 Tbs (30 ml) water
2 tsp (10 ml) ground cumin
2 tsp (10 ml) ground coriander seed
2 tsp (10 ml) salt
1 tsp (5 ml) cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground turmeric
For the chicken:
4 Tbs (60 ml) vegetable or peanut oil
2-inch (5 cm) piece of cinnamon stick
2-3 lbs (900-1350 g) skinless, boneless chicken breasts,
trimmed of fat and quartered
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup (250 ml) chicken broth or water
6 whole black peppercorns
Fresh cilantro (coriander leaves) for garnish
Combine all the ingredients for the masala in an electric blender and process until a moist paste is formed.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over moderate heat and add the masala and cinnamon stick.
Cook, stirring frequently, for 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the chicken pieces and stir until they are coated.
Add the lemon juice, chicken broth, and peppercorns and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes.
Remove the lid and let the sauce reduce for about 5 minutes.
Remove and discard the cinnamon stick before serving.
Serve with rice, garnished with chopped cilantro.
Abdul-Azeeez's Puja Room
