A beginner martial artist's diet

What does a beginner martial artist feast on? Since January 20th I have been vegetarian, caffeine, alcohol, and ice cream free. This is no small feat for a dedicated omnivore. Nor is it a big deal. If you need to do something you just do it. "Trying" to do something implies an advance admission of failure. My only hankering three weeks into this experience is diet cherry Coke.

Back to my theme. Vegetarianism. I like porridge. I like porridge with blueberries, cream, honey or maple syrup. That takes care of breakfast. I like porridge a couple of hours before I run my class, too. I like Greek yoghurt with things in it like honey and a very special muesli I found that is made with dried blackcurrants, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, Chilean flame raisins, and raspberries. My daughters zeroed in on that find in about a minute so I have to be quick on that draw. What about hot food, though? Well, for someone without any Italian in my blood I do a pretty good job with Minestrone soup, although bacon makes the difference. Pasta is another easy solution, but I have to be careful with those kinds of carbohydrates. Whatever I have eaten over the last three weeks, it has gone well and I am glad to say that it has been a rather fun kitchen adventure.

For instance, here is something I made tonight. I found the recipe in one of the daily "National" newspapers called The Daily Mail. The Daily Mail called it "Spiced chickpea and potato fry-up". Anyone with experience of Indian cuisine should almost immediately recognize a hybrid of Bombay Potatoes and Saag Aloo (a Northern Indian dish made with spinach and potatoes) with some chickpeas thrown in. Just a minute, though: if I peeled and chopped a few tomatoes, added finely chopped chilli's (or not) instead of that insipid recommendation of chilli powder, and my hybrid becomes.... let's see, how about "Bombay Spinach"? So, boys and girls, aprons at the ready, ladles at dawn, and ready - steady - cook!

Zom's Bombay Spinach

Ingredients:

500g/1lb potatoes (mashing/baking, though new potatoes would work), peeled and cut into about 1" cubes

2 x tbspn olive oil
2 x onions, thinly sliced (cut from top to bottom)

5 x cloves garlic, crushed (recipe called for 2)
4 x peeled/chopped tomatoes (or 1 can of same) (my idea!)
2 x tbspn tomato purée
2 x tspn ground coriander
1 x tspn turmeric
1 x tspn mild chilli powder (or finely diced chillies to taste)
2 x tspn cumin seeds
1 x tspn garam masala (my idea!)
1 x 110g can of chickpeas, drained/rinsed
400ml/0.75 pint of water (hard or soft!)
salt & pepper (maybe not if you are opting for a hot dish)

200g/8oz fresh baby spinach
small bunch of fresh coriander

Method

Boil the potatoes in salted water until just tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, soften the onions in the oil using a large saucepan or a wok for a few minutes. Caramelizing might help flavour. Then, add the garlic, the spices, stir in, and add the chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato purée, and chillies. Add the water, turn up to a low boil, and bubble for a few minutes.

When the potatoes are just soft, drain them and add to the sauce. Cook for a few minutes until the starch in the potatoes thickens the sauce, stir in the spinach and when the spinach begins to uniformly wilt scatter with the fresh coriander and serve with any warm crusty bread (or warm chapatis/naan/pita), perhaps with some Greek yoghurt, and/or mango chutney on the side.

Tips

Indian Restaurant goers will know this dish as one of two recipes depending on the mix of potatoes or spinach, and invariably the spinach is overcooked by the time it reaches the table. This recipe would easily make enough side dishes for about a dozen people. Or, it makes a surprisingly hearty meal for four adults in its own right.

Remember to salt the potatoes when you are boiling them - salting the potatoes afterwards risks making the rest of the dish too salty. You can use frozen spinach, but this produces something of a "next day" taste to the dish - if you can use fresh spinach and wilt it without "sliming" it you will get a much fresher flavour. The same goes for the spices - fresh chillies and a fresh coriander garnish just make that little extra difference. Lastly, garam masala is really only used for fragrance, so if you cannot source this easily, it is no great loss.

I am glad to say how pleasantly surprised I am at my foray into veggiedom. I will not be giving up meat. One or two traverses across some difficult snowbound terrains last week left me a little famished for a decent pint of bitter and a t-bone or fillet steak (rare/medium rare) in the absence of my loved one. I am much more comfortable with the idea that it is possible to turn out some great food and still cover important nutritional needs without having to rely on meat daily. I have just had to step outside that box called habit, and at this point in my life, it is neat to try something different. It is not a bad place to be at all.

That is not the point, though. The point is, will it improve my chances of becoming a martial artist?