Move over the thali meals. A new bowl meal is trending now in the city. A concept that has caught on the world over has earned the fancy of the health conscious Maduraiites. Recommended by a friend, I signed up for a bowl last week. It was a delightful sight to look into the bowl. A colourful combination of ingredients from steamed brown rice, capsicum and onions to boiled chicken breast, cheppakizhangu and tofu topped with ginger, garlic, pepper, cumin, fennel and a drizzle of mayonnaise -- all sitting in layers. It was an explosion of flavours with myriad textures. As the mixture was a varied fare, the combination of tastes was pleasing to the palate. The wholesome meal made for a great breakfast too. There are over 60 regular takers for the bowlsever since young nutritionist P S Surya launched The Buddha Bowl in March. Promising a balanced healthy diet Surya prepares innovative bowls every day and delivers them at the doorstep. “Every bowl is different and contains a range of colourful ingredients. The idea is to give a blend of local and global ingredients and ensuring a varied and balanced nutritional value. We also provide the value break up with the bowls, for the customers to understand, calculate and appreciate what they are consuming,” says Surya, who started in Chennai initially but had to close down the venture due to logistic issues. “Though salad bars have caught on, people tend to discontinue them given the boredom attached to salads. The bowl instead is a complete innovative meal where you can get the right proportion of carbs, proteins, vitamins and fat.” There's no dearth for experiments in a bowl meal, says Surya. “There's no end to combinations you can make. We haven't repeated a single menu since we started. The menu is ever evolving and we are finding it interesting to mix things that are healthy from millets, grains, legumes and pulses to nuts, fruits and vegetables. Our twist to the Zen meal is adding some essentially Indian ingredients.” The bowls are also given catchy names such as Cauliflower crust bowl, Spaghetti mung bean, Chicken millet pancake, mushroom risotto and cherry merry bowl. The Buddha Bowl offers meals five days a week for breakfast and dinner. Each bowl weighs between 250 to 300 grams and comes for Rs.120 plus an additional charge of Rs.10 for door delivery. Weekly and monthly subscriptions cost Rs.600 and Rs.2,300 respectively. “There are people who subscribe for two bowls a day. Initially, we targeted fitness centres and supplied only five or six bowls, but now the inquiries have gone up, especially from doctors, middle-aged men and some home-makers,” says Surya. Weekly once, they also provide a fruit/sweet bowl in which seasonal fruits are mixed with exotic fruits like strawberry, peach, apricots, dragon fruits etc. The sweet bowl is more like a healthy dessert that's sugar free. “We mix naturally sweet substances like dates, peanut butter, chocolate, apple and prunes and call it an energy bowl. Sometimes, we also grind oats, banana and bake them into cookies to be added to the bowl. On Fridays, we supply a sweet bowl that breaks monotony and keeps boredom away.” They also offer a Jain bowl that's devoid of onions and garlic. The spices are restricted to pepper, salt and cumin, but the dressings are pretty flavoursome. “We avoid masalas but use herbs like oregano and basil for flavours. I prepare the dressings by blending a range of healthy ingredients. I grind chickpeas, add some salt and use it as a hummus dressing. Roasted and ground beetroot, boiled and mashed spinach and Tahini – white sesame seeds roasted and blended with olive oil, garlic and salt are the other options. We make sure, we don't go outrageous and add unhealthy colouring agents or oily substances,” points out Surya. “In non-veg bowls, we use only chicken breast as it contains lean protein. We avoid other meats as they may be high in cholesterol.” WHAT'S IN THE BOWL @ Check out their Facebook page: buddhabowl and on Instagram: the_buddha_bowl HIT: It's a quick and easy meal. The innovative combinations are impressive MISS: A sustainable packaging instead of a use-and-throw plastic bowl will be better For subscriptions, call 99 432 99 232

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