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The Overlooked World of Our Nataraja Nilayam: The Kitchen

Last night for the monks' dinner, our monastic chef Natyam Nandinatha made his first attempt at making rendang. Rendang is a classic dish originally from Indonesia, but made in various regional styles throughout Southeast Asia. You'll see it as a staple dish of Malay homes in Malaysia, for example. Originally a non-vegetarian dish, rendang has many variations, including vegetarian ones. Natyam used green jackfruit for the base, and added the needed flavor elements to make the dish qualify as rendang, namely: fresh coconut, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, chilies, tender turmeric leaves for garnishing, etc.

All of these items were collected by Natyam earlier in the day from about the aadheenam gardens. Placing the final products enveloped in a banana leaf slightly steams the leaf, adding another flavor element to the rendang. All in all, it took him several hours to make. Husking the coconuts, opening, grinding, dry roasting, and powdering the meat took some time. Plus, for anyone who's prepared green jackfruit for cooking from start to finish knows what's involved with that. Let's just say that latex gloves are required, as is oiling your knife. With the guiding knowledge of Yoginathaswami, Natyam was able to pull off an authentic rendang.

Fun fact: jackfruit produces an incredibly powerful gluey secretion which is what makes it difficult to work with. This glue is what is traditionally used to adhere the gold, jewels, and paper used to make the famous Tanjore paintings of Tamil Nadu.

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