Something about a lazy Sunday screams a fresh colorful one-pot meal filled with everything you love. I don’t know about other people but on some weekends I do not want to eat too much so I opt for one meal. On these meal kinds’ days, there is no better way to mix up things and enjoy a bit of everything than a powerful one. Literally, a power bowl has no hard and fast rule. You can throw in things you like, mix it all up and customize the flavors by adding spices or just leave it plain. Some people go all in, mixing the meat, protein, and some colorful vegetables while others try to keep it simple. There is no limitation in topping and flavors. One thing is clear, as long as you are enjoying it and it has everything you like, it is a clear winner.
Usually, power bowels are seen as a long-lost cuisine or burrito bowl but minus the Mexican seasoning and salsa. You get to choose a base like rice, quinoa, grain, millet, barley, oat, or any carb base. Then you add some vegetables of your choice preferably vegetables that do not require cooking for hours. In case you are wondering about the possible variations and the vegetables you can choose, you can add just about anything, however, the starchy food items are a big no-no. After the base and vegetables you then have to figure out a protein source. This cannot just be limited to chicken, fish, meat, or pork or you can get to the other protein sources based on your taste. Finlay, you will add the sauce of your choice based on preference and you are ready for the power bowl.
Although there are so many different variations in power bowls and there are no limitations, I have listed down some of my personal favorites that I have been enjoying these days. Also, you can change the recipe based on the seasons and the seasonal vegetables that you like to have.
Pulled Beef Power Bowl
This power bowl is a little difficult for someone who has never made pulled beef before. However, protein is the only difficult part but the flavor is so worth it that you will forget about all the other options.
Protein Recipe
For the pulled beef you need to marinate the beef chunk in your favorite source. I like salt, better, some basic BBQ seasoning, and some yogurt. However, you can also replace the yogurt with some red wine for a rich sweet flavor. After letting it soak for a few hours just wrap it up in foil and let it cook in an oven. After it’s cooked you need to shred it so that when you add it to the bowl you can mix it up properly.
Grain Options
Now for the grain, you can add simple white boiled rice or quinoa. However, if you want to experiment, look for purple rice.
Sauce Recipe
For this power bowl, a good gravy source of white sauce would be ideal. For the whole source, you need to add some yogurt, dill, coriander, ginger, garlic, mayo, cream, salt, pepper, and seasoning of your choice in a blender. Run it till the sauce is a little thick and everything is mixed properly.
Vegetable Recipe
Finally, add some vegetables of your choice. I like grilled cabbage, onion, broccoli, carrot, and cauliflower. Once you roast it with a drizzle of oil and some salt, it will enhance in flavor, with a soft mushy texture forming inside and a crispy, crunchy skin forming outside.
Mix it all up, drizzle a generous amount of sauce and dig in.
Arabian Power Bowl
Another of my favorite bowls that I have been loving these days is the Arabian power bowl. This bowl feels like a mix of some of the best flavors in the Arab world put together.
Grain Recipe
For the grain, I would personally recommend some basic cumin seed rice. For this, you can boil up the rice as per usual and then add cumin, some lemon juice, some salt, and vinegar. This will prevent the rice from getting mushy.
Prepare the Vegetables
For this, you will need some Lebanese-inspired vegetable salad. A simple recipe is to go for chopped coriander, tomato, some cucumber, and a generous amount of carrot. Now, you do not have to roast these vegetables, instead just put them in a bowl and add some seasoning of your choice and then lemon juice and pomegranate syrup. This will be a perfect mix and it will eventually enhance the flavor as well.
Sauce
For the sauce, you can either go for the basic humus just like an Arabian recipe or you can go for the Arabian white sauce as well. For the humus you need some sesame seed paste, add some garlic, spices of your choice, lemon juice and finally add some chicken peas. Mix it all up and let it get turned into a thick paste. For making it a little runny like a sauce, you then have to add some olive oil as well. In case you are going for the famous Arabian halal guy sauce, you do not need a lot of ingredients, just mixing yogurt with a lot of mayo, cream, garlic, and any spice of your choice would be fine.
Protein
Although hummus has a generous amount of protein you need a good protein source for the topping as well. Although most people would go for the basic grilled chicken, my opinion is to look for the prawns if you are into seafood. However, a grilled chicken in the air fryer will work as well because when it is smoother with a generous amount of sauce, you will get a notice that it tastes much better.
Now that you have everything prepared it’s time to serve up things. Get a bowl of your choice, set the base with your grain, and add a generous amount of sauce first so it gets soaked by the grains. Now top it up with protein and vegetables. Finally, drizzle a good amount of sauce and you are ready with your Arabian bowl.
Bottom Line
There is no hard and fast rule in the case of a power bowl, anything that excites you or any flavor that you have been loving lately would work. Mix the grain up or roast the vegetables, as long as you are enjoying it, everything will turn out great.
