Pranaful With Meredith Klein

Ever since I met the majestic Meredith Klein, I’ve coveted the recipe for her soothing, spicy Chai. I finally asked her for it but made sure to do so mindfully. For me, this meant understanding what it was about the Chai that made it so enlivening. Onward I went on an exploration of Pranaful, her LA-based catering company. Pranaful started from Meredith’s desire to provide nourishing, healing foods for individuals taking part in deep transformative work, such as yoga or meditation. She collaborates with retreat leaders to offer wholesome, mainly plant-based foods to support the work—both physical and inward/subtle—explored by those in the environment. She also caters parties, offers cooking classes, and works as a private chef in LA. A recent chat with Meredith made Wilder want to be filled with prana too!

Wilder Quarterly: What does it mean to be full of Prana?

Meredith Klein: The word “prana” is a Sanskrit word often used in yoga classes, as well as Ayurveda (the Indian healing system, which is a sister science to yoga), which means “vital life force energy.” Anything that is alive has prana. Applied to food, some foods have more prana than others—namely those that are in their original, unadulterated, unprocessed form—in other words, whole foods. Such foods are the basis for everything I create at Pranaful—veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds and grains offer so many outlets for creative culinary expression! My intention is that by consuming foods of this nature, people feel more connected to the prana within their own bodies, and that it may flow more freely.

WQ: You apply the ancient healing principles of Ayurveda to your cuisine. What are a few key elements of Ayurveda that make their way into your menus and how important is their presence?

MK: I see Ayurveda as a system aligned around restoring balance within the body. From an Ayurvedic perspective, all forms of dis-ease can be traced to some imbalance of the elemental constituents in the body; for example, someone dealing with inflammation has excess heat in the body. Since our bodies are influenced by our environments, factors like weather and seasons can play a role in throwing us off balance.

For example, as we transition from winter into spring, many of us feel heaviness in the body associated in Ayurveda with the earth element—Kapha—which is actually thought of as a combination of earth and water. So in essence, we’re trying to clear out some mud-like gunk from the body that’s been accumulating during the colder months (including all the junk we are inclined to eat over the holidays). The desire to remove excess Kapha from the body is one of the reasons spring cleanses are so popular for many people. In the menus I prepare during the winter months, I include lots of vegetables from the Brassica family—cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc.—as they are known to have qualities that help the body break up and clear out excess Kapha.

WQ: What does it mean to eat mindfully and what are the benefits of doing so?

MK: To eat mindfully is to bring our full awareness to the act of eating, and really engage with our food using all our senses. So many people multitask while eating, and the food is there and then it’s not, and in the interim, they miss out on enjoying the sensations of chewing, feeling, smelling and tasting. When we eat with mindfulness, we naturally slow down. In this space, we tend to be more inclined to find ourselves in a place of gratitude for the food we are receiving, and the many causes, conditions and people involved in bringing it to our plates.

When we bring all our attention to the act of eating, we cut down on the excess “stuff” that the body needs to process, and generally people feel more energized after eating, instead of finding themselves in the sluggish state that some people call a “food coma.”

WQ: Let’s get spicy. Tell us about some of your favorites.

MK: The Indian spice palette is my favorite to work with (and the one that most delights my own palate!). Spices are integrated into my food not only for flavor, but also for their healing properties. I’m particularly fond of warming spices that have bold flavors and stoke the inner digestive fire—cumin, coriander, turmeric and fennel, to name a few!

One that really stands out for me right now is fenugreek. I got the most amazingly pungent fenugreek seeds from a man in a market in Mumbai last fall, and I’ve been delighting in using them. A little fenugreek goes a long way, so I’m hoping to make my stash last as long as I can! And, I’m hoping to grow some fresh fenugreek this spring so that I can make fenugreek parathas (Indian flat breads), which were my favorite breakfast food while I was there.

WQ: Is there a recipe you’d be willing to share with us? Perhaps the recipe to your glorious Chai?

MK: Of course, I’d be delighted to share my chai recipe. The key is to boil the spices the night before, then let them sit and steep overnight for the best flavor the next morning! All quantities are approximate, and can be adjusted to your liking:

Pranaful Chai

2 T. green cardamom pods
2 T. fennel seeds
1 T. whole cloves
1 T. black peppercorns
1 T. chopped dried licorice root
2 cinnamon sticks
6 pieces star anise
2” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped into thin rounds
3 T black tea in a large tea ball or 3 bags of black tea
3 c. dairy or non-dairy milk of your choice
Honey or other sweetener

Add all dry spices to a medium-sized pot, and toast them over a medium flame, stirring often to avoid burning. When spices become aromatic, add ginger and 3 cups of water, turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, covered. Turn off heat, and leave spices to steep overnight in the covered pot.

The next morning, bring the spice decoction to a boil over a high flame. Remove from heat, and add tea ball/tea bags. Let tea steep for 5 minutes, then remove tea ball/bags. Return pot to stove over a low flame, and stir in milk. After 5 minutes, the chai will be ready to serve.

Sweeten individual servings with honey, or a sweetener of your choice. You can use a tea strainer when serving to avoid spices floating in the tea (or not…some people enjoy seeing the intact spices in their cup!).

Photo of Meredith with a tender, tiny asparagus courtesy of Steven Wynbrandt. …

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