What did you expect? (Recipe : Kerala Coconut Chutney/ Thenga Samandi)

I read an interesting portion today of how Jesus calmed the storm in Matthew chapter 8. We all know the story of how Jesus was sleeping while their boat was being flooded in the storm.

Matthew 8: 25 – 27: The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

I found the last statement truly bewildering! The disciples were amazed that Jesus calmed the storm, that he commanded the winds and the waves…..this is probably understandable…but in verse 25, when they say “Lord, save us!”….what were they expecting?? They were obviously expecting him to save them, to resolve the situation…but when He did, they appear to be amazed that He could! So what did they think he would do to save them? Obviously not stop the storm! They expected something much much smaller, but just enough to procure their safety.

Jesus on the other hand was hoping they would not be so rattled by a storm, when He was in the boat with them! He rebukes their lack of faith in who He is, but their reaction to the display of His power just goes on to highlight that they had no idea who He truly was let alone of His power.

Is this how our faith is as well? We obviously have Jesus in our lives, He is in our boats….but when the storm comes, are we rattled, begging for Him to deliver us based on our small idea of who He is? Do we expect GREAT things from Him? If we truly know who He is, then is that not what we should do? I have a feeling that Jesus allowed that storm just so that He could give them and idea of how to think…..to stop looking for tiny miracles and look for BIG ONES. To not expect Him to just steady the boat, but stop the storm! Many times when we go through problems, we have an idea of the solution and we expect God to implement those ideas, we try to limit what the Lord can do because of our limited understanding of who He is! How disappointed Jesus must have felt, these men slept where He slept, ate with Him, spent every waking moment with Him and yet showed that they had no idea of who He was or what He could do for them, despite all the miraculous things He was doing! What more could He have done to show them His potential?

Are we not like this as well? We see what the Lord has done, not only in His word, but also in the lives of people around us and people we know! But we still we do not really believe in His power to do amazing things in our lives, to calm storms, change the weather, heal our sickness, and speak deliverance into our lives! There are instances in the Old Testament where the Lord kept the sun from setting for a whole day, and where the Lord turned back time! The Word says that God does not change in

Hebrews 13: 8: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

So, what He did then, He can also do now! Let us pray to the Lord to remove any mental or spiritual blocks in us that would make us limit His power and potential to manifest those powers in our lives!

I’m going a little traditional with today’s recipe. Good old Kerala coconut chutney (thenga samandhi), it’s a favourite with rice and curd in Kerala.

Recipe for Kerala Coconut chutney ( Thenga Samandhi)

This recipe is made by grinding the ingredients on stone in Kerala. However, we would have to use a grinder.

Ingredients:

Dry Red Chilly – 4 (more if you need it really spicy)
Tamarind pulp – one teaspoon scoop
Red button onions – 4 or Regular Red Onion – ¼
Diced Ginger – 2 Tablespoons
Coconut – ½ cup
Salt – as required

1.In a frying pan, dry roast the red chilly.

2.In a wet grinder put in the red chilly, coconut, tamarind, onions, ginger, coconut, salt and grind till the chutney has an even texture. Avoid adding water as much as possible.

3.The chutney can be stored in the fridge for a few days and is excellent with white rice.