Stone Curry:- food without nourishment?

We delivered rations and a bed for a mendicant doctor on call in Hackney over 20 years ago.
The deal was we would provide food and your man would provide the wine. In those days one bottle between three of us! He did not want to upset the good ladies who would call him out as they knew he was available!

It became a challenge on the days that we cooked. He was not averse to a bit of the vegetarian and so we provided from a range of books. I am not now, nor was I ever macrobiotic but I did enjoy Arturo and others. Our interest in the subcontinent would have been considered positively subversive today.

One of the more enjoyable sources was by Jack Santa Maria.
His work provided great food and some parabolic tales.

My favourite was The Merchant's Tale about Stone Curry.

It has been an inspiration to me ever since.

Three holy men turn up in a village, sit in the centre and place the sacred pouch with the curry stones in front of them. When asked what they are doing they reply that they are able to make the best curry in the whole world - all they need is the stones in their pouch and a cauldron of boiling water. Everyone wants a free lunch so the villagers comply. After a while one of the holy men samples the brew and with little short of rapture on his face pronounces it the best curry in the world- apart from just a little salt! This is provided. The sampling is repeated and the pronouncement is now the curry requires some onion and a little garlic. Well of course you know what happens. The villagers provide the ingredients one by one and the holy men (consultants ) provide the curry!

I saw this as a quirky tale. But the more I think about it the more it inspires me to believe people can do things for themselves.