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which several
ingredients are combined to prepare the food that ensures
optimal health of body, mind and soul as well.
Food plays an important role in our health
and fitness. According to Ayurveda, cooking is not just about
palatable food and flavorful dishes rather it is the key to
continuous good health. Ayurveda is based on believe that the
universe is made up of five elements: air, fire, water, earth
and ether that are represented in humans by three "doshas", or
energies: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. A complete balance of all
these doshas is mandatory for health of an individual. Every
individual has a distinct balance, and the health and well
being of an individual depend on right balance of the three
doshas ("tridoshas"). Because these five elements exist in us
and in nature as well, our doshas can become aggravated or
imbalanced due to inappropriate or inadequate diet, change of
seasons, climate or lifestyle, and result in disease in the
body. Ayurveda cooking provides great insight about foods that
suit and balance you according to your constitution, dosha
imbalance, and season.
Ayurvedic cooking includes the knowledge and use of herbs,
spices, vegetables, legumes etc. to maintain physical, mental,
social and spiritual harmony. Ayurveda foods are appetizing,
flavourful and aromatic and offer healing and good health when
served in an inspiring atmosphere. Ayurveda foods help to
clean the accumulated toxins (which are a result of improperly
digested food) and rejuvenate the body as each dish is cooked
and spiced to achieve maximum digestibility.
The fundamental principles of Ayurvedic Cooking are:
The five Elements - Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Ether (Space)
The three Doshas - Vata, Pitta and Kapha
The three Gunas – Satvik, Rajasik, Tamasik
The seven Dathus - Rasa or plasma, Rakta or blood, Mamsa or
muscle, Meda or fat, Asthi or bone, Majja or marrow and
nerves, Shukra or reproductive tissues.
The six tastes – Sweet, Sour, Salty, Pungent, Bitter, and
Astringent
These principles guide to determine the cooking processes,
food combinations, uses of different food items, quantity of
intake of food, etc. Every individual has a unique body
constitution (Dosha) and needs different foods to maintain
overall health. For example, Vata is a cold dry dosha, hence
person with Vata as predominant dosha need warm, nourishing
foods, while the Pitta person requires cool food to balance
his fire element. Ayurvedic cooking also take into account the
effect of cooking method on the quality of the foods, the
feelings of the cook and of the vibrations of surrounding
atmosphere, the compatibility of foods, the time of cooking
and eating, the cycle of the seasons. Ayurveda considered food
as a stimulant to a higher consciousness. Thus, Ayurvedic
cooking is both an art and a science. Food properly cooked and
consumed work as a great medicine and helps one to lead a
long, energetic and healthy life.
Everyday Ayurvedic Cooking
Ayurvedic cooking is an art and joy. You can cook an Ayurvedic
food for you with the help of commonly available ingredients.
Pulses, grains, spices, fresh vegetables and fruits, ghee,
milk products play major role in Ayurvedic cooking. A balanced
Ayurvedic diet should include all six tastes in a meal -
sweet, salty, sour, astringent, bitter, and pungent. If you
are on a diet to pacify a specific dosha, it is still good to
include all six tastes, with a focus on the taste related to
the specific dosha and taking less of the other ones. For
example, a person trying to reduce pitta should include more
of the sweet, bitter and astringent tastes and less of the
pungent, sour and salty tastes. A complete Ayurvedic diet
includes beans or lentils, rice, grains, seasoned vegetable,
spices, ghee, yogurt and some freshly made chutney.
A Sample Ayurvedic Diet including mung dahl made up of split
mung beans, basmati rice, whole grains, Ghee or olive oil,
spices, the fresh vegetables, lassi (yogurt drink), chapati
(wheat flour bread) and a pre-made chutney. Split mung dahl
also known as moong dahl is split beans of the green whole
mung beans from which the green skins have been removed. Split
mung is lightest among all beans hence, easiest to digest. It
is useful for everyone as it balances all the doshas. It is a
good source of protein and has astringent taste. You can spice
your dahl by adding ghee-spice mixture at the end when it is
completely cooked. To prepare the ghee-spice mixture gently
sauté the spices into ghee until you get the aroma of spices.
There are many varieties of rice but Ayurveda considered
Basmati rice the most beneficial. As a grain, it is
recommended for all because it balances all the doshas.
However, consuming rice every day is not suggested because it
is a little heavy. People with a kapha imbalance can make it
bit lighter by dry roasting it before adding the water for
cooking. Quinoa, barley or couscous can also be used for the
grains portion of the meal. Delicious Quinoa is rich source of
protein and fast to cook.
Vegetables are essential part of meal and should comprise a
significant portion of your everyday meal. Try to add more
than one vegetable in your meal such as carrots and broccoli,
or cauliflower and green beans. Though, all vegetables are
good for health, green leafy vegetables like, kale, spinach,
or collard greens are more important. Dark leafy green
vegetables have minerals that other vegetables do not contain.
It is important to have leafy greens on regular basis even
every day if available. Ayurveda suggests that the best way to
cook vegetables is sautéing them in ghee with spices. First
sauté the spices in ghee, it drawn out the volatile oils of
the spices into the ghee and their therapeutic values are
finely attained. When cooked into the vegetables, spices act
as haulers that transfer nutrition from the vegetables into
the bloodstream as we consume them. Spices also make the food
tasty, aromatic and appetizing.
To sauté the vegetable first gently fry the spices in the ghee
and then add the chopped raw vegetables to the spice mixture
and stir so that all the spices are mixed with the vegetables.
You can add a couple of spoonfuls of water if it sticks with
pan. Cover and cook on low heat until the vegetables are well
cooked. Vegetable should not be mushy, but just "fork
friendly". Add salt to taste at the end and some fresh
cilantro (coriander) leaves to garnish.
Ayurveda recommend the use of ghee as cooking oil. The
traditional ayurvedic texts say that it is a rasayana
(rejuvenate) and promotes overall well-being, youthfulness and
longevity. Modern research has also approved it as an
antioxidant and container of beta-carotene. Ghee also has long
shelf life than other vegetable oils as the milk solids have
been removed, it does not spoil easily. However, the people
following a weight loss program should have limited intake of
ghee or oil in their daily diet.
Yogurt is also an important part of Ayurvedic diet.It is best
to have Lassi (yogurt drink) with afternoon meal. It is
excellent digestive aid. Sweet lassi is made from fresh
yogurt, water, rose water, and sweetener. You can also make
salty lassi by adding yogurt, water, salt and cumin seed
powder (first roast the cumin seed and then crushed them to
powder). It is best to use fresh home made organic yogurt, as
it is full of fresh lactobacilli that are essential for a
well-functioning digestive tract. This yogurt drink helps to
reduce bloating, allows the digestion of the lunch to be
smoother, and adds nutrition. It is not recommended in the
evening.
Chapatis made of whole-wheat flour are also main ingredient of
Ayurvedic meal. These energy-enhancing foods flatbreads add an
extra taste to the diet. It is best to have homemade chapatis
but you can also purchase organic chapatis from food stores if
you do not have time to prepare them at home. The readymade
chapattis must be heated before serving.
Chutneys are mainly added to increase the taste and variety to
the meal but they do have health benefits. Usually chutneys
are combinations of spices, leafy vegetables or cooked fruits.
They are good appetizer and help in digestion of good. You can
keep them stocked in your refrigerator to add some quick
variety to your meals. Coriander, leaves, ginger, onion are
frequently used for making chutneys.
This wholesome, nutritious, and balanced Ayurvedic meal can be
easily prepared at home. With practice, the above-mentioned
meal would only take about 15 minutes for preparation and
about 25 minutes to cook. Now, enjoy fresh home-cooked
Ayurvedic meal and stay healthy for life. |
