Ayurveda is a system of health care that has been practiced on the Indian subcontinent for at least 5,000 years.
At the root of Ayurveda is the need to balance your constitution and energies – your doshas.
There are many do's and don'ts in the Ayurvedic diet and the rules depend on everything from your dosha(s), the time of year and what kind of health you're in of course. In Ayurveda, every food has its own taste (rasa), a heating or cooling energy (virya) and a digestive consequence (vipaka).
Certain foods should never be combined while others can only be eaten at certain times of the day. For instance, during hot weather, it is good to eat foods with high moisture content (lots of fruit!) while during autumn, meat (high protein foods) and dry fruit are good. And in winter, spices such as ginger, turmeric and black peppercorns are recommended.
For sure, you can get a lot more by heading to the library and bookstore for indepth information.
By the way, the Ayurvedic diet is full of veggies, so check out Green Bean & Papaya Salad if you like.
In the meantime, here are two Ayurvedic recipes to consider, a main dish and a dessert.
MAIN COURSE: Broccoli and Mung Bean Bake
- 1 cup mung dhal (split hulled mung beans)
- 2 to 3 cups chopped broccoli florets
- 8 cups water
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
METHOD
- Wash the mung dhal. Add water and cook until tender. Stir occasionally and remove any scum that forms on top. Drain.
- Add the broccoli, lime juice, ginger, salt and black pepper and mix gently.
- Rub ghee on the bottom and sides of a shallow baking dish.
- Scoop the mixture into the dish and drizzle the rest of the ghee on top.
- Bake at 350-375 degrees for 10 minutes. Serve.
Serves 2.
DESSERT: Baked Bananas with Orange & Cinnamon Sauce
- 5 bananas, peeled and sliced lengthwise
- juice of 2 oranges
- 1 cup organic coconut milk (preferably fresh)
- 3 drops pure orange oil3 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cardamom
- 1/3 cup seedless raisins
- 1 tbsp organic unsalted butter cut into pieces
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Arrange bananas in a baking dish, on a single layer.
- Mix together the orange juice, coconut milk and orange oil and pour over bananas. Sprinkle over with maple syrup, cinnamon and cardamom. Scatter over with raisins and butter on top.
- Bake 25 minutes.
- Transfer to individual dishes for serving and pour over sauce.
