Ayurvedic Diets

Picture courtesy: Tribuneindia

Ayurvedic diets originated from India several hundred years ago. Surprisingly most of the Indian food are cooked in Ayurvedic way. In ayurveda the diet is based on nature (prakruthi) and respective Doshas. The diets can also be based on the type of food consumed. In diets Based on doshas (vata, pitta, kapha) they are classified as vata, pitta and kapha diet respectively. There are also Bidoshic and tridoshic diet (suitable for 2 or all the 3 doshas respectively).
The diets based on the type of food consumed is classified into 3 types:

1. Satvik diet
2. Rajasik diet
3. Tamasik diet

Satvik (literally means light) diet refers to simple and easy to digest food. Usually minimal cooking is done like boiling, steaming etc. and not much processing done. Raw food is not included in this diet, fresh fruits and veggies are exceptions. Milk and milk products like ghee are also included in this diet. Spices like aniseed, turmeric, coriander, ginger, Cinnamon, cardamom are included in this. Onions, garlic and other pungent and astringent spices like red chillies, black pepper are completely excluded. If a person follows such kind of diet, it balances mind, body and soul keeping all the stress and sickness away.
Rajasik (literally means royal, richness) diet refers to rich, heavy and hard to digest food. This diet is high is sugar, salt and is spicy. Meat, poultry, high protein food fried in excessive butter, with strong flavour, and very spicy food are all included in this diet. If a person follows such a diet the person will be very much materialistic and attached to this world. Thus can enjoy the worldly pleasures and also be a part of stress.
Tamasik (literally means darkness) diet refers to overcooked, stale and highly processed food. Eggs come under this category (since, eggs can harbour microorganisms). Raw meat, fast food, packed food, tinned food, pizza, pastries, ice-creams, chocolates, refined oils and fats (vansapathi), carbonated drinks, stimulants like coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco come under this diet. If a person follows this diet the result would be a life of pain, suffering, sickness and as the name suggests complete darkness.

Its important to understand the principles of Ayurvedic diets even before we start one like

1. Food (ahaar) should be cooked (samskar - process of enhancing or modifying properties of something)
2. Food should be tasty and easy to digest (not raw)
3. Food should be consumed after a thanksgiving (yajna-a ceremony to thank for the food that is made available either from plants of animals{plant or animal is sacrificed}).
4. Food should be consumed in proper amounts (like 1/2 food, 1/4 water, 1/4 air {1/4 should remain empty for the air})
5. Food should be consumed after the previous meal has been completely digested
6. Food consumed should not be contradicting in nature (eg. proteins and carbs should not be consumed at the same time {Dal and rice are exceptions})
7. Food should not be consumed in a hurry, or with other distractions (like watching TV, talking etc.)
8. One should eat food which is suitable for their nature (Prakruthi) (eg. If one suffers from pitta dosha, food that increases pitta immensely should be avoided completely)

When the diet is based on our doshas. It is important to understand if we are vata, pitta or kapha doshic in nature. A good ayurvedic vaidya will be in a position of help us figure out our nature or prakruthi. All the 6 tastes has to be in a ayurvedic meal (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, pungent). When Dosha type diet is followed the taste has to be based on the dosha.
Vata - Sweet, sour, salty
Pitta - Bitter, astringent, sweet
Kapha - bitter, astringent, punget

Will post some Dosha related recipes soon.

References: Ayurvedic cooking for all by Amadea morningstar.

Masala brown rice with veggies

This one can be prepared in a jiffy and it is quite healthy too as brown rice has been used instead of polished white rice. Brown rice is fibre rich and can make us feel full (so, that the quantity consumed will be less). Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Brown rice (cooked) - 2 cup
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Aniseed powder -1/4 tsp
Carrot - 1 nos
Capsicum - 1 nos
Oyster mushroom - 1 hand full
Sweet corn - 1 hand full
Salt for taste
Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Heat oil in a wok, add carrots sliced lengthwise, diced capsicum, oyster mushroom (roughly teared), sweet corn and stir fry for 3 min. Add chilly powder, garam masala powder, aniseed powder and give it a stir. Add boiled rice, salt for taste and stir well till each rice grain is well coated with masala. Serve hot

Note:
Oil and rice used may be of individual choice. I have used boiled rice and olive oil as it is a healthy option. Leftover brown rice can be used for the same.

Mixed clear soup

Soups are excellent health foods. One can completely feed on this diet food as it is healthy and filling. Hot clear soups when consumed at the beginning of a meal can actually increase the metabolic rate and also make us feel full (hence, the food consumed afterwards will be of little quantity). I usually make clear soups at home ( rarely make thick soups, creamy soups etc) for health reasons. When chicken or egg white etc. is also added a portion of protein requirement is also met. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Chicken (boneless) - 200 grams
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Carrots - 1 nos
Capsicum - 1 nos
Beans - 50grams
Oyster mushrooms - 1 handful
Sweet corn - 1 handful
Chicken stock cube - 1 nos
Salt and pepper for taste
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Water for making the soup (about 10cups)

Method:
Heat oil in a stew pot, add chicken and give a good stir. Add garlic paste and continue to saute for a min. Add all the veggies cut into thin strips, mushrooms and sweet corn (can just be added that way), water and cover and cook for 45min. Add chicken stock cube (add more water if required), salt if required. Uncover lid and cook it till its done. Serve hot topped with pepper powder.

Note:
Can also add dried herbs of choice like sage, chives, dill, oregano, parsley, thyme etc.

Gnocchi in creamy mushroom sauce (Healthy version)

Gnocchi pasta with creamy mushroom sauce and other vegetables was healthy and tasty enough to satisfy me. I used a very very low fat cream (extra light), along with oyster mushrooms, carrots, capsicum and freshly chopped parsley. It was simple and quick, yet so fantastic. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Gnocchi pasta - 1 cup
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Carrots - 1 nos
Capsicum - 1 nos
Oyster mushroom - 1 cup
Freshly chopped parsley - 1 handful
Veg stock cube - 1 nos
Pepper for taste
Salt for taste
Extra light cream - 150ml
Olive oil - 2 tsp

Method:
Bring water to boil in a stew pot. Add the gnocchi pasta along with salt and cook for 10min or till its done. Strain water using a colander. Keep this pasta aside. In a wok, heat oil, add garlic paste and saute for a min. Add thinly sliced carrots and capsicum along with oyster mushrooms and stir fry for 3 min. Add veg stock cube, salt and pepper for taste, gnocchi pasta and stir well again. Add the cream with constant stirring. Finally add freshly chopped parsley and toss well till the pasta is well coated with cream. Now its done. Serve hot.

Note:
Can increase the cream quantity to 200ml. And can also substitute with cream with fat.
Looking for some other PASTA ?

Ambur egg biryani

Ambur biryani is famous and I have seen it always with chicken. Tried it with egg and it was a huge hit here at home. Coriander leaves were not available, hence I replaced it with parsley and it did an amazing job. Was not sure if the flavours of parsley and mint would clash!!! So, I just added parsley and excluded mint leaves from the recipe. Here goes the recipe....


Ingredients:
Basmati rice -5 cups (1 kilo approx)
Boiled eggs - 4 nos
Onions (large) - 4 nos
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Tomatoes - 3 nos
Green chillies - 2 nos
Parsley (chopped) - 1 cup
Curd - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 1tbsp
Red chilly powder - 4 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 3/4 cup
Salt for taste

Whole spices like:
Cloves - 6 nos
Cardamom - 6nos
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Bay leaves - 2 nos
Mace - 2-4 nos
Star aniseed - 2 nos
Aniseed - 1 tbsp

Method:
Heat ghee in a broad bottomed vessel, add whole spices and fry till all the aroma is released. Add finely sliced onions and fry till golden brown. Now add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a min. Add chilly powder and give it a stir. Add finely chopped tomatoes and saute for 2 min. Add curd, lime juice, finely chopped parsley, green chillies (slit lengthwise) and stir well. Add garam masala powder. Cover and cook till gravy thickens. Add basmati rice (soaked in hot water for 30min), 8 cups of hot water, salt for taste. Cover with the lid and simmer for 7-10 min. Stir well and turn off the flame.
Heat a tsp oil, add chilly powder. Cut the boiled eggs into 2 and place them on the pan. Now place this in the biryani. Cover the mouth of the vessel with a aluminium foil, then cover with lid. Add charcoal on the top of the lid, and leave it for 1 hour. Serve with raitha, brinjal masala or side dish of your choice

Note:
When the charcoal is over, add more up to one hour. Can garnish with mint and coriander leaves. I substituted parsley leaves to coriander and mint leaves.
Looking for some other biryani recipe?

Potato baaji ( Alu gedde palya)

This is a common side dish for poori/puri . Very simple, easy and quick. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Potatoes (boiled,mashed) - 3 nos
Onions -3 nos
Garlic paste (optional) - 1/4 tsp
Green chillies - 2 nos
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt for taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water for cooking

For the seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Bengal gram dal - 1 tbsp

Method:
Heat oil in a wok, do the seasoning. Now add finely sliced onions,garlic paste and stir fry for 2 min. Add turmeric powder and stir for a min. Add mashed potatoes (roughly mashed), green chillies (slit lengthwise), salt for taste, water for cooking and cook till the required consistency is obtained. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Note:
Some prefer to mix 1tsp gram flour with little water and add to the recipe instead of plain water.

Gobi manchurian (dry)

Do I need to confess I'm a guilt free SHOPAHOLIC person??? I love to shop for hours together and it really acts like a stress buster for me. Can I say shopping has kept me from blogging for the past two days (lol)??? What ever may be the reason, cooking for me has no reason or any season. I love to cook always and never fail to prepare some mouth watering dishes like gobi manchurian at home. Gobi manchurian is a very popular Indo-Chinese recipe. Its quite common food street food in India. It can be served as a starter, tea time snack or even part of main course along with fried rice, pulav etc. Here goes the recipe....

Ingredients:
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Water for cooking

Cauliflower florets of one medium sized cauliflower
Onions - 1 nos
Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Capsicum - 1 nos
Green chilly - 2 nos
Dark soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Tomato ketchup - 1/2 tsp
Corn starch -1 tsp
Ajinomoto for taste
Black pepper for taste
Oil - 3 tbsp

For the batter:
All purpose flour or maida - 1/2 cup
Corn flour - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Ajinomoto for taste
Sparkling water for making the batter

Oil for deep frying

For garnishing:
Chopped coriander leaves or spring onions

Method:
Bring water to boil in a stew pot. Add cauliflower florets, pinch of turmeric powder, cover with a lid, turn off the flame and keep it for 5 min. Strain the water using a colander and keep the cauliflower pieces aside. Make a thick batter with all ' for the batter' ingredients. Coat the cauliflower with the batter and deep fry in hot oil (in batches). Strain oil using a kitchen tissue and keep this aside.
In a wok, heat oil, fry finely chopped onions along with ginger-garlic paste for a min. Now add chilly powder and give a good stir. Add diced capsicum, batter fried cauliflower florets, green chillies slit lengthwise, tomato ketchup, dark soya sauce and give a good stir. Add corn starch and stir well so that the pieces are well coated. Add pepper and ajinomoto for taste, stir fry till its done. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves or spring onions and serve hot along with fried rice.

Note:
Gobi manchurian can be prepared dry, or semi gravy or gravy type as per individual choice. Fried rice goes really well with gobi manchurian.

Soya chunks biryani

Soya chunks are great substitute for meat. It is high in proteins and is suitable for vegans. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Basmati rice - 5 cups
Onions - 3 nos
Tomatoes - 2 nos
Ginger - garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Chilly powder - 3 tbsp
Soya chunks - 2 cups
Yogurt - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cloves - 6 nos
Cardamom - 4 nos
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Bay leaves - 2 nos
Mace - 2 nos
Aniseed - 1/2 tsp
Dried plums with pits - 2 nos
veg stock cube - 1 nos
Screw pines or Kewra/ketaki flower( optional ) - just for flavour
Food colors (optional) or saffron strands - 1 pinch
Salt for taste
Ghee - 1 cup

Method:
Soak soya chunks in hot water, drain water. Again soak in hot water, and then drain.Repeat the process till the smell is gone and keep the soya chunks aside. Soak basmati rice for 30 min then cook it in hot boiling water along with salt until its almost done (not fully cooked), strain water using a colander and keep the rice aside. In a wok, Add 1/2 cup ghee, when hot add all the whole spices like cloves, cardamom, Cinnamon, bay leaves, mace, aniseed, kewra and stir till the aroma is released. Now add finely sliced onions and fry till golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a min. Add turmeric powder, and chilly powder and stir for 1/2 min. Now add tomatoes along with coriander powder, pepper powder, garam masala powder, dried plums with pits and veg stock cube and cook till oil separates. Now add all the soya chunks, yogurt, lime juice, enough salt and cook till it done (can add little water if required). Just see that the masala is dry and the ghee is floating on top. Now this is done. Take a baking try, grease it with ghee and spread a layer of rice, top it with a layer of masala, then again a layer of rice, then masala, then finally cover with rice and pour the remaining ghee all over it. Pour some colored water if you wish your biryani to be colorful. Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 200 degrees Celsius/400 degree Fahrenheit for 15 min and its done. Garnish with fried onions, cashews, saffron etc. Serve hot with raitha

Note:
Wash soya chunks in hot water until the smell is completely gone for best results.
Looking for some other biryani?

Mixed stir fried noodles

I usually roast 2 chicken at a time, one to be served hot and the other one to be used the next day to prepare some classic leftover recipes like fried rice, stir fried noodles etc. This one is a mixed noodles simply because it has mixed ingredients like prawns, chicken, egg etc. And this was stir fried. Hence the name Mixed stir fried noodles. This one was spicy due to the usage of leftover Asian spicy prawns. On the whole this was a complete leftover noodles. Here goes the recipe....

Ingredients:
Wheat noodles - 200 grams
Carrots - 1 nos
Capsicum - 1 nos
Leftover Asian spicy prawns - 4 nos
Leftover Roasted chicken - 100 grams
Eggs - 4 nos
Chicken stock cube - 1nos
Salt (optional) for taste
Pepper for taste
Oil for stir frying


Method:
Bring lots of water to boil in a stew pot. Add noodles and cook till done. Strain using a colander and keep aside. Cut thin strips of carrots, dice the capsicum and keep aside. In a wok (kadai) add oil and stir fry eggs, leftover roasted chicken and vegetables. Now add leftover Asian spicy prawn, chicken stock cubes (can dissolve in little water and then add) and stir fry. Finally add cooked noodles, salt and pepper and stir for 3 min or until the noodles is hot. Serve hot.

Note:
Instead of leftover Asian spicy prawns and leftover roasted chicken, fresh and newly prepared Asian spicy prawn and roasted chicken can be used in the recipe.