Ayurveda Recipes

Pitta Kitchari
1 cup yellow mung dal
1 cup white basmati rice
1 1/2 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp unsweetned, shredded coconut
1 small handful of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup of water
3 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
6 cups of water

Wash and rinse dal and rice twice. Soak mung dal for a few hours if you have time. It will be easier to digest. Drain.
Put ginger, coconut, cilantro and the 1/2 cup of water in a blender and blend until liquified.
Heat ghee on medium heat in a saucepan add the blended items, turmeric and salt. Stir well for 30 seconds.
Next mix in rice, mung dal and the 4-6 cups of water. The amount of water depending on your consistency preference. Bring to a boil. Boil uncovered for 5 minutes. then cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar, turn down the heat to simmer and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, until the dal and rice are tender.

Home Remedies for Pitta

Pitta is derived from the root word ‘tapa’ which means ‘to heat’. Pitta in body comprises basic elements of both heat (fire/ agni) and moisture (water/ jala). Its fluid nature renders it mobility.

The seven qualities of pitta are described in the Ayurveda text, Ashtanga Hrdayam: Sutrasthana as:

‘pittaṃ sasneha tīkṣṇoṣṇaṃ laghu visraṃ saraṃ dravam’

Pitta is slightly oily, penetrating, hot, light, odorous, free-flowing, and liquid. Pitta drives metabolism or transformation. Pitta governs digestion, maintenance of body temperature, visual perception, colour and the skin, intellect and emotions. An imbalance in the pitta dosha gives rise to unhealthy physical and emotional patterns such as:

Pitta Dosha Symptoms

1. Physical symptoms of pitta dosha

1. Increased hunger and/or thirst
2. Infection
3. Greying and/or loss of hair
4. Hormonal imbalance
5. Giddiness and/or migraines
6. Hot flashes and want for substances that have a cooling effect on the body
7. Bad breath/body odour
8. Inflammation and jwara
9. Nausea upon missing meals
10. Pitta insomnia
11. Tenderness in breasts/testicles
12. Heavy or painful menstrual bleeding

2. Behavioural symptoms of pitta dosha

1. Impatience
2. Frustration/irritability
3. Inflated Ego
4. Overly goal/result oriented
5. Resentment
6. Jealousy
7. Judgemental
8. Sense of instability
9. Perfectionist tendencies

A balanced pitta dosha fosters the ability to pursue intentions and goals, increased focus, problem-solving abilities, and confidence.

Causes of pitta dosha imbalance

1. Eating pitta aggravating foods (pungent, sour, salty, very spicy, deep-fried, processed, red meat)
2. Consuming caffeine (coffee), black tea, nicotine (smoking), alcohol and other stimulants
3. Too much exposure to the sun (can turn the campfire into a forest fire)
4. Emotions/stress
5. Overworking and/or under resting

Effects of Pitta dosha imbalance:

1. Heartburn
2. Sunburns, eczema, dermatitis, acne
3. Acid reflux, peptic ulcers
4. Fever
5. Blood clots and strokes
6. Kidney infections
7. hyperthyroid or an imbalance
8. Jaundice
9. Acute inflammation in joints (arthritis)
10. loose stool or diarrhoea
11. Chronic fatigue syndrome
12. Poor vision
13. Autoimmune disorders
14. Obsessive-compulsive disorders/ depression

Home remedies for pitta dosha

1. Tend to your diet

Consume pitta pacifying foods (bitter, astringent, sweet tasting food). Milk, ghee, butter are good pitta pacifiers. Prefer sweet fruits over the sour ones. All the sweeteners except honey and molasses can be consumed

2. Choose a middle path

Balance activity and rest. Neither indulge too much in activity nor indulge too much in rest. Dinachaya  To Optimize Health And Restore Natural Rhythm. 

3. Enjoy the good things

Take regular meals and spend some time with nature and in good company.

4. Meditate 

Meditation calms the mind and reduces emotional stress which causes Pitta imbalance. So, it is advisable to meditate on a daily basis. You can learn how to meditate, mindfulness ad pranayama in this Mindfulness Program

5. Practice Some Yoga asanas & Pranayama

The following yoga postures help in pacifying a pitta imbalance:

Cat Stretch
Child’s posture (Shishu asana)
Moon salutation (Chandra namaskara)
Chair posture (Utkatasana)
Cobra posture (Bhujangasana)
Superman posture (Vipareeta Shalabhasa)Seated Forward Bend
Half boat posture (Ardha naukasana)
Half shoulder stand (Ardha sarvangasana)
Bridge posture (Setubandhasana)
Corpse Pose
 

6. Take Ayurvedic pitta dosha medicines

Following are some ayurvedic pitta dosha medicines that can restore pitta balance. Please note that either of these medicines should be taken after the consultation of a trained Ayurvedic doctor:

Amlapittari vati (for hyperacidity)
Avipattikar churna (digestive problems, hyperacidity)
Yastimadu (for acid peptic diseases)
Nishamalaki (anti-allergic)

Vata Pacifying Foods

A change in season, diet or even the time of the day can create a change in your system.

Our bodies are sensitive to these changes, and react according to our prakriti (nature). According to Ayurveda, we are made up of five elements and three doshas (the bio-dynamic forces) – pittta, vata and kapha. When these dosha are in blance all is well. Physically, we feel fit. We’re on top of the world and at peace in our minds. However if there is an imbalance in the three doshas, our systems could get tossed around quite a bit.

Signs of vata imbalance:

• Restlessness
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Sleeplessness

In case of these, you can incorporate vata pacifying Ayurvedic recipes in your diet. Vata is adversely affected by cold conditions. To help balance it, warm and cooked food should be included in your vata recipes.

Tips:

• Avoid raw food.
• Very heavy food can also lead to vata imbalance.
• Sweet, sour and salty food help balance your vata dosha when eaten in moderation.
• Try some ayurvedic recipes as a ‘starter’ to balance your vata.

Mix Veggie Salad

Ingredients:

• Sweet potato
• Carrot
• Coconut
• Salt to taste
• Oil

How to prepare:

• Steam or boil the sweet potato
• Blanch (boil, and then, cool) the carrots
• Mix the vegetables
• Sprinkle some grated coconut over it
• Add salt to taste
• Drizzle some oil on the mixture
• Toss and serve

Suggestions:

• In general, it will be best to cook the vegetables.
• You can also pick from this choice of vegetables for the salad – beets, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, green beans, lettuce, mustard greens, okra, peas, potatoes, sweet pumpkin, radish, spinach, berries, cherries, fresh dates and figs. It will add color and flavor to your vata recipe.
• As part of the salad dressing, you may choose from among these – lemon juice, chili powder, hing (asafetida) powder, rock salt, sugar/jaggery and til (sesame seed) oil.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup red pumpkin peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, washed and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon (tsp.) cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. clove
• 1 tsp. cumin
• ½ tsp. turmeric
• 3 cups water and 1 cup coconut milk or 1 cup of each, half-and-half
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Nutmeg for garnish
• 2 tbsp. ghee

How to prepare:

• Boil or steam the butternut squash and pumpkin.
• Now, add the water or coconut milk and mix. Keep aside.
• Warm the ghee. Add the cumin, ginger, turmeric powder, clove, and cinnamon in it, till an enticing aroma fills the room.
• Add the spices to the original mix.
• Mash the mixture with a masher.
• Garnish with nutmeg.
• Serve hot.

Khichdi (rice and lentils mix)

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup unpolished red rice/brown rice
• ½ cup split moong dal (green gram lentils)

For sauté and garnish

• 1 tsp. cumins
• ¼ tsp. turmeric
• 2 tbsp. coriander
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• A few curry leaves
• Black pepper
• Rock salt
• ½ tbsp. ghee

How to prepare:

• For one portion of rice and moong, add 3-4 times as much water and cook on low heat.
• If required, add more water while cooking. Turn off the heat.
• Add the sauté mix and salt to taste.
• Add ghee.

Suggestions:

• Khichadi, prepared with old rice and split moong dal, is beneficial for fevers or stomach ailments.
• It is advisable to eat it with ghee or butter throughout pregnancy.
• A variation can be done with basmati rice if you have very low digestive fire.
• Red rice contains iron and zinc in the husk. Black and purple rice contain high protein, fat, and basic fiber. These are beneficial in tissue weakness, caused by vata imbalance. So, ensure that you include these nourishing and building foods in your vata balancing recipes.

Carrot Halwa (carrot pudding)

Ingredients:

• 4 carrots
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 4 cups milk
• ¼ cup brown sugar, dates, or jaggery
• A few raisins
• 1 pinch of saffron

How to prepare:

• Peel and grate the carrots and cook.
• Add milk to the pan and boil the mixture, until the milk is absorbed in the carrot.
• Add brown sugar, raisins and saffron.
• Fry for about 15 minutes.
• Fry the crushed cinnamon seeds in ghee in a pan for about 30 seconds.
• Serve hot.

These vata pacifying recipes can help you stabilize the cold and dry feeling caused by the imbalance. Some Therapies may also help you balance vata dosha.

Vata Kitchari
1 cup white bastmai rice
1/2 cup yellow split mung dal
3 tbsp ghee
1 tsp. black mustard seed
1 tsp. cumin seed
2 pinches of hing ( use garlic as a substitute)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups of water

Wash and rinse rice and dal. Let dal soak for a few hours (if you have time). In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat the ghee and add the mustard seed, cumin seed and hing. Stir for a moment until seeds start to pop.
Add the rice, dal, turmeric and salt. Stir until blended with spices.
Add the water and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes, uncovered and stir occasionally. Turn down heat to low and cover, leaving lid slightly ajar. cook until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Tri Doshic foods

TRIDOSHIC DAL

1 cup split mung beans
​1 cup rice
8 cups water
2 cups summer squash
1 cup carrots
1/8 tsp. hing ( garlic can be substituted)
2 tbsp. ghee or sunflower oil
1 1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tbsp. fresh grated ginger root
1 small green hot pepper ( omit for Pitta and easy on this for Vata)
1 1/4 tbsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp to 1 tbsp of black mustard seeds. (less for Pitta and more for Vata and Kapha)
Garnish: coriander seeds, unsweetened coconut ( Pitta)

Wash and soak mung beans for 30 minutes, if you have time. Chop the vegetables
Warm the ghee in a heavy saucepan. add the hing, turmeric and lemon juice and saute for 30 seconds over low heat. Careful not to burn the turmeric. Stir in the mung beans and saute for another minute. add the chopped vegetables and stir for another two minutes.. Add water, salt, ginger and pepper bring to a boil on high heat. Then cover and reduce to medium heat. Let simmer for 45 minutes or until beans are dissolved. Warm the remaining oil or ghee and add cumin and mustard seeds, heat until the mustard seeds pop. Add to soup, which can now be served. Garnish.
To calm Kapha serve with scallions and dry ginger .

Dal is always prepared with something sour in the vagar (mixtures of spices and ghee) to stimulate digestive fire. For a change you can try tamatind, which they use in Bombay.

​Barley and Vegetable soup
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 barley
1 tbsp. sunflower oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped ginger root.
1 tsp curry or chili powder
2 tbsp chick pea flour
6 cups water
1 cube vegetable boullion
4 pieces of chopped asparagus or cauliflower
2 cups green beans
4 brussel sprouts, cut in half
2 cups spinach leaves
4 bay leaves
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste

Soak red lentils and barley in  water, overnight.
In a large pot. heat the sunflower oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant. Stir in curry powder, flour, water and boullion.  
Drain the lentils and barley and add them to the pot. Then add the bok choy, Brusselsprouts, green beans, spinach and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the Bay leaves and add the parsley, salt and pepper. enjoy

serves 4
v-0  p-0  k-0

Ghee
1 pound unslated butter

Put butter in a heavy medium size pot over medium heat until the butter melts.
Once butter is melted, turn down the heat until the butter is at a low boil and continue to cook at this temperature. Do not cover the pot. The butter will foam and sputter for awhile. Stir occasionally. It will eventually settle down.
In 12 to 20 minutes it will begin to smell like popcorn and turn a lovely golden colour. Whitish curds will begin to form on the bottom of the pot. When these white curds turn a light tan colour, the ghee is ready. Take it off the heat immediately, before it burns. Let the ghee cool, skim off the foam. You can keep the foam and put it on rice. When cool, pour the ghee through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a glass container with a tight lid. Discard the curds from the bottom of the pan. Put the lid on the ghee and store on the counter. Ghee does not need to be refrigerated. Do not take ghee from the jar with a wet spoon or allow water to get into the ghee. This will create bacteria.Place in the fridge if this happens.

Ghee is a digestive, it helps improve digestion and assimilation, it nourishes ojas, tejas and prana. It is good for the lubrication of joints and connective tissue. It is yogavahi, a good agent to carry medical properties into the seven dhatus or tissues of the body. Ghee pacifies pitta and vata and is acceptable to kapha for specific treatment. If one has high cholesterol or suffers from obesity , ghee should not be used. Also, ghee is not used if there is high ama in the body.

Ghee is comprised of full spectrum short, medium and long chain fatty acids, both unsaturated and saturated. Ghee contains Omega 3 and Omega 9 essential fatty acids along with vitamins A, D, E and K. Ghee made from organic butter of pastured cows is one of the highest natural sources of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). 9 phenolic anti-oxidants, as well as numerous other minerals are present in ghee.
Ghee is known as a substance that gives longevity, its elemental qualities balance the aging characteristics by enriching the living body.
Ghee has been used for centuries as a digestive and elimination aid, for energy, sexual vitality, skin and eye health, as a lubricant for the joints and for alkalizing the blood.
The purity of ghee allows it to be deep penetrating and nourishing as it passes through the lipid membranes of cells. For this reason, the vitamins and minerals from food cooked in ghee will be drawn deep into the body where they impart the most benefit. The assimilation of the nutrients increases when suspended in a ghee matrix. When you add spices to ghee to cook with the flavor is carried deep into the food. Many herbal preparations use ghee as the carrier oil because of these characteristics
consume ghee in moderation.

Lassi
Ingredients                                                                                            
2 cups water
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbs. Sucanat or other sugars that are doshic specific.
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp fresh, grated ginger
OR 1/4 tsp dry ginger

Preparation

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend for 1-2 minutes. Adjust sugar according to taste and dosha.

Doshic Notes

Good for all doshas, especially kapha. Blending the yogurt kindles the agni principle.
Serves 4. 

Ayurveda recommends that you have a warm drink with your meal to help with digestion, but that the quantity should be no more than a cup.

At the end of a meal, a cup of lassi—made with diluted yogurt or buttermilk—can be a good aid to digestion.

Since this recipe is balancing for kapha, it can even be consumed in winter.

Vegetable Curry (Tri- doshic)
1-cup fresh peas
1-cup carrots
1-cup potatoes
2 cups green beans
2 tbsp. sunflower oil or ghee
2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tsp. black mustard seeds
1 tsp. sea salt
1 ½ cup water
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. coriander powder
½ cup yogurt

Heat oil or ghee in a large skillet. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seed pops add turmeric. Then add all the vegetables and water. Cook covered until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Then add yogurt and the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Simmer for another 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with rice and cucumber raita.

-kapha,-vata-pitta
good in all seasons

Spinach and Potato Curry
​3 medium potatoes
1 large bunch of spinach
1 1/2 tbsp. sunflower oil
1/8 tsp hing (or use garlic)
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp. coriander powder
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 green pepper ( omit if high Pitta)
2 cloves garlic ( use 1 if Pitta)

Clean and wash spinach and potatoes. Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes , chop spinach. Heat oil in heavy saucepan and add mustard seeds and hing. When seeds pop, add turmeric, potatoes and water. Stir and then cover and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Add spinach and all the other ingredients and mix well. Cook uncovered for another 10 -12 minutes. Serve with rotalis and cucumber raita.
 The bitter and astringent taste of spinach balances Pitta and Kapha. For Pitta, the cooling effect of the potatoes balances the pungent effect of the spinach.

serves4-6
+vata,o pitta,-kapha
good in all seasons

TAKRA (AKA AYURVEDIC BUTTERMILK) RECIPE– does not resemble commercial buttermilk
 1/4 cup whole milk yogurt, churn
 ( you can make this with 1/4 cup whole milk ( unhomogenized if possible) and add a dollop of fresh yogurt-
let sit overnight, in a warm place, and in the morning you will have  yogurt) 

Sprinkle in a dash of Himalayan pink salt.
Add 3/4 cup water, preferably water that was previously boiled and cooled to room temperature, churn again
Butter will separate out of the liquid. collect the butter. the liquid is your buttermilk

Optional

add in a dash of dry ginger or cumin

(If it’s warm outside–or you’re suffering from heat-related conditions, like rashes, acne, or acidity–opt instead for a sprinkle of rose water or coriander and some sugar to add cooling properties.)

once you’ve added spices, whisk the water and yogurt mixture again until it’s light and fluffy (The consistency will be like a very fluffy glass of low-fat milk.)

Some other added bonuses of takra: it helps you absorb nutrients, removes excess moisture and heaviness from the body, and it tastes yummy. Drink it before meals for a digestive pick-me-up or as a snack.

Fresh Coriander Chutney
1 bunch coriander leaves
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup water
¼ cup grated coconut
2 tbsp. fresh ginger chopped
1tsp barley malt or honey
1 tsp. sea salt
¼ black pepper

 Blend lemon juice, water and coriander until coriander is chopped. Add remaining ingredients and blend until a paste. Can be stored in fridge for up to one week.

Barley malt is best for Pitta. Great condiment for dals, grains and curries.