If you were to go to a residential Ayurveda clinic, your meals might be something like this: Porridge, oats, amaranth, or millet, for breakfast; simple dal, rice, steamed vegetables + a takra for lunch; soup for dinner.

This is not that.

This is, though, Ayurvedically inspired. Let me count the ways.

1. It is autumn as I write this. Autumn is Vata season. Vata is characterized by mobile, irregular, dry and cold qualities. Oats are a great food for Autumn as they are grounding, moistening and usually served with warming spices.
2. Ayurveda suggests that with Vata, medicines are more bio-available when they are served with jaggery (Just a spoonful of sugar… 🎶).
3. In autumn, and with Vata, “sweet spices” are ideal companions. The spices in Chai or Pumpkin Lattes, or Thanksgiving desserts are examples. They are warming, grounding and regulating, without overwhelming as strong spices can.
4. Baking is an Oka Satmya for me when Vata season arrives. Oka Satmya can be described as the foods you grew up with. Autumn baking is a food practice I grew up with. As soon as the weather turns, the winds rise, the temperature drops, I feel a call to the kitchen, and this Chai Spiced Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie is what called me this year.

I found this recipe on NYT Cooking, and then played with certain Ayurvedically inspired adaptations. Instead of butter, ghee, or coconut oil to make these vegan. Instead of refined sugar, jaggery, raw cane sugar, coconut or date sugar: Jaggery gives the richest body, coconut sugar the lightest, and raw cane sugar retains its crystal structure, giving a subtle crunch to each bite.

Instead of the ras-el-hanout spices called for in the NYT recipe, I made up a Chai spice blend. I also added a small amount of oat milk, because they needed a bit more moisture.

Regarding the sugar choices, this source found that organic sugar cane has a glycemic index of 30 to 40, while refined sugar has a glycemic index of around 65. The higher the number, the higher the blood sugar. Jaggery retains the vitamins and minerals of its source with more fiber to slow its release into the blood stream.

The chai spices, particularly cinnamon and cardamom, help reduce blood sugar, while ginger has been shown to modulate insulin release, and naturally suppress sugar cravings.

I’ve been making these for neighbors or community gatherings, where they go quickly. I love having a seasonal offering, and it seems our friends do too!

CHAI SPICED CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES
Modified from a recipe at NYT Cooking
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

These are gluten-free, and choices are given to make it dairy and egg-free as well. When randomly asked, people seemed to prefer the cookies with the flax egg, and I do too.

Ingredients
⅔ cup jaggery – or raw cane, coconut, or date sugar
½ cup unsalted ghee or coconut oil, melted
1 large egg or vegan flax egg (recipe below)
1 tablespoon oat milk 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup gluten-free baking flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 hearty teaspoon chai spices (recipe below)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan, melt the ghee. Remove from heat. Add the sugar and stir until well combined.

In a large bowl, beat the egg, or make your flax egg and let it sit for a moment. Stir in the melted ghee, sugar and vanilla. Stir vigourously to mix the ingredients until smooth, about 2 minutes.

In a separate, small bowl, mix the oats, flour, chai spices, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients in the larger bowl and stir together just until everything is just incorporated. Use a spatula to fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the dough in single heaping spoonfuls and place them on the lined baking sheet, leaving about an inch between each piece.

Bake until the edges are light golden brown while the center of each cookie is still soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature..

CHAI SPICE RECIPE
Technically called a Masala, as in Masala Tea or Masala Chai in India. There’s also the Masala for Dosas, generally a mild spice sauce served with dosa or vegetables this is a variation.

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon each ground cardamom, ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground ginger, clove, fresh grated nutmeg

Makes a little more than 1 teaspoon. Double the recipe to have leftovers so you can make a Masala spice tea by stirring with boiling water. Add plant milk and honey, once cool enough to sip.

VEGAN FLAX EGG

Ingredients
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal (ground raw flaxseed)
2 1/2 tablespoons water

Instructions
Add flaxseed meal and water to a dish and stir. Let rest for 5 minutes to thicken. Add to recipes in place of 1 egg. It’s not as binding as an egg, but held together perfectly in this recipe.

If you like Masala Chai, Banyan makes a great blend. They also have a lovely Chai Spiced Ghee, which could be used in this recipe, and which I really enjoyed in this warm wintry greens recipe.