Eat your heart out with these hearty, meaty, fresh and sumptuous summertime meals, made easy for days when you just want to play. Continue reading
Search Results for: mung
How to Travel Sumptuously
7 Best Tips + Ayurvedic Tools: Over the years I’ve picked up tips for travel from friends and from Ayurveda. These are my 7 musts for globe-trotting with ease, energy and wellness. Continue reading
The Best Pakoras Ever {Vegan + GF}
Offering the very essence of Kichari, Ayurveda’s staple meal, that dances on your tongue.
Continue reading
Coconut Rice Dal Dumplings
A healthy Ayurvedic treat from Kerala, India Continue reading
Creamy Dal Makhani
A traditional wedding dish made simple, this dal is always a favorite when we travel to India. Continue reading
Himalayan Halva
Beets for dessert? High protein, high fiber, high flavor in a surprisingly sumptuous dessert. You simply have to try this. Continue reading
GF Crepes with Cinnamon Orange Honey
Based on the simple flatbread called chapati, this egg-free, gluten-free recipe can be modified to your tastes. Make the batter a bit thicker by adding less water and you have pancakes. Make it thinner and you have a more delicate crepe. Either way, it is delicious with a little honey, or fresh fruit preserves. Continue reading
Breaking Bread When Your Heart is Broken
Breaking bread is holy. It reminds me that all things break. Bread, hearts, relationships. But that ultimately all things are shared. Even those breaks. Especially those breaks. Continue reading
Kitchari Burger
2 outrageous and uncommonly wonderful ways to dress up kichari for family and fussy eaters. Continue reading
Detox Dal: A Simple Winter Soup
With split mung beans, miso and a gingery sweet spicing, this Dal has quickly become one of the most popular recipes on my blog. Continue reading
Cannellini Hummus: A Spring Detox Staple
A noble bean turns everyday hummus into detox royalty. Continue reading
Sesame Bliss: Energy Balls
Last night we had dinner at home with four wonderful, conscious friends. One of them, Ninh-ji, who began his life in Vietnam, brought the dessert. It looked at first like a delightfully simple silken tofu warmed in an electric pot. Indeed, … Continue reading
I invite you to celebrate Urban Food & Gourmet’s Grand Opening with Ayurvedic Herbal Treats and Freedom Pies
Have you heard of Urban Food & Gourmet? It is a new South Park Shop & Deli for California Creatives, Modern Peace Warriors, Radiant Lighthouses like you. Dedicated to tickling your palate, feeding your fires, sweetly singing your body electric and … Continue reading
Minty Mediterranean Salad
When the world seems like it’s coming apart, friendship and food can be inspiring comfort ~ and our Summer Ayurveda Class on Sunday was just that. We sipped Watermelon Smoothies while talking about Ayurveda, Nutrition, Doshas, Summer needs and Summer … Continue reading
For Fathers I Am Grateful
In our household, the World’s Best Dad Award goes to my husband whose devotion to his son proves that dads can do just about anything. He loves coconut, so we are making him this Live Coconut Cream Pie for tonight’s … Continue reading
Is that an OM I hear? The resonance of Kitchari
At this time of year, between the holiday feasts, plain and simple has special appeal, when I love nothing more than a warm bowl of Kitchari. Kitchari, sometimes spelled Kichidi, is split mung bean and rice cooked long and slow, often with … Continue reading
Are you Vegan?
In our own home we are “Ayurvedis” and Yogis, if we are anything. This means that we eat mostly a vegetarian diet with the emphasis on locally grown, seasonal, organic, whole foods, and balanced in terms of the six tastes and … Continue reading
Your Kitchen
I am happy to have some friends here in the kitchen.
– Charles Olson
KITCHEN
Starting with the most basic thing, where you cook, Ayurveda suggests the kitchen be in the Southeast corner of the house, with plenty of natural light and a pretty view so you are happy as you prepare your meals. If you are like most of us, living in a house that has already been built, but the kitchen is not in the southeast corner, try painting it red or orange to invoke fire power.
De-clutter it so you have space to create, visit with friends, dance and sing, and be sure to make it pretty. A beautiful kitchen supports beautiful food. Beautiful food makes a beautiful you. A beautiful you creates a beautiful life, and a beautiful life is a gift to the world. Paraphrasing Rumi, let the beauty you love be what you do and let it be alive in your kitchen!
SUPPLIES
In addition to the regular pots and pans, I use our Vitamix blender every day, but almost never use the food processor. It is too much fuss. A lemon juicer helps, but as with most tools, I find the old-fashioned, hand-held version simpler, more reliable and easier to clean than anything with a plug. Keeping a mortar and pestle around for pesto, sauces and spice mixtures offers muscular reward. A coffee grinder will do the trick with the spices, but it will never give you that rhythmic sensation of moving in spicy syncopated oneness that rewards the work of grinding by hand.
I like to always have cheesecloth available for making ghee and empty paper tea bags to fill with spices that I want to share. I only use measuring cups to determine amounts so that I can write up recipes, which is the only way I know how to respond to friends and clients who’ve asked, “How did you make that?” Otherwise, I have no use for measuring.
UTENSILS
Long ago, Swamini Mayatitananda recommended using hands, fingers, sight, sound and taste to determine amounts and I guess I just breathed a great sigh of relief upon hearing that. It may even have been the start of my own separate peace with the kitchen: the reclaiming of my own experience, of my own feminine wisdom, put to the service of love, nourishment, and the creative cycle of life.
So I recommend using fewer measuring utensils, in the hope that you will find a similar freedom, trust, creative expression, authenticity and empowerment by your own perfect measure and innate wisdom.
SUPPORT
We keep oils aplenty on hand – safflower, coconut, olive and sesame. Our spice cabinet has grown from three small shelves by the stove to include an additional long shelf in the pantry as well. In general, the spices you want to keep on hand for the recipes you will find here are: turmeric, cumin, coriander, clove, cinnamom, cardamom, nutmeg, fennel, mustard seeds, cayenne or red pepper, black pepper, sea salt, Himalayan salt and asafoetida, otherwise known as hing. I also like to have dill weed, basil, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, tarragon, anise, and fresh mint, rosemary and cilantro, too, as these are easy to grow at home.
You can purchase spice mixtures like Garam Masala, Curry, Quatre épices to get a number of these spices in one bottle, but it is never as good as it is freshly ground from the seed. Also, buy organic spices only ~ otherwise, they might be irradiated.
BASIC FOODS
Power foods and basics to look for at your market
Blueberries, Grapes, Pomegranate, Apple, Papaya or Mango, Cranberries, Oranges
Broccoli, Spinach, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens, Swiss Chard, Bok Choy,
Asparagus, Arugula, Celery, Cauliflower
Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Parsnips, Fennel bulb, Carrots, Beets
Split Mung, Lentil, Cannelini, Flageolet + Peas and Favas especially when fresh
Basmati Rice, Oats, Amaranth, Buckwheat
Almonds, Pistachios, Pecans, Cashews, Pine Nuts
Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Flax Seeds, Chia Seeds
Coconut Milk, Yogurt
Cocoa Nibs, Maple Syrup, Dates
Cinnamon, Ginger, Fennel, Cardamom, Coriander, Cumin, Basil, Mint, Cilantro, Parsley, Mustard Seeds
Ghee, Coconut Oil, Virgin Olive Oil
Green Tea, Chai
BASIC RECIPES
Some of the staples of Ayurveda
DR. JAY APTE’S KICHARI
Dr. Jay Apte is a Doctor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Director of the Kerala Ayurveda Academy based in northern California. She is a charming teacher and a wonderful cook!
1 cup Basmati Rice
½ cup Split Mung
2 tbs Spicy Oil
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ghee
1 tbs. Masala Spice
1 tbs. Coconut, flakes or shredded
1 sprig of Cilantro, chopped
4 cups boiling water
Rinse rice and mung in water and drain. Sauté rice and mung in spicy oil for 3-4 minutes over medium flame. Add water, Masala, sesame seeds, and coconut. Cook on medium heat until rice is almost cooked. Add ghee and salt. Stir and cook for another few minutes on low heat. Garnish with cilantro and serve warm.
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JOHNNY BRANNIGAN’S KICHARI
from the fabulous Ayurveda Cookbook Eat, Taste, Heal
1 cup white basmati rice, rinsed thoroughly
1/3 cup split mung dhal beans, rinsed thoroughly
2 1/2 cups filtered water
1 zucchini, chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons ghee (recipe below)
3 tablespoons shelled pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons Bragg’s amino acids (optional)
1/2 cup organic coconut milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Mineral Salt & fresh ground black pepper
Cilantro, for garnish
Ghee, for garnish
Put the rinsed rice and mung dahl in a saucepan and add 2 1/2 cups filtered water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add to the pan even layers of zucchini and sweet potato on top of the rice mixture. Cover the pan again and cook until the rice mixture has absorbed all the water, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, heat the ghee over medium heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and scallions and cook, stirring, until the seeds turn light brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and then the Bragg’s until thoroughly combined. Stir in the coconut milk, lemon juice, and maple syrup and cook for 2 minutes more.
When the rice mixture is done, pour in the scallion mixture and stir to blend well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with cilantro and ghee and serve immediately.
For a dairy-free version, replace the ghee with coconut oil or a high heat olive oil.
SPICY OIL
1 cup Oil (canola/sunflower/vegetable)
2 tbs. Mustard seeds
1 tbs. Cumin seeds
1 tbs. Hing (asafoetida)
1 tbs. Turmeric
Heat the oil in a pan. Add 2-3 mustard seeds to oil while heating. When the seeds begin to pop remove pan from heat, add the remaining seeds and cover. When the seeds stop popping add cumin, hing and turmeric. Allow the oil to cool for 5 minutes, then pour it into a thick glass jar and store at room temperature.
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GHEE
1 lb. unsalted Butter
Heat the butter in a pot for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat. Once the ghee is transparent and there is a brown sediment on the bottom of the pan, it is ready. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain through a stainless strainer or a cheesecloth into a thick glass jar. Store at room temperature.
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APPLE CHUTNEY
1 Granny Smith Apple, diced
1 tbs. Salt
1 tbs. Jaggery (Sucanat)
½ tsp. chili powder
1-2 tbs. Spicy Oil
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Use as condiment or as a sandwich spread.
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CUCUMBER RAITA
2 Cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1 medium Carrot, shredded
1 cup Yogurt, plain
1 tbs. Cilantro
Salt to taste
1 Jalapeno Pepper, sliced the long way, seeds removed
Mix all ingredients together except cilantro. Garnish with cilantro and chili just before serving.
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OJAS RASAYANA
Click on Image for Print Version
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