Veg Masala for the brain

My friends at the Alliance of Natural Health (ANH) are scientists, nutritionists and dieticians who work tirelessly to promote and support natural and sustainable approaches to healthcare around the world. Little did I know, when I shyly told Rob Verkerk Ph.D., the organisation’s founder, about my interest in Ayurveda, that he too is a long-standing fan. In fact, he’s been directly involved in protecting this medicinal culture against the European Union’s strict legislative system that’s threatened not only Ayurveda, but all traditional systems of medicine.

This is Rob’s East by West Ayurveda-style recipe for improving mental clarity, full of antioxidant and nutrient-rich veggies and nuts. From a Western perspective, we know a lot about the synergistic power of the nutrients found in superfoods. That includes brightly coloured veggies, herbs and nuts. From an Ayurvedic perspective, many of these big-talking superfoods are pungent and astringent – which can aggravate Vata and ‘annoy’ the brain, rather than support it. To counter this effect, the recipe also includes creamed coconut or whole organic double cream, to give sweetness or unctuousness, and to aid the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and bioactive compounds in the herbs. For the omnivores out there wanting to further increase mental clarity with some proteins and peptides, serve this dish with fish, such as baked trout or gently pan-fried sea bass.

The recipe includes two Ayurvedic herbal powders – Shankhpushpi and Brahmi powder. These are among the most potent herbs for cognition, memory and brain health. They are readily available from Ayurvedic herb suppliers, but could be omitted if you can’t find them, or don’t mind doing without some cognitive benefits!

Those with weaker digestion might want to cook the vegetables a little longer for less crunch, and choose fewer ingredients, mixing it up every time you make the dish – for example, leaving out the walnuts or almonds, broccoli or green beans and maybe just using one of the two brain herb powders at a time.

Serves 4

l tbsp ghee

½ tsp Shankhpushpi powder (optional)

½ tsp Brahmi powder (optional)

½ tsp ground turmeric

¼ tsp asafoetida

5mm (¼ in) piece of fresh ginger, grated

1 red chilli, finely chopped

sea salt, to taste

200g (4 cups) baby spinach leaves

4 fresh tomatoes, skinned and deseeded (see here), coarsely chopped

350g (6 cups) broccoli florets

300g (3 cups) green beans, chopped into 2.5cm (lin) lengths

115ml (½ cup) double cream, crème fraîche or creamed coconut

juice of ½ lemon

50g (⅓ cup) skin-on almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

50g (½ cup) walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

cooked basmati rice, to serve

1 Gently melt the ghee in a frying pan over a low heat and stir in the Shankhpushpi and Brahmi powders, if using, with the other ground spices. Add the ginger and chilli along with a pinch of sea salt. Heat and stir for 2 minutes over a medium heat.

2 Slowly add the spinach over a medium-high heat and stir until wilted. Add the tomatoes, broccoli and beans, then place the lid on the pan and simmer for 3–4 minutes until the beans and broccoli are still bright in colour but sufficiently tender.

3 Stir through the cream and heat for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat. Add additional salt to taste, if needed.

4 Transfer to a serving dish, drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with the almonds, walnuts and chopped coriander. Serve with basmati rice.

FEELING
VATA

Favour green beans instead of broccoli.

FEELING
PITTA

Choose creamed coconut over double cream.

FEELING
KAPHA

Use a small amount of coconut milk instead of creamed. Go wild with the ginger and chilli.