BODY-BALANCING RECIPES
First, Stock Your Larder
The recipes we include here are purposely designed to involve as little unfamiliar food as possible because I think it’s important to eat food that’s indigenous as well as food that’s nutritious. But there are certain things I’ve recommended throughout this book, all of which I’ve gathered here for ease of creating shopping lists.
Herbs and Spices
The herbs and spices you may like to explore – many of which are included in the recipes in this chapter – include:
Asafoetida: You may not have encountered this pungent powder before – it’s actually a natural gum resin and imparts a strong oniony flavour to food. It has an extremely strong smell and should be kept in an airtight container.
The tiniest pinch can be added to curries – add at the start, straight to the heating oil or ghee – and once cooked, it imparts a rich, deep garlic/onion flavour to the food. It is particularly good in vegetarian curries – leafy green or pulse/bean varieties benefit from it as it helps stimulate digestion (firing up agni) – and is widely recommended to help reduce the bloating and gas that can commonly occur when eating beans and pulses.
Black pepper: Please try to buy good quality organic black peppercorns and grind them yourself in a peppermill – the pepper strength will be far more effective than if you pick up a ready-ground mix. Pungent and heating, black pepper is fantastic for stimulating agni, and gets those all-important digestive juices flowing. Ideal for Kapha, it can be added to all foods, and will help not only lower Kapha (by dispelling cold and damp from the body), but also help keep the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems healthy. It’s not so great for Pitta, thanks to the heating properties, but a small grind is nevertheless still good for digestion, and when mixed with a cooling or oily base (ghee or coconut oil in particular), can still be enjoyed.
Cardamom: This is a real hero spice with multiple, important uses. One of its main benefits is how effectively it shifts agni from the system – getting the gut to get rid of mucus and also helping to alkalize an acidic system. In Ayurveda, it is used to dispel gas, reflux, bloating and even nausea (for example, it’s ideal for morning sickness, ).
Ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom pods to help clean and brighten their teeth and freshen their breath. It boosts digestion and also aids the body in the uptake of nutrients from food. Highly versatile, it can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes, and by all doshas.
Cinnamon: Organic ground cinnamon is a great store-cupboard staple. Both pungent and sweet, cinnamon has been proven to improve mood, soothe nervous tension and also strengthen the immune system. Its natural antiseptic properties, coupled with an ability to boost circulation, mean it’s wonderful in the winter as it’s renowned for warming the internal system and shifting a build-up of Kapha. Cinnamon is also a wonderful addition to food for those who have a sweet tooth – proven to stabilize blood sugar and satiate that pang for sweetness without any additional sugar needed.
Coriander leaves/cilantro: Cooling and balancing (and good for all doshas), this can be used in three states – as leaves and stems, as a ground powder or as seeds – and all have their place. Rather a divisive herb (my Cypriot heritage meant I grew up eating the leaves raw in salads, which I adore), it does taste “soapy” to some people, and this can be improved if you blend it, or macerate it into a paste with ginger (it’s delicious in Thai-style curry pastes). I call coriander my “palate cleanser” – the leaves, in particular, are invigorating and refreshing – great for shifting ama. It gets both the body and the mind balanced, and is also a potent natural immunity booster.
Cumin: This spice is an important one – considered in Ayurveda to be the central spice (it’s the second most commonly bought spice worldwide, after black pepper) – it has numerous benefits. For digestion, it is ama-shifting and naturally cleansing without being caustic or aggressive. It stimulates agni too – so you get cleansing and digestion-optimizing properties in one spice – as well as being great at getting overloaded livers back on track.
With its potent antibiotic properties, it’s ideal if you’re always run down and poorly, and its naturally comforting, earthy warmth means it helps to create a great base for curries, stews and soups. Ground cumin is good, but cumin seeds are commonly used in Ayurvedic cooking as the base of many dishes – add them to oil with your other spices and let them cook until they release their aroma.
Ginger: Most cultures are familiar with ginger and use it as a powder in baked goods, or fresh, as in the classic honey-and-ginger tea. It’s also recommended to those suffering morning or travel sickness, and it really can help. Its specific heat, sweetness and zest make it a wonderful digestion-boosting spice. But this heat also means it can shift Kapha, which is ideal in winter when we’re all prone to an increase in mucus. Naturally energizing, it is also healing, and can be used in dozens of ways. Ginger is good for all doshas, though go easier on fresh ginger – which is intensely pungent – if you are high in Pitta.
Saffron: A fabled spice, thanks to its expensive nature (it’s harvested from the stamens of crocuses, which have a low yield, meaning many thousands of flowers are grown to produce relatively meagre amounts of saffron). Recent research has suggested that saffron has anti-cancer properties. Ayurvedically, it does many things – helping to boost energy, digestion, mood and even sexual appetite. Many people waste the spice, though – it ought not to be added direct to food, but rather steeped in hot water (or added to stock at the start of cooking) until it releases all of its delicate ink, aromatic spice and smoke.
Salt: The best salt you can use within an Ayurvedic diet is natural rock salt, and Himalayan rock salt is the queen of rock salts, abundantly rich in body-supporting minerals and also linked to lower blood pressure. Sea salt is also fine, but less highly prized in Ayurveda (and more heating for Pitta).
Sweeteners
Ayurvedic recipes traditionally use the sugar cane derivative jaggery as a sweetener. Because it’s unrefined, jiggery serves as a fantastic sugar substitute and has a lovely, rich molasses-type flavour. I also use organic coconut-palm sugar and honey. However, honey should never be used in baking or added to drinks when they are still piping hot, as its properties change when heated above 40°C/104°F.
Chyawanprash: A wonderful, naturally sweet jam-like preserve that can be stirred into hot water to make a satisfying tri-doshic tea.
A Note on Measurements
Few of these recipes require you to be a stickler for exact measurements. Particularly with vegetables, you can add more or less of an ingredient if you so choose; it’s your palate and it’s important to cook something “your way” – a style that should come in time with the more you try and discover. As far as spices and herbs are concerned, I have endeavoured to offer the best possible balance within each recipe, so I’d advise that you don’t go off-track here. All vegetables listed in the ingredients are medium-sized unless otherwise stated. The “cups” measurements that appear after an oblique are US cups, as UK cups are slightly different.