Food has always been a friend. I have been playing with food since, as Mom tells me, I made mud pies on the front steps of our house. By an auspicious twist of fate, I came of age in the kitchens of India. I first visited the subcontinent in college, when I was beginning to learn how to cook for myself. Hanging around in village kitchens and trying my hand at rolling chapati and frying up dosa is how I learned—and I still don’t know how to cook a good mac and cheese. But I don’t eat much cheese or pasta. Because it feels good to eat these things and supports my early morning yoga practice, my staples are dal, basmati rice, and kichari. This book will teach you how to make all these things and more.
I never thought too much about digestion, but after a few years of the traveling lifestyle, it seemed like most foods didn’t make me feel well, and I began to notice the connection between what I ate and my state of being. When my digestion became critical in India during one trip, I found an Ayurvedic doctor who taught me about how the system uses foods for healing. Once he wrote down the name of a recommended vegetable in the local language, and I brought the piece of paper to the vegetable vendor. He pointed to a white squash the size of a ceiling fan. He sawed off a wedge and wrapped it in newspaper, and I took it home to my kitchen. Here began my hobby of creating recipes to showcase medicinal foods, finding context for the different grains, pulses, fruits, and vegetables recommended in the Ayurvedic diet. My cooking with unfamiliar items found in the street markets of India, and with local foods from the farmers’ markets at home, makes up the years of culinary research behind these recipes.
Fast-forward fifteen years. I live in the city. I am a full-time yoga teacher and Ayurvedic practitioner. The diet and lifestyle I introduce in this book have greatly supported me in sustaining a life of service in an urban environment and in balancing a spiritual path with the duties of daily life. I take good care of myself so I can show up consistently to support communities that experience the depth and gifts of yoga and Ayurveda amid a modern-paced life. The Ayurvedic principle of eating digestible foods in a calm environment remains, for me, the key to staying healthy and vibrant. This is real life; I get busy, and I get hungry. Out of necessity I have birthed hybridized versions of the cookery of India in my tiny apartment kitchens. The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook uses fresh, seasonal ingredients to enable you to create, in the middle of a busy day, authentic, healing meals.
Photographer Cara Brostrom began making some of my recipes at home to get her body in balance. Her experience of Ayurveda was so beneficial, she offered her talents to help me get the word out (and to get organized). Her countless hours of cooking and editing the recipes keep them stylish and delicious, whereas in my own kitchen, quick and easy are at the top of the list. All of the photos in this book are of meals Cara and I made and then ate. She kept the Everyday Ayurveda component at the forefront and took pictures of real food made in real time, so you can truly expect your cooking to look like the pictures. Cara’s own experiential understanding of Ayurveda translates into the beauty and simplicity you see in this book.
I invite you to step into my urban-village kitchen and learn about Ayurvedic cookery by doing it, like I did. I’ve seen it help a lot of people, a lot of people have helped me along the way, and now it’s your turn to roll up the sleeves and fry some dosa. This book offers not only recipes, seasonal food guides, and shopping lists but also simple, strategic guidelines to get you started practicing Ayurvedic cooking and lifestyle routines right away. I want these ancient principles for health and happiness to slip into your life seamlessly. It’s simple, and it’s possible. Let’s do it together, every day.
Kate O’Donnell
Boston, MA
2014
