Nettles: That Most Spring of Things

Dr Suhas, that great luminary of Ayurvedic healing, reminds us that eating our greens can be the best medicine, but he adds that greens should always be prepared with two things: garlic and lemon.

Yes, nature’s medicine can be delicious.

Thinking of all the lemony, garlicky greens we find in Italian, French, Greek, Chinese, African and just about every “heritage” cuisine, I am reminded again of how intuitively Ayurvedic wisdom is alive in every culture that grew up from a deep relationship with the land.

One of those classic heritage dishes is this  lemony-garlicky sauté of nettles – simple, delicious, and medicinal.

Why nettles? One thing wisdom elders and grandmothers knew was that the nettles growing wild in spring are delicious, potent medicine for so many of our spring concerns. As an astringent, diuretic, anthelmintic, antihistamine, decongestant, and detoxifier, nettles help your body manage the Kapha tendency of spring, especially sinus congestion, allergies, asthma.

Nettles are so good for you that my friend, the great medicine woman Shannon Thompson, recently said, “It’s easier to list the few thing nettles don’t help.”

Where? Nettles grow abundantly in wooded areas, by river beds, and around abandoned buildings… but if you can’t find them in your neighborhood, Traditional Medicinals makes a fine nettle tea and Frontier sells the leaves and roots in bulk. (I do not have an affiliate relationship with these companies. I do appreciate their integrity and products, and I want to help you access this natural medicine as best you can.)

Be sure to wear gloves when working with nettles. Once they are cooked, they are tender and harmless, but until then, they can really sting. And sting with a lasting vengeance. If that happens, put your hands in ice water. Then wash with soap. Use tape to extract the nettle thorns (which can be invisible). Apply a thick paste of baking soda (mixed with scant water) and allow to dry before washing off. Finally, eat your cooked nettles for the antihistamine.

Sautéed Nettles with Chewy Crunchy Garlic
Serves 2

a double handful of nettles, rinsed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T ghee or refined coconut oil
1/2 lemon
pink salt & freshly cracked black pepper to taste
optional: extra virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes

Melt ghee or coconut oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and sauté for a few minutes, swirling the pan now and then to distribute the heat. As soon as the garlic begins to getting golden, add the nettles. Cook a minute or two, stir and gently turn. Cook another minute or two and remove from heat once the leaves begin to lightly brown.

Squeeze a generous amount of lemon juice over the nettles, then season with black pepper and pink salt to taste (it shouldn’t need much salt thanks to the lemon). As you serve the nettles, you may optionally drizzle with olive oil, or sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

Another option to boost the health benefits is to stir a scant teaspoon of turmeric powder in with the sautéing garlic just before adding the nettles.

I mentioned Dr. Suhas. He and is wife, Dr. Manisha, are two of my great mentors. I offered Dr. Manisha’s book Eternal Beauty in this post, and offer you now Dr. Suhas’ new book,  The Art and Science of Vedic Counseling, co-written with another of my longtime mentors and friend Dr. David Frawley.

“The Art and Science of Vedic Counseling” is the best counseling guide available for students, teachers, and practitioners of Ayurveda, Yoga, and related healing arts. The book is an ever-cherished collection of knowledge, wisdom and a practical, clinical reference. I highly recommend the book to all who love Yoga & Ayurveda.”
~ Vasant Lad, Ayurvedic Physician

If you would like to be entered to receive this book, please leave a comment below.

Do you suffer from spring allergies? If so, I highly recommend a daily dose of nettles – along with this great article from Banyan Botanicals on Ayurveda’s approach to allergies.

Do you have a favorite nettle recipe? Do you have memories of a grandmother harvesting greens in spring? How do you keep the traditions of nature’s medicine alive in your life, your family, our world? I would love to hear. Thank you & Namaste!

Do you have a favorite nettle recipe? Do you have memories of a grandmother harvesting greens in spring? How do you keep the traditions of nature’s medicine alive in your life, your family, our world? I would love to hear. Thank you & Namaste!

 

Creamy Dal Makhani

Finishing up my “favorites from India trilogy” is Dal Makhani, a sumptuous stew of lentils and kidney beans traditionally served at weddings. Given its depth of flavor and richness, you might expect it to be difficult to make. But really it’s as simple as cooking up the beans, making a sauce, and deciding how you want to finish it – milk, ghee, or a Vegan twist on the original, coconut cream.

The recipe comes from our Chef Altah Shah of Raga on the Ganges. I’ve dramatically simplified it for you, without, I hope, sacrificing any of its richness because I really don’t want you to miss out on this Punjabi treasure.

For those of you pressed for time, I’ve given quantities for pre-cooked beans. Of course we should all cook from scratch, but lately I have been hearing so many friends tell me they and their families are eating frozen and microwaved “foods” due to time shortages. This breaks my heart and makes me want to run over and prepare weekly meals! I can only hope to make delicious, savory, satisfying meals easier, tempting busy people with wedding feast recipes to be enjoyed as everyday delights.

You can find urad dal at Indian/Asian grocers. Typically whole dal is used, but I was only able to find split urad dal. If you can’t find urad dal at all, replace it with mung or adzuki beans. If you are new to cooking beans,  the kitchn has a great how to article.

If you use precooked beans, look for adzuki in place of the dal. Use 3 cups adzuki with 1 cup kidney bean. Drain and warm them in a saucepan, stir in the sauce and finish with your choice of cream.

When I make this, I use coconut cream instead of milk, since Ayurveda warns that mixing beans and dairy can cause gas, bloating, indigestion. Typically, though, it is milk or cream that is used. The milk makes it creamy without altering its flavor. The coconut has its own distinct taste, of course and makes it sweeter.

Creamy Dal Makhani

Beans
1 c urad dal (black gram)
1/3 c kidney beans
5 c water (or veg broth or a combination of the two)
3-4 garlic cloves or 1 T garlic powder
1 T finely chopped ginger
1 t turmeric
1 pinch hing (asafotida) or hingvastak which can be purchased from Banyan Botanicals

Sauce
4 T ghee or coconut oil
1 t cumin seeds
1/2 t fenugreek seeds (optional)
1 large onion, chopped
1 T ginger, finely chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 scant t smoked paprika
1 t garam masala powder
2 t pink salt
1 T ghee or olive oil
Coconut cream, yogurt, creme fraiche, sour cream or milk

Soak dal and kidney beans for 24 hours in plenty of water. Drain and rinse. Bring to a gentle simmer with enough water to cover, along with the ginger, garlic, turmeric and cook until beans are soft. Stir in hingvastak.

To make the sauce, heat ghee or oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add cumin seeds and sauté, gently swirling the pan now and then to keep them from burning. As soon as they begin to brown, stir in the fenugreek, onion, ginger, and garlic, and sauté until golden.

Add the red pepper flakes, and sauté another minute. Next stir in the tomatoes and turn up the heat to high. Cook until the tomatoes are reduced to a pulp, stirring often to keep the bottom from browning.

Stir in the paprika, garam masala, and salt, then pour this sauce in with the cooked beans.  Simmer on low heat until the mixture is creamy and well blended. Turn off the heat. Adjust seasonings to taste. Stir in one final spoonful of ghee or olive oil, and a hearty scoop of coconut cream, yogurt, creme fraiche, sour cream, or milk, and serve.

It is a perfect meal with basmati rice (in the final photo below) and greens like palak paneer, or simply with a warm flatbread like chapati or naan.

The Ayurvedic literature gives the benefits of urad dal as: unctuous, promoting positive kapha and pitta, increasing bulk of feces (meaning “high in fiber”), laxative, grounding, warming, strengthening, reducing Vata, sweet in taste, and good for reproductive tissue.

What is your favorite Indian food? Are there any you would like me to write up? Let me know so I can help you help everyone stay healthy, happy and whole.

Love always. Sat Nam. Santé. Namaste! 

Himalayan Halva

As we continue to travel, “six tasting India” both north and south, there are certain dishes that elicit such oohs and ahhs they have to be shared. Fortunately, wherever we go the restaurant staff is so delighted by the exclamations of praise that recipes are readily granted. One such was Chef Altah Shah of Raga on the Ganges whose delightful meal creations overcame language barriers to communicate friendship, generosity and loving nourishment.

This red halva may not fit easily into the category of “Ayurvedically inspired” but I could make a case for it.

First, it comes from India as does Ayurveda. That may sound like a weak start but it’s almost impossible to separate Ayurvedic medicine from the culture where it was born. So many of Ayurveda’s staple meals resemble Indian classics – dal, rices, vegetable soups and broths – and involve Indian ingredients like ghee, boiled milk, mung dal, cardamom, ginger, etc.

Most importantly, many Ayurvedic medicines are stirred into boiled milk, often with jaggery added. That may seem odd, but this age-old tradition holds that bitter herbs and astringent medicines are rendered optimally bioavailable when blended with foods of the hydrating, cooling, strengthening, sweet taste.

Plus, beets are good for you.

What they call Beetroot Halva, we might call a Beet Pudding. It is a creamy curiosity. We had fun asking people to guess what it was before we told them. Some thought chocolate, others a rice or nut pudding, and one even thought it was cookie dough. Each had a different guess, but no one guessed beets!

Here is the recipe translated from Chef Shah who makes desserts in large quantities and measures in the metric system. I made this yesterday for friends who raved, so I think the translation works. Earlier this week I tried translating it even further into a vegan dish. As it relies heavily on milk, as most Indian desserts do, it was a risk. But before anyone knew what the original would taste like, they swooned over the vegan version. That recipe, plus three photos of the vegan halva served with coconut ice cream, are below.

Beetroot Halwa

2 c beets, grated
2 c organic whole milk
1/2 c khoya*
1/2 c jaggery (raw sugar)
1/3 c ghee or coconut oil
25 cashews
25 g raisins

Put grated beets in a saucepan with milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour. Add khoya, sugar, ghee, nuts and raisins. Stir. Serve warm. It is delicious with homemade vanilla ice cream, or plain yogurt.

*Khoya: You can make khoya by bringing 3 cups of organic whole milk to a boil and then simmering for two hours to reduce. 

Vegan Beetroot Halwa

2 c beets, grated
2 c organic coconut milk
1/2 c coconut milk khoya**
1/2 c dates, pitted and chopped
2 handfuls cashews
1 handful golden raisins
maple syrup, to taste – optional
dash cardamom
dash ginger

Soak cashews. Soak dates. Put grated beets in a saucepan with milk and bring to  boil. Reduce and simmer for one hour. Drain cashews and dates, Add to beets along with khoya, raisins and spices. Stir and simmer until reduced to a pudding like consistency. Taste and add maple syrup if needed.

Serve warm. It is delicious with coconut ice cream.

**Coconut Khoya: I made the khoya with organic coconut milk by bringing 3 cups (equivalent to two 13.5 ounce cans) to a boil and then simmering for 1 hour to reduce. 

In India today is Holi, a colorful day celebrating the arrival of Spring. Honoring mother nature’s blossoming beauty, I want to celebrate that in you too – and so am offering my friend Dr. Manisha Kshirsagar’s new book Enchanting Beauty to one beautiful reader. Please leave a comment below if you are interested in this gift.

What is your intent for your beautiful self this Spring?

 

Detox Tabbouleh

Why do I call this Detox Tabbouleh? Unlike the traditional recipe, I don’t add bulgur or tomato, so it is free of those pesky foods that can be inflammatory. Like the traditional recipe though, I do add garlic, a really good olive oil and lots of lemon, because all three are known to help detoxify the body. Above all, this is full of greens, and greens clean.

Parsley & Cilantro are potent detoxifiers, providing necessary nutrients and daily fiber. Parsley also helps to clean your breath of garlic odor, so it is a perfect paring. And if you’ve joined me for any of my seasonal cleanses, you know my love of cilantro for its heavy metal scrubbing power.

Who is this for? Greens are good for everybody, helping Vata with necessary fiber for easier elimination, cooling inflammation and strengthening liver function to help Pitta keep cool, and providing the bitters that lighten up Kapha.

It tastes like an ancient Mesopotamian garden. I’d serve it to the poet Hafiz if he’d come over for dinner. Like his Gifts, our mother earth’s bounty is an eternal feast.

Detox Tabbouleh

1 bunch parsley
1 handful cilantro, optional
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 clove garlic
3-4 fists of pine nuts
2 capfuls really fine extra virgin olive oil

Put the garlic in a food processor and mince. Add the parsley, cilantro, spring onions and process. Squeeze in the lemon juice and mix. Toss in the pine nuts, drizzle in the olive oil and give it one more quick pulse. Taste, adjust flavors, and pulse again if you like your pine nuts broken down and integrated more.

Serve alone, or with soups, salads, toast, or crackers. It is also great spooned over heartier dishes.

*Note: If you are Pitta, you can reduce the amounts of garlic and spiring onion, or eliminate altogether. 

Speaking of getting healthy for the new year, my Winter Cleanse launches this Saturday. It’s a hearty cleanse – gentle enough that you can keep up with your daily routines, but solid enough that you will feel better, and delicious enough to keep you building momentum. All for only $10 for 10 recipes, meal plans + Ayurvedic wisdom and email inspiration.

I will give away a winter cleanse to a commenter below (picked randomly, always). So tell me, how do you nourish and purify in winter?

 

Entice with Spice: A Holiday Party

Last week I catered a dinner for ten, as a fundraiser for our local Soroptimists supporting women and girls in education and business development. We called it “Entice with Spice” and this was our menu.

I am not a caterer, but it was the brainchild of Wendy McGuire, former owner of Ganosh Gourmet (ganosh = gnosh, ganache + ganesh because Wendy is truly multicultural in kitchen and in life). Wendy promised to help, and I put my trust in her, even as she trusted me to take the lead in offering a rich experience of spices.

We began with appetizers by the fireside and a chat about Ayurveda, focusing then on food and spicing for your body type, the medicinal value of spices, sampling the six tastes, and some of the best spices for each dosha. Intricately enticed, the guests moved to the dinner table where we served a sumptuously spiced meal to delight every sense.

Having just met Erin Gleeson at The Front Porch when she came in for a book signing and taste samplings (Thank you Sally!), I was inspired to borrow those same drinks and appetizers served. It lent perfect holiday color, while aligning with the “Indian Raj” theme that delighted our gin- and scotch-loving guests with twists on their usual.

Here are the recipes:

Drinks (inspired by Erin Gleeson of The Forest Feast)

Rosemary Gin Fizz

Hot Pear Toddies

Appetizers (also inspired by Erin Gleeson)

Endive Bar

Spicy Pecans and Pepitas

Apricot Goat Cheese Bites

Dinner

Ginger Miso Consommé

Fish Molee  with Spinach Saag and Sesame Speckled Basmati

Braised Squash and Cranberry Arugula Salad with a Citrus Dressing

Digestive Tonic (fresh mint and lemon infused bitters)

Dessert

Chocolate Pâté

Nutmeg Lassi

Plates of Indian Treats

I think they liked it. They were kind enough to write.

“Wow, we’re still basking in the warm glow of what surely ranks up there as one of the most interesting, beautiful, original and downright DELICIOUS evenings ever! Thank you both so very much for including us – it was perfect in every single way!”

“It was wonderful!!! We fully enjoyed the evening and our guests have been raving about what fun it all was. The next day I babysat two of our granddaughters came over for the day and they loved seeing the party things. Thank you again for donating this lovely experience for Soroptimists.”

Big thanks to our hostess Gail for her generous gift to Soroptimists, and a big thanks to Coronado Soroptimists for all you do to support our communities, and for the Ruby Award that gave launch to our Sophia Camp.

I send out immense gratitude to Wendy who offered her kitchen when our house burned just as the three days of prep began, and whose patience, expertise and heart really made this the magical night that it was.

Thank you Shannon Jones for these gorgeous photographs. Thank you Sally for the invitation to meet Erin, and for all the ways you inspire me, and thanks to all of you who bring beauty, nourishment and love to our world. To me, beauty, friendship and delight is the best medicine of all.

If you would like Erin’s Forest Feast Recipebook, please leave a comment below. I will pick a name randomly and send it out next week. How do you celebrate this season of light? 

Happy Holy Days. I wish you all love, joy and peace. 

 

Pumpkin Strata

I know. It feels like we are starting to over-do the pumpkin theme.

And yet, if you have pumpkin purée remaining from your Thanksgiving provisions then you have to try this pumpkin strata for breakfast or weekend brunch.

Photo: Minimalist Baker

Inspired by my Mum whose own Strata has always been a brunch favorite, and by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks whose Spinach Strata is a great take on that old fave, and also by the Minimalist Baker whose photo above of Pumpkin French Toast was shared with me recently by Shannon Jones.

A gratitude shout out, too, to Morgan Anderson who recently suggested “We should tell people how good pumpkin is for them. They don’t have to skip the pie.”  It is tri-doshic, after all, so everyone gets the benefits.

Mom and I sort of made this up when we had a brunch to serve and not a whole lot of time to prepare, meaning it’s easy and quick. For best texture and greatest ease,  make it the night before and just pop it in the oven an hour before your guests arrive. It’s a lovely color, with a moist, tender texture. Honestly, everyone seemed to love it. My favorite words of gratitude were from my uber-talented sister-in-law who said, “You know I can’t eat sugar, so I never get to have pumpkin for Thanksgiving. Thanks for making something I can have, and something so good!”

Filling a need, while inspiring the palate – that’s a dharma I am grateful for!

Pumpkin Strata
Serves 10-12

1/2 c shallots or yellow onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 cups pumpkin purée
2 c whole milk
6 eggs
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t sage
1/4 t celery seed
1 good shake pumpkin spice
optionally, 1/2 to a full teaspoon curry powder
himalayan salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1 T ghee
7-8 cups stale bread, cubed or sliced
1 c cheddar, grated
handful of pumpkin seeds
1/2 c parmesan cheese, grated

Set your oven to 350F. Put your onion and garlic in an electric blender and chop. Add pumpkin, milk, eggs, herbs and mix well. In a casserole dish, evenly distribute your cubed bread  and cheddar. Pour the egg mixture over. Top with pumpkin seeds, and parmesan cheese and bake for 35-45 minutes or until cooked through the middle and sizzling golden on top.

Embed from Getty Images

 

Thanks to Getty Images for photos of pumpkins. Thank you to all the photographers and artists in my life who keep inspiring us to look, to see, to be inquisitive ~ and thanks to you for taking the time to read, comment, try the recipes and inspire with your own sacred, sumptuous life.

I would love to hear what are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?

I wish you a blessed holiday and holy days always.

Spring Cleanse

April 18
Hello Life Lovers and Spring Blossoms,

This morning I put together this little video for you with two simple recipes for Spring ~

1. Ginger Lemon Honey Tea – to “melt the winter freeze,” i.e. to dissolve stagnation, burn toxins, stimulate circulation, and encourage a balanced flow of Prana.

2. Ginger Lemon Black Pepper Matchsticks – to light the fire of digestion, and inspire healthy metabolism.

Both these recipes are included in my 10 day Ayurvedic Spring Cleanse, along with lots of lovely, delicious nourishing recipes, tonics and self care practices to help you align with the season, and feel your best all the time.

It’s easy. I’ll guide you through it. You can do everything I offer, or pick and choose what suits you best – because nature is abundant, and you are nature, so anything you do will reward you abundantly.

You can learn all about my 10 day seasonally bountiful Spring Cleanse here.

Or, if you are ready to register, you can do that here.

I am so grateful that so many people who have done my cleanses in the past keep returning season after season. If you are one of my wonderful “returning cleansers,” I have a generous discount to thank you for joining us again. You can find that discounted registration link on our Facebook Group page (or email me).

Please leave a comment below to let me know if you have done my cleanse and how it’s made you feel, or to let me know what you are looking for in a Spring Cleanse. I read every comment and will reply.

Thank you & Namaste!

P.S. You can purchase Triphala here if you don’t find it at your local market.

~

April 22
Namaste!

I am in Delhi, filming a series on Ayurvedic Seasonal Cleanses (they are that delicious!). While there, I put together two videos  for you with recipes and tips for Spring. This is my second one on the power of air to help us cleanse, with one very special formulation that encourages proper flow.

~

April 25
In my first two videos on Ayurvedic Spring Cleansing, we talked about the positive power of the fire and air elements. The third element, water, is the dominant element in Spring. Too much water element in you gives Kapha, the dosha, or bio-energy of stagnation that can lead to excess weight, spring allergies, brain fog, lethargy, and chronic illnesses from there. In Spring Cleansing we seek to reduce and balance the water element – but we also use the positive power of water to hydrate, lubricate, and moisten dry tissues to liberate toxic buildup and wash the body clean. There are two key ways we do this. Ghee is one, and above I show you how to make it. If you join our Spring Cleanse we will be doing both.  Love and joyful Spring blessings to you!

How to Make a Dosa

I am really excited about this. Today I’ve done something I never thought I would. I have to share it because now I know you can do it, too.

It started about a month ago at Bhakti Fest, where we always have lunch at the Dosa Dosa food truck because they make the world’s best Kichari. They also make the world’s most divine Dosas, and I asked them to show you how. Thankfully, they agreed.

Wah and his father Matamandir, the creative dynamos at Dosa Dosa, were gracious to allow us to interrupt their hot and busy service of feeding hungry Yogis and Kirtan Wallahs. But since we didn’t get their top-secret recipe, I thought I’d do a little research and post some links to go with the video.

I never intended, myself, to make a Dosa. Never. In some unconscious place inside of me, surely I thought, you have to be Indian to make a Dosa. You have to be South Indian, for that matter. You even have to be a South Indian grandmother who spent her life practicing Ayurveda’s everyday ways, or her granddaughter well-trained by such a wisdom-keeper.

While editing the video, my husband commented that no one is going to do this at home – no one has that griddle or those instruments, he said – we should just direct readers to Dosa Dosa‘s 5 new food trucks in San Francisco.

Yes, but I don’t do that on this blog. I don’t set you up, elicit mouth-watering expectations, promote the promise of truth, beauty, love on a plate, only to let you down, hungering for an external, elusive, distant deliciousness, when all of that is already inside of you – you are already delicious. Within you is the power to create untold treasures of beauty and delight, and this realm of your own possibility is as close as your kitchen, as quick as you can roast a sweet potato!

At least I had to offer you a dish. Something you can make that would be enough exotic goodness for you to taste the truth that real food is love, and love’s food is bhakti. 

The Potato Pea Masala that fills the Dosa, giving its full name Masala Dosa, seemed like something those of us not schooled since birth in Dosa tradition would be able to master. We could enjoy it with Naan, I reasoned. Which we could buy at the local Indian market… Or we could mix and match cultures, roll it into a tortilla, and call it a Mexican Masala!

I never intended, even as I experimented with my own version of a Masala, ever that I would make a Dosa. We’d just have to make a trip to San Francisco for that, and look forward to having Dosas again at ShaktiFest in May.

With experimentation, one thing led to another and, spurred on by the challenge of being told “no one will do it…” the next thing you know, I made a Dosa! Now I am making Dosas for breakfast, Dosas for lunch, Dosas for dinner, Dosas for anyone, any time, all the time. I love Dosas!

The photos above and below are my first and second attempts. I am learning as I go, inspired by this Dosa recipe, which looks fastidious because she takes you through step by step, but is actually very easy. You just mix together rice and lentil flour (look for besan, also called gram, at Indian or Asian markets), let it sit overnight, stir in a pinch of salt in the morning, and pour it on the skillet. In no time you will have your very own Dosa, on which you can sprinkle cinnamon for a high protein breakfast and any time snack, or fill with the Masala for a hearty, healthy meal.

I swapped sweet potato for the filling, making it healthier, and added fenugreek powder to the Dosa batter. I wanted to add fresh peas, but it is not the season so I slow cooked split peas and added that instead. It lended an earthy taste which balances beautifully with the fresh crunch of the coconut chutney.

To make this user-friendly it’s all written it out below, but certainly follow the links if you want to see more examples of how-to. Be sure that you read through before you start. You want to blend the Dosa flours the day before so they can ferment overnight, and you want your Masala and Chutney ready to fill the Dosas which cook up quick, and are best enjoyed piping hot.

If you are short on time or access to ingredients, the graciously talented Puja over at IndiaPhile has a Dosa recipe using semolina, which can be substituted with a good gf flour. Her Coconut Chutney is the inspiration for this one, and she has a couple of short, helpful videos showing you how to pour the Dosa batter for success.

SWEET POTATO MASALA
Serves 4

1 sweet potato
1/4 c peas, cooked
1 T ghee 5-6 cashews
1/2 onion, diced
1/8 t mustard seeds
1/4 t cumin seeds
1 t curry powder
1/2 piece thai chile (these are very small, so not too spicy), chopped
1/4 t ginger, grated
1 pinch turmeric
1 pinch asafoetida (or hingvastak; alternative: coriander powder)
1 T cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 475F. Puncture a few fork holes in your sweet potato and bake for 45 minutes, or until a fork inserts easily through the center. When it is done, allow it to cool, then cube into small bites.

Melt the ghee on in a medium flame. Brown the cashews and set aside. In the same pan, with the same oil, add the mustard seeds and cook about 1 minute util the pop. You have to listen closely. Stir in the cumin, curry and onions. Sauté until the onions are golden and soft. Mix in the chili, ginger, turmeric and asafoetida (or coriander). Add the sweet potato. Mash it a bit with the back of a spatula, or large wooden spoon. Stir in the peas and cashews and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cilantro leaves, turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.

COCONUT CHUTNEY

3/4 c coconut flakes
1/4 c cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic
1/2 thai chile (with seeds for heat, without for a mild version)
1/2 t curry powder
1 t freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup water Optional: dash of pink salt, or to taste

Put everything into an electric blender and mix until it becomes a creamy consistency. Add more water if needed. Taste and season accordingly.

DOSA
Serves: 4-8

1 1/2 c rice flour
¾ cup dal/besan/gram flour
2 1/2 c water
1 scant t fenugreek powder pinch pink salt
2-3 T ghee

Stir the flours together in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and mix well. Be sure to smooth out any lumps. The consistency will be thick but very watery. Cover and allow to ferment at room temperature overnight for 10 hours or more. Once the batter is fermented, stir in the fenugreek powder and salt and mix well.

Melt 1 T ghee in a large skillet or iron griddle over medium heat. While the ghee heats up, whisk the batter one more time so it is well mixed and quickly ladle it up. Pour into your skillet in a circular motion. When one side of dosa is browned, gently slide your spatula around the edges of the Dosa to loosen it. Flip it and cook the other side. Spoon the Masala filling into the middle, add a spoonful of the coconut chutney and a dollop of yogurt optionally. Fold the Dosa and serve hot.

The leftover Dosa batter can be refrigerated and used within 4-5 days.

My first attempt fell apart. I learned not to swirl the pan. On the second attempt, when it started to break apart I filled the cracks with drops of batter. It worked. Another lesson. Be brave. It’s as wonderful in pieces as it is whole. Aren’t we all?

Once you try it, you’ll know why so many Bhakti lovers line up for buttery Kichari and crispy Dosas.

When Dosa Dosa founder Matamandir asked me about my blog and I told him that it’s Ayurvedically inspired with the emphasis on inspired because more than anything I hope to share the nourishing bounty of mother’s love through food, you know how he responded?

“Yes. Never be pedantic. It’s not about following rules. Just cook with love. Then your food will be nourishing and healing. Above all, cook with love. You will taste the difference.”

Above all, cook with love… 

Dosa Dosa is opening 5 food trucks in San Francisco, giving us all another excuse for a road trip. You can find them and their locations here: Website, Facebook, Twitter.

I thank Morgan Willis and Miles Demars-Rote of Wellness Gangsters for filming! With immense gratitude to all – Wah, Matamandir, Miles, Anna, Morgan, Bhava, and everyone at Bhakti Fest! 

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I leave you with a taste of Bhakti ~

Do you love Dosas? Do you have tips for us make them better? Please share so we can all learn and grow and continue to be delighted and healed by earth’s love and heaven’s manna.

Above all, do it with love.

Namaste! 

Persian Cucumber Salad

Summer is finishing up with a fury here in San Diego, so I made a big heat-reducing salad to go with Friday’s picnic of Thai noodles and curry.  Inspiration came from Stephanie Weaver, of Recipe Renovator, who invited me for lunch last week and served, along with a colorful grated beet salad, a fresh green salad of zucchini, snap beans and cilantro. It was refreshing, and a delicious reminder of how lucky I am to have food blogger friends!

I hope you won’t be put off by the extra ingredients in this. It makes for a complete meal in itself, and once your potatoes are cooked, comes together rather quickly. Take your time, though, preparing the vegetables. Small, bite-sized pieces are the key to elegance and forkability.

The value of slowing down to prepare your meals cannot be overstated. It becomes its own kind of meditation, a  hearth-loving version of Chop wood, carry water…  We might even call it, Chop food, boil water? 

Enjoy.

Persian Cucumber Salad
Serves 6-8 

10-12 purple majesty and fingerling potatoes (substitute with sweet potato for paleo)
2 quarts water
1 T rock salt (pink or grey salt)
4 medium sized persian cucumbers
2 large handfuls fresh green beans, ends removed
1 hefty handful arugula
1/2 head of romaine lettuce
1 bunch spring onions
1 cup cooked red quinoa
1 bunch dill
1 copious handful cilantro
4-5 leaves basil
1 lime
1 t apple cider vinegar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

In a large pot, combine salt, water, and potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the pot and drain. Let it sit in your colander for 5 minutes. Refrigerate.

Chop the rest of the vegetables into small bite-sized pieces, except the arugula which can be tossed in as is. Layer into a large salad bowl and stir in the quinoa. Once your potatoes are cool, slice, quarter, and add them to your salad. Juice the lime and sprinkle with the apple cider vinegar over your salad. Lightly toss. Finely chop the herbs and add. Finally, drizzle in your olive oil and gently fluff. Taste and adjust your oil-vinegar-lime balance. Season with salt and pepper.

Made it again, sans quinoa, for our Yoga Teacher Training Graduation Celebration Sunday.

This is such good medicine that I’ll be featuring it in our upcoming Autumn Cleanse, which I want to offer you as a giveaway. Just comment below to be included, and we will randomly choose one person on Friday, in time for our free Introductory Call this Saturday.

Thanks to Vegenista Devi Melissa Martin for asking if the recipe is on my blog, inspring me to post it. Congratulations to Kelli and Bridget who will receive the Happy Belly and Hot Belly books offered in last week’s post. 

Namaste!

P.S.  Congratulations to Jenny Melford who receives the Autumn Cleanse! Thank you friends.

8 Great Breakfast Recipes

Now that summer is here, some of you have been asking what to eat for breakfast. I am not sure things need to change as much as we like them to here in our everything-at-your-fingertips world. A bowl of porridge is, after all, a very good meal, and good enough for most of the world.

But for those of you feeling underwhelmed or overheated by your morning choices, here’s some inspiration from foodies around the blog world. All of these recipes are Pitta-balancing, meaning they reduce internal heat. They are listed in order of best to… well, least best – but too utterly gorgeous to pass up.

These last recipes are “least best” because they include either sugar, or cooked honey, or wheat, which we best avoid. But substitutes can be made: coconut sugar or maple syrup for the first two, a gluten-free, almond meal, or coconut flour for wheat. (NB: Traditional Ayurveda will say that wheat is a grain and grains are good for Pitta. But it is usually dear Pitta who has wheat intolerance, allergies, or sensitivity.)

We should begin the way we mean to go on, and that most definitely applies to breakfast. So, I hope these recipes inspire, delight, beautify, energize and set you off on a summer day exactly as summer should be lived – with grace, ease and joy.

Coconut Porridge from The Wholesome Home

Being under Ayurveda’s influence, we begin, of course, with a porridge. But this is no ordinary porridge: this is no-grain Coconut Porridge from The Wholesome Home.

Whole Living’s Cardamom Quinoa Porridge

From Whole Living comes another nice twist on the classic: Cardamom Quinoa Porridge with Pear.

Blueberry Muffins from The Wholesome Home

For Pitta folks and summer lovers, breakfast can seem fussy. After all, who wants to be in the kitchen when you could be at the beach? These Grain-free Blueberry Muffins, also from The Wholesome Home, pack up tidy for a carefree breakfast picnic under the sun.

Banana & Almond Meal Pancakes from Roost

For those with an appetite, these Banana Almond Pancakes from Roost offer a fortifying fill of protein, fiber and fruit.

Vegetables and Cauliflower Tortillas from Roost

For those with a savory palate, grain-free Vegetable Tortillas, also from Roost, would be divine, and seasonal if you replace Spring Asparagus with Summer’s fresh Kale, Zucchini, or colorful Squash.

What Katie Ate’s Buckwheat Pancakes

In these Buckwheat Pancakes with Spinach, Ricotta and Pine Nuts from What Katie Ate, I’d skip the Sour Cream: seems like the Ricotta would be enough for a creamy base.

Tartelette’s GF Waffles

Anything from Helene Dujardin at Tartelette is good as well as gorgeous. These Gluten-free Blueberry Waffles could be made with almond meal or coconut flour instead of potato flour for an even healthier Sunday start.

La Tartine Gourmande’s Tartes aux Mirabelles

And, this is what I mean by “least best,” but oh so tempting… Gluten-free Tartes aux Mirabelles, an Italian Plum Tart, from La Tartine Gourmande.

Karen Mordechai Sunday Suppers’ Breakfast Picnic

Finally, some photographic inspiration from the innovative Karen Mordechai at Sunday Suppers.

Karen Mordechai’s Breakfast Picnic Blackberry Jam

Wishing you a joyful, and delicious, summer.

Namaste!

Related articles

• Breakfast Ayurveda Style (Kripalu.org)
• A Few Thoughts-on-Breakfast (food-alovestory.com)
• Summer is for Juicing (food-alovestory.com)
• To Eat The Sun (food-alovestory.com)
• Small Grains Big Nutrition (nytimesfood.com)

Rounds, Roots and Shoots: A Vernal Salad

A quick post to share what I am looking forward to once our Spring Cleanse is complete: Baby New Potato & Asparagus Salad with Marcona Almonds and Micro Greens. It’s crunchy, salty, moist, hearty yet light and fresh, and sweet in an Ayurvedic way. As any meal should, it inspires all the senses, incorporates all six tastes and harmonizes the best of a local harvest.

Baby New Potato & Asparagus Salad with Marcona Almonds & Micro Greens

Salad
8-10 Baby New Potatoes
10-12 very fresh Asparagus Stalks
1 Zucchini
3-4 Spring Onions
1/2 c chopped Dill
1 c Marcona Almonds (Trader Joe’s sells them roasted with Rosemary)
1/2 c Microgreens

Dressing
1 clove Garlic
1 t Dijon
1 T Mayo (can be Vegan)
2-3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lemon juiced
1 T Apple Cider Vinegar
a dusting of Red Pepper (my favorite is a gift from my sister: Aleppo Chile Pepper from The Spice House)
Black pepper, to taste
Himalayan Salt, to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook about 15-20 minutes, until a fork easily slides through the middle. Meanwhile, if you have a double cooker or a steamer, put that on top of the boiling potatoes and blanch the asparagus for a 3-4 minutes only. Otherwise you can drop them into boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Rinse the asparagus immediately with cold water and place in a bowl of ice water. When the potatoes are done, drain and put them in a bowl of ice water too.

Slice the zucchini thin and cut the rounds into quarters, so they are mini bite-size. Slice the spring onions all the way up into the green. Add the zucchini, spring onions, almonds and dill to a salad bowl and set aside.

Mix up the dressing by mincing the garlic. I always make my dressings in a jar because with a lid on tight, you can really give it a good shake and prove to the world that even oil and vinegar can sometimes mix. So put your garlic into a small jar with the juice of half the lemon and the rest of the ingredients. Shake until it is creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Drain and dry the potatoes and asparagus and cut into small bite size pieces. Toss together with the zucchini, spring onions and dill. Give the dressing a good vigorous blend and pour onto the salad. Taste and adjust. I found mine needed the juice of the entire lemon.

Serve on a bed of lettuce with a carefree sprinkling of microgreens.

Options: Chopped, hard-boiled egg; avocado slices; sun-dried tomatoes for that bit of sour; sunflower seeds for added crunch; garden-fresh snap peas for even more sweet green; basil, cilantro, or mint for more savory zing. This salad is really happy company to just about any of Spring’s edible delights so let your garden or your local farmer inspire your whims.

My husband likes it, and I hope you like it, too!

 

What you are looking forward to now that Spring is here?

Namaste!

Rainy Sunday Soup

Sunday Soup

We have much to be grateful for this Sunday before Thanksgiving. It has been raining, pouring actually, for three days now. There is so much rain it has begun to drip down through the light fixtures in the living room ceiling. But we caught it in time, and for that we are grateful.

We are grateful, too, for the rain because we live in a “coastal desert” climate where rain is unusual and welcome, especially in this fire season when every drop of rain counts!

Rain keeps us indoors where we light a fire, play board games, tell stories and laugh ourselves a bit silly. So we are grateful, too, for an old-fashioned family Sunday, and a very good reason to make Soup!

For lunch today, my husband made us a delicious vegetable soup with lots of ginger. We added last night’s whole wheat Rotini pasta and fresh parmesan cheese and ate it with a chunk of fresh-baked sage bread. As he was spooning his last few bites, my husband said,  “Soup should be a requirement on a rainy day. It is so warming. It just feels essential.” Morgan and I purred our agreement.

To make this simple, quick and essential soup ~

Sauté one small chopped onion, two cloves of garlic and three slices of ginger in enough safflower oil to cover the bottom of a soup pot until the onions are golden and soft. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, two diced potatoes, two sliced carrots, one chopped celery, and any other vegetables you have on hand and would like to add. We added french beans and broccoli. Stir on medium heat to coat the vegetables thoroughly in the oil mixture.

Add four cups of water and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Serve warm with fresh, warm rosemary or sage bread.