Kichadi Soup, Carrot Raisin Salad, Ginger-Date Cake

Enjoying my new Ayurvedic cookbook. In front is kichadi soup. Kichadi is a simple stew of basmati rice and split mung dal which is the core of Ayurvedic nutritional healing. This is a watered down version, cooked very plainly to make a soup. I didn't have split mung dal so I used masoor dal (red lentils) which turned yellow in the soup. The only ingredients in this soup are sunflower oil, basmati rice, lentils, cumin and mustard seeds, sea salt, ground cumin and water. I added minced ginger root, green hot chili peppers and coriander leaves (cilantro) as a topping. The dish in back is also from the cookbook and it's a simple carrot salad with raisins.


I was dying for sweet but didn't want to indulge in something sugar laden so I made this vegan date cake and used extra dates and also date syrup to sweeten. I added lots of grated fresh ginger root for some spiciness. It turned out so moist, almost like gingerbread (without the molasses) and lightly sweet. It's perfect with tea.
Recipe is here. In place of sugar, I added about 9 more dates and used about 1/2 cup date syrup and maybe a tablespoon of grated ginger. I also added a touch more spelt flour to make up for the extra liquid. I'm sure if you up the date syrup, it would be sweeter. Oh, and sub soymilk for the milk of course!

Snacks.

We're going to the movies tonight and instead of buying popcorn and candy (which probably aren't vegan anyway), I decided to make homemade snacks to bring with me. In front are curried roasted chickpeas (YUMMY) and in the back, plain toasted sunflower seeds. Got the recipes from 'The Ayurvedic Cookbook'. I've only started reading about Ayurvedic holistic healing recently and from what I understand, there are three types of biological energy called 'doshas' that rule our physical composition as well as our reactions and sensibilities to our environments. The three doshas are 'vata', 'pitta' and 'kapha'. In order for our bodies to be in complete health and harmony, one must have a balance of the three. We all have unique proportions of the three doshas and will have one that dominates. According to my ayurvedic constitution, I am predominantly kapha in nature and certain foods will calm this dosha instead of aggravate it. These snacks are a good example. I've been reading a little bit about the right foods for kapha and it's a little alarming that a lot of my favorite foods are supposedly not good for my nature like bread, pasta, sweets, sweet potatoes, rice, kidney beans, tofu, bananas, dates!!!!! So I'm not sure how seriously I will take all this but it's good to have some healthy and mindful food choices if I need to feel "balanced". :) There are times when I crave simple, healthy, no-frills food and I think this cookbook will do me good during those times.

If you want to know more about Ayurveda, this is a good site.