Beverage Recipes

Spicy Lassi Recipe

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 17:12:46 +0000

Serves 4 2 cups water 1/2 cup plain yogurt 2 Tbs Sucanat or other sugar (or to taste) 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 1/2 tsp fresh, grated ginger OR 1/4 tsp dry ginger Doshic Notes Good for all doshas, especially kapha. Blending the yogurt kindles the agni principle. Vata = Pitta = Kapha =

Preparation

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend for 1-2 minutes. Adjust sugar according to taste and dosha.

Ayurveda recommends that you have a warm drink with your meal to help with digestion, but that the quantity should be no more than a cup. At the end of a meal, a cup of lassi—made with diluted yogurt or buttermilk—can be a good aid to digestion. Since this recipe is balancing for kapha, it can even be consumed in winter.

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Medicated Milks

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 17:08:13 +0000

Sidha Dugdham (Medicated milks) for Kapha Disorders

No. 1 – Peppercorns

1/2 tsp peppercorns, ground 1 cup milk 1/4 cup water Mix all ingredients and heat to boiling point. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until there is 1 cup of liquid left. This is good as a liver and gallbladder flush. It is used effectively for a high-kapha person with lymphatic congestion.

No. 2 – Pippali

1/2 tsp pippali, ground 1 cup milk 1/4 cup water Mix all ingredients and heat to boiling point. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until there is 1 cup of liquid left. This is good for chronic bronchial congestion, kapha-type asthmatic congestion and is also effective in kapha-type respiratory tract allergies.

No. 3 – Turmeric Root

1/2 tsp turmeric 1 cup milk 1/4 cup water Mix all ingredients and heat to boiling point. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until there is 1 cup of liquid left. This is good for pharyngitis, laryngitis and hoarseness of the voice. It is also effective for acute tonsillar congestion and acute kapha-pitta conditions of the lungs. It is a natural antiseptic.

No. 4 – Ginger Powder

1/2 tsp powdered ginger 1 cup milk 1/4 cup water Mix all ingredients and heat to boiling. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until there is l cup of liquid left. This is good for mucus in the colon, chronic indigestion and kapha-vata respiratory conditions like dry cough and emphysema.

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Cucumber Coconut Milk Recipe

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 17:06:30 +0000

from Ayurveda Today, Volume 22, Number 1, Summer 2009

Serves one generously Here’s a cooling drink to enjoy in the heat of the summer as a breakfast beverage, an afternoon pick-me up or a light dinner. The recipe is inspired by a cucumber milk recipe given by Vasant Lad for calming internal heat and appeasing pitta skin issues such as psoriasis, eczema, rashes and skin inflammation.

Cucumbers

When it comes to therapeutic summer foods, cucumber arrives at the top of my list of thirst-quenching, instant-cooling vegetables. Diuretic, an effective reducer of heat and inflammation, and a good skin remedy (both topically and internally), the moisture-promoting, juicy cucumber contains more than 90% water and is rich in minerals. If it is true that we become what we eat, then in the heat of the desert, I want to take on the qualities of a cucumber. According to Rebecca Wood, brilliant author of the equally brilliant, must-have resource, The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia, cucumber assists in cleansing and purifying blood, positively affects the heart and stomach, and contains erepsin, a digestive enzyme that is useful in breaking down protein, clearing the intestine of parasites (such as tapeworm) and cleaning the intestines. Cucumber increases kapha and brings pacification to vata and pitta. In addition to internal benefits, here’s a household remedy to try on: while preparing cucumbers this summer in your kitchen, pause for a moment to apply a strip of peel to your forehead or forearm for an instant heat-reducing skin therapy. Your eyes will love a cucumber treatment, too. Reserve two cucumber slices to place over the eyes while you take an afternoon catnap or enjoy a savasana. This not only soothes the eyes but also reduces puffiness and inflammation.

Mint

Of the easy herbs to grow at home, mint tops the charts. It also joins the small handful of pitta-reducing garden herbs. Mint has been used medicinally for centuries across cultures for its stomach-soothing, digestive properties. Use it creatively and lavishly during the pitta-challenging months of the year in salads, in herbal tea mixtures, with vegetables such as zucchini or cucumber, or as an alternative to basil in pesto. In the above recipe alongside the cucumber, coconut and milk, it serves to further reduce pitta through cooling. Doshic Notes Vata + Add a pinch of pippali to bring a bit of warmth if necessary Pitta = Pacifying Kapha + – Use water instead of cow’s milk and consume as an occasional treat

Ingredients

1/2 cuporganic whole milk* (unpasteurized and non-homogenized, if possible) 1/2 cup water 1 cucumber, medium sized 1 handful mint leaves 1 Tbs coconut butter (otherwise known as coconut cream or coconut concentrate (substitution: 1/4 cup coconut milk) 1 tsp maple or brown rice syrup

*If sensitive to cow’s milk, substitute with goat’s, almond, hemp or rice milk, herbal tea or water.

Preparation

Bring the milk and water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, prepare the cucumber by slicing it in half lengthwise, removing the seeds with a spoon and chopping it in 1/2-inch slices (peeling is optional).

Place the chopped cucumber, fresh mint leaves, coconut butter, and sweetener in a blender. Add half of the cooled milk and blend. When smooth, add the remaining milk and blend again.

Michele Schulz’s love for Ayurveda began more than 15 years ago and infuses her offerings of nutrition, cooking, and yoga. From her adoptive home of France and internationally, Michele gives Ayurvedic nutrition and lifestyle consultations, as well as cooking and yoga workshops. Michele gives courses and consultations internationally and can be contacted at micheleschulz@gmail.com

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Ayurvedic Chai

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 17:05:39 +0000

Serves 4 Doshic Notes Balancing for all three doshas.

Ingredients

3 cups water 4 cloves 2 pinches nutmeg, ground 2 pinches cinnamon, ground 2 pinches cardamom, ground 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped fine 1 tsp black tea 1 cup milk 2 tsp sugar, Sucanat, or other sugar

Preparation

Boil the water with the spices for 2 minutes. Add the tea and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the milk and heat until hot but not boiling. Add sweetener and serve.

You may vary the amounts of milk and sugar according to taste and dosha. Of course, increasing milk and/or sugar can provoke kapha, so take care. If you use caffeinated tea, the cardamom will help neutralize the effects of the caffeine.

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Agni Tea Recipe

admin — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 16:32:22 +0000

The first definition of agni is the element of Fire, the second of the five elements in the body. It also denotes the digestive fire which regulates temperature, performs digestion, absorption, and assimilation of ingested food, and transforms food into energy or consciousness. Agni Tea is a simple beverage that helps to regulate and stimulate your digestive capacity, improving all the functions of digestive agni.

Ingredients

1 quart water 1 pinch cayenne 2 handfuls minced ginger root 2 Tbs. Sucanat or other sweetener 1 to 2 tsp. rock salt

Preparation

Bring all of the above ingredients to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes. Take the pot off the burner and cool for a few minutes. Add the juice of 1/2 lime. Do not boil the lime juice. Pour into a thermos and enjoy throughout the day.

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