Cooking an ayurvedic meal at home is quite easy. The ingredients for preparing an Ayurvedic meal include basmati rice or whole grains such as couscous, quinoa and barley. Ghee or olive oil, coriander, ginger, turmeric, cumin, split mung beans and wheat flour and some chutneys. Yes, you need to have some really fresh vegetables and yoghurt. If all these are ready, then organizing an ayurvedic meal takes less than one hour.

Split mung beans are used as they are easy to digest. It provides protein and lends an astringent taste. Ayurvedic experts believe that an ayurvedic meal must have all the six tastes. The six tastes are sweet, salty, sour, astringent, bitter, sour and pungent. Therefore, a good diet meal must include these six tastes.

According to ayurveda, the three doshas in a person are vata, pitta and kapha. If a person has to reduce pitta, then include more sweet, astringent and bitter tastes in the meal.

Basmati rice is believed to balance all these three doshas. However, do not consume basmati rice every day ayurvedic meal, as it is very heavy and can lead to problems of digestion. According to ayurvedic practitioners, people with kapha imbalance can consume basmati rice after dry-roasting the grain before cooking. This helps the grain remain light.

Coming to the whole grains, barley, couscous and quinoa also can be used as grain for the ayurvedic meal. Now for organizing the ayurvedic meal, cut and keep the vegetables ready. Cut lots of vegetables. Include at least two vegetables for the ayurvedic meal. Organising an ayurvedic meal requires leafy vegetables as well. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans are a few vegetables you can add to your ayurvedic meal.

Ghee is high in antioxidant and contains beta-carotene. It does not go rancid like the other vegetable oils. Sauté spices in ghee. This is an important part of organizing an ayurvedic meal at home. Spices give out their aroma and release their benefits in ghee. The spices we are using to make the ayurvedic meal have therapeutic values. Turmeric is known to have antioxidant. Cumin and coriander aid digestion. When vegetables are clubbed with these spices, the nutrients in them is carried to the blood stream.

For the ayurvedic meal, add some water to the vegetables and spices and cook. Ensure that the vegetables do not overcook, as this may lead to vegetables losing their nutritional values. Add salt to taste and a few leaves of fresh cilantro.

Cook the split moong beans and grains. Towards the end, the sauté the spices and add them to the cooked beans and grains. Make flatbreads using wheat flour.

Add some water and sweetener to yoghurt and blend. This drink aids digestion. This yoghurt drink is for the afternoon ayurvedic meal. It is not recommended for the night meal. The lactobacilli in yoghurt help in digestion.

 A complete ayurvedic meal is ready at home in a few minutes.

Image credits: www.forumforhinduawakening.org, www.ayurvedavillage.com