The Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook: Healthful, Healing Recipes for Life

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Ayurvedic is a 5,000-year-old Indian approach to healing. It assumes
that individuals have one of three “doshas”—air, fire,
earth—dominant in their body and need to balance that by decreasing a
dosha that is too strong or enhancing a dosha that is weak. This ongoing
balancing can be aided by meal planning and food preparation that
correctly uses dosha-influencing foods. Yoga, colour and aroma therapy,
breathing, massage, and visualization techniques are also useful in
attaining balance.

The author is the West Coast co-creator of the well-known Lululemon
clothing line. She includes recipes for breakfast fare, entrées,
salads, soups, beverages, and desserts, as well as a selection of
appetizers and condiments. Additional material includes an introduction
to the Ayurvedic philosophy, a questionnaire to help readers identify
their dosha, explanations of key ingredients in Indian cooking, menu
plans, notes on the six tastes recognized by Ayurveda (sweet, salty,
sour, pungent, bitter, astringent), notes on eliminating toxins from the
body in preparation for receiving nutrients, photographically
illustrated yoga poses for the doshas, notes on other Ayurvedic
therapies, food lists by dosha, and an index.

Each recipe is introduced with a few lines to put it into context and
many include tips on sources for ingredients, acceptable substitutions,
and so on. The appropriate dosha symbols accompany each recipe and
strictly vegan dishes carry an icon. Imperial measurements only are
used. Ingredients include brand name products available only at health
food stores (e.g., greens+), specialty items such as hemp powder and
oil, items traditional to Indian cooking (e.g., paneer, ghee, garam
masala), and many ingredients typically available in Asian and health
food shops (e.g., agar agar, gomesio, urad dal).

Those interested in Indian cooking, vegetarian cooking, yoga, and the
life balance philosophy will enjoy this book.