Thanks for the questions Magdalena!! I am happy to answer. In Ayurvedic cooking, it is recommended that veggies are cooked. Cooking veggies aids agni in digesting food because the food has the “fire” element (heat, cooking, grill, whatever) is already introduced before it hits our stomach. If we eat raw veggies, they are cold, rough, and hard which means it takes a really strong fire to digest them properly. So in general, any sort of heating your food will help you digest better.
There is a little Ayurvedic science involved in the cooking methods but when you remember that the 5 great elements (space, air, fire, water, earth) govern everything, it will make your life easier.
If you boil veggies, there is heat (fire), but what other element is there? Anyone? “WATER!” Yes hooray. Prize goes to the lady in the purple shirt. Therefore, boiling veggies is better for folks who need more moisture. Vatas are the most dry of the three doshas so a little extra water will help keep their digestion happy (don’t forget to drizzle ghee on the veggies for more lube!).
If you grill veggies, fire is the main element and there is also air involved. This will be a great method for kaphas or sluggish digestion because the fire in the grill will heat and stoke our fire within.
If you roast veggies, it will depend if you roast them dry, which is good for kapha and pitta. Or you can roast them in oil or ghee which is good for vata.
Frying is…hot oil! Which dosha needs something warming and oily? “VATA” Wow! The lady in the purple shirt is cleaning house. Vatas can actually have fried food in the winter when it’s freezing and dry outside. As long as the oil is fresh and we don’t eat too many fried foods, vata will feel comfortable and “buttered” after a little friedness.
Always remember that the 5 elements make up every wee piece of matter and energy. Just five tiny things! When in doubt, see if you can pick out what elements are involved. From there use your knowledge and choose the opposites to balance. Hopefully I didn’t confuse you too much. Slowly absorbing this information is key to really applying it. With enough practice you can be like the lady in the purple shirt…and you could win…A NEW CAR! Just kidding. I live across the street from where they film The Price Is Right. Not kidding. Aaaaannnd, scene.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Magdalena // Aug 22, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Thanks a million for answering my questions! It’s hugely appreciated :) :)
2 Monica // Aug 22, 2010 at 5:00 pm
You are MOST welcome! Lemme know if you have more questions :) :) xo!
3 Magdalena // Aug 27, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Super kind of you, Monica!
I’m doing an ayurvedic detox right now, and it’s such an amazing learning/discovering experience :) Very hard too, from time to time… Today is day 41 (of 2 months).
I love Usha & Vasant Lad’s book Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing, and I’ve been using their lists of “Qualities of food substances” (details on rasa, virya, vipaka and action on dosha) a lot. However, it’s a bit limited. Do you know any other book or resource that have a more items, a longer list?
I find that the qualities of some “unknown” food is easy to read/figure out just by looking/touching/tasting, while others leave me absolutely clueless… so I am immensly grateful for those lists :)
(I’m updating my blog daily-ish with my experiences and thoughts during the detox, if anyone wants to know more.)
Cheers :) xxx
4 Monica // Sep 12, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Ah! So you are almost completed with your detox. From what I read on your blog (http://www.intermission.nu/ayurvedic-detox/), you started with some ups and then it went steeeeeply down, and then you were balancing out a touch. I’m curious what’s happening now.
ANYway, let me respond to your comment. I do not have a book that has an exhaustive list of rasa, virya, vipaka and dosha action for foods. BUT I have one for herbs (if that helps). It’s called Ayurvedic Medicine by Sebastian Pole. I don’t know if that helps you right now??? I will also post your blog link on here in case folks want to follow along! Namaste to you and thanks for sharing your journey!
5 Magdalena // Sep 15, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Yes, it went up and down and now everything is pretty much as it was before I started…
Wow, that book sounds fantastic and seriously interesting! It’s on my wish-list now :) Thanks a million for telling me about it!
As for herbs, I’m taking trifala and chyawanprash at the moment, and have been for quite a long time. I’ve been considering trying yogaraj guggul too, and probably will when/if I can afford it. We’ll see what happens..!
Thanks for showing interest in my journey!
Namaste :)
6 Monica // Sep 16, 2010 at 10:22 am
You are most welcome! I hope you love it. Thank YOU for sharing your journey with us!!! Namaste, Monica
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