Years ago, I had a significant food intolerance. In order to slowly get used to certain foods again, I followed a so-called rotation diet over a period of one year. This has become second nature to me and, together with the Ayurvedic philosophy, I always make sure to use different foods every day than the day before and, of course, to combine the flavours in a way that is good for my body.
You can find more information on food intolerances HERE
I like to experiment with different ingredients, spices, flavours and food cultures. By learning new languages, I also learn a lot about different cuisines and love to combine different styles and compose a culinary experience together with Ayurveda. My recipe ‘Baked potato with colourful vegetables and soy dip’ is the result of combining different traditions and flavours.
Jacket potato (roasted potatoes) from England
My last stay in Wales was not only a linguistic experience, but also a culinary one. My English teacher, with whom I spent three weeks, was not only a teacher but also an excellent cook and spoilt me with Welsh and English delicacies every day. One of these was the famous roasted potatoes. Sunday Roast is a tradition in Great Britain. On Sundays, a Sunday roast (any kind of meat) and various side dishes such as baked vegetables, salads, homemade sauces and, of course, roasted potatoes are a must for every Sunday roast, I was told. If you wander the streets of Britain on a Sunday, you'll find signs on every corner inviting you to a Sunday Roast. I have totally fallen in love with this way of preparing potatoes and my family keeps asking for it too.
Broccoli in a Chinese bamboo steamer
I have been learning the Chinese language for a few years now and always have great fun discussing food with my Chinese friends. To get as close as possible to the original, I got myself a bamboo steamer (see photo). Not only do they steam food quickly, they also give the food a very special flavour. Any type of vegetable can be steamed, and fish also tastes particularly good in these simple steamers. Broccoli retains its colour and, above all, its flavour, which combines and intensifies with the bamboo. My friend Lin from Beijing laughed a lot when I sent her my photo with the bamboo steamer. She said it was typical of Maria. As a Chinese woman, she doesn't even have a bamboo steamer at home!
Beetroot with a touch of India
My Vata constitution always needs some of the element earth. Beetroot is perfect for this. The combination with coconut, sesame and spices gives it a touch of the exotic.
Sojadip aus Seidentofu - eine Mischung von allem
As I don't tolerate cow's milk products very well, I have tried silken tofu. I came across this product for the first time during my Ayurvedic cookery training. I am generally very careful with soya as it contains a lot of oestrogen and can trigger allergies. I pay attention to the quality of the silken tofu and buy it from well-stocked organic retailers. As with any food, the same applies here - "the dose makes the poison". If not consumed daily and in large quantities, quality tofu is a varied source of protein.
For me, sweet and sour tomatoes epitomise the summer of my childhood. We always had an abundance of home-grown tomatoes. The whole garden smelled of the incomparable aroma of the tomato plant.
How did this recipe come about?
I love tomatoes because they bring back so many wonderful memories and the sweet and sour flavour flatters my VATA constitution. As I only eat tomatoes in season and from my own garden, I can hardly wait until my home-grown red favourites are ripe. In my overzealousness, I once again grew too many plants and the yield was so plentiful that I came up with a tomato sauce for lunch. I found some ripe jalapenos and peppers next to my tomato plants and the new dish was born in my head. I immediately set about making it in my cookery studio.
What does this sauce go with?
This sauce is very versatile. In larger quantities, it can be served with pasta, nettle dumplings or rice, and is also flavourful with fish and meat. In small quantities and slightly thickened, it is also suitable as a dip for barbecues, fondue or raclette.
Garlic substitute Asafoetida!
I'm a little sensitive to the use of garlic, but I really like the flavour, especially in a tomato dish. Asafoetida is therefore an excellent substitute for garlic. Asafoetida is the gum resin from the root of the ferula plant. In Indian cuisine, asafoetida is also known as hing. Asafoetida is dried and usually ground with fenugreek as a carrier substance for use in the kitchen. The spice has a strong, pungent, slightly sulphurous odour and is therefore similar to the taste and smell of garlic. Asafoetida helps with digestion, has a deflating effect and makes tomatoes more digestible. Use asafoetida very carefully, as the fenugreek in the spice powder is very bitter and the dish can quickly become too bitter as a result (my own "bitter" experience!).
Ayurveda, tomatoes and the seasons
To maintain health and balance, it is advisable to eat seasonally. Tomatoes in winter are not good for our health and should be avoided outside the summer season. The tomato is a nightshade plant and should not be consumed in excess according to Ayurvedic principles. Tomatoes contain a lot of histamine and can lead to intolerances if eaten in excess. When I started to study Ayurveda, the principles and the composition and effects of food, I suddenly realised a lot of things. I had been eating very carelessly. It was like an eye-opener and I realised why my health wasn't really good. Tomatoes are a good example. I didn't realise how often I cooked something with tomatoes. Pasta with tomato sauce, tomato puree in soup etc. When I started to reduce my tomato consumption, I felt better very quickly. Now, when I enjoy tomatoes in summer, I have no problems.
I mainly eat seasonally, i.e. I don't buy blueberries, strawberries etc. in winter and am all the happier when the time comes to either pick these little fruits myself in the garden, receive them as gifts from dear neighbours or pick them up at the weekly market. The philosophy of Ayurveda also includes respecting and appreciating food and making a conscious choice. Nature gives us what we need most at the time of year.
An ideal evening soup for autumn. It goes perfectly with Chapati.
This soup contains all the Ayurvedic flavours: sweet, sour, salty, hot, bitter and tart. Do you know which of the ingredients belongs to which flavour? Try it out and enjoy this harmonious soup.
How did this recipe come about?
Many of my recipes are created very intuitively and with ingredients that I have on hand. That's also how this evening soup was conjured up. I still had some celery stalks, a few apples and fennel, which I hadn't quite used up for my vegetable lasagne a few days earlier. So the vegetables were in front of me and I first asked my body what it wanted. The answer was immediate: "I definitely want something to bite into". So, my body is not satisfied with just soup. However, as I always have to be very careful what and how much I eat in the evening, I prefer a light soup. Soup and something to bite on? You can find out how it turned out below!
How important is the consistency of the food
Ayurveda is always about balance and equalisation. If you have too much fire, you need water to put it out. If something is too dry, it also needs to be balanced with water. If there is too much wind, it needs earth and so on. The consistency of our food is also linked to the elements, the doshas and our own personal constitution. You can find more information about this on my Kitchen sound page.
Nature of the food and digestion
Digestion plays a very important role in our well-being and health. Food is of course one of the main factors in the functioning or non-functioning of our digestion. Other factors are our personal Constitution, the individual composition of the elements in our body and our mental/psychological attitude and lifestyle. I can also influence my bodily fluids with the texture and consistency of my food. For example, if the stool is rather dry and tends towards constipation, the food should have a watery and creamy consistency. With these basic principles, you can contribute a great deal to your health. If you would like to find out more, please send me an e-mail or ask your questions in the comments section.
This dish is a wonderful way to get in the mood for the cold season. It connects you to the lower cauldron - your three energy centres. It is about savouring the sweetness of life, retreating into the belly of Mother Earth, cultivating introspection and connecting with All That Is. Colours are also very important when eating, as they have a direct connection to your energy centres. You can find more on this topic in my blog.
What are energy centres?
There are 7 main energy centres, which are also called flames or chakras. From bottom to top starting with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Each individual flame/chakra is connected to the physical body and also has a strong effect on our soul life and our spiritual experience.
The flames are divided into 3 so-called cauldrons. The lower cauldron with red (root chakra), orange (sacral chakra) and yellow (solar plexus) is the cauldron of joy of life. You can feed the cauldron with everything that is good for you, what you love and, of course, with good food.
The second and middle cauldron is the cauldron of vocation and illuminates the heart chakra with the colour green. What is my calling? What am I burning for? What do I like to do? You feed this cauldron with passion and food that is connected to the heart.
The third and upper cauldron contains the chakras blue (throat chakra), indigo (forehead chakra/third eye) and violet (crown chakra). This is about the spiritual, the connection, thoughts, personal expression. You feed this cauldron with good thoughts, meditation and light, vegan food.
Pumpkin from an Ayurvedic perspective
Pumpkin has a sweet, bitter and tart flavour and contains the elements water and earth. It increases the KAPHA dosha and balances the VATA dosha. Autumn and early winter with their storms move VATA and like to bring us into imbalance. The flavours sweet, sour and salty can help to weather the storms. You can find out more about energies and doshas on my Kitchen sound page. In combination with the dates, figs and rice, this pumpkin dish gives us cosy warmth and the sweetness of life.
How did this recipe come about?
I completed my Ayurvedic cookery training with Gabriele Sitaram Sabnis, who runs Ayurveda training and courses together with Nicky Sitaram Sabnis. Nicky has written many Ayurveda cookery books together with Gabriele. This recipe is a suggestion from his cookery book: "Mindful Ayurveda Cuisine".
I always like to get ideas from cookery books, especially from Gabriele and Nicky, whose knowledge of Ayurvedic cuisine is very comprehensive. With these ideas, I go to my cookery studio and compose my own variation that is meaningful to me and my fellow diners at that moment.
Chapati are an ideal accompaniment to an Ayurvedic meal or in the evening with a warming soup to reduce VATA.
What exactly is chapati?
Chapati is a flatbread that is preferably baked with wholemeal flour. It is baked in a pan without oil or fat. I like to use fine flour and not wholemeal flour. I am always trying out different flours, such as spelt flour, emmer flour and kamut flour. So far they have always turned out well.
Where do chapati come from?
Chapati originally come from North India and have made their way around the world. They are part of every Indian meal and have a delicate, soft flavour and are very easy to make yourself with just a few ingredients.
What do chapati have to do with Ayurveda?
Ayurveda has its roots in India and therefore also influences the cuisine, which is why chapati is often associated with Ayurvedic cuisine. However, Ayurveda is at home all over the world and cannot simply be equated with Indian food. The Ayurvedic philosophy can be applied to any cuisine and if you browse through my recipes, you will find recipes from all over the world that are harmonious and Ayurvedically rounded.
What do chapati go with?
I particularly like chapati with soups of all kinds. They are lighter than sourdough bread and fill the stomach sufficiently in the evening without weighing you down. Chapati can also be wonderfully filled with all kinds of sauces and baked just as well in a casserole dish in the oven. There are no limits to your creativity. I like to brush the chapati with ghee, which gives them a slightly nutty flavour. Ghee is particularly good for reducing VATA and PITTA dosha. You can find more information on the doshas here.