Winter recipes by Holliea Fairleigh, our Ayurvedic Practitioner
1- Ayurvedic Detox Soup
A simple, easy-to-digest Ayurvedic cleansing soup, It cooks in no time so is by far the easiest approach. It is also a perfectly balanced meal for your body. It will strengthen digestion, detox and will also stabilize your blood sugars. it is a very simple soup designed to give your digestion a break. I love taking this with me in a thermos for the day ahead.
Ingredients. The amounts below are per person. If cooking for two, double the recipe.
1 carrot, chopped
1 large sweet potato
2 zucchini, chopped
2-3 Celery Stalks chopped
1/4 Broccoli
8 cups boiling filtered water
1 tbs ghee or Coconut oil
1/4 tsp turmeric powder or fresh
1 pinch asafoetida/hing (optional)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 inch of fresh grated ginger
1 tsp garam masala (make your own - equal parts cumin, fennel & coriander seed ground in a spice grinder)
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon to taste
Coriander leaves and hemp seeds to sprinkle on top (optional)
Directions
Warm a large pot and melt 1 tablespoon of Ghee or coconut oil. Add and fry Ginger and spices.
Add sweet potato, Carrot, zucchini, celery, and broccoli, and lightly fry before slowly and carefully adding the water.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Blend if you wish to make it easier to digest. Top with lemon, coriander, and a sprinkle of hemp seeds.
2- Kitchari ~ HEALING Begins in the gut
Ayurveda says that healing begins in the gut. Kitchari is easy to digest and gives your system a break. Especially during Autumn, winter, and spring, detox and nourish your body with warm soups, root vegetables from the earth, and Kitchari.
In India, Kitchari is a warm dish made from white rice (easier to digest then brown rice) , mung dhal, and spices, it is considered to be a fasting food.
Eating Kitchari 3 meals a day for 3 days will create a mono diet and detox the body by purifying the digestive tract. By having simple,warm, easy too digest, regular, same meals : allows the body to cleanse toxins rather then focus on digesting complex meals.
The combination of white rice and mung dhal is a complete protein that nourishes while detoxing the body.
Ingredients
2 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter available in Indian section or health stores) OR coconut oil for vegan
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 small onion (chopped finely)
2 tsp each of seeds or powder; cumin, turmeric, coriander, and 1tsp fennel.
2 cups yellow moong Dahl (or yellow split mung beans)
1 cup white Basmati rice
4 cups filtered water (if using a pressure cooker) or about 6 cups (if using a regular pot).
sea salt, Himalayan or black salt to taste
Garnish: Fresh Coriander, Lemon Juice, 1 tsp ghee. salt and a sprinkle of hemp seeds (for garnish)
Directions
1. Soak dahl & rice for 12-2 hours. Wash & drain ready for use.
2. Heat ghee or coconut oil on medium heat, using either a pressure cooker or a heavy-bottomed pot.
3. Add onions & cook until golden.
4. Sauté the seeds in the oil until golden or the seeds pop.
5. Add powdered spices & salt & cook for 1 minute
6. Add dahl & rice & mix well.
7. Add water & cover. (If using a pressure cooker, fasten the lid on and turn the heat to high, let full pressure build-up. Let pressure release twice. Turn off the heat & let rest for 15 minutes.
If using a regular pot, cover and bring it to a boil on high heat. Then turn the heat down and let it simmer until both the rice and dahl are mushy.
8. Garnish: Top with 1/4 fresh squeezed lemon, fresh coriander or cilantro, Ghee, black pepper to taste and Hemp seeds for amino acids .
3- Warm Detox beetroot smoothy
Ayurveda teaches us to live with the seasons and in autumn, winter and spring to have warm cooked meals. fruit can be hard to digest depending on your body type and may cause gas and bloating, cooking your fruit with spices is a great way to aid digestion and get nourishment and a sweet kick.
The red colour is an important colour for blood nourishment, and it moves the lymph to detox winter stagnation.
Beetroots being a blood tonic and a liver detoxing makes them the perfect modern women's healing plant ally. Beetroot can be hard to digest when uncooked like all root vegetables so ensure you cook the beetroot for its full healing benefits.
Ingredients makes 1.5 litres for two people
3 apples
2 beetroots
Big pinch of raisins
3 medjool dates
1 clove
1 inch diced ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
Directions
Put ingredients in a pot (except hemp seeds, cinnamon & cardamom ) and cover with boiling water, cook until soft. Add some water to your blender (I used 400ml) and add all the ingredients from your pot, powdered spices, and hemp seeds. Blend and sprinkle more cinnamon on top if you like it.
We hope that you enjoy this weeks recipes and look forward to sharing more with you each week.
Bright Blessings
Your Ubuntu Community
Wow yum, thanks for sharing💚🙏🏼