This is an organic and growing section (no pun intended…). I am daily adding new recipes so please keep checking. Photos are also gradually being added, when I remember to take them! Please do email us with any recipes you love and want to share; I’ll add them on and, of course, credit you.
Here are some simple, quick and healthy family Ayurvedic meal ideas, some with recipes (click on the links) and some that you can easily make up by yourself. They are not all 100% perfect but maintain a good compromise of Ayurvedic principles and keeping children happy! There is a strong emphasis on ‘hidden’ vegetables (especially spinach) in a few of them due to children but if you are cooking for grown ups, please be more adventurous!
Try to mix up the types of protein used within the week, as well as a good mix of carbohydrates and vegetables.
Vegetarian Main Courses – Pulses
Cleansing mung bean soup with steamed green vegetables
Kichari (rice-mung stew)
Pinto beans & spinach with brown rice
Roasted vegetables & homemade hummus (it really is simple and quick!)
Pesto beans (cannellini beans with home-made non-dairy pesto) with vegetables, potatoes
Mung dal/ Coconut dal / lemon dal with brown rice, dark green leaves salad/ steamed vegetables/ or add some vegetables such as courgette or beans to the dal near the end
Green lentil and vegetable curry with brown rice
Coconut chick-pea curry with brown rice
Vegetable chilli without any chilli!
Vegetarian Main Courses- Other
Saag-aloo-paneer (kale-potato-paneer curry) with spelt naan, chapatti or pitta breads
Wheat and dairy free pesto pancakes with steamed vegetables and minted potatoes
Homemade spelt gnocchi with a sauce (e.g. pesto) and steamed veg
Ma Po tofu (or soft tofu in any type of sauce) with steamed vegetables and brown rice
Homemade spinach pesto with spelt pasta
Beetroot curry with brown rice
Butternut and spinach curry with brown rice
Tamarind egg curry with rice
Masala dosa with vegetables
Baked potato, goats cheese, some dark leaves salad or steamed vegetables on the side
Vegetable pasta sauce (made with lots of sweet vegetables, some green such as corguette and as little tomato as makes it tasty, some stock and blended)
Risotto (examples: peas, beetroot, squash, fish)
Omelette (with finely chopped vegetables)
Fried rice (with, for example, cashews, pumpkin seeds, egg or tofu)
Roast vegetables and quinoa
Tofu stirfry with rice noodles or mung bean noodles
Meat and Fish Main Courses
Smoked mackerel pasta with peas and spinach
Indian Mince with basmati rice or homemade spelt naan and vegetables
Baked salmon or some chicken sausages, baked sweet potatoes, squash and other vegetables
Fish pie (pastry or mashed potato topping, broccoli and fish inside, sauce made with stock or coconut milk, not cow’s milk)
Smoked haddock, garlic & corguette with white rice
Coconut Chicken (chicken stew using coconut milk as the liquid), quinoa, barley cous cous/ white rice
Keema (goat mince, potatoes, peas)
Ayurvedic Desserts
Sugar-free banana cake (also wheat-free)
Other recipes
Sourdough spelt loaf in bread-maker
Simple buckwheat pancakes (gluten free)
Ayurvedic Buttermilk (Takra/Lassi)
Making self-raising spelt flour
Green smoothies: simple & universally-liked, creamy & child-friendly and fresh & zingy
Recipe Books
I highly recommend buying a few cook books from those recommended here. Don’t worry too much about reading all the information about Ayurveda in there, sometimes it can just result in confusion! If in doubt, stick to your prescription. There are some great recipes in these books. Whenever they mention the option of wheat or other grain, always use the other grain (e.g. spelt). If they add chilli, just do the recipe without these.
Another useful couple of cook books are It’s All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow and Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.
It’s All Good (Gwyneth Paltrow)
Some recipes from this book which look good from an Ayurvedic perspective:
Classic Pesto
Scallion + Mint Pesto
Pumpkin Seed Pesto
Sweet Potato + Five-Spice Muffins
Millet-Fig Muffins
Anchovy + Lemon Dressing
Beet, Fennel + Apple Soup
Broccoli + Arugula Soup (aka Any-Vegetable Soup)
White Bean + Swiss Chard Soup
Spicy Sweet Potato Soup with Chipotle + Coriander
Perfect Herbed Grilled Chicken
Salmon Burgers With Pickled Ginger + Coriander
Steamed Fish with Soy + Spicy Sesame Oil (use Tamari instead of Soy)
Grilled Salmon With Grilled Lemon Vinaigrette
Carrots with Black Sesame + Ginger
Asian Greens with Garlic, Ginger + Fish Sauce
White Bean Puree with Turnip + Roasted Garlic
Roasted Romanesco with Aioli + Fried Capers
Perfectly Cooked Quinoa
Super-Healthy Kosheri
Risotto with Peas + Greens
Brown Rice Pasta with Tuna, Olives, Fried Capers + Parsley
Stir-Fried Brown Rice with Nori + Black Sesame
Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Scallions + Parsley
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Kale Chips
Bummer Bars
Flourless Anything Crumble
Almond Butter Cookies with Maldon Salt
Instant Berry + Coconut Sherbet (Or Frozen Pop’s)
Plenty (Yotam Ottolenghi)
Some recipes from this book which look good from an Ayurvedic perspective:
Spicy Moroccan carrot salad
Parsnip dumplings in broth
Sweet potato cakes
Black pepper tofu
Banh xeo
Roasted butternut squash with sweet spices, lime and green chilli (without the chilli)
Tamara’s ratatouille
Multi-vegetable paella
Shakshuka
Broccolini and sweet sesame salad
Lentils with grilled aubergine
Chard and saffron omelettes
Green pancakes with lime butter
Mee goreng
Soba noodles with wakame
Broad bean burgers
Warm glass noodles and edamame beans
Avocado, quinoa and broad bean salad
Lemon and aubergine risotto
Barley and pomegranate salad
Pasta and fried corguette salad
Saffron tagliatelle with spiced butter
Photo of spices thanks to Free Digital Photos.net