Spices are used in Ayurveda for 3 main reasons:
To aid in digestion
To make your food taste AMAZING! When the tastes are balanced in your food, you end up with such a satisfying feeling and you really enjoy the food. It’s the opposite of eating something highly flavoured that leaves you wanting more and more - like salted, buttered popcorn. Balanced food leaves you with a feeling that you can’t quite put your finger on or express in words, but somehow you know that the food has brought you completely into the moment and nourished you on every level.
Balancing Ayurvedic Spices
Balancing the spices does not mean putting equal amounts of everything into a dish, rather pairing the spices with the vegetables or fruit that you are cooking and taking the seasons, time of day, time of life and your general health into account too. With a little practice, you will learn how to use Ayurvedic spices to create flavourful, nourishing and easily digested food.
The main traditional spices used in Ayurvedic cooking are:
Coriander
Cumin
Fennel
Turmeric
Cinnamon
Ginger
Cardamom
Mustard
Spices As Medicine & To Aid Digestion
Most people have heard the old saying about letting food be your medicine. This is very true in the Ayurvedic tradition. Spices have been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic cooking to kick-start the appetite, support digestion and help the body breakdown and eliminate toxins. All this magic happens when the spices are blended in combination in a harmonious relationship with your food instead taken in isolated quantity as prescribed by the nutraceutical industry. Learning to use the traditional spices, or even better, the equivalent herbs and spices that grow near you is one of the most important things that you can do for your health. Become an alchemist and take your eating experience to a whole new level.
Buying, growing, storing and using Ayurvedic herbs and spices
Herbs are pretty and if you are like me, you will be SO PROUD of your herb and spice collection. It’s my pride an joy! But sadly, it’s best not to show them off on the countertop in a glorious glass display…the light is not good for them, it breaks the oils down and renders them ineffective and much less tasty. If you are growing them yourself, try to grow and dry them annually. If you are buying them, try to buy them in small amounts and always store them in the dark.
.A pestle and mortar is fun to use and is a lovely ritual once you get going with the herbs and spices. You can often find them in second hand shops too.
Play around with the spices, get a few Ayurvedic recipe books or google some Vegan Ayurvedic recipes. Keep experimenting with the flavours, textures and colours. Try new things and most importantly eat mindfully and see how things make you feel in the moment and after you’ve eaten them. Keep choosing the things that make you feel great after you have eaten as well as the ones that give you the greatest pleasure selecting, preparing and eating.
Learning to use the herbs and spices is a journey, once you become familiar with them, you will be able to cook intuitively and without tasting or testing. But, like everything, it’s best to enjoy the journey and start where you are now, one recipe at a time!