Feeling like supermom on a weekday 2 ( Indian style)

Soooo it has been a long while. Projects are still going here, I just haven't had time to post.
Today though, was the day. And here I am.
I got home from work and I was craving some naan or indian bread. I follow a cool videoblog on youtube called Majulaskitchen and she makes awesome food.
So as I was mixing a batch of naan I thought, why not make some rice and a dish to go with it?
So Manjula has a very yummy yellow rice recipe, so I made that and then I googled a few recipes on one of my favorite Indian dishes, Saag Aloo, which basically means spinach and potatoes.
I always have spinach in my fridge and of course potatoes, I skipped the chilies on these recipes because my body type does not do well with spicy foods.
So here are a few pics and the links to Manjula's videos which are awesome.
Naan
Naan recipe by Manjula
Fried yellow rice
Fried Yello Rice by Manjula

And for the Saag Aloo I used

3 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
2 lbs fresh spinach chopped or baby spinach
4 potatoes cubed and previously boiled for 5 minutes.
2 tbsp cream or plain yogurt
Some people use chilies and lemon but I skipped both.

Fry the onions, garlic and ginger until onions look clear, add spices and cook until fragrant, add a bit of water if spices stick to the pan. Add spinach gradually letting it wilt to add more, cover and cook for 10 minutes, add potatoes and simmer for 10 more minutes. Add cream stir and serve with rice.

Valentina rolling out the naan, she was trying to make funny faces but I made her laugh.

Tadaaaaaaa!
That's all folks!!
Cheers and happy summer.

Indian food anyone?

So after a whole week of sickness here I have not been able to get much done, the couch still sits half way done in my living room and I have only done one small painting project this week since it was warm.
On the other hand I have done a lot of reading and as I mentioned on my last post I read my entire Ayurvedic cookbook.
Well after venturing to the Sprouts market for some new spices I did not own, I was set to cook my first Indian meal.
I was curious to use some of these spices I have never even heard of, I mean cumin and turmeric are regulars in my kitchen but fenugreek seeds? Hing? no clue what those were.
I had to relabel some of my old spice containers and I was set, good thing the Sprouts market sells most of these for $.99 an ounce, just in case I did not like some of them.
For the Hing ( white container) and the mustard seeds I had to go to an Indian store. But they were not expensive at all.

So after much reading I decided to make a simple vegetable curry ( tridoshic, meaning ok, for all body types)

Now the recipes call for like 2 teaspoons of each seed for most of these foods, since I was a bit skeptical as to what this would taste like I doubled the veggies and yogurt and kept the same amount of spices, it did turn out pretty mild but still very fragrant .
The recipe .

Vegetable curry

1 cup fresh green peas ( I used frozen)
1 cup carrots diced
1 cup potatoes diced
2 cups string beans or asparagus cut into 1inch pieces
2 tablespoons sunflower oil or ghee ( clarified butter)
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 cup yogurt ( I used whole milk one since I think it's less evil than soy)

Heat oil or ghee in a large skillet. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to pop add the turmeric. Then add all veggies and water ( if using frozen peas add at the end, when all the other veggies are almost done). Cook covered until veggies are tender about 15 minutes. Then add yogurt and rest of ingredients, stirring well. Simmer uncovered on low heat for another 15 minutes.
Serve over basmati rice.

Now there were a few procedures that were foreign to me, here. Like I never knew cooking with seeds adds more flavor and fragrance to the foods than using the powdered form, interesting but omg my house smelled wonderful after making the rice and frying the seeds for the curry! I loved it, my kids were like " Mom, what is cooking??" lol . I also did not know that adding the spices before the ingredients makes the flavor even richer and better, eh live and learn. I also would have never mixed 2 starches like potatoes and rice, but they were very good together.
The yogurt adds the cooling effect, especially for Pitta bodies like mine. Interesting.
If you are vegan use soy yogurt , I just do not eat anything soy, so I rather go for a good organic whole milk one or make my own but I did not have the time, so I bought it.
Beware, when the seeds start popping have the next ingredients ready or they pop everywhere and make a mess lol, yeah again, live and learn.

Here are the ingredients I used double the veggies, except the asparagus and I doubled the yogurt and the water, I kept the spices the same but could have used a bit more.

Here is the book if you care to check it out. My skillet turned yellow and even after I washed it, it has a tint to it , so maybe have a designated pan to cook with turmeric and curry since it stains a bit .
The result was very nice, a mild dish and comforting for a cold night.
Anyway let's hope this week is much more productive than the last and that we manage to stay healthy!
Cheers!

Eating right...?

So the weather has been so horrible that I thought I could finish my couch, but 2 days ago I broke the only tack strip I had and well since I am sick I have not been able to go and get more.
So as my couch still sits in the living room unfinished, I figured it was time to catch up on my reading. If you are my Facebook friend, you might remember these ...

 I bought a few books on Ayurveda and how to cook that way. I have been reading 3 of them at the same time ( yeah I get bored with just one, I'm a weird one).
I have always wondered how people in the eastern cultures keep their meals simple and use certain spices to make them more digestable.
Well after a week or so of reading, all I can say is OMG, we are doing it all wrong! LOL.
I think one of the problem in western cultures is that we think ok, fruit=ealthy, veggies=healthy, nuts=healthy and then we mix it all, and then well, they are no longer healthy for us.
As they say too much of a good thing, isn't a good thing anymore.
Let's take fruit for example. When I was little my dad always told me fruit, should be eaten alone, I have no idea where he got this concept, but he was right. I remember him doing fruit only days when he felt his body needed a break. And I repeat, he is one of the healthiest people I know, never goes to the doctor unless it is for a checkup every 2 years or so.
So why can't we eat fruit with other things you might ask?
Well Ayurveda explains it plain and simple. Fruit is very easily digested, so it is ideal as a snack and eaten one kind at a time if possible.
When we mix it with other foods, like fats, starches or protein, the fruit will not only stay in the stomach until the other foods are digested and passed down to the intestines, but will also ferment given the hot acid and wet enviroment in the stomach, and then produce fumes that will be absorbed in the colon later on. They can also give us gas and indigestion.
We can probably get away with some fruit in our meals if we eat it first, as it will be digested in the order it was received and hopefully not cause any problems.
So there goes the big fruit salads and the pancakes breakfast with mixed berries and noodles salads with apples. Sadness!
One other thing they emphasize is spices, they use specific spices to make foods better suitable for the different type of bodies we have.
They believe bodies are made from energy, 3 types of energy to be exact. And we all have different constitutions, hence we cannot all enjoy the same stuff without causing imbalance and disease.
Now we all know one diet is never good for all.
They give specific instruction as to what to eat for each body type and try and see how these foods sit with you, depending on the amount of the dominant energy "dosha" in your body.
I am a Pitta body type which indicates my body is mostly fire and water, so eating spicy, heating foods is not good for me because it aggravates the natural heat I already have. I am better off eating cooling and bitter foods to calm my fire. Pittas also are the only body types which can handle more raw foods than the other 2, given the strong digestion we have.
A raw food diet is never adviced, unless you are looking for cleansing or you are a Pitta type in the summer and you need cool foods to keep your balance.
One other thing they mention is that we have 6 tastes, sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent.
Taste, is the key to using this nutrition practically for any constitution for healing and balance.
Taste is divided in 3 categories, the taste we experience when we put something in our mouths, the effect this taste has in our digestion and the effect it has on our metabolisms.
Something bitter to the taste, has a cooling effect in digestion hence helping some body types like mine, some astringent foods like pomegranate or cranberries are good for Pitta as well and Kapha but not for Vata since they are a cold and dry body type.
They list most of the food categories and let us know what helps us with balance and upsets our systems.
I realized I had always eaten most of the wrong foods, liking spicy and sour foods most of my life, I always suffered from acid reflux, given that these foods have a heating effect on my digestion, hence aggravating my "dosha" with more fire. Not a good combination.
So ever since I discovered this ancient method, I eliminated those heating foods and I have never taken another antiacid pill. So simple, yet so hard to grasp for our complicated minds.
They have foods that are ok for all the body types and can be easily altered by adding heating spices like cumin or curry for Vata types since they need the heat for their cold bodies.
Beans for example are not for everyone, they provide many different ways to aid digestion when using these, to make them easier on the body and to not create a gas war.
Some of these foods take some preparation ( soaking beans for 3 to 4 days) but they will do the body good.
Here, we are so used to having it right here right now, we have sabotaged our own health in the process.
Ayurveda advices a mostly vegetarian diet, some body types can handle little amounts of meat but it can be aggravating for others, like mine.
I want to keep reading and introducing these foods into my life and hopefully see the effects of this nutrition.
Sometimes people look at me like I am crazy when I mention that I use foods to help my health, instead of medicine.
But I believe the simple ways always work. Instead of complicated amounts of vitamins and rigorous diets.
One thing they mention as well is, if we do not enjoy eating the foods we cook ( diets) our bodies will reject them and they will not have the effect we wanted.
So we should play around and adapt some recipes and use the food that upset our bodies sparingly.
I am thinking this would be a great topic for the ladies here on Fresh Start ( a group we have in our neighborhood).
I need to hit my herbal book to see if I can find a good tea for this nasty cold/cough I have and hope my kids will try it too.
Hoping for a better week!
Cheers