Ayurvedic Healing Cuisine

I am a vegetarian for ethical reasons and I enjoy cooking. There are a few cookbooks that I turn to from time to time for concepts and ideas. Recipes are how you learn to cook but as you get cooking, you learn what it is that makes your food taste good or feel good (we have all had meals, hopefully not at home, which left us feeling sick afterwards). I wanted to get some understanding of Ayurvedic principles underlying traditional Indian vegetarian cooking. I am not at all religious and some small parts of the book strike me as a bit unscientific in explaining why something might work or not. However, other parts of Ayurvedic theory of medicine make sense to me. What do I expect this book to do for me? I am already an experienced and good cook so I don't expect to learn new recipes. I bought this book because I wanted to know about Ayurvedic ingredient combinations that are optimal as well as to gain some knowledge of cooking for particular conditions (say stomach problems, chills...) which we are faced with in our daily lives with our families. And this I think is a unique contribution. The fantastic North Indian vegetarian recipes are just icing on the cake. I think any cook (vegetarian or otherwise) and those interested in holistic living should have this book in their collection.Here are the contents of the book:Editor's NoteIntroductionPart 1 An Introduction to AyurvedaCh 1 Principles of AyurvedaCh 2 Balanced NutritionCh 3 Foods and Their Healing PropertiesCh 4 Guidelines for Preparing and Eating FoodsCh 5 Food and the Cycles of NatureCh 6 Food and ConsciousnessPart 2 The RecipesCh 1 Introduction to the RecipesCh 2 SnacksCh 3 DalsCh 4 Savory Rice DishesCh 5 Vegetable DishesCh 6 Paneer DishesCh 7 Yogurt DishesCh 8 SaladsCh 9 CondimentsCh 10 BreadsCh 11 Desserts and Sweet Fruit CreamsCh 12 BeveragesAppendicesApp A Menu CombinationsApp B Recipes for Children and the ElderlyApp C About MilkGlossarySources of SupplyIndex

Ayurvedic Healing Cuisine has some delicious recipes but this book is only useful if you are an experienced cook and have plenty of time. Last night I made the Kofta recipe on p.83. Delicious, but 2+ hours prep time. I am an ex-professional cook (western style) and new to Indian & Ayurvedic cooking. This book sat on my shelf for 3 months until I developed skills to use it. Also, the instructions simply don't work. The Chila recipe on p. 104 needs water added to the batter to make it thin enough to pour. Nowhere in the instructions. The Kofta recipe was impossible as written. I had to "wing it". The results were delicious, but both recipes needed "tweaking" or they would have ended-up as compost instead of on the table.For beginners and for recipes with 20-30 minute prep times, I recommend Usha Lad's book. Hers is hands-down the best beginners book for ayurvedic and Indian cooking. You can use her recipes right from the book exactly as written.In spite of its flaws as a cook book, Ayurvedic Healing Cuisine has great material on Ayurvedic principles including seasonal menus and food correspondences for days of the week. Very worthwhile for serious students of ayurveda.As a cookbook, you must deal with flaws:1. elaborate recipes with no prep times listed (I estimate 1-3 hours for many of them).2. Recipes which require soaking ingredients a day in advance - pretty normal for Indian food BUT it would help if this info was presented on top instead of buried 3 or 6 lines down as: "Surprise! You can't cook this today!"3. You must possess sufficient cooking skills and appetite for experimentation to TWEAK the recipes, because they don't work as written.In spite of these difficulties, both recipes I cooked were yummy and healthy and it gets easier the 2nd time if you keep notes or remember how you tweaked the recipe to make it work.

Exactly as advertised.

The front part of this book has really excellent information on Ayurveda in general. The recipe section, however, has no information or recommendations about which dosa should or should not eat the prepared food. This might be confusing for someone new to Ayurveda and daunting for someone just looking for recipes that are dosa specific. It is, however, a classic and will be a part of my Ayurvedic reference library.

The theory on Ayurveda which covered the first 70 pages or so was very comprehensive. The recipes I feel were written largely for western consumption. As an Indian and living in Australia it did not cover the range of vegetables available here. I will recommend this book for any vegetarian

I am just getting interested in Ayurvedic healing & food so found this book very helpful.It was quite amazing to how I have been ready my body correctly according to the information in this book.Would like to read more of this author's books.

I found this cookbook very difficult to use. Although the author's background is quite interesting & he certainly brings an authentic perspective to the table, so to speak, he did die before 70 and the 40-day milk fasts seem like a bit of a radical idea. I also found it difficult to apply the recipes based upon the dosha type - which is really what ayurvedic cooking is supposed to be all about. All in all, a disappointment, although the author & editors obviously spent a lot of time compiling the contents of this publication.

Perfect book for someone who is learning the benefits of India spices for healing. So much information along with very good recipes.

ベジタリアン向けの、アーユルヴェーダの料理本です。和書では、アーユルヴェーダでよいとされる食材や、それぞれのドーシャに適した調理法などは見たことがありますが、レシピについては沢山載っているものがなかったので、USのアマゾンレビューで評価が高かったこちらを購入してみました。最初に、これはレシピブックですが、写真は一枚もありません。しかしながら、それでもあまりあるくらいいい本だと思います。乳製品を使用するものがあるので、ラクトベジタリアン向けです（はちみつはなし）。でも、パニール（インドのカッテージチーズ）や、ヨーグルトを利用するレシピは個別にまとめてあり、それ以外ですとスイーツをのぞいては乳製品を使用しないレシピがほとんどです。まだ２つほどしか作っていないのですが、作ったものは本当においしくできました。レシピのステップもあまり多くないので簡単です。ただ、慣れていない人には、使用スパイスが多いものもあるので、少し大変かもしれません。適当に省ける人は、省いていいと思います（ほんとうは指示通りの方がおいしくて効果もあるのでしょうが）。USのレビューにもあったのですが、このドーシャにはこのレシピ、という指南はありません。でも、第一部のアーユルヴェーダの説明（先の人も書かれていますが、この本は二部構成：一部がアーユルヴェーダの説明、二部がレシピです）に、ドーシャや季節に適した食材が示されていますから、それからレシピを自分で探し出すとよいと思います。ドーシャの説明のほかに、食材のもつ性質、栄養学的特質が詳しく記載されています。さらには天体と食材、人体との関連や、食事を準備するときの心構えも書いてあり、アーユルヴェーダと食事について知りたい人で、洋書を（辞書を引きながらでも）読む人にはぜひ読んでほしいと思います。

この本を買ったのは今から約半年前でしょうか。アーユルヴェーダクッキングの本を読みたいとずっと思っていたので、3週間くらい待ちようやく本を受け取ったときの嬉しさは今でも覚えています。そして、そのふくらんだ期待に見事に応える充実した内容でした。「Ayurvedic Healing Cuisine」は2部構成になっていて、1部はアーユルヴェーダの解説で、2部がレシピです。アーユルヴェーダの解説は、トリドーシャの説明はもとより、スパイスや食材の持つ性質、さらには健康的な食事の為にした方が良いこと、避けた方が良いことなどが詳しく書かれています。中には「食べるときは東を向いて」など私たちの日常生活とはかけ離れたことも書かれていますが、それもまた面白かったです。肝心のレシピですが、200ものレシピが紹介されています。この本が素晴らしいのは、信じられないくらい簡単に作れるレシピが多いこと。そして、驚くことにそのどれもが美味しいことです。使用するスパイスは他の料理本と比較するととてもシンプルです。中には数種類のスパイスを使う料理もあるので、メリハリが効いていると言った方が的確かもしれません。色々と作っていくうちに、スパイス使いの基本から食材ごとの最適なスパイスミックスまで自然と身につきます。私はランチにお弁当を持参していますが、この本を参考にインド料理を毎日作っています。それでも飽きることなく、毎回美味しい料理を持っていくことができ外食していた頃よりランチは充実しています。ただ唯一の難点は南インド料理が扱われていないことです。最後に英語ですが、アーユルヴェーダの解説とレシピの英語は簡単です。食材の栄養などについて述べている部分では、たとえば「jaundice（黄疸）」など特殊な用語が出てきます。

States Onions and garlic are tamasic and proceeds to use them in almost every recipe

I am quite delighted with this book, being new to Ayurveda I have found it most informative and easy to understand. I heartedly recommend both the book and the seller who was very prompt in their delivery of the product.

good book, with lot of chemical names and technicalities, may not be necessary for ordinary user.Understanding, not able to understand in first instance.