How to Quickly Prepare Vegetables According to Ayurveda

Ayurvedic cuisine uses a lot of veggies. For this reason, it's important to know how to quickly prepare them. Read our tips for quick veggie prep here!

Vegetable Prep According to Ayurveda

Ayurvedic cooking calls for mostly cooked vegetables as raw vegetables sit heavily in the stomach and are also difficult to digest. If you really want to eat raw vegetables, it is best to eat them in the summer or at lunch time, when Agni, the digestive fire, is the strongest.

In the Ayurvedic tradition vegetables are often pan cooked in ghee or steamed in a little water. Cooking time is also reduced by adding salt to the water.

Here are a few basic recipes for making Ayurvedic vegetable dishes!

A Basic Sauce Goes with Any Vegetable

Add a teaspoon of turmeric and some ghee to a pan and heat it up on the stove. Next, add water, sliced vegetables, and half a teaspoon of coriander powder, chilli powder, cinnamon and cardamom. Mix in a good handful of almonds and add salt and a little unrefined sugar, to taste.

Basic Vegetable Recipe

Choose a portion of the vegetables you want to use, then wash them and cut them into slices. Add ghee and mustard seeds and cumin seeds and cook them all together in a pan on the stove. When vegetables are well done, add salt, turmeric, and a little chilli powder - this simple seasoning will add flavour but allow the natural flavours of the veggies to shine through.

Dark Green Leafy Vegetable Recipe

Toast two tablespoons of sesame seeds in a pan until golden brown and set aside. Then, sauté 4 servings of chopped green leafy vegetables in ghee, adding two chopped cloves of garlic and about a teaspoon of chopped ginger. Afterwards, add the toasted sesame seeds and salt.

Three Doshas Vegetable Curry

Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a pan, add a teaspoon of cumin, mustard seeds, ajwan and a pinch of asafoetida. When the seeds start to pop, add turmeric and cayenne pepper, then four servings of chopped mixed vegetables (to taste) and season with salt. Stir well. Then turn down the heat and let everything simmer covered with a lid. Stir well, then stir again after five minutes and then simmer for another fifteen minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Arrange on a plate and garnish with a lemon wedge.