The Art of Ayurvedic Cooking

Cooking is a very common yet an essential activity. We become what we eat. The freshness and quality of food has a very strong impact on our lives. Mother Annapurna is the goddess of food and nourishment. In Ayurveda, the food is not just a meal for the stomach — it is considered very sacred.

The parameters of Ayurvedic cooking

For Ayurvedic style cooking, there are certain parameters one should be aware of.

1. Fresh grown vegetables. The vegetables used in cooking should be fresh. No refrigerated vegetable is to be used.
2. Locally grown vegetables. Every local region has its own kind of soil, water and weather, and some vegetables are the easiest and most commonly grown there. So we should cook using local vegetables, rather than transporting them from a place far away.
3. Organic herbs and spices. For the best experience one should really grow herbs and spices in one's own garden — but in today's world that is not possible for most people. So they should try to get herbs and spices grown organically. We should not use chemically forced grown spices and herbs.
4. Washing. Every vegetable used in the cooking should be washed with warm water.
5. The quantity of herbs and spices. An appropriate quantity of herbs and spices will help maintain the body's vitals, and it will also add a flavour to the taste.
6. Appropriate heat for effective cooking. The heat plays an important role, because it is an energy — an energy which helps transform. Perfect accuracy of heat is needed to keep the food from being raw, or from being overcooked.

Food that holds its prana

The food that is cooked contains prana — energy — and the prana stays in it only so long as it remains hot and fresh.

Avoid keeping food in the refrigerator and eating it again. In Ayurvedic cooking, always remember to cook only as much as you can consume. No food should be left to be kept in the fridge.