Welcome To The Recipes Page
These are the recipes we prepare for our Panchakarma patients so they are ideal for anyone wishing to detox. There are three sections: Mung & Lentil Recipes, Vegetables and Soups - just scroll down to see them all. You are welcome to print them out or copy and paste to your own document. We hope you enjoy them.
DETOXIFYING MUNG & LENTIL RECIPES
Beans and lentils are essentially seeds and their purpose is to stay in tact in order to grow into plants. For this reason they contain protective substances which can make them hard to digest. In some people these substances may aggravate the gut unless they are prepared correctly. Whenever you cook the following recipes please prepare the beans/lentils as follows:
1. Soak the beans/lentils in water with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar for 12 hours.
2. Rinse thoroughly in clean water.
3. Cook the beans/lentils slowly on a low heat until they begin to dissolve. They will retain their nutritional value but will be more digestible.
YELLOW MUNG DAL KITCHARI
½ cup yellow mung dal
¼ cup basmati rice
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsweetened, shredded coconut
Small handful of coriander leaves, chopped
½ cup water
1½ tablespoons of dairy ghee
½ teaspoon of turmeric
½ teaspoon of rock salt
4 cups water
Wash mung dal and rice until water is clear. Put ginger, coriander and coconut in a blender with the ½ cup of water and liquify. Heat ghee on medium in large saucepan; add blended items, turmeric, salt and stir well.
Mix in mung dal and 3 cups of water and boil uncovered for 5 mins, turn down to a simmer, cover and cook until dal starts to become tender, about 15 - 20min, stir well.
Sprinkle rice on top of the dal; ensure there is sufficient water for rice to cook. Cover and cook gently for a further 6 minutes, until rice is tender. Do not stir once the rice is added or it goes all mushy. When rice is cooked, gently fold it into the mung mixture. Makes two hearty portions.
NB: Kitchari is not good the next day so only make enough for one day at a time.
YELLOW MUNG DAL & VEGETABLE BHAJI
1 cup yellow split mung dal washed
1 cup chopped vegetables i.e. carrots, sweet potato, green beans
3 cups water
2 tablespoons coconut
1 tablespoon of ghee
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
½ teaspoon of black mustard seeds
1 small handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 pinch of hing
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
In a saucepan, put the dal, vegetables, coconut and water. Cook partially covered until the dal and vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Stir frequently to keep from sticking.
Heat the ghee on a medium heat and add the mustard and cumin seeds. Stir until the seeds pop, then mix in the coriander and hing.
After a minute add to the mung dal mixture to the spices. Stir in the turmeric and garam masala powder. Simmer for a couple of minutes and serve.
GREEN MUNG BEAN DAL
1 cup of green mung beans
4 cups of water
1 dessert spoon of ghee
½ tsp ground black pepper
¾ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp hing
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon grated fresh root ginger
2 grated carrots
Heat ghee in a pan and add all spices and carrot. Saute for 2 or 3 minutes and then add half a cup of water, mix well and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the soaked beans to the spices and add boiling hot water and the fresh root ginger. Don’t add salt at this stage, as this makes the beans tougher and therefore take longer to cook. For one part mung you need at least four parts water. Leave to bubble away for 30-40 minutes, adding water as necessary. Slowly the beans begin to soften and break up. Continue to cook until all the beans are soft and liquid portion has taken on a darker colour.
Once the beans are well cooked and soft, add the rock salt to taste and continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes. If the taste is too bitter add a teaspoon of raw brown sugar. Serve with fresh coriander leaves and ghee.
HEARTY LENTIL & VEGETABLE STEW
1 cup of green lentils
½ onion, chopped fine
2 large carrots, chopped into small chunks
4 sticks celery, chopped into small chunks
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped into small chunks
3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
½ teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
2 teaspoons vegetable bouillon
Wash the lentils twice and put in a large pan with plenty of water. Bring to the boil and turn down to simmer – cook for about 40 minutes. The lentils soak up the water so keep checking to see if you need to add more water. Drain lentils when cooked.
In a separate larger pot heat the oil on a medium heat and add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and turmeric. Add the onions until just softened and then add the carrots, celery and potatoes. Cover and cook gently on a low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the bouillon, the drained lentils and 4 cups of water to the veggies and stir well. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a gentle simmer. Cover pan and cook slowly for about 30 minutes. Add more water if required to get a nice sloppy stew.
RED LENTIL AND VEGETABLE SOUP
This is a quick but delicious recipe:
1 cup of red lentils washed
1 small onion finely chopped
1 small potato diced
2 carrots diced
3 whole sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 dessert spoon of ghee
1 litre Bouillon made with 3 tsps. of stock powder
Rocksalt
Gently saute the veggies in a little ghee for 5 minutes. Add the stock, lentils and rosemary, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer on a low heat for 20 – 25 minutes. Keep checking and add water and stir as required as the lentils may stick to the pan. When the beans are totally mushy and the veggies are cooked remove the rosemary sprigs, add a dessert spoon of ghee and roughly mash for a minute so the veggies are crushed. If you make it beforehand if you leave it to stand in the pan for a few hours it makes it even tastier.
TOOR DAL
Excellent high protein, strengthening food. This is a much more fiddly recipe but is perfect if you want something special. If you get the spices right it is a delicious, rich combination of sweet, sour and salty so it is particularly good for Vata.
1. Prepare tamarind
Soak ¼ block of wet tamarind in just enough warm water to cover and leave to soak for at least an hour or soak overnight. When soft, squidge it with your hand and remove the stones and grissly bits. You should be left with a small quantity of thick pulpy liquid. You need about 2 tablespoons. Do not use the dried blocks tamarind or tamarind concentrate. Ask for wet tamarind.
2. Prepare the dal
1 cup Toor dal washed
Water, enough to cover dal with 1 inch to spare
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 tsp turmeric
Put all ingrediants together, bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat until dal becomes creamy – add water as necessary but not too much. Usually takes about 40 minutes.
3. Prepare spices
Whole spices:
1/2 tsp kalonji (onion) seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
15 curry leaves minced
10 cardamom pods smashed
2 pieces cinnamon
Powdered spices:
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
¼ tsp hing
1 heaped tablespoon grated ginger
2 – 3 tablespoons tamarind juice
½ - 1 tablespoon of raw brown sugar
½ - 1 tsp rock salt
Melt a tablespoon of ghee in the small frying pan, add the whole spices and cook on a medium heat for a minute or two. Add the powdered spices, ginger, tamarind and a little hot water to keep it liquid. Mix well together, cover and simmer on a low heat for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and salt to taste – the emphasis should be on the sweet taste rather than sour or salty. Cover and simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes; keep watch over it add water as necessary.
Add the spice mixture to the dal, mix thoroughly and simmer for a couple of minutes. Serve with ghee and fresh coriander with basmati rice and steamed veggies.
WAYS TO COOK VEGETABLES
SUBJI
This method of cooking makes a lovely ‘gravy’ which nice and tasty and is the traditional Ayurvedic way to cook veggies.
Subji with churna – quickest method
Heat a teaspoon of organic cold pressed cooking oil, add a teaspoon of churna spice and about 100ml of water. Stir together and warm on a medium heat until it simmers. Add your veggies, mix well and cover. Turn heat down to a very gentle simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid and leave to cook for 5 – 10 minutes until veggies are tender.
Subji with other spices – slightly longer
Heat a teaspoon of organic cold pressed cooking oil, add half a teaspoon of mustard seeds and half a teaspoon of cumin seeds. Cook for a minute until the seeds start to pop. Smash a dozen cardamom pods and remove the seeds. Add the cardamom seeds along with spices a teaspoon of turmeric, a teaspoon of coriander powder,1/4 tsp of hing, a small piece of cinnamon bark, rock salt and pepper and 100ml of water. Mix the lot together. Add your veggies, mix well and cover. Turn heat down to a very gentle simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid and leave to cook for 5 – 10 minutes until veggies are tender. If you are cooking spinach, you need only leave it to cook for a minute so that it is only just wilted.
As you learn to cook this way, you can experiment by adding your own favourite spices. The point is this is a quick, healthy and delicious low fat way of cooking veggie curries without the usual high oil content.
BRAISING
This is a slow method of cooking which is great if you have a timer on your oven so that the meal is ready when you get in. Get a cast iron casserole dish with a tight fitting lid. (Ikea is cheapest). Oil the bottom of the dish with organic cold pressed cooking oil. Add your favourite veggies: a combination of chicory, fennel, sweet potato and red pepper works really well but you can also use turnip, swede, carrots, leeks, celery etc. Drizzle with a little more oil and add 3 tablespoons of water. Season with salt and pepper and put lid on. Put in oven at gas mark number 5 or 180 degrees for about 1¼ hours. If you are late coming in it’s OK because this dish keeps nice for ages after the oven has been switched off.
STEAMING
Steaming is great too as long as you make sure the veggies are properly cooked.
ROASTING
Roasting is OK and is best used for root veggies. Root veggies have a high sugar content so people with Kapha issues really don’t want to have roast roots or roast potatoes more than once a week. Use ghee instead of oil when roasting.
DETOXIFYING SOUP RECIPES
We make these soups for our patients during Panchakarma Retreats and they are all quick and easy with the help of a good blender. The stock we recommend is Marigold Bouillon and specifically the organic, vegan one which you can find on Amazon.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH & GINGER
1 Butternut squash peeled and cubed
2 sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
1 inch fresh root ginger cubed
½ tsp. allspice
1 litre of Bouillon made with 3 teaspoons stock powder
Gently saute veggies in ghee for 10 minutes. Add stock and ginger and simmer for 20 minutes or so until soft, add to blender with allspice and blend of full power for 1 minute.
RED LENTIL & VEGETABLE
This is a quick, delicious and more substantial soup recipe:
1 cup of red lentils washed
1 small onion finely chopped
1 small potato diced
2 carrots diced
4 whole sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 dessert spoon of ghee
1 litre of Bouillon made with 3 teaspoons of stock powder
Gently saute the veggies in some ghee for 5 minutes. Add the lentils, stock and rosemary sprigs, bring to the boil, and cover and simmer on a low to medium heat for 20 – 25 minutes. Keep checking and add water and stir as required as the lentils may stick to the pan. When the beans are totally mushy and the veggies are cooked remove the rosemary sprigs, add a desert spoon of ghee and mash the soup roughly with a hand masher so the veggies are crushed. Add a desert spoon of ghee If you make it beforehand if you leave it to stand in the pan for a few hours it makes it even tastier.
SPINACH/KALE
1 large red onion finely chopped
2 large carrots
4 sticks celery
1 potato cubed
1 litre of Bouillon made with 3 teaspoons of stock powder
1 large bag of washed spinach or kale
Saute veggies in ghee for 10 minutes. Add stock and simmer for 20 minutes until soft. Add to blender with raw spinach and blend for 1 minute on full power. If you want kale soup, just add the kale to the veggies with the stock.
THAI SWEET POTATO & SPINACH
2 sticks lemongrass
1½’ ginger root
1 large red onion
1 clove garlic
3 sweet potatoes
1 bag of spinach
1 litre of Bouillon made with 3 teaspoons of stock powder
Juice of ½ lime
Finely chop the lemongrass, ginger root, onion and garlic; gently sauté in a little ghee for 5 minutes. Add the sweet potato and Bouillon, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until veg is soft. Switch off the heat, stir in the spinach and add the lot to the blender and blend for 1 minute on full power. Add lime juice before serving.
PARSNIP SOUP
5 parsnips peeled and cubed
1 large onion
1 clove garlic crushed
2 tsp. medium curry powder
1 litre Bouillon made with 3 teaspoons of stock powder
Saute onion and parsnip in ghee until soft but not brown – about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder and garlic stirring constantly for 1 min. Add the Bouillon, stir and bring to boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Blend on full power for one minute.