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Dinner is a light and gentle meal according to Ayurveda. The dietary rules of Ayurveda say that a healthy individual can have three meals a day.
Among this, dinner or supper should be a small one. The expression ‘Eat supper like a pauper’, can be your guide.
Dinner should be light, easily digestible and small. It should be taken at the early hours of the night, between 6 and 7:30 pm.
What are the best choices for a healthy, homestyle Ayurvedic dinner? Let’s take a look.
1. Steamed Above-Ground Vegetables.
These include non-starchy vegetables like kale, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cucumber, and asparagus.
Tubers such as sweet potatoes are acceptable. Avoid potatoes, beets, carrots, and corn. Remember to choose the vegetables according to your dosha.
A Vata person, for example, can have a plate of baked and buttered sweet potatoes and green beans.
A Pitta person can favor asparagus, cucumbers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green leafy vegetables, pumpkins, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, okra, lettuce, green beans, and zucchini. A Kapha person can have sautéed cabbage or diced tomatoes.
2. Seasonal Fruits
A plate of seasonal fruits like apples, pears, apricots, and cherries with a pinch of cinnamon is perfect for Pitta.
Cantaloupe, peaches, dates, and coconut are great for Vata. Mango, peaches, persimmon and dried fruits like figs work well for Kapha.
3. Grains + Lentils
A small bowl of cooked rice (or any other grain) along with lentils chosen for your Dosha is a simple Ayurveda-approved dinner.
For Pittas, have quinoa or basmati white rice. Cooked moong beans with grated coconut are also great for Pitta.
Wheat, all types of rice, quinoa or oats are good for Vata. Oats, millet, quinoa, and basmati work well for Kapha.
4. Soup
A bowl of light soup like black-eyed pea or moong dal is good for Kapha.
Moong daal or toor daal soup is nice for Vata. In the case of Pitta, if given a choice between a soupy, liquid meal and one that is denser and drier, go for the latter. Have cooked or mashed dal rather than soup.
Try our Mom's Ayurvedic Soup - With Yellow Lentils and Ashwagandha , a protein-rich, nourishing, and filling savory goodness that will remind you of mom’s warm comfort food.
Make sure you eat fewer carbohydrates for dinner. To do this like an Ayurvedist would make the plate half-filled with cooked veggies, a quarter with whole grains and lentils, and a quarter with protein – like eggs, chicken, dal or soy protein.
Avoid red meat since it’s hard and difficult for digestion.
Drink a cup of warm milk with turmeric or saffron before bedtime.
Dinner and a cup of milk should have at least a 45-minute gap. If you have a milk allergy, you can substitute with almond milk or soy milk.
If you’d like to learn more about Ayurveda and nutrition, check out Todd Caldecott’s course on Holistic Nutrition below.
Ingredients
Directions
Stir together the potatoes, scallions, flour, eggs, salt, and pepper and set aside.
Heat the ghee in a skillet and pour the latke mixture into the pan with a ladle. Reduce heat to medium. Cook until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side.
Transfer to paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Serve warm. You can substitute the eggs with 1/4 cup of buttermilk or a commercial egg replacer.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the ghee in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Warm the seeds until they pop, and then add the veggies.
Sauté until cooked. Add the pepper, mint leaves and coriander leaves. Finally add cooked quinoa. Serve warm.
Lentil soup is a healthy and satisfying dish. It’s easy to fill up on lentil soup, which makes this especially good for Kapha types. It’s light on digestion and easy to assimilate.
Ingredients
Directions
Wash the lentils then soak them in 2 cups of water for one hour.
Heat 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker on medium-high heat. Add the soaked lentils, salt, turmeric, black pepper, ginger, carrots, green beans, celery, and tomatoes.
Close the lid. As the pressure cooker starts steaming turn the heat down to medium and cook for about 6 minutes.
Turn off the heat and wait until the steam has stopped before opening the pressure cooker.
Mix the daal well. If the dal is thick add more boiling water and make the consistency as you desire. This soup should be chunky.
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Rani
September 13, 2022
Please correct me if I am mistaken, but doesn’t Ayurveda tell us that fruit should be had during Pitta time, and not during the evening Sahdya Kala and specially no fruit after sunset?