Ayurveda Cooking Class with Jodi Adams
Food is medicine. Combinations of herbs and spices with seasonal vegetables can help one to find balance and ease in digestion. Reacquaint yourself with many of the herbs and spices that you may already be familiar with in a new way. Join Jodi Adams, Certified Yoga Instructor and Ayurveda Yoga Specialist, in April's virtual cooking class as she guides you through the foundations of Ayurvedic cooking traditions, spice blending, and mindful, seasonal recipes. Tune in to the live class via Zoom and cook along in your own kitchen using a pre-portioned Co-op class kit. By the end of the class, participants can enjoy a full meal made from scratch. The class menu includes:
- Kitchari (pronounced kich-uh-ree): a complete meal intended to nourish and rejuvenate that combines basmati rice with split yellow mung bean, ginger, and a balanced blend of spices.
- Ghee: clarified butter, an essential component of Kitchari
- Vata Churna: an assortment of culinary spices that will be toasted and blended to flavor the food and traditionally used to ease stress, promote good digestion, and create harmoney in the body and mind
- Seasonal greens, roasted sweet potatoes, and other fresh garnishes like avocado and cilantro
- Churnas can be thought of as a first line of medicine.
- They can balance out the dosha without causing other doshas to come out of balance.
- Use them with your Kichari, on veggies, sprinkled over rice and beans, on eggs, etc.
- For this class, we will be using the Vata Churna. Scroll to the bottom for additional churna variations.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wash potatoes.
- Peel potatoes (optional).
- Slice potatoes into 1/2" rounds.
- Toss with melted ghee and coat with the churna.
- Place potatoes on a cookie sheet or roasting pan. Cook for 10 minutes. Check for tenderness. Turn potatoes over and cook for another 10 minutes or until they reach your preferred tenderness.
- Rinse and drain the yellow mung beans and the white basmati rice 3 times.
- Heat ghee in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
- Saute the mustard and cumin seeds until you hear them pop.
- Stir in the mung dal and salt. Then stir in the rice, churna, and ginger.
- Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat, cooking for 3 minutes.
- Turn down the heat to a simmer for 20-30 minutes until the moisture is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.
- During the last 5 minutes, add the spinach and cook until it wilts.
- Serve warm with optional garnishes such as chutney, cilantro, Bragg's Amino Acids, and avocado.
- Cut the butter into cubes and put in a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Allow the butter to melt without stirring.
- When all of the butter has melted, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally.
- As the butter turns into ghee, you will see 3 layers develop: a foam will form on the top, the middle will turn clear, and the milk solids will fall to the bottom.
- Use a spoon to skim off the residual foam while the ghee is cooking.
- After 25-30 minutes the ghee should be clear and aromatic.
- Turn off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. Discard the foam.
- Carefully pour the contents through a coffee filter into a glass bowl or jar.
*The ghee will be bright and golden in color. As it cools, it will turn more opaque or lighter yellow.
*Ghee can be stored in airtight jars in a dark cabinet out of sunlight for months, or longer in the refrigerator.
Additional Churnas
- 1-5 tablespoons ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1/4 tablespoon black pepper
- 1/4 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/4 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 tablespoon fennel
- 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon