Publisher's Synopsis
In this lactose-vegetarian cookbook, Delicious Ayurvedic Cooking there are two basic sections, Part I: The Cuisine of: India: and Part II: International Cuisine. The cuisine of India is an ideal cuisine for a balance vegetarian diet. The cuisine of India is a byproduct that has evolved out of a tradition of healthy living that incorporates a holistic understanding of our relationship with the universe. A few expressions from India's Vedic tradition that express our relationship with the universe is "know thy Self", "The nature of life is bliss", "The universe evolves out of bliss is sustained in bliss and dissolves back into bliss", "The purpose of creation is the expansion of happiness". These Vedic expressions describes the nature of life and our natural desire to be in the bliss that is natural to life in ourselves and in whatever we are doing. This cookbook uses foods that are Sattvic; there are three types, Sattvic, Rajasic or Tamasic - Vedic Sanskrit expressions for Nourishing, Stimulating and Dulling. This cookbook favors the use of Pure sattvic - nourishing ingredients and traditional dishes and cooking methods. It is good to know the different food qualities and their influences are and this cookbook offers this experience and knowledge in a simple way. Learning Ayurvedic cooking came with cooking for meditation courses for a non-profit education organization with a special interest in the cuisine of India. Ayurvedic Cooking is a natural expression of a balanced nutritional vegetarian diet that supports a more blissful integrated mind body experience. These recipes are a culmination of my years in India and learned many things about cooking from people from all around the world. With this and a natural intuition about combining different ingredients in a way that create delicious tasting dishes I was able to create many delicious recipes. Which I kept track of these creations over the years and have put those recipes into this cookbook. Recipes always needed some adjustments accordingly to replace ingredients that are tamasic or rajasic with Sattvic ingredients that support a more balanced integrated mind body experience. Creating a dish came from a combination of situations, a good imagination, intuition and adjusting to the circumstances, using ingredients that where available locally fresh or in season. The experience in this cookbook comes from a growing knowledge of Ayurveda and cooking that has come with over 40 years of my involvement with meditation groups and the cooking traditions of India. Now I would like to share what I feel is a unique experience and knowledge of cooking that has evolved from the Vedic principles of healthy living, a timeless tradition of knowledge that comes from India that will complement anyone's knowledge or abilities as a cook whether they are professional or cooking for a family or few. The talent for cooking also comes from my upbringing, my mother was a fabulous cook, even though I did not learn from her directly, her delicious cooking inspired my culinary creativity. With the cuisine of India, and its many tastes, and flavorful dishes, it is an ideal cuisine for a learning balanced nutritional vegetarian cooking. Therefore the first half of this cookbook is dedicated to the cuisine of India.
