Gita Ramesh’s culinary book talks about the deep connection between food and Ayurveda, the ancient science of healthy living

ayurveDa IS the world’s oldest known medical science, which originated in India over 5,000 years ago. Not just a healthcare system, Ayurveda is a lifestyle that promotes general health and well-being. Based on the five main natural elements around us, treatments aim to create holistic health. According to this system, what we eat and how we eat has a strong bearing on our health.

Ayurveda suggests a vegetarian diet incorporating fresh ingredients to attain maximum benefit from therapies. The Ayurvedic Cookbook by Gita Ramesh is a guide to Ayurvedic culinary practices. In Ayurveda, every human being is a unique combination of five elements provided to us by Mother Nature — water, earth, fire, air and ether. In Ayurveda there are three primary life forces in the body or three biological humours. These are called Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Vata denotes ether and air, Pitta stands for fire and Kapha is water and earth.

Ramesh’s book details various recipes to suit all body types — Vata, Pitta or Khapa. With the aim to offer a balanced diet and maintain a healthy lifestyle, the recipes are included keeping in mind one rule — food should be high in nutritional value, medicinal value and also retain its flavour. Ayurveda believes that the foundation of life is in the phrase “you are what you eat”. This is even more relevant in today’s ready-to-eat and takeaway era.

With few books available that target a medicinal approach to cooking, the USP of the book is that it details the nutritional and medicinal value of every fruit, vegetable and spice used in daily life. However, the book does not elaborate what foods are good or not beneficial for the three types of constitution elaborated in Ayurveda. But the book scores big with a 14-day diet plan with detailed recipes, which will enable and hasten weight-loss by eating right.

The Ayurveda Cookbook also offers recipes for foods that are simple, fresh, organic and easily digestible. These recipes renovate simple cooking into an intuitive and holistic experience and offer you the much-needed break from routine cooking. The best part is that even one with little cooking skills can follow the simple and amazing recipes of this book.