Maharishi Ayurveda Recipes: Beverages

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Barley Water

This water mixture is usually recommended by Maharishi Ayurveda experts for someone who has low agni (slow digestion). It is very easy to assimilate and nurturing for fat tissue which in turn makes good quality bone tissue.

  • 2 Tbsp cracked barley or barley flour
  • 2 pinch salt
  • 4 cups water

Combine above ingredients and cook for about 15 minutes so that it is some what overcooked. Use a filter or strainer to obtain barley water. If you use cracked barley instead of barley flour, you will need to place the mixture in a blender for a few minutes prior to straining.

  • For Vata body type: add 1/8 tsp whole cumin to barley mixture while cooking.
  • For Pitta body type: add 1/8 tsp fennel to barley mixture while cooking.
  • For Kapha body type: add 2 thin slices fresh ginger to barley mixture while cooking.

Buttermilk

Why buttermilk?

First of all, this buttermilk is very different from what we call buttermilk in the West. This recipe is often used to restore the beneficial bacteria — a unique and difficult task. It is very good for assimilation and provides an excellent source of crucial digestive microbes.

Ingredients for one serving:

  • 1/4 cup fresh cold yogurt (make your own fresh when possible for great results)
  • 3/4 cup purified cold water (cold is important)
  • 1/4 tsp. Cumin powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Coriander leaf (also called cilantro)
  • 1 pinch of rock salt (sea salt is an acceptable substitute

Directions:

Blend yogurt by itself on low for 3-5 minutes. Then add cold water to yogurt. Blend again on low for 3-5 minutes. Collect and discard the fatty foam on top. Repeat blending and remove further fatty foam if yogurt still seems thick or solid white (should appear watery but cloudy in color when finished). Add the three spices/herbs and stir by hand briefly, just enough to mix the spices evenly. Serve at room temperature.

Lassi

Why Lassi?


Lassi (pronounced “LAH-see”) is simply fresh yogurt blended with room temperature water. Whereas yogurt by itself can clog the channels of the digestive and elimination systems, once it is transformed into lassi it actually aids digestion. Thinning yogurt with water and blending it changes the molecular structure so it is more easily assimilated. Drink it before or with lunch.

Sweet Lassi:
Blend to taste:

  • 1 part cold yogurt
  • 3 parts water
  • Pinches of cardamon, sugar and rosewater

Digestive Lassi:
Blend to taste:

  • 1 part cold yogurt
  • 3 parts water
  • Pinches of ginger, cumin, salt and black pepper

Date Milk Shake

Ingredients

  • 4-5 whole dates (Medjool varitey or similar is best)
  • 1 cup whole organic milk (preferably not homogenized)
  • 2 pinches cinnamon powder

Instructions

  • Boil milk until it foams once.
  • Turn off heat:
  • Put milk, cinnamon and dates in automatic blender.
  • Blend until dates are ground fine.
  • Serve warm in winter, room temperature or slightly cool (not cold) in summer or if a strong Pitta imbalance exists.

Rose Petal Recipes

Rose Petal Preserve
Organic rose petal preserve can be added to milk or to sweet lassi to make a delicious summertime drink. Try these recipes.

Rose Petal Milk
1 cup milk
1 tsp. organic rose petal preserve

Be sure to boil the milk and let it cool before adding the conserve. Boiling the milk makes it more digestible, but if it’s too hot when you add the conserve, it will destroy the rose’s delicate properties. You can drink this before bed to help balance Sadhaka Pitta and produce a more restful, sweeter, deeper sleep.

Sweet Rose Petal Lassi
3 parts water
1 part freshly made yogurt
1 heaping tsp. organic rose petal preserve

Blend together for a soothing summer drink,
or to pacify Pitta all year round.

Rose Petal Thirst Quencher
If you are feeling the effects of the hot summer sun, have to skip a meal for some reason, or naturally have Pitta dosha predominating, it can be challenging to keep cool. Any time you feel extra thirsty and dry-mouthed, even when you keep drinking water, try this summer thirst quencher.

2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. fennel
1 pod cardamom seeds (crushed but not powdered)
1 small piece of licorice root
1 Tbsp. organic rose petal preserve

Boil milk and other ingredients, except the conserve, for five minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Mix in one tablespoon of organic rose petal preserve. Sip the milk throughout the day. If you are lactose insensitive, you can use water instead of milk.

Detoxifying Tea

  • Boil two quarts of water in the morning.
  • Add 1/4 tsp. whole cumin, 1/2 tsp. whole coriander,
    1/2 tsp. whole fennel and let steep for ten minutes with the lid on.
  • Strain out the spices and pour water into a thermos and sip throughout the day. Start fresh by making a new batch of tea in the morning.