Maharishi Ayurveda Recipes: Pasta Courses

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Food is considered an essential component of Ayurvedic health care. In many ways, delicious food is considered ‘medicine’ in Maharishi Ayurveda. An expert Ayurvedic consultation almost always includes modifications to diet and the inclusion of certain types of foods and certain tastes at specific times. In the Maharishi Ayurveda model of health, foods are medicinal influences in themselves, and expert Ayurvedic practitioners recommend them regularly. The Ayurvedic dietary cupboard is full of a wide and delicious variety of foods that include grains, vegetables, nuts, fruits and spices. As modern research is showing, diet can play a significant role in restoring health and a growing list of scientific studies are pointing to the therapeutic value of both foods and spices. Ayurveda has embraced this principal of health for millennia. Please consult your physician for specific recommendations for your health needs.

The following recipes are offered as easy delicious health-supporting tools for your best health.

The Three Seasons of Pasta

Pasta tossed with sautéed vegetables, besides being delicious, is about as fast as Ayurvedic fast food can be. Great for dinner and a lovely lunchtime meal with cheese and nuts added, pasta with vegetables is my first and last resort when mealtime calls and cook time is in short supply. Here are three seasonal vegetable combinations. They all contain tri-doshic elements: asparagus in spring, French beans in summer, and fennel in winter, so you can create each mixture with the types of oils, pastas, and additions that are most balancing for you.

Additions to Toss with Pasta with sautéed vegetables:

  • toasted nuts and seeds
  • sautéed tofu, Panir, or seitan cubes
  • pesto
  • red pepper purée
  • grated Parmesan cheese
  • dabs of cream cheese or chevre, added to the vegetables while cooking
  • thick coconut milk, added to the vegetables while cooking
  • Maharishi Ayurveda churnas (Ayurvedic seasonings) — Kapha, Vata or Pitta

Reprinted with permission from Heaven’s Banquet by Miriam Kasin Hospodar

Summer Pasta for Pitta
4 servings

From the wonderful summertime bounty of fresh vegetables and herbs, here is a combination that nourishes and balances Pitta and would be equally balancing for Kapha. Because of the oil, it could also be considered within range for Vata. The mint should be minced to smithereens, as the leaves can be a bit coarse.

Step 1

  • 1/2 pound (230 g) dried pasta shapes, such as penne, small shells or orecchiette

Step 2

  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) organic olive oil or Ghee
  • Pinch of hing (optional)
  • 2 cups (200 g) French or green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
  • 3 cups (320 g) zucchini or other summer squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced
  • Liquid seasoning or salt

Step 3

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Pinch of hing (optional)
  • 3/4 cup (90 g) dry bread crumbs
  • 3/4 cup (180 ml) finely chopped fresh basil
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) minced fresh mint
  • Black pepper

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain. Heat the Ghee or oil with the hing in a skillet over low heat. Add the French or green beans, cover, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the zucchini or summer squash, sprinkle with liquid seasoning or salt, cover, and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Heat the second amount of oil in a skillet. Add the hing and sauté for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the bread crumbs and sauté, stirring constantly, until golden brown and crisp. Add the basil, parsley, mint, and a sprinkling of black pepper, and stir. Toss with the pasta and vegetables. Adjust the seasoning.

Spring Pasta for Kapha
4 servings

Slicing snap pea pods brings out a different personality in the vegetable than leaving them whole.

Step One Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound (230g) — dried fettuccine or linguine or 1 pound (500g) fresh

Step Two Ingredients:

  • 2 cups (240g) — snap peas, stringed and cut into thirds
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) — sunflower oil
  • Pinch of hing (optional)
  • 2 1/2 cups (375g) — asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces
  • 4 cups (350g) coarsely chopped arugula
  • Liquid seasoning or salt
  • Black Pepper

Directions:

  1. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain.
  2. Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet. Add the hing and sauté over medium heat for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the vegetables. Sprinkle with liquid seasoning or salt and pepper to taste, cover, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender, stirring a few times. Toss with the pasta. Adjust seasoning.

In general, serve salads during hot weather, when their cooler temperatures can help balance Pitta. Chilled ingredients extinguish the digestive fire, Agni; room temperature is a wiser choice.

The Vaidya’s Salad
4 small servings

Here is a delicious, satisfying grated salad that was developed by a traditional Ayurvedic doctor, a vaidya, to serve in very small amounts at lunch. The proportions of the ingredients are flexible; this is a basic guideline.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (90 g) — finely grated carrots
  • 1 cup (240 m) — sprouts
  • 3/4 cup (70g) — finely grated beets
  • 1/4 cup (30g) — finely grated daikon radish
  • 3 tablespoons — minced fresh basil
  • 3 tablespoons — minced fresh parsley
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons — minced fresh ginger

Toss all the ingredients together.

Recipe is reprinted with permission from Heaven’s Banquet, by Miriam Kasin Hospodar, April, 1999.

Summer Pasta with Cream Sauce

  • 2 Tbl. Organic Maharishi Ayurveda Ghee with Lemon, Dill & Thyme
  • 2 Tbl. olive oil
  • 3 large zucchini (cubed)
  • 1 Tbl. Organic Maharishi Ayurveda Pitta Churna
  • 1 Tbl. rubbed sage
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 pint thick coconut milk (not cream)
  • 16 oz. shredded skim mozzarella
  • 6 roma tomatoes
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • 2 oz. Parmesan (grated)
  • 16 oz. ziti, rotini or fusilli cooked until al dente

Combine ghee and olive oil in a large frying pan and bring heat to medium high. Add pitta churna, sage and salt and cubed zucchini and sauté on medium for four minutes, stirring constantly.

Add water and (coconut milk) and cover. Return to high until mixture boils and then reduce to medium heat and cook for 10 minutes until slightly reduced in liquid. Add three chopped Roma tomatoes, cover and simmer for an additional five minutes. Remove from stove. In a large casserole dish, spread the cooked pasta evenly. Gently pour the cooked zucchini and cream mixture on top of the cooked pasta.

Grind pepper to taste over the top then add the shredded mozzarella.

Finally, garnish with the last three Roma tomatoes (sliced) and the Parmesan.

Cover casserole tightly and place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Winter Pasta for Vata

4 servings
A julienne of carrots and fennel tossed with Ginger Gremolata. Whole wheat pasta offers a nice color contrast to the fennel. If fennel is not in season, substitute slivered celery or even julienned green beans. (Don’t worry about the fennel tops — I just like to utilize them if the fennel bulb has been gracious enough to provide them). You can toast fennel seeds in the toaster oven, which works perfectly when you watch them like a hawk. They go from lightly toasted to burned in seconds.

Step One

  • 1 pound (500 g) fresh linguine, fettuccine, or spaghetti or 1/2 pound (230 g) dried

Step Two

  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) oil
  • Pinch of hing (optional)
  • 2 cups (180 g) carrots, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths and finely julienned
  • 3 cups (330 g) fennel stalks, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths and slivered lengthwise
  • Up to 4 tablespoons chopped fennel tops (if on the fennel bulb)
  • Liquid seasoning or salt

Step Three

  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Ginger Gremolata (recipe follows)
  • 1/2 cup (50 g) slivered pecans, lightly toasted
  • Black pepper
  1. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain.
  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add the hing and saute for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the carrots, fennel, and fennel tops and sprinkle with liquid seasoning or salt. Stir, cover, and cook until tender, stirring occasionally.
  3. Toss the vegetables, fennel seeds, lemon juice, Ginger Gremolata, pecans, and a sprinkling of black pepper with the pasta. Adjust the seasoning.

Ginger Gremolata
Gremolata is a flavorful garnish for soups and stews as well as for pasta. Everything should be very finely minced — a whirl in a food processor is a good final step.

  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 cup (240 ml) minced flat-leaf parsley

Mix all the ingredients together.

Reprinted with permission from Heaven’s Banquet
by Miriam Kasin Hospodar