top of page

The Āyurvedic Kitchen

Wisdom from the Indian Kitchen

A little history!

  •  Āyurveda is a Sanskrit compound word and formed from two words 'Āyu' and 'Veda'. Āyu translates as "life, vigour, health, vital power, active power, efficacy" and 'Veda' translates as "knowledge of". So Ayurveda is the "science of health".

 

  • The golden age of  Āyurveda from 800BCE to 1000CE produced many medical treatises of which 3 are considered seminal to Ayurveda - the Suśruta Saṃhita from early centuries BCE, whose author was Suśruta. The Caraka Saṃhita, 1CE whose author was the physician Caraka,  and Vāgabhatta's Aṣtangahṛdayam in 5CE

 

  • In the Indian intellectual tradition, Āyurveda is classed under Śāstra or sciences, and is classified into eight further divisions.

    • Internal medicine

    • Ophthalmology and ENT

    • Surgery

    • Toxicology

    • Psychiatry

    • Paediatrics

    • Proto-chemistry

    • Fertility

 

  • Two schools of  Āyurveda helped in transforming it into a verifiable and classified system:

    • School of physicians

    • School of surgeons

 

  • Surgical techniques like rhinoplasty, kidney stone extractions and extractions of foreign objects from patients and sutures was common.

 

  • Detailed writings on building hospitals and equipment for practicing medicine and nursing were outlined in the Caraka Saṃhita,.

 

  • Veterinary sciences were also written about and practiced with some famous treatise like Śālihotra Saṃhita -care for horses. Other Saṃhita included medicine and care for elephant, cattle and science of birds and hawk training.

 

  • Translation of  Āyurvedic Texts into Tibetan and Chinese around 400 CE.

 

  • A large number of Sanskrit medical, pharmacological and toxicological texts were translated into Arabic in 7 and 8CE. 

Now the science!

Āyurvedic Man, Wellcome Trust

​

  • Its philosophical structure is close to the two major philosophical schools - Vaiśeṣika school(atomistic pluralism) and  Sāṅkhya school(ontological dualism).

 

  • The system is individualistic and holistic. Treatment in Āyurveda is aimed at both the organic physical body as well as the subtle nature of the mind. So to live a healthy life the approach is to be integrated.

 

  • The 'universe is' divided into 5 categories starting from  subtle - 'space' to gross - 'earth'.

    • Space

    • Air

    • Fire

    • Water

    • Earth

 

  • All life on earth consists of these five categories, both organic as well as inorganic.

 

  • These five categories combine into three basic energies:

    • Vāta - space and air

    • Pitta - fire and water

    • Kapha - water and earth

 

  • Āyurveda further identifies three universal qualities:

    • Sattva - stability, wakefulness, purity, essence, clarity and light.

    • Rajas - dynamic movement, active force

    • Tamas - inertia, ignorance and heaviness

 and its philosophy!

  • Connections exist between the individual and the larger living systems. The microcosm of the individual represents the macrocosm of the 'universe'. Maintaining an equilibrium between these two is the goal.

 

  • Food plays an important role in achieving this balance. Food is elevated to being therapeutic for both mind and body and not just a source to stay alive.

 

  • The job of food is to strengthen the individual energy, calm the mind, strengthen and moisten the body and reduce accumulation of watery and mucoid substance and other toxins.

 

  • Ayurveda categorizes its foods into individual properties. Foods are understood as heating or cooling, heavy or light, oily or dry etc., and intake is suggested according to therapeutic tendencies of the food product.

 

  • Digestion plays a central role in Ayurveda. It is the 'engine room' of the body and a healthy gut keeps the body strong.

 

  • As there are many layers of understanding, pragmatism and moderation is stressed. Avoid extremes.

Did you know?

  • The word chutney comes from the Āyurvedic categorization of consumable foods and their effects on the digestive process. Ayurveda divides foods into four categories:

    • Foods that are swallowed easily

    • Foods that are licked(Sanskrit root-word 'chut' to lick)

    • Foods that need less chewing

    • Foods that need longer chewing

 

  • According to Āyurveda the six tastes produce certain emotions when consumed. This connection of food to feeling, is used to balance or correct emotional state of being.

 

  • The primary function of spices in Indian cuisine is to improve digestion through secretion of digestive enzymes, and when used in special decoctions, like my Āyurvedic chutney(Aavleha), have medicinal and therapeutic effects.

 

  • Sugar processing (granulation) was first carried out in India more than 2000 years ago.

"from food are born all creatures. Food is the chief of all things, the universal medicine"

​

Taittriya Upanishad

" a healing diet gladdens the heart, nourishes the body and reinvigorates the mind"

 

Suśruta  

"the body is constituted of food. hence one should take wholesome food only after careful examination and should not indulge in unwholesome ones out of greed or ignorance

Caraka Samhita 

Ushma Williams 

bottom of page