Ayurvedic Food, a traditional way of cooking and using the ingredients which are fresh and has many health benefits. It is a way of cooking recipes and guides for every dosha constitution - vata, pitta, and kapha. Therefore, we thought of making a simple Salad recipe which is Ayurvedic and has a lot of health benefits.
Khamang Kakdi, a Maharashtrian Salad which is very easy to make and need a few day to day ingredients. It has ingredients like Cucumber, Curd, Coconut, Curry Leaves, Peanuts and Green Chillies, each one having its own health benefits in Ayurveda. It is great for the dosa, Pitta which is related to heat. This Salad is great to make during Summers, as it provides hydration and also helps you from the scorching heat.
What You Need To Make This Salad:
- 2 Cucumber, Peeled and Chopped
- 1/2 cup Fresh Coconut, Peeled and Chopped
- Coriander Leaves, as required (chopped)
- 3 tablespoons Roasted Peanuts, skin removed
- 3 tablespoons Curd
- 1 Green Chilli, finely chopped
- Salt, to taste
After combining these ingredients, you can eat it on its own, or add a tadka/tempering to this Salad which adds more flavour and taste to this Salad.
FOR TEMPERING:
- Cooking Oil, as required
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon Asafoetida
- 1 sprig Curry Leaves, roughly chopped
We all have heard of 'Cool As The Cucumber' which means consuming Cucumber helps you to cool down your body. According to Ayurveda, Cucumber is great at pacifying the pitta dosha, and Pitta is the Dosha associated with heat. It is highly used in Ayurvedic treatment to cure hydration problems, headache, insomnia and many other problems. It is also used to cure skin problems as it acts as a cooling agent in the treatments. And cucumber being the main ingredient in this Salad, we all know how it can help you to cure such problems.
Wash the cucumbers nicely. Peel the skin and cut the cucumber in small pieces and add it into the bowl.
After the chopped cucumber, we will add curd into the bowl and mix it properly. Curd, Yogurt or as it is called Dahi is the only "fermented" food recognized as sattvic by ayurveda. It has many benefits according to Ayurveda such as decreased bloating, relief from both constipation and diarrhea and other stomach related problems. Also it is considered good to have Curd in the form of a popular Drink, as it is light and helps in intestinal comfort after a meal.
Next, we will add finely shredded coconut, as it gives more flavour and taste. It is one of those food items which is highly regarded in Ayurveda. Coconut when used in the food gives a cooling effect on the body and a sweet post-digestive effect. It balances pitta and vata but we should not have it in excess as it can aggravate kapha.
Next, we will add Green Chillies, Roasted Peanuts and Coriander Leaves to this bowl. While Green Chillies gives it a spicy taste, Roasted Peanuts adds a crunch to this Salad and Coriander Leaves gives a fresh taste to it. Green Chillies has a lot of Ayurvedic benefits such as it is rich in antioxidants and high in Vitamin E and Vitamin C. It is also great for diabetic people and a must to include in your diet.
Roasted Peanuts, in moderation are excellent for pacifying Vata. It is also rich in Protein but too much of Peanuts can cause you Digestive Problems.
Whereas Coriander Reduces Skin Inflammation, controls Blood Pressure, provides Calcium, controls Diabetes and also aids digestion.
After mixing everything properly, you can serve it on its own or give a tadka to this Salad, which gives it more taste and flavour. Add salt to taste and mix agai. Now for the tadka, we will heat a little oil in the tadka pan. One it is mildly hot, add in the mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds starts to crackle, switch off the gas and add it in the Salad, Mix well and serve it.
