Simple-Ayurvedic-Vegetable-Soup
Winter is making our daily routines more and more challenging by bringing on unwanted colds and flu. So, what’s better than a warm tridoshic vegetable soup to combat the negative effects of seasonal change?
As vegetables are a rich source of vitamins and nutrients, Ayurveda recommends serving light meals which comprise of large amounts of vegetables during winter. As children have weaker immune systems, it is especially important that they have a large amount of vegetables in their diet during this season. When you’re eating these vegetables alone, it tends to have a specific calming and stimulating effect on the doshas. For instance, carrots are famous for pacifying Vata and Kapha but may aggravate Pitta due to their heating quality. Therefore, by cooking these vegetables together with Ayurvedic seasonings, a soup which boosts the immune system of all dosha types is produced. In Ayurveda, this soup is often described as being “Tridoshic”. Not only does this tridoshic soup allow you to experience authentic Ayurvedic cuisine, but it also provides a healthy dose of iron, calcium, magnesium, and beta-carotene.
Relevant ingredients
• 4 cups of mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans etc)
• 8 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 6 whole pepper corns
• 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
• 10 cloves
• 10 cardamom pots
• 2 tablespoons of ghee
• 1/ 2 teaspoon of salt
Preparation
• Wash and cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
• Put the vegetables and water in a soup pot. Cover and cook on medium heat until just tender.
• Set aside in a bowl.
• In the mean-time grind the cumin seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and cloves to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle. You could also use a blender.
• Heat a soup pot on medium heat and add the Ghee, then the group spices.
• Sauté a moment while being careful for not to burn them.
• Add the vegetables and 4 cups of the broth.
• Boil for 2 minutes.
• Stir salt and serve.
Please note that this serves for 4. Enjoy our simple tridoshic vegetable soup!
