Recipes for your Dosha

Recipes for your Dosha = The Chopra Centre

Pitta-Friendly Tabbouleh Recipe

One of the best ways to balance your dosha is with your diet. Pitta types have the propensity to get irritable and overeat if they let themselves get too hungry, so foods that provide a steady flow of energy—like vegetables, grains, and beans—are best.

Try this tasty tabbouleh salad recipe to sustain your healthy Pitta appetite for the long run.
Tabbouleh Salad (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 11/2 cups plus 1/4 cup vegetable stock or water
• 1 cup Bulgar wheat (cracked wheat)
• 1 teaspoon ghee or olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped leeks or onions
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers (fresh will also work well)
• 1 cup cubed zucchini / Courgettes
• 1/2 cup Great Northern beans (or any white beans), cooked and rinsed
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or other fresh herb
• 2 tablespoons finely sliced fresh basil
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

Directions:

• Bring the 11/2 cup vegetable stock or water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the Bulgar, stir with a fork.
• Remove from the heat, and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the Bulgar to soak for 15 minutes; then fluff with a fork and place in a large mixing bowl and let cool.
• Meanwhile, warm the ghee or oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.
• Add the leeks or onions and sauté briefly.
• Add the red pepper and zucchini and sauté for 2 more minutes.
• Add the cooked beans and sauté for another 2 minutes.
• Add the remaining 1/4 cup of vegetable stock (or water) as the mixture begins to dry out.
• Remove from heat and cool.
• Add the tomatoes, parsley, basil, mint, and olives to the cooled Bulgar and mix.
• Add the sauté mixture and combine gently.
• Finally, pour the dressing over the bulgur mixture.

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon apple juice
• 1 tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos or tamari
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions for the Dressing:
In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil. Whisk the mixture and then
continue to stir as you slowly add the olive oil.
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Bon appétit!

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​Vata-Friendly Pumpkin Soup Recipe

​Keeping tabs on what you eat is a great way to keep your dosha in balance. Vatas are more susceptible to digestive disorders than the other doshas so what you eat plays a big role in keeping your Vata dosha in balance.

This simple pumpkin soup recipe is made for Vatas. Since Vata is drying, cooling, and light, you should favour foods that are oily, warming, or heavy like pumpkin soup. Pumpkins are a winter squash with a sweet flavour that soothes the Vata dosha.

The cheerful pumpkin’s orange flesh is also packed with beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps improve immune function and reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. A cup of cooked pumpkin has just 49 calories, 2.7 grams of fibre, 567 milligrams of potassium, and 5,116 micrograms of vitamin A.

Very Simple Pumpkin Soup (Serves 4 to 6)
Ingredients:

• 1 large pumpkin (about 3 pounds), or 3 cups canned pumpkin (preferably organic)
• 11/2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon ghee or olive oil
• 1 cup chopped leeks or onions
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves, ground
• 2 to 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos or tamari sauce
• 1 cup vanilla almond milk (regular milk is also fine)
• Nutmeg for garnish

Directions:

• If using fresh pumpkin, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Wash the pumpkin, cut in half, and remove seeds.
• Place the pumpkin halves face down in a baking pan.
• Pour in the water and cover pan with foil.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the pumpkin pulls out easily.
• Let cool; then remove the pumpkin pulp from the rind with a spoon.
• Place into a bowl and set aside.
• You should have about 3 cups of pumpkin pulp.
• Heat a soup pot over medium heat and add the oil.
• Add the leeks and spices.
• Sauté for 4 or 5 minutes or until the leeks are translucent.
• Add some stock if the mixture begins to dry.
• Add the pumpkin pulp and continue to sauté for another 3 or 4 minutes.
• Add the aminos or tamari and brown the pumpkin pulp slightly.
• Add the vegetable stock to cover the pumpkin and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Using a hand blender or food processor, purée the soup to a smooth and creamy consistency, adding the milk as you purée the soup.
• Return the soup to the pot and reheat if necessary.
• Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Tip: Don’t throw away the pumpkin seeds.
You can make a tasty snack by roasting these hearty seeds, which are a good source of protein and zinc.
Bon appétit!

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​Kapha-Friendly Nutty Broccoli Soup

Recipe Nutrition and diet are great tools to help you keep your doshas in balance.

Since the Kapha dosha is heavy, oily, and cold, it’s important to favour foods that are light, dry, and warm. Foods with pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes are most beneficial for pacifying Kapha.

This delicious recipe is filled with ingredients, flavours, and spices that help balance Kapha, including broccoli, leeks, thyme, and pepper. In general, a Kapha diet should be lively and full of energy to help spark the digestive and metabolic systems.

As a Kapha, you should eat your largest meal at lunchtime and have a smaller meal at dinnertime. You should also allow at least three hours to digest your dinner before bedtime.

Nutty Broccoli Soup (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 large head of broccoli
• 1 teaspoon ghee or olive oil
• 1 cup chopped leeks or onions
• 2 teaspoons Braggs Liquid Aminos or tamari
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon dill
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped, or substitute
• 2 tablespoons almond butter for richer taste
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

• Cut the broccoli head into florets.
• Peel and chop the stalk.
• Heat the oil in a soup pot.
• Add the leeks, aminos, herbs, and spices.
• Sauté for 2 or 3 minutes, then add the broccoli and the finely chopped almonds.
• If you are using almond butter, add later.
• Sauté the almonds and broccoli, with the herbs and spices, for several minutes; stir frequently. Add the stock and bring to a boil (if you’re using almond butter, add it now), then reduce the heat.
• Simmer the soup until the broccoli is almost soft.
• Be careful not to overcook the broccoli.
• Let the soup cool for about 10 minutes, then purée with a hand blender or food processor. Reheat; then add the lemon juice.
• Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

Bon appétit!

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