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Use of Spices in Food Preparation
There are two factors involved in proper nourishment. The first is to start with the proper food (organic, whole foods freshly prepared) and the second is to help Agni (the digestion, metabolism and tissue development processes) be maximally strong. Spices are the key to the second factor- transforming food into healthy tissue. For this reason the heavier foods you eat the more necessary it is to have proper spicing. Diets high in nutrition dense foods (fats, sweets, meat, desserts) require spicing or they will quickly lead to excess heaviness and clogging of the physiology.
How to Buy, Store and Prepare Spices
Because may of the active ingredients in spices are aromatic it is important to buy whole seeds rather than ground powders. When spices are ground in the factory they loose a lot of the aromatic compounds and continue to loose more as time goes by. Storing the spices in tightly closed glass containers helps the seeds maintain their potency. Seeds can be turned into powders right at the cooking time by places combinations in a spice grinder.
Spices also need help from heat to bring out their best qualities. Spices should be sautéed in oil or dry fried (placed in a frying pan that has no oil in it) before use. Normally you should add the seeds first to sautéing and then add the powders. Don't turn your back on the sautéing process as spices can burn easily.
A. Salt
Salt is one of the 6 basic tastes and some salt is needed in the diet. Ayurveda has very specific recommendations regarding the ideal way to incorporate salt into food. Salt should be cooked into the watery portion of dishes. This is better than sprinkling it on at the table or sauteeing it with spices. Instead add it to soups while they are cooking or on top of vegetables while they are cooking.
Our bodies need many minerals besides sodium and chloride so use natural rock and sea salts whenever possible. Black salt has sulfur in it crating an unusual taste but it has a powerful stimulating effect on digestion.
B. Pepper
Pepper is part of the fascinating story of the relationship between spices, oils and brain physiology. Pepper helps carry nutrition across the blood brain barrier. Since the brain is over 50% fat it is nourished most by high quality oils. Sauteeing fresh ground pepper into organic extra virgin olive oil or ghee is recommended for rain nourishment.
Pepper is very stimulating to digestion and the cleansing aspects of metabolism. However, pepper is quite heating and potentially Pitta aggravating in nature and must be used sparingly with attention paid toward your personal experience with it.
C. Fresh, Green Herbs
Fresh green herbs, often though of as the Italian spices, have wonderful taste and excellent physiological properties but most are quite heat sensitive and should be added toward end of the cooking process. I recommend to always purchase the fresh green leaves from the produce section of grocery stores rather than using the dry spices in bottles in the spice section.
1) Basil, has a purifying, holistic and uplifting influence (called "sattvic" in Vedic terms) on the mind. It also has an influence on immunity and cleansing of the chest area. If a person has chronic cough and cold the fresh leaves may be steeped in hot water and drunk as a tea throughout the day.
2) Cilantro is the leaf of the plant that gives us coriander seed. It is very heat sensitive so traditionally chopped cilantro is added to dahl soups when they are taken off the heat at the end of the cooking process.
Sweet Spices
Sweet foods like desserts are high in nutritional content but are so carbohydrate dense that they need help from spices to cut the heaviness and strengthen the bodies digestion and assimilation. The "sweet" spices not only make our desserts taste wonderful but have an important physiological effect as well.
1) Cardomon is mostly used with milk products (lassi, solid indian milk desserts like barfy and hot milk) to reduce the mucous effect and help digestion.
2) Clove is especially effective at helping the Agni (fire of digestion and metabolism) get going at the beginning of the day. I often recommend that people have some stewed fruit at breakfast cooked with several cloves. The cloves enliven Agni over 3-5 hours and help digestion and metabolism be strong by lunch, which should be the heaviest meal of the day.
3) Cinnamon is prized for its ability as a transporter of nutrition to the tissues. It helps the body assimilate the building blocks of nutrition found in rich foods.
4) Saffron also helps build up the physiology. It strengthens all the tissues and has a particularly powerful effect on reproductive tissue and has been used to enhance fertility When saffron is added to a rice pudding with its milk, rice, raisins, cashews and sugar a powerful nourishing food for people with thin and wasting conditions is created.
Indian Spices
The traditional "Indian" spices are best known for their ability to increase digestion and metabolism. They are mostly pungent and have the ability to decrease Kapha (heaviness) and increase Pitta.
1) Ginger is the most favored of all Ayurvedic appetizers. It has a powerful effect on digestion but is not as heating as other pungent spices though you could still overdo it. Buy fresh ginger in the produce section (not the powdered ginger in bottles), cut it up and sautee it in oil. It is the most heat resistant of the spices we have mentioned so it can be added first to the sauteeing process.
2) Cumin is the other main Indian spice used to strengthen digestion. Dry fry cumin seeds or sautee the seed or powder for best effect.
3) Hing or asofoetida is an excellent appetizer but needs to be used in small quantities due to its powerful odor. Hing is often used as a substitute for onions and garlic in recipes. This is because onions and garlic have a dulling effect on the mind and consciousness. Often people involved in Ayurveda are also practicing meditation and consciousness development techniques and will have better experiences if they leave onions and garlic out of their diet.
4) Coriander is the most cooling of all the spices that have a significant effect on enlievining digestion and is a good spice for people high in Pitta.
5) Fennel has a good effect on preventing, indigestion and gas. It strengthens apana, the force that controls the downward flow of food through the digestive tract and is also a good spice to help elimination
6) Fenugreek as a powerful effect on fat, sugar and carbohydrate metabolism and is often used by people dealing with weight issues.
7) Turmeric is a very special spice as it is anti oxidant in its effect and helps cleanse all the tissues. It is also astringent and has a drying effect on mucous membranes and can be used by people suffering from colds and excess Kapha.
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