Volume III · Part II · Chapter 14
Vegetables
The Ayurvedic Kitchen
About 1 min read
Vegetables are mostly light and fibrous. Ayurveda favours cooked over raw for most people and nearly always for those over 55 — cooking breaks down roughness (a Vata quality), makes vegetables easier to chew and swallow, and lets ghee and spices balance them. Gourds (lauki, torai, tinda, parwal, ash gourd) are the sattvic vegetables par excellence: light, cooling, easy to digest.
| Group | Examples | Dosha | Kitchen rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gourds | Lauki, torai, tinda, parwal, ash gourd, snake gourd | ↓P ↓V (cooked) | Everyday vegetables; cook covered until translucent |
| Sweet roots | Carrot, beet, sweet potato, pumpkin | ↓V ↓P | Grounding; ideal Vata food |
| Starchy tubers | Potato, arbi, yam | ↑V (gas) ↑K | Small portions; always with ajwain or hing |
| Cruciferous | Cauliflower, cabbage, radish, turnip | ↑V ↓K | Blanch first; cook with ginger, hing and ghee |
| Leafy greens | Palak, methi, sarson, bathua, chaulai | ↓P ↓K ↑V | Always cooked for elders; with ghee; lemon for iron |
| Pods and beans | French beans, flat beans, peas, drumstick | ↓K ↑V | Remove strings; cook soft; ajwain for peas |
| Okra | Bhindi | ↓V ↓P | Lubricating — good for Vata dryness |
| Bitter | Karela, neem flowers | ↓P ↓K ↑V | Small portions; salt and squeeze to reduce bitterness |
| Nightshades | Tomato, capsicum, (brinjal) | ↑P ↑V | Optional; tomato cooked, not raw; some sattvic guests avoid |
| Mushrooms | — | — | Not used in this sattvic kitchen |