5 cobs of corn or 4 cups of corn removed from husk
5 cups of water
1 piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pinch salt
Put corn in blender with 2 cups of water. Blend thoroughly, then pour into a bowl and set aside.
Place ginger, caraway seeds, and curry powder into blender with 1/4 cup water and blend for one minute.
In a large pot, heat ghee and cumin seeds on medium heat until seeds pop, then pout in the spices from the blender, the blended corn, 2 cups water, and black pepper.
Mix well.
Boil for 20 minutes, stirring intermittently .
Add salt before serving to taste.
This recipe is an Ayurvedic recipe. Ayurvedic medicine (“Ayurveda” for short) is one of the world's oldest holistic (“whole-body”) healing systems. It was developed more than 3,000 years ago in India.
It’s based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. Its main goal is to promote good health, not fight disease. But treatments may be geared toward specific health problems, as defined by WebMB. As an Ayurvedic Practitioner who has also worked with ayurveda through her sister sciences of yoga and tantra over the years, in addition to the complimentary holistic practices of herbalism and the folk healing tradition Braucherei / Hexerei within the context of my own ethnic heritage of the Pennsylvania Dutch, I agree with this definition, but it also goes mich deeper than this. I would add that Ayurveda is a system that requires a person to intimately become acquainted with oneself, holistically, and know how to adjust one's nutrition, body movement through exercise, and choices of socialization, stress relief, and artistic expression according to the current evens in one's life in harmony with the seasons of the year. It is an incredibly complex science and simultaneously a simple art. Simple in that diagnosis can be done with the pulse, and several drops of oil in urine; complex in the mastery of these nuances.
This soup is tridoshic, meaning it is good for all three ayurvedic constitutions of the body. Ayurveda works within the understanding that the body is composed of earth, water, fire, and air. All four must be in balance, hence the person aligned with nature, for health to be optimal. If one or more of these elements becomes under or over- active, disease will occur. Imbalance can happen due to physical, mental, or spiritual stress. Since this soup is considered tridoshic, it means all of the ingredients are pacifying to each of the elements, and no element should be aggravated in either direction. Each person is dominant in one or two of these elements, so one must know one's constitution before choosing their food/medicine.
KAPHA DOSHA is a combination of earth and water elements.
PITTA DOSHA is a combination of water and fire elements.
VATA DOSHA is air element.
An alternative recipe to the one I listed here is to substitute 1 tablespoon of fresh Cilantro for the caraway seeds and the curry powder. Cilantro is an excellent substitution in the summer months for those with a Pitta Dosha dominance. Cilantro is extra cooling.
Today happens to be October 9th, and the temperature was 39 degrees upon waking. We will see Temps rise to the mid-50's today, and the wind is crisp. Cilantro, being cooling, is also drying. I am making this soup for a client who is Vata dominant. The cilantro mixed with this cooler Fall weather would be too drying for her system, which would dry her skin further exacerbating an existing condition, and her anxiety would also be in danger of being triggered because of a Vata aggravation. This being her favorite soup, I don't want to wait until next Sunmer to make it for her, so I removed the Cilantro, and replaced it with curry powder, which is composed of a mix of warming roots and herbs, as well as the caraway seeds to add the flavor of Cilantro back into the dish, as well as ass blood balancing benefits and some additional fiber. This will keep my client's system balanced, and even me as a Pitta will do well eating this in moderation during this cooler season because of the other balancing qualities of the sweet corn (Kapha pacifying). It is just a very nice soup. Very workable.
This is excellent for those with high cholesterol or who suffer from obesity, IF ghee is removed from the recipe.
By Gretchen E. Swank
Sources and further reading:
Lad, Dr. Vasant & Usha. 1994. Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing. The Ayurvedic Press. Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Miller, Kelli. What Is Ayurveda. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/balance/ayurvedic-treatments
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