This is a beautiful cleansing restorative bowl that is so easy to make. A perfect dish for busy lives and those who desire to eat well, choosing beneficial foods to support you on your journey. The mix of cooked and raw vegetables provides a feeling of cleansing, balancing, and grounding nourishment for the mind and body. It holds all six tastes in Ayurvedic cooking – salty, sour, sweet, astringent, pungent and bitter. These six tastes help maintain one’s contentment and keep all our emotions in perfect balance. The earthy flavours of the turnips and their greens balance the sweet potato’s sweetness. The golden tahini ginger turmeric sauce brings all the flavours and textures together.
The Ayurvedic bowl is a very quick, easy, and simple concept with a tasty sauce that complements and adds nourishment. All vegetables can be changed to whatever is in season or what is available in the garden or fridge. I appreciate the play of colours in this bowl, which is divided into one part grain and legume, two cooked vegetables with their greens, two types of raw vegetables, some garnishes, and a delicious sauce.
tips
- When using turnips, use the younger, smaller turnips; they can be grated, tossed into salads or steamed and dressed with ghee or a favourite sauce like the one below.
- The green leaves of the turnip have a very high calcium content, which is why they are slightly bitter. They also provide special nutrient support to the body’s detox system, antioxidant system, and inflammatory/anti-inflammatory system.
- When cooking with turnip greens, chop and wash the leaves and thinner stalks, and then lightly steam as you would spinach, kale or chard to maintain their maximum nutrition and flavour.
These are a few snippets of where we have been these last few weeks—taken early morning outside a sweet little room in Northern California on our friend’s beautiful property. We are still travelling, celebrating the New Year in the high mountains of Colorado, surrounded by a soft blanket of snow, a cosy warm fire, deep loving laughter, dear friends, and nourishing meals interspersed with bouts of creative painting.
Wishing you a joyful and profoundly peace-filled year ahead.
cleansing bowl
Serves 2
Inspired by this abundance bowl.
What I love about this bowl is its simplicity. The rice and moong dal are cooked together and just before they are done, the vegetables are added to steam on top. While they are steaming, you make the sauce and then shred the cabbage. So quick and easy!
ingredients
⅔ cup small round brown rice
⅓ cup whole moong dal
2 – 3 small turnips, greens attached
2 cups sweet potato, cut into small cubes
1½ cups purple cabbage, finely shredded
serving
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
4 Tbsp melted ghee
a handful of fresh coriander
preparation
- Combine the rice and dal in a medium saucepan, rinse a few times, and drain. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil over a high flame. Once boiling, reduce the flame and simmer covered until the water has absorbed—about 45 minutes.
- Wash the sweet potato, turnip, and their greens (if using small turnips, there is no need to peel them), peel the sweet potato, and chop it into 1 cm cubes. Break off the thicker stems of the turnip greens, keeping the tiny leaves for garnish, and set aside.
- Twenty minutes before the grains have finished cooking, place the sweet potato and turnips on top of the rice and dal, then cover.
- When the grain and vegetables have cooked, turn off the heat and add the turnip greens. Cover and leave to sit for 4 minutes for the greens to steam through.
- Shred the cabbage very finely, either using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Wash and dry the coriander leaves- set aside.
- Prepare the sauce below.
assemble the bowls
- Once everything is ready, simply spoon the rice and dal into the bowls with the steamed vegetables and greens on top, drizzle generously with ghee, add the shredded cabbage and coriander leaves to the sides of the bowl, and pour over the sauce.
Season generously with a few good rounds of pepper and salt, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy!
golden tahini ginger turmeric sauce
This has become a favourite in our household. It can be used to spruce up salads, roasted vegetables, and cooked whole grains. For a smoother consistency, place it in a blender and blend for 30 seconds.
ingredients
⅓ cup tahini
⅓ cup water
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 – 4 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 Tbsp freshly grated turmeric
zest and juice of half a lemon
⅛ tsp fine Himalayan salt
preparation
- In a small pan, dry-toast the cumin seeds. Once cool, transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind to a fine powder. Then, add the grated ginger, turmeric, and tahini. Gradually add the water, stirring constantly. The tahini will start to seize up, but keep stirring until smooth and creamy.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined. Add water as needed to make the sauce more pourable. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more ginger or lemon. The flavours and golden colour will intensify as the sauce sits.
Goodness shared from Stacey
