5 Sattvic Recipes to Nourish Your Body, Mind & Soul

By: Chef Reetu Uday Kugaji, Culinary Expert and Chef Consultant

Sattvic food means “pure essence” provides calmness, purity and promotes longevity, intelligence, strength, health, happiness and delight.

Sattvic foods are fresh, juicy, light, delicious and nourishing too. These foods give us the immensely essential energy to the body. They must not processed, must be  free of preservatives and grown in a chemical-​free environment.

5 Sattvic Recipes

Pumpkin Soup

A delicious and healthy soup smooth like silk prepared with steamed pumpkin with the richness of coconut milk, flavoured with ginger and cumin, drizzled with coconut cream, sprinkled with lightly toasted pumpkin.

Preparation Time:10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients and Quantity:

• Red pumpkin, peeled and cubed- 500 gm
• Coconut milk, freshly extracted- 2 ½ cups
• Vegetable stock- ½ cup
• Ginger grated- 1/2 tsp.
• Cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground- 1/4^th tsp.
• Rock salt- to taste

For the garnish:

• Pumpkin seeds (Pepita) Seeds, lightly toasted – ½ tbsp
• Coconut cream- ½ tbsp

Method:

• Wash and steam the pumpkin and puree it along with ginger.
• In a soup pan add the pumpkin and ginger puree, coconut milk and vegetable stock.
• Let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes.
• Add the cumin powder and rock salt, mix well.
• Pour into soup bowls.
• Drizzle coconut cream.
• Serve hot garnished with pumpkin seeds.

Chef Tips:

You may sprinkle a little Cinnamon powder to impart a sweet and woody flavour to the soup.

Vegetable Porridge

A complete meal in itself, broken wheat porridge prepared with loads of seasonal veggies, served garnished with fresh cilantro with a generous dose of cow’s desi ghee (Clarified Butter).

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 to 30 minutes

Serves– 4

Ingredients and Quantity:

• Broken Wheat porridge (Daliya), roasted -1 cup
• Cumin seeds- 2 tsp.
• Ginger, grated- 1 tsp.
• Carrots, finely chopped- ½ cup
• French beans, stringed, washed and chopped finely- ½ cup
• Green peas, shelled- 1/4^th cup
• Cauliflower, finely chopped- 1/4^th cup
• Water- 4 cups
• Himalayan Salt – to taste
• Extra Virgin Olive oil- ½ tbsp.

For the garnish:

Cilantro, finely chopped- 1 tbsp.

For the drizzling:

Desi ghee, prepared at home from cows’ milk- 1 tbsp. / or more, if desired.

Method:

• Heat a non-stick pan add oil heat on a medium flame, add cumin seeds let them crackle, add grated ginger sauté for a few seconds.
• Add all the vegetables, sauté for 2 minutes add water and bring it to a boil.
• Now add the roasted broken wheat porridge and salt , mix well.
• Cover and cook on a medium flame, occasionally stirring it to ensure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Once the water is absorbed. Switch off the flame and let it sit covered for 5 minutes.
• Serve hot garnished with fresh cilantro with a generous dose of Home-made desi ghee prepared from cow’s milk.

Chef Tips:

1. You may sprinkle lemon juice if desired.
2. You may add vegetables of your choice.
3. You may add fresh curry leaves in the tempering

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Simple ingredients make the best of dishes, so does these baked sweet potatoes.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Baking Time: 45 to 50 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients and Quantity:

• Sweet Potatoes, medium sized- 8 nos.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil- 8 tsp.
• Sea salt (Unbleached) – to taste
• For the Drizzling:
• Home-churned butter- 2 tbsp.

Method:

• Preheat the oven at 425 degrees F.
• Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly.
• Do not peel.
• Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork.
• Apply olive oil and salt to them.
• Place parchment paper in the baking tray and place sweet potatoes on it in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.
• You may turn the sweet potatoes for even baking.
• Serve drizzled with home-churned butter.

Chef Tips:

You may drizzle it with organic honey, if desired.

No-Garlic Hummus

A Levantine dip / spread prepared with mashed and creamy chickpeas blended with fresh cilantro, sesame seed paste , extra virgin  olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt drizzled with extra virgin oil and garnished with pepita seeds and cumin powder.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Serves:4

Ingredients and Quantity:

• Chickpeas, cooked- 325 gm.
• Sesame seed paste, smooth- 4 tbsp.
• Cumin Seed Powder, lightly toasted and freshly ground- 1 tsp.
• Sea Salt- 1 tsp.
• Lemon Juice- 1/4^th tsp.
• Cilantro, chopped- 1 tbsp.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil- 3 tbsp.
• Water- if required to adjust consistency.

For the Drizzling:

Extra Virgin Olive oil- 1 tbsp.

For the Garnish:

• Pepita Seeds, lightly toasted- 1 tbsp
• Cumin powder- 1/4^th tsp.

Method:

• Put all ingredients in a food processor and process until you get to the desired consistency and the Hummus is smooth.
• Drizzle 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
• Serve garnished with pepita seeds.
• Goes best with Home baked crisp wheat crackers.

Chef Tips:

1. You may add 3 to 4 tbsp. fresh Alphonso Mango puree while blending the ingredients for hummus, this is absolutely delicious.
2. You may add puree of steamed or roasted seasonal vegetables to enhance the flavour of Hummus.

Quinoa and Apple Kheer

Treat yourself with this delicious power house of nutrients and guilt-free quinoa and apple kheer.

Preparation Time:10 minutes

Cooking Time: 50 minutes

Chilling time in Refrigerator- 60 minutes / 1 hour

Serves:4

Ingredients and Quantity:

• Quinoa- ½ cup
• Water- 2 ½ cups
• Almond paste, freshly prepared and smooth- ½ cup
• Apple peeled and pureed- ½ cup
• Jaggery Syrup, clarified- 4 tbsp.
• Saffron- a pinch

For the Flavouring:

Green Cardamom Powder- 1/4^th tsp.

For the Garnish:

• Almonds, lightly toasted and slivered – ½ tbsp.
• Pistachio nuts- slivered- ½ tbsp.

Method:

• Rinse the quinoa thoroughly.
• Add 2 ½ cups of water in a sauce pan, add the quinoa and let it simmer for 40 to 45 minutes till well-cooked.
• Add the prepared almond paste, cardamom powder, jaggery syrup, saffron and mix well. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
• Remove from the flame, let it cool down, add the apple puree. Mix and refrigerate for an hour.
• Serve cold garnished with slivered nuts.

Chef Tips:

You may add dates pureed instead of Jaggery syrup to sweeten the kheer.

Take Note:

• A big No to eating leftovers. Stale food attracts several microorganisms and bacteria. Sattvic foods should be eaten within a couple of hours of its preparation basically when its fresh. Fried foods , processed foods, refined grain products, non-vegetarian foods, vegetables like onion , garlic, scallions must not be incorporated in sattvic dishes.
• People who follow the Sattvic way of eating are known to be clear-minded, balanced and spiritually aware.
• People on sattvic diet do not consume alcohol, sugary beverages stimulants like caffeinated tea, coffee and  tobacco.