Soulfood with Love – Light Ayurveda spring recipes for happiness

Spring is in the air, butterflies in the stomach, the whole world seems pink – how does this feeling taste on the tongue? Sweet, appetizing, maybe even a little spicy…and doesn’t fit at all with the classic idea of a springtime detox menu. Doesn’t it? Fortunately, Ayurveda teaches us that pleasure and health do not have to be mutually exclusive, on the contrary! Our nutrition can and should make us happy – on all levels. Only if we eat with a lot of pleasure and well-being, the healthy foods can also unfold their effect. That’s why I have created two spring recipes for you that really deliver what they promise. They are light and stimulating, but at the same time captivate with their varied textures, rich flavors and full-bodied aromas and simply do you good!

Onion-fennel-Bhajjis with lemon dill dip

If in the cold season we still ate hearty food to gain a “thicker” coat, in the spring it is advisable to switch to a more reduced-fat diet and shed the “winter coat” again. You won’t want for anything with these delicious bhajjis. The long baking time makes them nice and crispy and perfect as a snack or side dish.

Peel and halve the onions and cut into five mm thick slices. Halve the fennel and also cut into five mm thick slices. Peel and finely chop the ginger; deseed the chili and cut into fine rings. Heat the coconut oil in a pan. Roast the ginger, chili, lime leaves and fennel-onion mixture in it for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees convection, or 200 degrees top and bottom heat. Combine the chickpea flour, turmeric, cumin seeds, salt and water in a bowl, and mix the fennel and onion mixture with the chickpea masala mixture.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a heaping tablespoon of batter on each baking sheet. Now bake the bhajjis on the middle rack for 25 minutes until crispy. For the dip, mix the unsweetened soy yogurt, salt, juice and zest of half the lemon in a bowl; pluck the dill and fold it in. It tastes best served warm!

Kitchari Deluxe

Kitchari is a traditional dish of cooked rice and mung dal and is the Ayurveda Detox classic par excellence. It has a relieving and cleansing effect at the same time. This variant is doubly effective; because the fried chicory boosts the metabolism through its bitter leaves.

Ingredients

120g basmati rice
80g mung dal
1.5 liters of water
2 tsp rock salt
2 tsp turmeric
1 cinnamon stick
5 capsules cardamom
1/4 leek
1 chicory
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 cm ginger
2 tbsp. ghee or coconut oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
Pomegranate seeds
1 tsp rice syrup

Wash the mung dal and rice in a fine sieve. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan with the salt, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and turmeric.
Add the rice and lentil mixture and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Cut the leek and chicory into rings; finely chop the parsley and ginger. Heat the fat in a pan; add the cumin, coriander seeds and ginger. Sauté the chopped vegetables in the fat for five minutes. Fold in the parsley and season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and rice syrup. Pour the kitchari into deep plates, spread the fried chicory on top and garnish with the pomegranate seeds.