Sattvik Cooking: Modern Avatars of Vedic Foods

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Ancient Indian texts say that the trigunas- Sattva, Rajas and Tamas-pervade the universe and the human mind. Food that is Sattva is pure, happy, energizing, vitalizing and fulfilling: rajas is stimulating, passionate, ambitious and domineering; and tamas is dull, inactive, heavy and impure. Food influences the mind directly, but the mind can also influence the kind of food you desire. Hence, it's easy for the mind to spiral in a particular direction. Of the three food spirals, only Sattvik has the power that can propel you to a state of happiness, contentment and full of positive energy.

The recipes revealed in this book will help you derive the benefits of Sattvik foods along with them being super tasty. In Sattvik cooking, for example, natural sweeteners are most important as they stimulate vata, the primary dosha that controls the other two doshas-pitta and kapha. The recipes will enable millennials to embrace Sattvik food by infusing them with modern-day cuisines from India and around the world, while also understanding the science behind it. Sattvik Cooking uses humble Indian kitchen ingredients to unleash the mind, body and spiritual powers of ancient Vedic foods.

The unique selection of recipes will not only satisfy the palates of all age groups, but will also be hugely beneficial for fitness enthusiasts.

Yoga guru Dr Hansaji J.Yogendra is the director of The Yoga Institute, the oldest yoga institute in the world. She is an exemplary visionary, a yogi and a scholar who has transformed the lives of millions of people around the world.

The leading face of householder yoga, Dr Hansaji is the wife of Dr Jayadeva Yogendra and has conducted over 1,00,000 theoretical and practical sessions of yoga. She is a part of various committees formed by the Government of India as well as many international organizations. The Yoga Institute was awarded the prestigious Prime Minister's Award in June 2018 by Shri Narendra Modi for spreading the goodness of yoga to all.

Dr Hansaji has also undertaken several social service initiatives for the betterment of society. Her work in yoga education, research, experiential learning and standardization of yoga practices has been widely recognized. Her dynamic and charismatic personality is an inspiration for people around the world who wish to inculcate yoga as a way of life.

In my years of cooking and understanding food, there's a lot that has touched me and much more that I am still becoming aware of. Over a period of time, food has become my window to cultures, people and world as seen and experienced. At some point in time when my spiritual and culinary journeys merged I realized that we are all made of food 'Ann Purna Brahma: Our thoughts, our aspirations, our emotions are all food.

I have realized with enough proof that happy people make happy food, and not just that, food made by happy people makes the person who's eating it happy as well. Food transfers intent and emotions-mothers cooking being a case in the point.

It doesn't stop here, happy ingredients which have grown sustainably and without stress, external push or manipulation (read seasonal, chemical and fertilizer free Ingredients) make for dishes that bring Real happiness to the mind, body and the soul. A happiness that's not only sustainable because it's in sync with our basic nature and the basic nature of our relationship with our surroundings and seasons, but also infectious enough to wirelessly spread at raging speeds.

I have been blessed to know Hansaji for over three years and can truly endorse the fact that she embodies this happiness. Besides the innumerable recognitions and awards, her smile is proof enough that she has cracked the code of "happy food; that creates sustainable happiness for the mind, body and soul.

The food and the approach to food at The Yoga Institute is a small peak into her happiness universe or may I say her 'recipe of happiness!

The book provides an in-depth perspective on diet in Ayurveda and yogic Sattvik ahar, and their significance with respect to modern evidence-based nutrition.

Yoga, the sister science of Ayurveda, aims at personal transformation through holistic healing. It considers food to be much more than mere fuel for the body. Food affects all the koshas (sheaths/layers) of the body. The grossest sheath of the body is called the Annamaya Kosha, as it is nourished by food and grows from it. However, food also extends its effect on other entities of our existence such as energy, mind, intellect, emotions and soul.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages