Three cooling recipes for the summer

Ayurveda distinguishes between cold food and cooling food. When the summer shows its hot side, we tend to go for cold or even ice-cold food and drink. But according to Ayurveda, this is an overreaction with an unpleasant effect, because cold food severely reduces Agni, the digestive fire.
The consequences are: incompletely digested food and metabolic residues. These residues, which Ayurveda calls Ama, can eventually cause disease.

Therefore, Ayurveda recommends food that cools gently by its character, not by its temperature. It should be at room temperature or lukewarm, so the body doesn’t have to expend too much energy to warm it to body temperature. Enjoy these three cooling summer recipes: fresh, fruity, and healthy!

1. Watermelon drink with rock salt
2. Cooling Lassi with rosewater
3. Cucumber Raita

1. Watermelon drink with rock salt

Ingredients for 4 persons:

• 1 small seedless watermelon
• 1 pinch of rock salt

For the decoration:

• 4 physalis (Cape gooseberries)
• 4 small peppermint leaf rosettes

Preparation:
Take the watermelon’s flesh from the rind. Purée with a pinch of rock salt with a stationary or immersion blender. Fill into 4 glasses and decorate each with a physalis and a rosette of peppermint leaves.

2. Cooling Lassi with rose water

Ingredients for 4 persons:

• 400 ml organic yogurt, full-fat, ideally homemade
• 800 ml water
• 4 tbsp rose water
• 1 pinch of cardamom
• If you like it a little sweeter, add 1 tbsp Sharkara (Ayurvedic sugar) or cane sugar.

For the sugar rim:

• 4 tbsp red berries, purée, strain, and boil down a little if necessary
• 4 tbsp cane sugar

Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients well and ideally blend until the Lassi is smooth.

For the sugar rim: Pour the berry juice onto one saucer, the cane sugar onto another. Before filling the glasses, dip their rims first in the berry juice, then in the sugar. This creates a pink sugar rim.

3. Cucumber Raita

Ingredients for 4 persons:

• 2 slicing cucumbers
• 2 large tomatoes
• 200 g organic yogurt, full-fat, ideally home-made
• 1 large bunch of coriander
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch of rock salt
• 1 pinch of black pepper

Preparation:
Peel the cucumbers, quarter them lengthways and remove the seeds. Grate the cucumber finely, salt and let it steep for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, lightly roast coriander seeds and cumin seeds (without oil) until they smell. Grind in a mortar.

Wash and chop the coriander leaves. Pour hot water on the tomatoes, then peel and quarter them and remove the seeds. Cut into small cubes.

Mix the spices and the chopped coriander leaves with the organic yogurt. Put the grated cucumber in a strainer to drain the drawn water. Stir into the yogurt together with the tomatoes and mix well.

   Enjoy!

Recipes and photos: René Sundag
© Maharishi AyurVeda Privatklinik Bad Ems

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