Vegetarian Meals Under 30 Minutes (With an Introduction to Ayurvedic-Inspired Cooking)
Welcome to my Ayurveda & Yoga blog! I’m Evangeline and I’m an RMT and holistic health coach. I started my blog during covid to stay connected to my clients and share my love of cooking healthy, AYURVEDIC INSPIRED meals.
Ayurvedic cooking is a conscious approach to preparing and cooking tasty, nutritious, balanced meals using spices and herbs, and taking into consideration the external conditions such as the season and time of day, in addition to how you are feeling.
Last updated April 25, 2024
This post will be updated regularly to add more recipes after they have been made plenty of times, and given the thumbs up from my son!
Quality Control
Making meals from scratch ensures you maximize your nutrient intake with the freshest ingredients, you control the amount and quality of the salt , and you get to choose the best oil for cooking. My preference is to cook with ghee or olive oil. Research has shown ghee does “not support a conclusion of harmful effects…of the moderate consumption”. Although some vegetable oils have high smoke points, they are highly refined, and clog the arteries and physical channels of the body. Plenty of research points to a specific type of cholesterol, oxidized cholesterol playing a significant role in development of atherosclerosis. Have a listen to Ayurvedic expert, Marianne Teitelbaum, discuss “the cholesterol myth”.
Ayurvedic Cooking
The recipes on my blog all have an Ayurvedic influence, and are vegetarian, which includes dairy and eggs, or are vegan or plant-based. Ayurveda teaches us that what we eat and do in our life has a direct affect on our health. Since our body is governed by the same elements found in nature- space, air, fire water and earth, as described in Ayurveda, we must try to always do a little bit here and there to keep ourselves balanced as well. This is the brilliance of Ayurveda as it lays out for us precisely what will balance us and what will knock us off in terms of food and lifestyle. Ayu means life, and veda means science.
Recipes here will have spices and herbs as they not only add flavour, but they all have qualities as recognized in Ayurveda that aid in helping digest and metabolize food. If you’re new to cooking with spices, start with these four spices always in stock to create a balanced Digestive Spice Mix.
Digestive *Spice Mix
6 tsps fennel seeds - balancing effect on digestion
6 tsps coriander seeds - ushers toxins for elimination
1 tsp cumin seeds- aids in digestion and absorption on nutrients
1 tsp turmeric powder - cleans the liver, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral
Grind all together and store in an air tight container, away from sunlight. Buy whole spices, and grind as needed, preferably organic and non-irradiated. Toasting the seeds first, cooling them, then grinding and use for sprinkling on already cooked food, say when you are travelling.
*Vaidya Mishra’s Spice Mix recipe
Take Good Care of Your Liver
I add a bit of turmeric daily in our cooking as it keeps the liver clean. My Ayurveda teacher, Vaidya R. K. Mishra would say turmeric is “a friend to the liver.” He also emphasized that you should not consume turmeric in a tea because it is fat soluble, nor should it be ingested as a supplement because it will heat up your liver. The liver needs to keep cool because it is responsible for many functions in the body. The liver is like a non-stop factory machine that ensures your blood is clean, digests everything you consume including pharmaceuticals and supplements, makes vitamins, minerals and cholesterol, stores energy, makes and secretes bile, and is the main filter of the body. In Ayurveda and also in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver is considered just as important an organ as the heart.
Friendly Bacteria
You may notice in the recipes on my blog, there are no garlic or onions, or I write they are optional. As Ayurveda recognizes spices and herbs as medicinal, these two members of the allium family have potent antibacterial properties, which, yes is a good thing for fighting flus and colds. However, garlic and onions are high in sulfur compounds and destroy not just the bad but the good bacteria in our gut, not being able to differentiate between the two. The majority of the friendly bacteria in the body resides in the gut. Our friendly bacteria is responsible for keeping our digestive system in good order. Since most illnesses can be traced to the gut as recognized in Ayurveda, maintaining a good functioning digestive system is important. It is for this reason, we avoid garlic and onions. Once in a blue moon I will add in a shallot or chives in a pasta dish. After two decades of cooking without garlic and onions I don’t miss them, though I grew up having them.
06. Veggie Bean Burgers
Moringa makes an appearance in this recipe. A superfood, moringa has a long list of health benefits. It is not only nourishing, loaded with antioxidants, and all the essential amino acids, but also high in Vitamin A & C, iron, calcium, potassium, and also has detoxifying capabilities, right down to cleaning the bone marrow! I introduced these burgers at a lakeside retreat I hosted last summer, and everyone loved them!
Veggie Bean Burgers
Yield: 3- 4 patties
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes + 5 minutes frying time
INGREDIENTS
⅓ cup split mung beans, soaked for 30 min or overnight and rinsed
¼ cup 70-30 ratio quinoa and basmati rice, soaked with the split mung beans
1 cup water
⅓ cup finely chopped celery, about 1 celery stalk
1 tsp ghee or olive oil
2 tsps *Digestive Spice Mix
1 tsp ** moringa *leaf powder
1 tsp *tapioca flour
1 Tablespoon quinoa flour
Soma salt or natural salt to taste
1 Tbsp ghee or olive oil for frying patties
INSTRUCTIONS
After soaking split mung beans, quinoa and basmati rice, rinse well until the water is clear.
In a medium-size pot heat ghee or olive oil on low heat, then incorporate the spices, tapioca flour, and moringa powder.
When aroma is released, add split mung beans and basmati rice, and mix all together, then add water.
Turn heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then cover with a lid. Turn heat down to low to cook for another 20 minutes, and towards the end of cooking, add celery.
Open lid, and add salt to taste. At this point the beans will be cooked. Mash it up a bit, then add the quinoa flour, stir all together and let sit for about 5 minutes.
Form into patties and fry on medium heat with ghee or olive oil until golden brown on each side.
*Substitute “Moringa Leaf Soup Mix” from Chandika if you are pressed for time, instead of putting together the Spice Mix, moringa powder and tapioca flour.
**Moringa is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women, and kids 5 and under.
Enjoy!
Veggie Bean Burgers
05. Lentil-Quinoa Vegetable Soup
Once you master making soup in your kid’s lunch box, you can make anything! My kids love soup. If you have kids, mornings can be the busiest time of the day, so prepping the vegetables the night before, and soaking the red lentils and quinoa in this recipe is a big help. Ensure you have your Balance Spice Mix all ground up for the week too!
Lentil-Quinoa Vegetable Soup
Yield: 1 serving
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
⅛ cup red lentils
⅛ cup quinoa
¼ cup each of:
baby broccoli cut in pieces
carrot ribbons
zucchini cut in cubes
kale ripped in little pieces
2 cups water
1- 2 tsps Digestive Spice Mix
A sprig of fresh rosemary or ¼ tsp dried
A bit of ghee or olive oil
Salt to taste
⅛ tsp black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Soak red lentils and quinoa together overnight. Rinse well, and strain the next day.
In a pot, heat up the ghee or olive oil, add spices and rosemary, red lentils and quinoa and combine all together.
Add water, and let it come to a boil, then cover pot with a lid, turn heat down to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes.
Add vegetables, salt and pepper, and cover again to cook for another 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
Lentil-Quinoa Vegetable Soup
04. Vegetables with Ginger and Toasted Nuts & Seeds
This recipe was inspired by local vegetables- purple cabbage, kale and carrots. They are sautéed with digestive spices, ginger and kalunji. Heat from the ginger will reduce mucus caused by the winter season we are in currently in, and kalunji supports the hormones. Sometimes I’ll add in a thai green chili for extra heat, but didn’t feel it was needed as kalunji also has a heating quality. If you like spice, SV Ayurveda recommends thai green chili. Compared to its companion red colour, the green variety has more soma (vibrational energy from the moon), as my Ayurvedic teacher put it. Balancing tastes and flavours are essential in cooking greatly influencing the three doshas in Ayurveda, which we must try to keep balanced as often as we can.
Vegetables with Ginger and Toasted Nuts & Seeds
Yield: 2 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
½ cup each of purple cabbage, kale, carrots cut
1/4 cup each of raw cashews, brazil nuts and sunflower seeds (here there is also some roasted pistachios)
1-2 tsps ghee or olive oil
1 tsp Digestive Spice Mix
¼ tsp kalunji (black seed)
1 tsp ginger root, cut thinly
Salt to taste
Instructions
In a large pan on low heat gently toast the spices and kalunji for a few minutes, add ghee or olive oil with the ginger until aroma is released.
Add chopped up vegetables and turn up heat to medium. Add a bit of water and cook for 5 minutes until all veggies are coated with spices and glistening. Cover with a lid and cook further for another 5 minutes.
At the same time in a smaller pan on medium-high heat toss around mixed raw nuts and sunflower seeds. Toss frequently to avoid burning. You just want to infuse some heat into the nuts and seeds to aid in digestion.
Plate and garnish with cilantro and a sweet chutney or a spritz of lime juice.
Enjoy!
Vegetables with Ginger & Toasted Nuts & Seeds
03. Quick Ayurvedic Mac ‘n Chz
My kid’s favourite packed lunch besides avocado rolls. Easy to make, and with practice you can make it fresh all packed in a thermos, before your kid heads off to school. I add fresh rosemary or thyme most of the time. I have written cheese as optional as I strive to abide by food guidelines in Ayurveda that recognizes cheese and milk as heavy on the digestive system when eaten together. Arrowroot or tapioca starch will thicken the milk providing a “cheesy” consistency. I also avoid adding salt with milk because they too are not compatible when eaten together, creating ama in the body. Ama is partially digested food. Biochemically, some foods do not belong together and consuming them at the same time can create adverse metabolic or immunological effects on the body. Incompatible foods are safe to eat on their own, and ideally should be consumed hours apart from each other.
Quick Ayurvedic “Mac ‘n Chz”
Yield: 1 serving
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
½ cup pasta- I used a combination quinoa-rice macaroni here, but you can use any pasta
1-2 tsps ghee or butter
½ cup whole milk
1-2 pinches turmeric
1 sprig of thyme or rosemary
½ tsp arrowroot or tapioca starch
⅓ cup cheese grated or soft paneer (chenna) (optional)
Instructions
In a medium-size pot bring water to a boil and cook pasta for about 6-12 minutes depending on type used.
While pasta is cooking, make the sauce: heat a pan on low heat with the ghee and turmeric and arrowroot or tapioca starch (add in rosemary or thyme here too) and whisk all together.
Add milk and turn up to medium-high, and whisk until the milk thickens a bit.
Drain pasta and add to the sauce, combining all together.
Top with mozzarella cheese or soft paneer if desired.
Enjoy!
Quick Ayurvedic Mac ‘n Chz
02. Warm Quinoa Salad
In Ayurveda, eating predominantly warm cooked meals are recommended, instead of cold, raw foods. This is especially true during winter season, when it is cold and dry. Also, from a digestive perspective, raw vegetables, grains and legumes contain oxalates, goitrogens, phytates, and lectins, and other compounds which inhibit mineral absorption and create digestive and other potential health problems. Ancient Ayurvedic doctors understood that most diseases can be traced back to poor digestion, and how grains, legumes and vegetables are difficult to digest for humans when consumed raw, but when cooked did not have the same effect. Even though these ancient doctors could not understand this on a microscopic level through the use of technology, they understood these facts nonetheless and were aligned with health-promoting ways of living.
This recipe is a wonderful, light but satisfying staple meal in our household. Serve as a side dish at a party, or as a complete meal with paneer, or nuts and seeds, or boiled egg. Sometimes we’ll have it tossed with some dried cranberries or topped with avocado.
Warm Quinoa Salad
Yield: 1 serving
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
⅓ cup quinoa rinsed well + ⅓ cup water and bit more
½ tsp - 1 tsp ghee or olive oil to cook with
1 cup of vegetables chopped small - e.g. carrots, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, kale or chard
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary or thyme or ½ tsp dried
½ tsp ground fennel
½ tsp ground coriander
⅛ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp salt
A drizzle of olive oil and lime juice to finish
Instructions
In a medium-size pot cook the quinoa with water in high heat until it comes to a boil for 5 minutes, then turn off stove, cover with a lid to cook further. The steam inside will cook the grains in about 15 minutes.
While quinoa is cooking, heat ghee or olive oil in a medium-size pan on low heat with the rosemary or thyme and spices until aroma is released. Add carrots first because it’s a tougher vegetable, then broccoli, then softer vegetables like zucchini, then leafy greens.
Add cooked vegetables into the pot with the quinoa, olive oil and salt and combine all together. I add the dried cranberries or raisins at this point to soften them up with the heat of the grains.
Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice and top with your choice of protein.
Enjoy!
Warm Quinoa Salad—with boiled egg; with avocado; with toasted cashews & sunflower seeds
01. Bow Tie Pesto Pasta
My little guy loves pasta! I include a pasta dish like this one in his lunch box at least once a week. This pasta lunch is rich in antioxidants from the spinach, kale (hidden in the pesto) and zucchini. He usually likes mozzarella cheese but today it was skipped as he has a left over cough from a cold, and in fact he didn’t feel like having cheese on it today when asked.
Cold dairy, like hard cheeses and cold milk is a food to minimize or avoid all together when you have a cough and cold, or when feeling congested. In fact, the word cough comes from the Sanskrit word kapha, written extensively about in Ayurveda. Ayurveda, one of the oldest health systems, which means the science of life, offers comprehensive guidelines to maintain balance day and night with diet, activity and rest. We are fundamentally dealing with the three doshas- vata, pitta, kapha and how they are playing out in us. We can look at the doshas as key players in keeping our body and mind balanced. When it comes to cooking the same Ayurvedic principle applies- “like increases like”. As it is winter here right now with many experiencing colds, flus and covid, food that is heavy and cold is something to avoid until your cough or cold has subsided. It makes sense, doesn’t it? You wouldn’t want to aggravate cold and congestion with a food, similar in character with what you are experiencing, and especially so when the season is identical to your symptoms. Because Ayurveda aligns with the laws of nature, we end up feeling better when we follow its guidelines.
As with making school lunches or a quick meal, ensure you have done some preparation beforehand. In this case, prepare the pesto beforehand, and refrigerate in a tight container; you could also freeze fresh pesto, but I prefer to refrigerate and use within 24 hours.
Bow Tie Pesto Pasta
Yield: 1 serving
Prep time: 5 minutes ( With pesto made beforehand)
Cook time: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup bow tie pasta
1 tsp ghee or olive
1 small zucchini - about ½ cup zucchini cut in thick strips
2 handfuls of spinach - about 1 cup packed spinach
2-3 Tablespoons pesto
Salt to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium-size pot bring water to a boil, the add pasta and cook for about 10-12 minutes.
While pasta is cooking, put a bit of ghee or olive oil in a pan set at medium-high heat, then add zucchini.
Cover pan with a lid, turn heat down to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes.
After a couple of minutes, add spinach and pesto and combine all together, and put the lid back on and turn stove off.
Drain pasta and add to the pan and toss it all up. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and salt to taste before serving or packing into a thermos.
Enjoy!
Bow Tie Pesto Pasta