Oil, Spice, and Everything Nice

oil - keep in a dark area away from heat and light and in glass bottle - keep your oils from turning rancid

Oil

In Ayurveda, oils are therapeutic. Just like eating foods in season is important, September through December is the best time of year to use oils in your foods. The Fall and Winter months are the time to use oils because they help your body store fat that insulates you from the cold. Oil has so many benefits for your brain, heart, joints, and skin. There’s a time and place for everything - mindfulness in the kitchen is the way to go!

There are many more delicious and nutritious oils out there, but the oils I list below are highly recommended and get thumbs up by many Ayurvedic practitioners, as well as my personal mentors. 

Ghee is known as ‘liquid gold’. I'm a big fan of cultured ghee. Cultured ghee is much lighter than your common ghee, and it's one of the best things for your skin because it increases ojas - vitality in the body. It’s tasty and has many health benefits. Cultured ghee is fantastic for keeping the skin moist on the inside. It travels very easily within your body and helps pull toxins out of your fat tissue. Ghee helps our bodies absorb important nutrients into our cells. I literally feel great when I include ghee in my cooking. Ghee is a very good cooking oil because of its high smoke point (485 degrees), so you can pan fry (delicious in egg omelets) and stir-fry with ghee. 

According to Divya Alter, Nutrition Consultant and Educator of SV Aurvedic Tradition, “Ghee is the deeply nourishing core essence of milk. It has all the nutrients and antioxidants of butter but without butter’s water, milk protein (casein and lactose).”

Extra virgin olive oil is so healthy for your heart and reduces inflammation. It’s a cold oil - use it in salads and cooked vegetables. Heat and light can degrade the quality of olive oil and turn it rancid, less flavorful and unhealthy. Heat is olive oil’s worst nightmare. Store your oil in a cool, dark location and move your bottle away from the stove when cooking. A huge reminder for me! Light causes a breakdown in chlorophyll (the compound that gives olive oil its rich color). The light will also affect its taste and aroma. Light can cause the oil to form free radicals which cause the oil to oxidize and not last long. What a waste! Evoo (extra virgin olive oil) is expensive, therefore we must honor our oil and store in a safe place, and in a dark container or bottle. Try to buy extra virgin olive oil in dark glass bottles.

Coconut Oil has so many benefits. It has a high smoke point so cooking with coconut oil is healthy and safe. I use it in my baking when I don’t want to use butter, and will never use margarine as a dairy-free substitute. Coconut oil does have a distinct taste, so know your customers! Coconut oil is great for the skin as it’s extremely moisturizing. It’s used for oil pulling (kills bacteria in your mouth and whitens teeth), which is a morning self-care tool to add to your rituals before you brush your teeth. 

Sesame oil is great in the winter months as it heats the body. It adds a great taste in noodles, rice, and salads. Sesame oil can be used to oil pull as it also kills bacteria in the mouth. It’s a warm oil, therefore sesame oil is great to oil pull in the colder months. Sesame oil is safe to stir-fry with as it has a high smoking point as well.

Avocado Oil is super healthy. It’s rich in vitamins, especially E and omega-3 which hydrates and promotes moisturized and smooth skin - relieving inflammation from dry, irritated skin. Avocados are also a staple in my diet. I add it to salads, grains, and my guacamole that my family loves on a Friday night smeared over a slice of challah. 

spices - purchase organic spices or DIY - it’s very rewarding to create your own

ghee - clarified butter - all casein protein and lactose removed

mise en place - using ghee - to enrich my kitchari

adding ghee to my pot - healthy fat rejuvenates, energizes, and builds ojas (vitality) in the body

Spices

In terms of spices, there are four essential spices that Vaidya Mishra - Ayurvedic physician, author and lecturer - taught the staples to have in your kitchen: turmeric, coriander, fennel, and cumin. I call them the four super spices - I shared two super masala spice blend recipes below. You can use these four spices safely every day. I’ve learned to cook with many spices - life is tastier and more creative in the kitchen when you use more than salt and pepper. Different spices help digest different nutrients. There's certain spices that help with protein digestion or carbohydrate digestion. Knowledge is power, and when you understand the science of cooking, it’s a game changer.

Fresh black pepper is also good to have on hand. Black pepper helps digestion without overheating the body, and it helps keep the channels open in the body.

Himalayan Salt and Celtic Salt are the highest quality salts on the market.

To add sweetness to grains like rice, I would recommend cinnamon sticks. And if you want to cook an apple in the morning (recipe on my website), definitely get some whole cloves. The taste and aroma will light your fire, make your home aromatically blissful, and your gut happy.

Sweet Masala Spice Blend - makes 1/4 cup
Divya Alter -  Cookbook: What To Eat For How You Feel

The aroma of this spice blend is exquisite. I might start using it for my Saturday night havdalah to enhance the week with aromatic energy and blessings. These spices are delicious and healing, too. They break down carbs, sugar, and milk in the body. You can use this spice blend for sweet dishes such as cakes, muffins, cookies, smoothies, oatmeal and kitchari (recipe on my site) - my favorite breakfast.

1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp dried rose petals or buds
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon granules or crushed cinnamon bark
3/4 tsp cardamom seeds
3/4 tsp vanilla extract powder

• place all ingredients in the electric grinder or spice mill and grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight jar away from light to keep its freshness

• you can add sweet masala to a cake or muffin recipe: 1 tsp for every 2 cups of flour

to use in a mild or non dairy milk, boil 1/2 tsp of sweet masala with 1 cup of milk for 5 minutes

Digestive Masala - makes 1/3 cup + 2 tsp

This masala is invigorating in your dishes, provides a beautiful aroma, and will help you digest your food. Black seeds are one of the most researched spices for their impressive health benefits. Try to find them in your health store and create your own masala blend. They can be too hot for some people to eat alone, so please add them to other spices to make them more digestible. Add the spices at the beginning of cooking soups, vegetables or leafy greens.

2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp black seed aka kalonji seeds or black cumin, caraway seeds, black pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric

• place all ingredients in an electric grinder or spice mill and grind to a fine powder

• store in an airtight jar away from light to keep its freshness

Genia’s Spoon Me Tips

My favorite breakfast by far is kitchari - a traditional Ayurvedic food that is a mixture of dal beans, basmati rice and spices. There are many ways of creating this gorgeous, nutritious, and delicious dish. It warms me up, energizes me for the day, and is extremely digestible. This way, I’m starting my day feeling great. 

Ghee is clarified butter. It’s quite easy to make ghee yourself - it is made by simmering unsalted butter on low heat for several hours. The water evaporates and leaves behind the milk solids. These milk solids float to the top and are then strained out of the pot. What is left behind is the pure, golden, clarified, liquid oil, which is known as ghee - more details to come in another blog!

Much love, light, and peace
Genia