During my week stay at Carnoustie Ayurveda & Wellness Resort my Ayurvedic doctor, Dr. Regina assessed me to determine my dosha.
I’m Pitta with Vata influence.
All my meals for the week were chosen to match my Pitta Vata biological energies.
I know very little of this ancient Indian medicine of Ayurveda and it’s doshas. Therefore, I searched the internet for more information on the Pitta dosha and found this on eattasteheal.com:
“Pitta snapshot:
Pitta derives from the elements of Fire and Water and translates as “that which cooks.”
It is the energy of digestion and metabolism in the body that functions through carrier substances such as organic acids, hormones, enzymes, and bile. While Pitta is most closely related to the element of Fire, it is the liquid nature of these substances that accounts for the element of Water in Pitta’s make-up.
The qualities of Pitta are oily, sharp, hot, light, moving, liquid, and acidic. A Pitta individual will display physical and mental characteristics that reflect these qualities in both a balanced and imbalanced state.
The main locations of Pitta in the body are the small intestine, stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, blood, eyes, and sweat. Physiologically, Pitta provides the body with heat and energy through the breakdown of complex food molecules. It governs all processes related to conversion and transformation throughout the mind and body. Psychologically, Pitta governs joy, courage, willpower, anger, jealousy, and mental perception. It also provides the radiant light of the intellect.
When a person has a tendency to “overheat,” excess Pitta is usually the culprit. Just as a campfire may turn into a forest fire without proper care, the internal fire of the mind and body must be kept in check.
The balanced Pitta individual is blessed with a joyful disposition, a sharp intellect, and tremendous courage and drive. As the fire of the mind and body becomes unruly, however, the laughing Pitta quickly becomes the yelling Pitta. Anger, rage, and ego replace Pitta’s positive attributes, leaving an individual who is bitter with life and overbearing towards others. There is a saying that imbalanced Pitta individuals don’t go to hell; they simply create it wherever they go! Pitta imbalances commonly manifest in the body as infection, inflammation, rashes, ulcers, heartburn, and fever.
Ways to Balance Pitta
Key Words to Remember: Cooling, Calming, Moderation
-Eat a Pitta-balancing diet.
-Eat in a peaceful environment.
-Avoid artificial stimulants.
-Engage in calming activities, like spending time in nature.
-Meditate daily.
-Do calming physical exercise, such as yoga, swimming, tai chi, or walking.
Ways Pitta Becomes Imbalanced
-Eating Pitta-aggravating food
-Eating while angry
-Drinking coffee, black tea, or alcohol
-Smoking cigarettes
-Over-working
-Being overly competitive”
Joy is a word to describe Pittas – and my blog name is Joyful Stephanie!!
Dr. Regina gave me a list of foods that suit Pitta’s energies. The list includes foods I should eat more of and what foods I should eat less of.
Below are pictures of the Indian vegetarian Pitta Vata meals served to me during my stay at Carnoustie:
- Dubarry Soup – Cream of Cauliflower Soup
- Dal Hariyili – Dal is the Indian term for lentil. Hariyili – greenery. Dal Hariyili is a Punjabi recipe of a meal of greens.
- Paratha – Indian bread. Literally means layers of cooked dough!
- Payasam – is a creamy milk and rice pudding. Payasam is a South Indian dessert version of Kheer. Kheer is a rice pudding.
- Green Gram – also known as the Mung bean is a plant from the legume family.
- Idlyyappam/Maize String Hoppers – Indian rice noodles
- Peas and Carrots Salon – peas and carrot stew
- Rasam – traditional South Indian soup
- Kadhi – North Indian dish of gravy made mainly with chickpea flour, vegetables, yogurt and water.
- Manchow Soup – popular Indian Chinese spicy soup made with vegetables and scallions.
- Miloni Subzi – cooked mix vegitables with spinach.
- Roti – Indian flatbread
- Basbousa – is a semolina cake – meaning it is made with semolina that is a specific kind of wheat.
- Kadala Curry – also known as Kerala Style Chickpea Curry
- Sundal – is a South Indian stir fry dish of chick peas
- Moong Dal Kichadi – one pot meal of rice, lentils and spices
- Roasted Papadum – crispy Indian bread
- Palak Shorba/ Spinach Shorba – spinach soup
- Tikki – patty of ground potato with vegetables and spices.
- Kheer – rice pudding flavored with cardamon, raisins, pistachios, cashews, almonds, or fruit.
- Mappas – is a traditional Kerala curry dish with thick and creamy coconut milk made without chili powder.
- Kallappam – traditional Christian breakfast in Kerala. It is a soft pancake made of fermented rice and coconut batter.
- Semiya/Vermicelli Upma – popular breakfast dish in Kerala made with semiya noodles.
- Chutney – Indian sauce like mint dip, cucumber dip, ground peanut garnish…
- Fattoush Salad – Middle East salad of mixed greens, vegetables and toasted or fried pieces of khubz (pita bread).
- Olan – is a Kerala dish made of gourd, black-eyed peas, coconut milk, ginger and coconut oil.
- Kulcha – mildly leavened Indian bread
- Pulao – basic Indian style rice pilaf. Pilaf is cooking the rice in stock and other spices as well as using a technique so that the rice does not stick together.
- Masala Dosa – popular South Indian dish of a crisp dosa (crepe) filled with a potatoes or vegetables flavored with masala – a mixture of ground Indian spices.
- Chammanthi – chutney from Kerala
- Uthappam – South Indian pancake dish where ingredients are cooked in the batter
- Sambar – popular South Indian lentil-based stew or chowder
One of my most favorite Indian dishes was the below beetroot masala dosa with chammanthi!
I’m now inspired to start cooking more Indian vegetarian cuisine!!!
S, 🙂