Ayurveda Talk

Shunya Pratichi Mathur was invited by Sarvodaya to give a talk on Ayurveda on May 7, 2010 at the History Corner. We had questions from a panel that involved Prof. Ronald Howard (the founder of Decision Analysis) and Dr. Charles Barrett (a doctor in OB/GYN with three decades of experience). The Q&A was remarkable, as was the talk, covering many topics ranging from the absurdity of clinical trials for Ayurveda, which emphasizes individualized treatments, to the use of warm water (instead of cold) to keep our digestive fire alive (a good idea, unless we have too much fire already), sleeping at night (there's an idea for us nocturnals!), and taking good care of our bodies.

Here is the complete event on film, recorded with two cameras. If you're reading this over email, click here to watch directly on Blip TV.



Those who attended were given an Ayurvedic Dinner, which included khichadi, opo squash curry, peas curry, beetroots and buttermilk. For those who are interested, here is the khichadi recipe that was used.

Khichadi Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup basmati rice
1 cup yellow Moong dal (soak in water overnight or for a couple of hours)
1 pinch of hing (asafoetida)
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds (preferably dry roasted first)1/4 tsp. crushed pepper corns
1-2 Tbl. ghee (clarified butter)

Directions:
In a big pot add the soaked rice and dal. Add salt and turmeric. On the side, heat ghee in a small pot- to this add hing (asafoetida), cumin seeds, black pepper. Once they crackle and the cumin turns light brown, immediately add this to the cooked dal and rice in the pot and mix well.

Benefits of Khichadi:
Khichadi is one of the staple foods of an Ayurvedic diet - mung and rice together creates a reaction that is highly beneficial to the body. It becomes a medical food - the moment you feel under the weather, consider using khichadi to heal the body. It can be eaten every day and should be made fresh each time. Mung bean and rice together are very easy to digest for most people. Thinner khichadi is easier to digest, while the proportions of mung to rice will change the qualities of the khichadi. More mung makes the khichadi more heavy while more rice makes the khichadi more watery. If you are facing a lot of health issues, please discuss with an Ayurvedic doctor whether to eat Khichadi or not.

Shunyaji's organization is called Vedika Global and is located in Berkeley.

# posted by Capital Socialist/Social Capitalist @ 8:33 AM