Ojas: A Cookbook: Modern Recipes and Ancient Wisdom for Everyday Ayurveda

by Nira Kehar

Ayurveda, the "science of life," is the traditional medicine and natural healing system of India and its cultural sphere. In her book, the internationally renowned chef Nira Kehar artfully adapts this 5,000-year-old practice for the contemporary home, offering a thorough introduction to the Ayurveda lifestyle and 75-plus recipes organized by the Ayurvedic calendar.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food

259 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very beautiful book. May bump this up to a 5 once I make some of the recipes.

[Monette Chilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, this book is drop dead gorgeous. Too pretty not to leave out for ogling! It is a lovely melding of Ayurvedic wisdom and recipes, bringing all the hard-to-grasp aspects of Ayurveda into focus and practice.

[My Tam · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a stunning book! So well researched, beautifully designed, with helpful information - a great read and guide to plan out my relationship with food as a pathway toward more healthful living in the new year. Highly recommend it!

[Mariana Hernandez Batlle · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very beautiful book but the claim that the recipes are Ayurvedic is false.
Too many ingredients, often requiring canned ingredients or otherwise processed ingredients. It’s a lovely cookbook but it’s very far removed from the principles of Ayurveda.
It was all in all a disappointment.

[Elizabeth Ruth-Abramian]

Ojas, a cookbook: modern recipes and ancient wisdom for everyday Ayurveda by Nira Kehar (Dovetail Press, 2018) is a beautifully inspired and artistically designed cookbook. Inside are recipes for anyone—omnivore to vegan—wishing to eat food prepared for the taste-buds, and the soul. Influenced by French as well as Indian cuisines, Kehar opened her restaurant in Delhi. Her innovative and inventive menu featured unusual pairings with an international flair and had its roots in Ayurveda. And these became the basis for Ojas, a cookbook.

Not a vegetarian cookbook, the focus is on spices, ergo, taste. Discover blends for the 6 tastes and ways to use them in recipes. 12 spices are highlighted in Ojas, each becoming an emblem for one of the 12 astrological signs. Kehar reduces the spice knowledge overwhelm by offering them in monthly chunks of information.

An example is Fennel, connected to Gemini in Ojas, is a cooling spice and digestive aide. Cardamom, a warming spice with anti-inflammatory and detoxifying actions, is connected to Pisces. Find a recipe for Sweet Spice, featuring Cardamom in Sweet Garlic Dressing for zucchini and sweet potato. Doesn’t it sound divine?

For a review of her Golden Milk recipe, see this post on my website.