Ayurveda & Cooking
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is an ancient method of Indian medicine which includes the use of medicinal herbs but which encompasses many other techniques too. Ayurveda has suffered from an over-simplification in the West, just as yoga has.
At YogaSan we introduce the principles of ayurveda, the spices and we teach simple recipes that are authentic (Indian), using Ayurvedic spices, and which are nutritious, fresh and very well made.
Ayurveda complements Yoga very well. It is natural for a yoga school that cares a great deal about the health of its students to offer ayurvedic medicines, spices, foods, knowledge and books etc. Infact, Ayurvedic doctors in India might prescribe a course of medicines and also yoga asana for their patients ( in addition to devotional practises).
YogaSan has an extensive yoga library. Our books are free to borrow for our yoga students, and that includes books on Indian Cookery and Ayurveda. We purchase most of our books directly from India, and one of our favourite online bookstores is VEDIC BOOKS :
http://www.vedicbooks.net
Their service is very good, they have a good selection, and the website is fairly easy to navigate. I hope that the owners will soon provide a description of every book, but despite this flaw, we recommend them. Make sure you calculate total cost including shipping before you place your order.
Background : From Italy to India via London :
Paola has been cooking for her family and friends since she was very young. Born into an Italian immigrant family (in Liverpool, England) Paola was brought up with traditional Southern Italian and Neapolitan cuisine and with very high culinary standards learned from her mother. These standards are nothing more than old-fashioned common sense; a need for fresh, high quality ingredients that are prepared according to traditional and simple home recipes.
In 1981 Paola moved into shared student accommodation in London. The love affair with Indian Cuisine had begun. In some parts of the UK, the demand of the local Indian community is such, that it is possible to obtain almost every foodstuff available in India, and specialist stores offer fresh-ground coriander and cumin (dhania-jeera) or other ground spice mix (e.g. garam masala).
Photos of a recent cookery class :
