We perform a lot of activities in our daily lives habitually. We never stop to think or question why we do these activities in a certain way. Our daily meals are one such routine.
There is a certain discipline in our meals. The proportion of Roti, Subji, Bhakri, Chutney, Koshimbir/salad, salt, and ghee are set. In all these hundreds of years, we have never heard of any changes in this proportions, such as Subji in the quantity of chutney or chutney in the quantity of subji. From where do all of these specific, unwritten norms originate? Would it be wrong if we consume our favorite food in any quantity?
Friends, we consume our meals twice a day. However, such questions never come to mind. The reason for this is that we are unaware that our meals follow Ayurvedic rules. Every day we sincerely and unknowingly follow Ayurveda in the form of our meals. Therefore, now we are going to see the Ayurveda behind our daily meals. Having spoken about our eating habits, we are now going towards our next topic, i.e. the meal.
Ayurveda has described how the various tasting foods in our diet have an effect on our body. Various tastes of foods, such as sweet, sour, salty, turat (test of Amla), and bitter, have a specific effect on our body. Considering these effects, the properties of foods and nutrition as the main objective of our diet, various dishes were added to our meals.
Dishes made from foods like wheat and rice are useful in repairing the natural wear and tear of the body. Therefore, the quantity of roti and rice is more in our meals. Various vegetables also serve the same purpose. Hence, its quantity is also more. Sweet foods nourish the body, and hence ‘meals with sweet dishes’ are important in our culture.
Good appetite and good taste in the mouth are necessary to be able to eat properly. Sour-tasting foods are very useful for this. Therefore, we use sour foods such as Lemon, kokum, Tamarind and pickles while cooking as well as in our diet.
No matter how well the food is cooked, without salt its taste will be lost on us. Therefore, we use salt. On the other hand, excessive use of salt can lead to diseases such as skin diseases, blood pressure, swelling on the body, feeling thirsty, and loss of strength. In order to prevent overconsumption, only a very small quantity of salt is placed on our plates.
Just like pickles, we decorate the left side of our plate with Chutney and Koshimber/salad. Chutney has a spicy flavor. The spicy tasting food enables our tongue to understand and experience taste perfectly.Also, the spicy-tasting food is beneficial in increasing our appetite and maintaining good digestion power. It reduces the Kapha dosha that increases after the meal. Due to all these benefits, foods like chutney are included in our meals. However, consuming spicy foods in excess quantity can harm or result in increased wear and tear of the body. As they are dry in nature, they absorb moisture from the body. Therefore, it is added to our meals in less quantity. The dryness caused by chutney can be reduced by adding oil to it.
Curd is a not completely banned food in Ayurveda. However, consuming curd in excessive quantity may cause various diseases. Thus, Koshimbir made using curd is served in less quantity on our plate.
Pure ghee is a very beneficial food. Due to the processes involved in making ghee from milk, a lot of nutrients get added to it. Therefore, just a spoonful of pure ghee is extremely beneficial for the nourishment of the body.
All these different types of tastes have a favorable effect on our body. Therefore, our body needs all kinds of food. This is why various kinds of foods are included in our Indian meals. However, many people are used to consuming only one dish just because they like it. In such cases, consuming specific food in excess quantity and not consuming other necessary nutritional foods result in ill effects on the body. The food and every dish in our meal is scientifically approved. Therefore, consuming the food in the right quantity is beneficial for our health.
Dr Mayuresh Aagte