EVENING MEAL

Jiffy DahlDahl is an East Indian dish made with lentils or mung dahl.
To begin: Along with ghee, or oil that you prefer, add your spices to a high quality stainless steel pan or pot. Sauté the spices lightly until you smell the pleasant aroma. If you wish to include mustard seeds you may want to 'pop' them by sautéing them in the ghee prior to adding the spices. To do this add ghee to the pan, cover and heat the seeds on a low-medium heat until they pop'. Shake the pan as if making popcorn. Ghee has high heat tolerance but it will scorch.

Take the pan off the heat in order to cool it just enough to add water. Experiment with 5 parts water to 1 part dahl. Add more water for a soupier consistency.

Add the dahl. (Make sure it has been rinsed clean and is free of seeds and stones.)

Add salt later, but prior to the dahl being cooked. Ditto for turmeric if you like extra turmeric.

Combine 2 grains.Try red lentils and quinoa or millet. These grains cook in about the same amount of time so add them at the same time. (Some grains may take longer than others to cook so add the faster cooking grain later.)

·       Add the vegetables. Carrots and cabbage cook in about the same length of time. Carrots and broccoli require that the carrots go in first and the broccoli later. (Both partially cooked and as well overcooked mushy vegetables are frowned upon in AV.)

·       Add your personalized churna. Or if cooking for two or more people heat the individual churnas in ghee and then drizzle on the individual servings.

·       Add grated ginger root if this suits your constitution – careful Pittas.

        When the dish is ready remove from the heat, add greens such as cilantro, cress, or Italian parsley. Chopped dulse, purple in color, raisins (revered in Ayurveda) and some cashews or other easily digestible nuts sprinkled on top  further enhance the taste, the nutrition, and make for an attractive presentation. If the digestion is not yet strong skip the garnishes and blend the dahl to make a thick soup. If digestion is not yet perfect possibly add psyllium and/or oat bran to the last few spoonsful of this soup. After finishing eating lie on the left side for five minutes to add digestion.

        The evening meal should be light and 'savory'. And eaten as early as possible. Eating prior to sleeping is what the sumo wrestlers do to gain weight. In addition when you read Session 9 in The Aging Reversal Course regarding the daily cycle of human physiology note that the 10pm to 2am Pitta time is primarily a time for supporting the immune system and combating disease and not to be used as a time for digesting large amounts of food.


[i] Combining 2 grains increases the chances of making complete protein available.

[ii] Ayurveda recommends that vegetables be cooked until you can easily stick a fork into them.

Recipes can be found in the Aging Reversal Course book.