Ayurvedic Oat Porridge

  • Balancing for all doshas and all seasons; especially balancing for Vata & Pitta

  • Kapha dominant - omit milk, ghee & add more ginger powder

  • Excellent food for infants, children, elderly, pre-natal & post-natal, anybody with weak digestion

  • Porridge prepared ayurvedically is a light and easily digestible meal.

  • A deliciously nourishing breakfast with sweet, warm and moist qualities to kick start your day. The ‘sweet’ taste of grains is recommended as the first taste of the day because this provides the physiology of the body with cellular nourishment.

  • Fruit and grains are typically considered a poor food combination hampering good digestion, however, oats are a particularly light grain and are generally quite digestible and the sweet taste profile of raisins matches the sweet taste of semolina and oats, which makes them more compatible.

  • Serves 2

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Ingredients

1-2 Tab Ghee

2/3 cup Quick or rolled oats - you can blitz your rolled oats

1¼ cups Water, boiled

½ tsp Cinnamon powder

½ tsp Cardamom powder

¼ tsp Ginger powder (optional extra for Kapha)

¼ cup Sultanas, raisins or chopped dates

2 tsp Raw sugar or coconut sugar (optional)

1 cup Milk, organic unhomogenised, or unsweetened almond milk without oil added

Directions

  1. Warm the ghee on medium heat and add the oats. Toast lightly until aromatic and golden or slightly light brown in colour.

  2. Once toasted, add the boiled water. It will spit and bubble due to the water mixing with the ghee or fat. This step splits up the grain and further makes it more easily digestible.

  3. Lower the heat. Add the spices and raisins, sultanas or dates. Add sugar if using and mix thoroughly.

  4. Cook until the oats are soft and the water is absorbed.

  5. Add the milk and ensure it has boiled to make it ‘lighter’ on digestion.

  6. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

  7. If your body feels dry, or you know you have a lot of Vata in your constitution, add 1 tsp ghee as garnish. Mix in well.

  8. Enjoy eating in a peaceful environment and with happy mindfulness to enhance satisfaction and digestion.

    Optional extras

    • ½ cup chopped almonds, which you’ve soaked overnight and peeled, if you’ve thought of this ahead of time. Almonds provide extra protein and nourishment for brain and whole the nervous system.

    • 1 Tab ground flax seeds or soaked chia seeds for omega 3s to nourish the brain

    Notes:

    Toasting the oats makes the grain lighter and more digestible.

    Oats are very calming and grounding for the nervous system; keep this in mind when anyone in the family is feeling a bit stressed or anxious.

    Excess Kapha – omit the ghee and milk, include ginger powder

    As a general guideline, use ¼ tsp of each spice per person although you can easily be more generous here with sweet meals.

    Do not add fresh fruit. Fresh fruit should be eaten on its own, between meals ,or it stays in the stomach for too long and ferments, causing undigested food toxins (ama in Sanskrit).