The Australian Summer calls for delicious, fresh salads that are easy to digest and cater for all dosha needs. Being from a German background, we love a good potato salad but, I have never been a huge fan of the super heavy mayonnaise covered and rich types that make you feel digestively sluggish and over-full.
Ayurvedically, it is not recommended to combine nightshades like potato with dairy products - it is considered to be incompatible and creates toxins or Ama in the gut. This is why I simply love this recipe that I have adapted from a very clever Vegan cook named Shannon who produces a brilliant blog called "Yup, It's Vegan".
I have taken this recipe and created an Ayurvedic version while still keeping it delicious, gluten free, vegan and SO simple to make. Give it a try and please see adaptions below for dosha types.
VATA CONSTITUTIONS
Saute the red onion lightly (please don't over cook or char, this won't be a nice flavour), allow to cool and then add to the salad. Please add some more coconut milk to the dressing to make it creamier.
PITTA CONSTITUTIONS
Halve or eliminate the mustard, eliminate the red onion and you can add some lime juice instead of lemon.
KAPHA CONSTITUTIONS
Halve the oil used and add almond milk instead of coconut. You can also be a bit more liberal with the black pepper.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Serves 8-10
SALAD
Roughly 2 kilos of your chosen locally grown and organic potatoes scrubbed and washed, but with the skins left on. I like to use a Red Royale or other red-skinned types as they make a creamy and delicious texture.
2 -3 large sticks of organic and well washed celery
1 red onion finely sliced.
A handful of fresh coriander leaves washed and roughly chopped.
A handful of fresh dill leaves washed and roughly chopped.
2 spring onions finely chopped, green part only and leave the white ends for another meal.
DRESSING
3-4 tbs of olive oil.
A good dash of coconut milk.
1 tbs of a mustard of your choice (seeded and Dijon mustard work well).
The juice of 1/2-1 lemon.
Pink Himalayan rock salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
METHOD
Cut your potatoes into bite-sized pieces and put into a large saucepan. Add some fresh water to the saucepan to just cover the potatoes, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, turn down to a low simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked, soft and delicious.
When cooked, strain the water from the potatoes and allow to cool to room temperature (if planning to take this salad to a function, or have for dinner, I recommend you cook the potatoes in the morning and this will give the day for everything to cool. It takes a while with a batch this large).
Put your potatoes in a lovely big salad bowl and add all other ingredients and stir gently through.
In a small jar or container with a lid, add all the ingredients for the dressing. Adjust according to taste with the coconut milk, lemon, salt and pepper. Put the lid on the jar and shake until well combined and aerated.
Pour the dressing over the salad and stir gently through until all combined and by this stage, it should be looking and smelling divine. Serve straight away and enjoy!
DISCLAIMER The sole purpose of these articles is to provide information about the science of Ayurveda. If you have an acute or chronic health concern, please consult your chosen trained health care professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively. If you are seeking the medical advice of a qualified Ayurvedic Practitioner, contact The Sattva Centre directly - info@thesattvacentre.com
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