Late Summer Tips: Changing Tastes with The Seasons
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Along with dinacharya, daily routines, ritucharya or seasonal routines are key components of Ayurvedic selfcare. In both daily and seasonal routines, the Ayurvedic texts advise proper use of the six tastes. (If you’re new to Ayurveda, and not familiar with the six tastes, please watch our video Ayurveda Basics 2: The Six Tastes )
In dinacharya, we make use of the tastes most appropriate for our prakriti or body type, while in ritucharya, we adjust the tastes in our diet for the changing seasons.
Whereas we are accustomed to a four seasons model, the Ayurvedic texts consider six seasons, each made up of two lunar months. Since there are six seasons on this model, each one of them relates to one of the six tastes.
We’re now in Varsha, the rainy season, as we’ve noticed with the recent floods and storms. The sour taste predominates in this season. During this time, the summer heat gradually dies down. It’s also a vata-provoking time, hot and sunny one moment, cold and rainy the next. You don’t quite know what to wear or how many blankets to have on your bed. So, we’re advised to make use of the vata-soothing tastes, sweet, sour and salty. How can we make use of these tastes and enjoy the abundance of late summer produce?
Peaches! I’m buying a couple of pounds of delicious Palisade peaches each week, savouring their amazing combination of sweet and sour tastes. As well as relishing fresh peaches, you could enjoy peach cobbler, peach crumble, peach salsa, or our delicious Peach Chutney recipe …endless possibilities for the tastes of the season.
And how about vine-ripened tomatoes from your garden? They too bring the sweet and sour taste, whether eaten fresh in salad, or as tomato chutney or tomato sauce. You could also try our Tomato Lauki Sabji, created by one of our former students.
Eggplant is another seasonal vegetable that brings a touch of the sour taste. Combine eggplant with tomatoes in our Persian Tomato and Eggplant Stew.
Sweet peppers are another seasonal vegetable that bring a nice sweetness, especially when roasted. Try our vegan stuffed zucchini, which features banana peppers in the stuffing. http://ayurveda.alandiashram.org/ayurvedic-recipes/vegan-stuffed-zucchinistuffed-marrow.
Enjoy salt with your corn on the cob, and with your sauteed zucchinis or steamed green beans.
Keep your vata calm with regular routines, as well as with the sweet, sour and salty tastes. Enjoy the special bounty of this season!
Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.
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