The Healing Cuisine: India's Art of Ayurvedic Cooking (Healing Arts Press)

Author, artist, and world renowned scholar of Tantra and Ayurveda, Harish Johari has gathered his extensive knowledge into a treasury of culinary wisdom and authentic Indian recipes (all vegetarian), based on Ayurvedic principles of healing.

Includes information on harmonizing the humors, elements, and tastes. Provides special suggestions on cooking for children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

The recipes are interesting in that some use vegetables like celery & broccoli which are readily available in a western grocery yet previously uncommon to indian cooking. Also the recipes are health conscious with greater use of ghee rather than oil, and jaggery in sweets instead of refined sugar. Many recipes are run of the mill home-style north indian cookery which is good for the newcomer to north indian cooking but less interesting for the regular north indian cook.

Finally i would like to know something about the author. Most books especially those offering advice on health include some information about the author's training, history & professional background. I would like to know where he learned about ayurveda? Is he self-taught? If the author is a world renowned scholar, as is claimed on the book cover, i think the reader has the right to know about his credentials in order to afford greater credibility to his book.


Superb book... *and* vegan-friendly   December 20, 1998
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

I could write a very long and thorough critique of this book, but i won't. i just want to make a few points. First & foremost is that this is the only book of its kind (that i'm aware of); that is, it's a vegetarian indian cookbook based directly on ayurvedic science, with a complete introduction to ayurvedic theory & application... and it's vegan-friendly... (there's a small section of the recipes devoted to paneer cottage cheese and yogurt, and some of the other main recipes call for yogurt or cream, but these are few comparatively, and of course soy could be substituted).... As an introductory guide to ayurveda, it is pretty good (the organization isn't the best, compared to "Ayurveda" by Dr. Vasant Lad, which is the *only* definitive modern introductory guide to ayurveda that is clear, concise, thorough, complete with practical application).... Johari covers food and spice qualities and combinations and how to apply all of this to best suit your constitution... this is really good stuff & easy to grasp... his recipes are *superb* & come from his intuition.... (keeping it short): my only "complaint" is that there is no verbage to go along with the recipes; that is, which constitution the recipe is best for; what it will aggrevate or subdue; how the individual spices & veggies are working together in the recipe... example: at the beginning of the recipes, i'd like to see something like "This will subdue vata & kapha & aggrevate pitta; such & such spice prevents gas formation; such & such spices are digestive tonics; tonic for such & such conditions; good winter dish"..... In sum, vegetarian indian cookbooks are indeed rare (why is this?).... this is the *BEST* i've ever come across.... ("Classic Indian Vegatarian & Grain Cooking" is not all that great)