Spice up this winter!

" Aangikam Bhuvanam Yasya,
Vachikam Sarva vangmayam ,
Aaharyam Chandra taradi,
Tvam NAMAH SATVIKAM SHIVAM..."

( The whole Universe is HIS body,
All the sounds embody His speech,
The moon and stars are his ornaments ,
To you ...WHO IS THE ESSENCE OF ALL THAT IS (SATVIKA) I BOW DOWN)

With this invocation let me welcome you to this blog!.. "Satvika"

Have you ever thought that what we eat influences our thoughts? and what we think makes us who we are? According to Ayurveda which advocates a healthy way of life there are three categories of food with individual characteristics which in turn reflects on an indivivual's personality. They are the satva , rajas and tamas. In the satva category we can find fresh fruits , vegetables , legumes , milk and nuts which instill satvik qualities ,... in the rajas we can find spicy and hot food , red meat, sour and pungent food which makes one impulsive and succumb to too much anger and vigour, and the tamas consists of onions , garlic etc which gives rise to inertia. There should be a proper balance between these three......70% of satva, 20% of rajas and 10% of tamas to lead a healthy life! This is what inspired me to name my blog satvika!



Winter is gaining momentum and who doesn't yearn for something hot and spicy:)
Last week PP who can hardly resist fruits brought home 2 big water melons ! WATER MELONS and winter might start with the same alphabet.... but how can they ever go together. This is the last thing I wanted!I always associated water melons with peak summer in Chennai, where vendors piled up their truck loads of water melons on the streets and and waited for the customers under the scorching sun.
But here, when outside temperature has dropped to -20 degrees who will ever imagine to eat water melons!
Water melons waited on my counter for a week, receiving my pathetic glances.... and one fine day I decided to experiment with it! why not a spicy watermelon curry! flash backs of cut watermelon sprinkled with salt and chilly powder on our hike to Tirupati temple struck me... and that is how this recipe was born!


What you need:

diced water melon 3 cups
garlic cloves 6
shredded ginger 2 table spoons
coriander seeds 4 tbsps
turmeric powder 1 tsp
chilly powder 1 tsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
lemon juice 1tbsp
coriander leaves for garnish
oil for seasoning
salt to taste

Method:
coarsely grind together garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, turmeric powder and chilly powder and 1 cup water melon. heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Then add in the coarsely ground mixture and allow to boil. Add in the remaining water melon cubes . Add salt and cover and cook for 5 minutes. before removing from heat , sprinkle lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves before serving!Have it hot with rice or any bread !