The Tale of Tim and His “Healthy” Smoothie Disaster. Meet Tim. Tim is a health enthusiast and decides to go green. One day, He chose to replace all his meals with antioxidant smoothies. He threw in raw spinach, yogurt, nuts, milk, honey, and even ice to make it extra refreshing. Basically, he had ticked all of the boxes for calories, vitamins, minerals, probiotics and fibers. He was proud until his stomach started playing the drums, his digestion rebelled, and he felt bloated all day. What went wrong? According to Ayurveda, Tim skipped a crucial factor –Samskara, or proper food processing or not combining incompatible food together. His smoothie was a metabolic disaster waiting to happen! Let’s dive into how Ayurvedic cooking techniques can make or break our health.
Samskara: Double Edged Sword in Cooking
Samskara, in Ayurveda, refers to the transformation of food through specific processes like roasting, fermenting, boiling, or seasoning to enhance its digestibility and therapeutic properties. It’s not just cooking—it’s alchemy for optimal nutrition! Proper Samskara can improve nutrient absorption, reduce food-induced inflammation, and help prevent metabolic disorders like diabetes and obesity. But wrong techniques of cooking can sow the seeds of poor health, compromised immunity and many disorders.The Science of Samskara: Cooking Techniques That Matter
1. Roasting (Bhavana Samskara) – Enhances aroma and digestibility; excessive roasting leads to dryness and nutrient loss. E.g. Dry roasting rice before cooking is easy to digest, reduces sugar spikes and favorable for people having obesity, diabetes etc. in observed amount.
2. Boiling (Pachana Samskara) – Softens food, making it easier to digest; overboiling destroys heat-sensitive vitamins. Sprouting increases protein content in beans, pulses etc. but they are heavy to digest and increase Vata. Blanching or boiling for very less time can also reduce the unwanted heaviness to great extent. People having Vata disorders like arthritis, Knee pain can sure try this cooking technique
3. Fermentation (Sandhana Samskara) – Yes Ayurveda knew about alcohol and fermentation and it is used exceptionally in preventive nutrition. Fermentation increases probiotics and bioavailability of nutrients; improper fermentation leads to bloating. Disclaimer: Please read about dos and Don’ts about fermented food in my book Food Guru.
4. Soaking (Jal Samskara) – Removes anti-nutrients like phytic acid in legumes and grains, aiding digestion.
5. Grinding (Churna Samskara) – Breaks down fiber for better absorption; excessive grinding leads to oxidation and nutrient degradation. Grinding with slow speed retains while grinding with high speed can distro fibers. The mild heat produced during gradual and slow grinding makes the food lighter to digest preserving nutrient density
6. Churning (Manthana Samskara) – Enhances digestion-friendly properties in dairy (e.g., buttermilk). The direction speed and heat generated during the churning process can alter the original properties of food. E.g. Churning of curd with water alters the Kapha producing properties of curd to Kapha reducing property of buttermilk produced.
7. Sprouting (Ankurpana Samskara) – Increases enzyme activity and nutrient bioavailability. Sprouting according to ayurveda increases the heavy nature and can cause vata accumulation in gut. To reduce this unwanted effect cooking spices, cow ghee helps plays important role to avoid indigestion. Please read Food Guru: Your Guide to Eating Right! to read the incompatible possibilities to avoid while eating sprouted food.
8. Smoking (Dhupana Samskara) – Used medicinally but harmful when applied excessively to food. Slightly burnt herbs and spices with cow ghee and heated charcoal with black pepper, cloves, dried herbs can increase the shelf life by antimicrobial property.
9. Drying (Rukshana Samskara) – Preserves food but may increase dryness in the body if overdone. Dried vegetables and meat are called as incompatible food in ayurveda and regular consumption is contraindicated. Adding enough oil, cow ghee etc. can reduce the dry nature of such food to some extent
10. Steaming (Swedana Samskara) – Retains nutrients better than boiling. Steaming broccoli is generally preferred over boiling as it helps retain more nutrients, especially water-soluble vitamins, and results in a crisp-tender texture, while boiling can cause some nutrients to leach into the water.
11. Blending (Sambharjana Samskara) – Combining ingredients to balance doshas, e.g., ghee with turmeric. Small piece of jaggery in eggplant dishes to reduce vata increasing properties. Using tamarind or garcinia fruit or lime juice while cooking pulses to improve the digestion etc.
12. Baking (Bhasma/ Ruksha Tapa Samskara) – Creates structural changes that affect digestion; whole grain baking is preferred. Regular baking as cooking method can create inflammatory changes in digestive system.
13. Frying (Bharjita Samskara) – Can be nourishing with the right oils but harmful if using refined oils. E.g. Masha Apupa, Black lentil deep fried tortilla/puri with cow ghee is extremely nourishing if the person has good digestion and strong metabolism. Frying with ghee aids digestion and absorption making it high calorie energy dense food for people who need high calories and trying to increase weight and muscle mass.
14. Seasoning with Spices (Pratisarana Samskara) – Loosen the intracellular bonds promoting good absorption. Correct marination reduces inflammation and aids digestion but marinating meat with curd and letting it settle of longer time can be incompatible combination.
15. Maceration (Satva /Nimajjana Samskara) – Soaking herbs in water for extraction, aiding in herbal preparations. Soaking whole wheat and discarding the fibrous part to get pure wheat extract for making some traditional indian recipes is common example. soaking Giloy root to get giloy extract which is called as Amruta Satva is very popular medicine for pitta.
16. Salt Curing (Lavana Samskara) – Preserves food but excessive use can lead Pitta dosha imbalance increasing inflammation and leading to conditions like hypertension, Skin allergies and hyperacidity.
17. Trituration (Bhavna Samskara) – Mechanical rubbing of two food items one in liquid form and other in solid or semisolid form togetheriscalled as Bhavana. It enhances fast absorption promoting efficient nutrient availability through gut. E.g. Adding Amla juice in Amla powder and rubbing it together till the juice gets completely absorbed in it multiplies the antioxidant nature of amla
18. Clay Pot Cooking (Mrittika Samskara) – Balances pH and enhances mineral absorption. Clay pot offers neutral environment for cooking different types of food enhancing the taste and adding earthy aroma to the food.
19. Ghee Infusion (Sneha Samskara) – Enhances medicinal properties of herbs. Boiling herbs and spices with cow ghee or oil to prepare infused fat is unique cooking method to enhance the goodness of fatty acids and deliver the nano particles from herbs and spices more efficiently through diet. This is nutraceutical form of ghee or oil. E.g. Ashwagandha ghee, Triphala ghee, Amla oil etc
20. Microwaving (Vidyut Samskara) – Many unresolved research and theories. but Ayurveda Do not recommend extremely high and speedy heat for cooking. Avoid whenever possible and can use mindfully in case of real need only. Retains more water-soluble vitamins compared to boiling. 🚫 Avoid using plastic containers, which may leach harmful chemicals. 🚫 High microwave power for extended durations can denature proteins and degrade antioxidants. 🚫 Processed foods heated in microwaves may become more inflammatory due to altered molecular structures.
Final Thoughts: Cooking for Health, Not Just Taste!
Food is medicine—but only if processed right! Ayurveda’s wisdom on Samskara helps us not only enjoy meals but also heal our bodies. So, next time you prepare food, think like an Ayurvedic chef: Cook smart, eat mindfully, and let your food be your healer!