Twenty-nine-year-old Pankhuri Agarwal calls herself a “permanent hospital resident”, as she was some five years back. A hypnotherapist, tarot reader and crystal reader by profession, she took two-and-a-half-years to complete her cookbook Karmaa Kitchen, which features 151 recipes based on the principles of Ayurveda.
One of the unique aspects of the book is that Pankhuri cooked and shot almost all the recipes for the book at home to show that “it's edible the way it looks, unlike other food photography that doesn't consist of real food.” Excerpts from an interview:
What's different about Karmaa Kitchen ?
It's based on the Ayurvedic principles of cooking, eating and digestion, but more importantly, it’s a modern person’s take on it, using an ancient base. Some of the recipes included are for pizzas, burgers, pesto, fondue, idli… So just because it’s tasty, it doesn’t mean it’s unhealthy. There’s just a right way to eat it.
Also, under every recipe, I’ve included a table of post-metabolic effects of the dish, information on what it does to your kapha or pitta levels... To make this simpler, I've given a detailed introduction in the beginning. To put it simply, it's Ayurveda for laymen; for everyday cooking.
Why the focus on Ayurveda?
I'm a hypnotherapist, so I deal with the well-being of mind and body. Ayurveda supplements healing. I used to suffer from hypothyroidism. At 22, I discovered hypnotherapy and got off all medicines — it might be hard to believe. Ayurveda was always in my family and it helped me get over the side-effects of regular medicine-based treatment and it gave me a clear understanding of what I was eating.
Does the book also address special needs such as gluten-free, vegan, paleo diets etc.?
Well, not in particular, but there are a range of recipes that people can adapt to suit their lifestyles and diets.
With information easily available online, are cookbooks even relevant anymore?
Karmaa Kitchen is not your average cookbook. I've explained the basics of Ayurveda in a simple way. I'm not a doctor; I'm also a regular person and I've written it in such a way that if I can understand, anyone can.
'This book also addresses seasonal eating that helps you to slowly adapt to the diet.
How did you devise the recipes?
I've broadly divided the recipes into three categories. There are the ancient recipes such as idli, jalebi, sugarcane rice, regular ones like upma, pongal, pesto that I've modified Ayurvedically, and then there are recipes that I have introduced from scratch such as aloe vera cooler, peach salad and my take on the raw mango salad.
Karmaa Kitchen is priced at Rs 1,250 and is available on Amazon, Flipkart, Notion Press and at Chamiers.
