Heaven's Banquet: Vegetarian Cooking for Lifelong Health the Ayurveda Way » (Reissue)

Ayurveda, a 3,000 year old Indian science ensuring the total health of mind, body, and spirit, is one of the fastest growing alternative health models today. Publications from Vegetarian Times and Prevention Magazine to Business Week herald the growth of interest in Ayurveda-- a $2 billion market-- and the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Institute is the preeminent marketer of Ayurvedic products in the U.S. and worldwide. Research shows that Ayurvedic practices strengthen the body, enhance the immune system, and perform a wide range of preventative functions. Miriam Hospodar's twenty-year culinary journey has culminated in a major work that is as inspiring as it is comprehensive. Heaven's Banquet offers an accessible, informed, and passionate approach to transforming your cooking, and your health, with Ayurvedic principles. The recipes come from all over the world --Europe and the Mediterranean; China, Japan, Southeast Asia; the Jewish and Middle Eastern culinary traditions; and the Americas. Hospodar has guidance for the "new vegetarian" and for those cooking on "terrible schedules." She offers options for sugar-free, salt-free, dairy-free, and wheat-free diets, and provides a full complement of recipes in every category-- from appetizers and finger foods through main courses and desserts. Heaven's Banquet is a cookbook with a philosophy, a voice, and a mission. It is a landmark work that will be a standard for years, even generations, to come.

Publishers Weekly

"The Ayurvedic meal," writes Hospodar, "is designed to promote optimum digestion and maximum pleasure." Indeed, the Indian "life science" of Ayurveda has been ensuring the health of mind, body and spirit for many centuries. Applying ancient philosophical and dietary concepts to contemporary, holistic food preparation, Hospodar has spent over two decades researching and adapting recipes from three continents; the result is a wide-ranging compendium of 750 vegetarian dishes and a storehouse of practical information and advice. Twenty-six chapters, arranged by main ingredient (Grains, Tofu, etc.) and course (Appetizers through Puddings), present flavorful, healthy selections, such as Artichoke-Filo Pie, and Lentil Burgers with Herbed Ch vre Sauce. The recipes are designed to suit each of three body types--Vata, Pitta, Kapha (readers complete a questionnaire to identify their type). Introductory chapters explain the tenets of Ayurveda and offer cookware, seasoning and menu-planning suggestions. Recipes are geared to the fairly proficient cook and, though not specifically low calorie, are often wheat-, milk- and oil-free. Illustrations and an amusingly eclectic assortment of quotations enliven the text, which, although devoted to serious principles, manages to be unfailingly upbeat and enthusiastic. (Apr.)