The documentary below gives an amazing run down of the development of biotechnology in the last 50 years, and the dangers of the unregulated and immoral use of such technologies.  I encourage all of you to watch the whole video and share it with as many people as you can.

For further reading, check out these links:
http://yogashaastra.blogspot.com/2008/05/beat-heat-with-sheetali-sheetkari.html
http://www.healthandyoga.com/HTML/news/sheetali.html
http://living.oneindia.in/yoga-spirituality/yoga/sheetali-surya-bhedan-pranayama.html

–Rishi

Ro and I would like to thank all of you for your love and support.  We’re both excited for the new year and look forward to bringing you all some great new recipes, videos, and info posts and also learning from all of you.

Wishing everyone well,
Rishi

So here they are, the first two videos in our series on pranayama:

Pranayama – Part 1: Introduction

Pranayama – Part 2: How to Sit

If you have any comments or questions about the videos, please leave them below.

I hope you enjoy these!

–Rishi

(click for more views and to enlarge)

Ingredients
Milk:
* 2 tsp rose water
* 1 handful cashews (~1/2 cup)
* 2 tbsp agave nectar
* 4 green cardamom seeds – powdered
* water

Rusgulas (balls):
* 2 handfuls cashews (~1 cup)
* 2 handfuls almonds (~1 cup)
* 5-6 soft dates

Directions
Milk:
Place all milk ingredients in a blender, and add water until total volume is just over 2 cups.  Blend it all together.

Rusgulas (balls):
In a food processor, grind down 1 handful of cashews and 1 handful of almonds into a fine powder.  Again using a food processor, grind down the other handful of cashews and almonds into small granules.  In a large bowl, mix ground nuts with dates by hand until evenly distributed.  Add 2 tablespoons of the milk into the mix and mash further. Next, shape the mix into 1 1/2 inch diameter saucers, and set aside.

Finally, place the rusgulas in a bowl, and pour the milk over them.  Allow everything to sit for 7-8 hours so the rusgulas soak up the flavor from the milk and soften.  Before serving, top with crushed pistachios.

Now go make yourself some!

–Rishi

Ingredients

*3/4 cup almond pulp – squeezed dry
*2 tablespoons olive oil
*1 large date
*5 long sprigs rosemary, chopped
*1 tablespoon dried parsely
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
*1/2 apple, grated
*1/2 pomegranate, peeled

*8 button mushrooms

Directions

Well the directions for this one are just too short, so I have to write  a little extra so it looks more substantial.  I hope you’re ready for this.  Gather ingredients.  Chop and grate as instructed above.  Mix everything besides pomegranate first, then add pomegranate.  For a little extra fruity flavor, pop some pomegranate seeds into the mix. Finally, put the stuffing in mushrooms. Serve!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

–Rishi

(click for more views and to enlarge)

Ingredients

Curry:

* 2 bananas
* 1 tomato
* 1 tbsp coconut oil
* 1 tsp coriander
* 1 tsp cumin
* 1/2 tsp garam masala
* 2 pinches cinammon
* 1/2 tsp turmeric
* 1/4 tsp salt
* red chili powder (to taste)
* 1 handful cashews
* about 1/2 cup water

Koftas:

* 1 1/2 handfuls walnuts
* 1/2 tsp cumin
* 1/2 tsp coriander
* 1 tsp Nama Shoyu/Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
* 1 large soft date

Directions

Place bananas, tomatoes, and coconut oil into food processor and mix until smooth.  Next add spices and cashews.  Depending on the thickness of the curry, add water until it reaches the desired consistency.  Taste a little and see if you’d like it a little spicier (if so, add equal amounts coriander, cumin, garam masala).   To make the koftas, pulse walnuts, cumin, coriander, and nama shoyu in food processor until walnuts are in small pieces.  Mash walnut mixture together with dates by hand, then roll the mixture into little balls.

To serve:  Places koftas on plate and cover with sauce.  For “rice,” use shredded cabbage, and for “naan” use pieces of any leafy lettuce.  For salad, use cherry tomatoes or sliced tomatoes.

And remember to eat with your hands to get the full flavor!!!

–Rishi

This weekend I went out to an Indian restaurant with my friends, and after eating dinner, a few them decided they were still up for a dessert.  The restaurant had a big array of Indian sweet meats, and so I stood and explained to everyone what each one was.  After everyone had finished scarfing down all the desserts, I realized that I could probably replicate them pretty well.  There are many types of Indian sweat meats(ludoo, rusgula, gulab jamun), but out of all of them, my favorite is barfi.  Barfi is traditionally made with boiled down milk, jaggery (home-made evaporate cane sugar), and ghee (clarified).  Basically, this stuff is heavy, really heavy.  If you can imagine what solidified poisonous deliciousness tastes like, that’s barfi.  So now, with my barfi, you can enjoy all the wonderful flavors of barfi, with none of the common side effects (brick feeling in your stomach, immediate sleepiness, general malaise, etc.).  Enjoy this one!

Ingredients

* 1/2 pound almonds
* 1/2 pound cashews
* 4 cloves cardamom or cardamom powder (to taste)
* 1 1/2 tbsp agave nectar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* cacao powder (optional)

 Directions

Using a food processor, grind down the almonds and cashews until they are as close to a powder as you can get them.  Shell the cardamom cloves, and grind down the seeds to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle.  In a large bowl, place the almond powder, cashew powder, cardamom powder, salt, and agave nectar.  Mash everything together with your hands until all ingredients are evenly distributed and nothing is sticking to the bowl.  Lay the mixture out on a large cutting board and flatten in down to about 1/2 inch thickness.  Cut in whatever shape desired.   (Optional) Roll individual pieces in cacao powder.  Top each piece with whatever you’d like.  I suggest cashews, almond, walnuts, pecans, dates, or bananas.  Next…. oh wait, thats it.  I forgot it was that simple.

 hehe… enjoy it!

San Diego Raw Potluck

This weekend I also attended the first San Diego Raw Potluck, held here in La Jolla by my friend Prescilla.  She had been planning the potluck for the last month, and it turned out really amazing.  It was really great to be meet all the local raw foodists and share recipes and ideas.  About 25 people showed up, and everyone brought something delicious to munch on.  I brought barfi (recipe above), my famous banana cobbler (recipe coming soon!), and my previously posted curry with “rice” (shredded cabbage).  All the food was really amazing.  I know I definitely stuffed myself on the mini sun-dried tomato pizzas along with to-die-for chocolate mini desserts that Prescilla made.  It was really a great time.  If you live in the San Diego area, be sure to join us all for the next potluck on December 6th.  For more info, visit the La Jolla/San Diego Raw Food Meetup Group.

Here are some pics from the potluck:

–Rishi

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 tbsp Nama Shoyu/Braggs Liquid Aminos
* 1 1/2 tbsp Ume Plum Vinegar (if you have it) or Apple Cider Vinegar *
* 1 tbsp Agave Nectar
* 2 tsp Sesame Oil
* 1/4 tsp Grated Ginger
* 1 pinch Asafoetida or 1 clove Garlic **

* 1 zucchini – chopped
* 1 carrot – chopped
* 1/2 head broccoli – chopped
* 1 bellpepper – chopped
* 1 cup pealed and chopped sunchokes ***
* 1 cup peanuts

* 1/4 head iceberg lettuce

Directions

Lets see how short I can make this (just to show you how simple this really is):

Put chopped vegetables, except lettuce, and peanuts into a bowl.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Let sit and marinate for 15-20 minutes.  Serve over lettuce as pictured.  Eat it and enjoy!

Notes

* Ume Plum Vinegar can be hard to find raw, and its very expensive.  So if you don’t mind normal ume plum vinegar, use it, otherwise ACV works just fine.
** Asafoetida is a powdered spice available in most Indian grocery stores.  It is used as a replacement for garlic, because garlic (along with onion) is considered to be rajsaic.
*** Sunchokes are a native American vegetable that for some reason haven’t really caught on in their home country.  I usually find mine at Trader Joes.

–Rishi

As the first order of business for this post, I would like to announce the opening of the Roshi’s Online Store.  As our very first product, we will be selling incense sticks (known as agarbathies in India) which I brought back from India this summer.  The incense sticks are hand made by the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India.  The Aurobindo Ashram is well known for its support of cottage industries (industries made by hand, in a home and not a factory), like production of incense sticks, textiles, artwork, etc.  I brought back a bunch of these incense sticks for myself because they smelled so wonderful and they are made with all natural ingredients. For more information on the incense, you can visit the Auroshikha website.  Then head over to our store to pick up a batch.

Chaat it up Pizza

So I actually started this recipe with something completely different in mind, which ended up not working out like I wanted it too (I would of had to use a dehydrator to get it just right, and you all know how Ro and I dislike waiting for food).  After playing around with what I had made, I thought I would go for more of a fusion feel on this one.  The idea of pizza popped into my head, and so the chaat it up pizza was born.  I actually wasn’t sure if it would taste good until I took a bite, and wow! what a bite. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with chaat (literally meaning to lick or to taste), this should be a good introduction.  Chaat is style of Indian snack food, mostly found in the north of India, and consists of all of my favorite Indian dishes.  Chaat usually consists of a variety of cracker like snacks, topped yogurt, tamarind chutney, yogurt, and basically every spice known to man.  The result is an explosion of flavors you probably didn’t know was possible and a stomach that will likely be angry with you for submitting it to such a concoction.  Luckily, this dish should give you all of those wonderful flavors without the resulting gas problems.  Hope you all enjoy it!

Ingredients

Crust:
* You’re favorite raw cracker/bread (should be hardy enough to hold all of toppings – I use Wheat-Free crusts from Mauk Family Farm’s)

1st layer:
* 3 handfuls cashew
* 2 medium tomatoes

2nd layer:
* 2 carrots
* 2 zucchini
* 4 sticks broccoli
* 1 medium tomato 
* 1 teaspoon coriander powder
* 1 teaspoon cumin powder
* 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
* 1 1/2 tablespoon Nama Shoyu/Braggs Liquid Aminos/Soy Sauce
* 2 handfuls walnut pieces

3rd layer:
* sliced tomato
* chaat masala (I prefer MDH’s Chunky Chaat Masala – available at your local Indian grocery store)

Directions

1st layer:
In a food processor, put all of your cashews and just 1/2 of a tomato.  Keep adding more tomato until the juices from the tomato makes the mixture mildly smooth and sauce like.  If you have any tomato leftover, you can use it for the 2nd layer. That’s it for step 1.

2nd layer:
Grate carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and tomato into a large mixing bowl.  Then add coriander, cumin, turmeric, Nama Shoyu, and walnuts pieces.  Let the mixture sit for a bit so all the juices have time to mix together.

Assembly:
Take one slice of crust, and spread tomato-cashew mixture on top as the 1st layer.  Then, top with the vegetable mixture for layer 2.  Place thinly sliced tomatoes on top of the vegetable mixture, and, finally, dust the top of the pizza with chaat masala.  Chaat masala has a very strong taste, so first add a little to see how much you’d like to add.  I personally love spiced up food so I like to add a bit more than a dusting, but it’s up to you.  After that, all you gotta do is take a bite and enjoy it!

–Rishi