Ayurvedic Winter Vegetable Stew with Adzuki Beans

Oops, I pulled a Joanne.

I stockpiled my winter squashes, only to discover one going moldy. Booo…. so much for hoarding my squashes until the snow prevents me going grocery shopping. One buttercup squash down but a golden nugget squash that was still fine.

This looks like a kitchen sink soup, but I was actually following a recipe! (mostly)

I have become fascinated with Ayurvedic cuisine as of late. Mainly because the recipes tend to have an Indian slant that I quite enjoy. Not hard-core, authentic, spicy curries, but milder flavourful Indian-infused dishes. Ayurvedic cuisine balances the six tastes (six rasas), sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter and astringent. By determining your dosha, or your main energy as per Ayurvedic tradition, you can tailor your foods to match your constitution.

I will not pretend to know much about Ayurvedic cuisine, although I did figure out my doshas: bidoshic with a bit more pitta (fire/water) than vata (air/space). I connect better with pitta-reducing recipes, which shies from heat and spice (among other things). Recipes can be modified to better balance your dosha, and these are modifications that I do instinctively: reduce chiles, omit curry paste, etc. Although my love of quinoa must be from vata because pitta precludes it!

This is an Ayurvedic winter vegetable stew that balances vata and pitta and decreases kapha. I made it more pitta-friendly by omitting the green curry paste (miso-curry soup isn’t so scary) and ground pepper and made it more Janet-style by adding adzuki beans (good for both vata and pitta).  Ignoring all the dosha-stuff, I can assure you that this is a delicious stew. The main flavours are miso, ginger and dill dancing around winter vegetables like winter squash, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. Adding in the suggested green curry paste would probably make this an entirely different soup altogether, and would be more up Rob’s alley. I have yet to figure out his dosha but he definitely has less pitta!

Have you ever tried Ayurvedic cuisine? What is your dosha?

This is my submission to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays.

Ayurvedic Winter Vegetable Stew with Adzuki Beans
Adapted from Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen

6 cups water
1 cup dry adzuki beans, rinsed (I used sprouted adzuki beans)
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
half a medium Golden Nugget squash (1 lb 5 oz), rinsed and cubed
salt, to taste
1 leek, halved longitudinally (washed) and thinly sliced (150g)
1 cup Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered (150g)
1 cup broccoli, stem thinly sliced and florets chopped small (90g)
1 small red onion, minced
1 tsp miso (I used red miso), dissolved in a small amount of water
3 tbsp fresh/frozen dill

1. Place water in a large soup pot, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add adzuki beans and sliced ginger and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare your squash. Wash and cut into bite-size cubes. Add to soup pot when ready. Add salt, to taste.

3. Once the beans are mostly soft, add the chopped leeks and Brussels sprouts. Cook another 7 minutes. Stir in the onion and broccoli and cook another 3 minutes, until the broccoli turns a brilliant green. Remove from heat. Stir in the dissolve miso and dill. Adjust seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4.