Enter the Unctuous …

As usual I have been thinking about the types of food eaten throughout the world … 

So much of the everyday fare of average people everywhere is soupy, stew-y, or saucy. Think of Vietnamese noodle soups & African stews or curries or borscht. Think about the foods of your ancestors; how many of them were stews? By comparison American convenience food (our everyday food) is not so moist: sandwiches & chips, fries & energy bars, steak & baked potato. It is no wonder we are dried up.

A proper amount of liquid in our meals ensures that food is digested properly & our bodies maintain ideal moisture levels. Ayurveda lists unctuousness (snigdha) as a quality of quality prepared foods: soft, moist, oily. Think of your typical Indian restaurant meal; curry/stew & dhal is always included. I suspect that one of the reasons that people feel they need to drink so much liquid (especially so much sweet icy stuff) is that the foods we eat tend to be so dry!

Most soups & stews are slow cooked, the flavors melding, the variations limitless depending on what is in season. These are working people's foods (who doesn't come from peasant stock?). They are easy to put over the fire in the morning so that they are ready for an easy dinner at night when you get back from the fields. A similar routine can be acieved with an Instant Pot. The qualities of each ingredient meld with the rest to balance each other; creating one dish that simply satisfies & sustains. Especially as our long hot summer drags on these are the dishes we should lean into to keep ourselves healthy and hydrated.