The Six Tastes of Ayurveda

By Bess Hochstein, photography by Andrew Purcell

During a recent week at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, I participated in The Chopra Center’s week-long Panchakarma and Perfect Health sessions, and indulged in two rich lunches catered by a local Indian restaurant. These abundant meals included multiple components—soup, dahl, vegetable curries, traditional Indian breads such as chapati or paratha, chutneys, raita, and sweet desserts—and guests were encouraged to have a bit of everything. It seemed like a heavy lunch during a week of detoxification, but it was a practical exercise in understanding the six tastes of Ayurveda, one of the concepts of healthful eating that we explored during the week.

In a series of lectures, we gained a basic theoretical understanding of the six tastes—sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent—and were introduced to the concept that a balanced, satisfying meal includes all six. In addition, we were taught that we should favor some of the tastes and go easy on others depending on our specific doshas—the Ayurvedic concept of an individual’s constitution, which is based largely on physical characteristics and temperament. Indeed, within the Ayurvedic system, all lifestyle choices should be made in accordance with one’s predominant dosha, each of which is characterized by a combination of the five elements.

The tastes of Ayurveda can also be characterized by the elements. To maintain balance and promote physical health and mental clarity through diet, individuals should focus on foods characterized by elements that are not dominant in their constitutions. This will pacify the predominant dosha; overemphasizing foods characterized by the same elements that comprise one’s dosha can lead to imbalance and disease. So, for example, since my dominant dosha is kapha, my ideal diet, Ayurvedically speaking, would emphasize dry, light, warming foods that are pungent, bitter, and astringent. An example of a meal balanced for my constitution would be a spicy bean dish with kale and ginger, plus small portions of bread and yogurt to include all six tastes.

The emphasis on balancing the six tastes is meant to promote proper digestion, which is the foundation of health from the Ayurvedic perspective. According to this system, strong digestive energy and metabolism, called agni and metaphorically viewed as fire, supports efficient elimination of waste and the creation of healthy tissue, and promotes strength, immunity, and clarity. When agni is weak, poor digestion creates toxic residue—called ama—that obstructs the flow of energy and nutrients, leading to disease. Emphasizing different tastes depending on an individual’s dosha recognizes that different people have different digestive qualities. For some, agni burns too hot, which can result in diarrhea, irritability, and excessive thirst and perspiration. For others it is weak, which can produce gas, constipation, and general sluggishness. All food, drink, and spices are viewed as having medicinal properties within Ayurveda; all can kindle or dampen agni.

A thorough understanding of the Ayurvedic way of eating can take years of study. A food’s characteristics can change depending on whether it is eaten raw or how it is prepared. In addition, in certain situations, it may be beneficial for a person to eat foods they normally eschew. John Moore, a consultant with The Raj Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center in Fairfield, Iowa, describes how as a firey pitta he thrives on cold, sweet ice cream, but when he has a head cold he gravitates toward heating foods, such as ginger and honey, that normally aggravate his constitution.

Within Ayurveda, certain foods and cooking methods are considered sattvic—promoting clarity, harmony, purity, and balance; while others are rajasic—stimulating to body and mind—or tamasic—dulling and/or ama-producing. “Sattvic is always recommended,” explains Moore. “Rajasic can be useful in situations, but tamasic [should be avoided] unless prescribed for a specific medial condition. Even foods that are considered bad for you can be a perfect food for you at a specific time.”

Ayurveda shares some precepts with other conscious-eating regimes, such as adapting diet for the season and time of day; avoiding leftovers and processed foods; drinking liquids warm or at room temperature—not chilled; eating only when hungry; maintaining a daily routine—including an early dinner and bed time; and making sure mealtimes are peaceful, unrushed, in pleasant surroundings, and focused. Fresh, organic, local foods are best. “The bottom line,” says Moore, “is [that] it has to be fresh, it has to have that life force, prana.”

To eat properly among the six tastes of Ayurveda, one needs awareness of one’s basic constitution and any doshic imbalances. As Moore says, “Each constitutional type needs to be nourished by the tastes that will keep them in balance.” This can be complicated, because imbalances change over time. My stay at La Costa included a mind/body consultation with David Simon, M.D., co-founder and medical director of The Chopra Center, to determine my dosha, identify imbalances, and prescribe an ideal diet. Simon emphasizes that the most important aspect of eating properly is to make sure that all meals include each of the six tastes. To that end, he calls the recipes in The Chopra Center Cookbook “universal,” noting they can be easily adapted to pacify different doshas. This applies not only to Indian-style meals, but also to Western dishes. For example, a kapha could prepare the Rainbow Risotto recipe below with more vegetables and spices and less rice, while a pitta could decrease some of the spiciness by using less vinegar and black pepper. “Making it more intellectual than that never really works,” says Simon. The same applies to the Quick Kichari recipe from the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. As is, it is tridoshic and meant to be easily digestible since it serves as the primary meal for participants in Kripalu’s panchakarma program, but with familiarity of the six tastes, ingredients can be adjusted to pacify or stimulate different doshas.

The other recipes below include notes on their effects on the doshas. The Spinach Pakora recipe, from Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing by Usha and Dr. Vasant Lad, illustrates how an ingredient can have different effects depending on its method of preparation, and how recipes can be adapted to be more suitable for different doshas. Every spice used in each recipe is there for a specific reason; those not locally available can be found at online sources such as www.WholeSpice.com or www.indianfoodsco.com.

This specificity is one reason why it’s advisable to study the six tastes at such educational organizations as the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, (www.ayurveda.com), founded and headed by Lad, a renowned Ayurvedic physician. But those eager for a smaller nibble of the six tastes can take a workshop at The Chopra Center (www.chopra.com) or stay at an Ayurvedic health spa such as The Raj (www.theraj.com). For a headstart, The Raj even offers a free booklet, The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Healthy Daily Routine, downloadable from its website. In includes a chapter devoted to balanced diet and the six tastes, providing plenty of information to chew on.