Here is a lovely sauce recipe you can use on pasta, gnocchi, or as a dip or side. Peppers are a great alternative to tomatoes as, although they are slightly heating, they are much less aggravating to the pitta dosha than tomatoes or chilli. Go for yellow or orange peppers for a sweeter taste and even less aggravation.
Why avoid tomatoes?
Tomatoes are primarily sour in taste making them heating and aggravating to the pitta dosha. They are so aggravating that they are often seen as a poison in Ayurveda. Although they predominantly qffect the pitta dosha, provoking pitta related imbalances such as heart burn, acid reflux, loose stool, headaches, eye strain, inflammation and ulcers, they can easily cause issues for the other two doshas when taken in excess. The intense heat can aggravate the vata dosha by causing a drying effect leading to further digestive discomfort, dry skin and eventually contributing to vata/pitta conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Tomatoes can also lead to kapha aggravation eventually due to their sour taste which contains the earth element, contributing to conditions like heart disease and cancers. Tomatoes are very hard to digest and often provoke extra secretions of stomach acids which can impair digestive health and lead to further imbalance.
If you are aware of a serious pitta imbalance I would suggest looking at my recipe for squash pasta sauce instead of this one as even peppers my aggravate your condition.
I used gnocchi with this recipe but feel free to use whatever carb you fancy.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
1/4 tsp coconut oil
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 bulb of fennel (optional)
4 large peppers (I used piquillo- the longer sweeter variety)
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Splash of tamari (soya sauce)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Small pinch of ground cloves (optional)
1/2 tsp ground paprika
Generous pinch of black pepper and pink salt
Mixed herbs
Fresh basil
Instructions:
Reheat the oven to around 180 degrees C
Chop the peppers in two, lengthways, remove the seeds and place in the middle shelf of the oven until nice and soft.
Chop the onions, fennel and garlic into small pieces and fry with a little coconut oil until soft (about 15 mins).
Add the spices and stir for a few more mins followed by the herbs.
When it starts to stick add the vinegar and soya sauce.
When everything is cooked place all the ingredients in a food processor with the fresh basil and blend with enough water to make the sauce texture you desire.
I fried some mushrooms, basil tofu and seasonal greens in a separate pan with a little cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, nutmeg, 1 tsp cider vinegar and mixed herbs. Then I cooked gnocchi as per the instructions on the packet. You can throw everything together to reheat or heat them separately then plate. Enjoy!
