Ojas: A Cookbook: Modern Recipes and Ancient Wisdom for Everyday Ayurveda

I am a someone who loves to cook, am somewhat familiar with Ayurveda, and I have a well stocked Indian pantry. I am really enjoying navigating through the seasons with this book. The recipes take time and require several ingredients, which mindful cooking parallels. Nina Kehar understands balanced flavors, balanced diet and visually beautiful food. The gold leaf edges and built in book mark also make this cookbook very special. I am loving this book!

Ayur Veda can be an overwhelming topic, but this book breaks things down into bite size information and places this knowledge in a contemporary context. I have myself taken some basic courses in Ayur Veda years ago, yet this book brings this knowledge to new life, and I feel inspired to be more aware of how food can help balance body and the mind. (Get that Vata under control ;-)) Also I was happy to see some non-veg elements in here... Ayur Veda, like any ancient wisdom, will only stay alive and relevant if the knowledge is updated and re-imagined. I would suppose that our digestive habits and dispositions have also developed a bit over the last 5000 years... Great as a gift - for the coffee table and / or the kitchen shelf!

Ojas is a beautiful book that successfully educates you about Ayurvedic principles and dietary benefits without being preachy or overwhelming. All the recipes are very accessible and grouped into seasonal chapters based on the Zodiac. And the pictures are stunning!

I purchased this book for my sister on mothers day, to gift it to my sister. We received it on Mother's day and immediately opened it, the book is a great tabletop piece and the recipe's are simple and easy to follow. What was even more fun was that the whole family went around to open up the pages that were their respective signs to learn more about the food combinations and doshas. This book is perfect for anyone looking to explore Ayurveda in light hearted way while also learning more about yourself! Definately recommend it as a gift item and a must have in your collection of cook books.

This is the first time I have felt compelled to write a review of a book I have bought. As an Ayurvedic consultant, I feel the title is misleading. This book is not filled with recipes that will increase Ojas. Perhaps that is not what the author meant to convey by the title, but it's difficult not to be led to believe that is what I was buying. There are several mushroom recipes... mushrooms are considered tamasic in Ayurveda. Definitely not Ojas building. Recipes are not predominantly plant based (Ayurveda suggests a plant based diet is preferable). Again, meat and seafood are not Ojas building and they are considered to be more difficult to digest and are rajasic and tamasic. The author also bases the recipes around western astrology (which is very different to Ayurvedic or Jyotish astrology) rather than seasons. While this may be fine for those living in the Northern hemisphere, it makes for some confusion for those of us living south of the equator. All in all, I think there are far better 'modern' Ayurvedic cookbooks on the market.

I seriously adore this book. It’s presentation is pure perfection. A coffee table conversation piece with grandma’s soiled handwritten index card karma full of absolutely tried and true ancient wisdom. Opening with: “More and more with less and less until, eventually, you can do everything with nothing”—R Buckminster Fuller. I could spend the rest of my days garnering info & ideas for life and eating and never ‘google’ for an inspiration, be it a mushroom or a beet calling out from the fridge. PS did I mention how much I feel this book is simply amazing....

this book IS beautiful but it's so much book for so little information. too much frosting, not enough cake. i don't plan to keep it.

Love love love this book! Well made, with so much knowledge inside! I can not stress enough how beautifully made this book is! Detailed and well thought out recipes that has definitely brought me out of my comfort zone. ♥️Even if you don’t intend on adopting a full on Ayurvedic lifestyle, I still encourage you to make this purchase as your first step!

Cooking with Ojas has become so inspiring. Every month, I make a point in trying out a seasonal recipe from the book and learn a little bit more about the origins and benefits of different spices. This is a fun way to introduce new flavors in my cooking, as turmeric, cumin and coriander never made there way into my mother’s « French Canadian » kitchen. Ingredients are easy to find either in markets or small and large grocery stores. One of my many « coups de coeur »: the duck pâté chinois. The grapefruit, peach and tamarind iced tea is also quite exquisite. The book in and by itself is really beautiful. It’s a perfect gift when invited to your friends and family’s homes.

This book is not only a visual masterpiece but also a good addition to any cookbook collection. Not your run of the mill recipies, some great new ingredients to get familiar with. I also absolutely love the first part of the book which explains in detail the connection of ayurveda, food, and the body. Great buy.

I really love reading this book! The photography is amazing and the recipes are great! I honestly haven’t cooked a ton from this book, but I love reading it. I mostly read cookbooks for inspiration, not really to copy recipes from, and I really enjoyed this one.

Beautiful book! I do not know much about ayurvedic principles and I found the explanations quite clear. The recipes I tried were delicious and left me feeling good.

The ingredients are pretty obscure (where to buy canned tomatillos?) and the recipes are fairly complicated. It doesn't seem like the recipes were tested by other people, as I've only done a handful of recipes so far and already noticed missing ingredients and inaccuracies. For example, there was no amaranth in the "amaranth pasta" as it was made with brown rice flour, and there was no watermelon rind in the watermelon salad dressing as the recipe stated. I made the date and rice pudding which was supposed to make 4-6 servings and it only made 2 servings. Overall, I can't trust the recipes, as it seems there was very little attention to detail put into them. You would think with a hardcover book with beautiful photos and a high price tag, there would be more attention paid to detail and recipe accuracy.