How To Make Chapati

In Ayurveda we are always aiming to cook food as fresh as possible and this beloved chapati recipe is a simple way to enjoy freshly cooked bread every day. Chapati is a classic Indian style flat bread cooked with whole flour over a hot skillet or open flame. It is a staple in the Ayurvedic diet as an augmenting side to any vegetable dish such as a dahl or soup. It’s also a wonderful, light alternative to traditional breads that can be considered heavy and harder to digest.

Whilst it can take a little time to hit your stride with making fresh chapati, once you understand the process, you’ll find it surprisingly quick and easy. You may even find yourself saying goodbye to your well loved toaster like i did!

Ingridients:

1 cup of flour

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of ghee or olive oil

1/2 cup of water

Method:

In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Create a small well in the middle of the bowl and add a tablespoon of oil and half of the water into mixture. Begin mixing the the flour and liquid together until well combined, continuing to slowly add water as you go. You want to work the mixture until it forms into a thick dough. You want the dough to be firm but, not dry. If it is too sticky, then add a little extra water. Once you are happy with the result, leave in the bowl and cover with a damp towel for 15-20 minutes.

When ready to cook, warm a pan over medium heat whilst you prepare the chapati. Ready a dry, clean surface with a dusting of flour. Seperate dough into four pieces and roll into balls. Using the heel of your hand, flatten out the ball into a flat circle and then start to roll out, using a rolling bin to create a small, round and thin chapati. Repeat this with all four balls, adding extra dusting flour as needed.

Add a small amount of ghee or olive oil to the warm pan until it melts and covers the surface of the pan. Place the first chapati on the pan and allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes. You’ll see little pockets of air bubble up and the edges will begin to crisp and curl up. Then flip over and cook on the other side. Keep your eye on these as they can cook very quickly! Ideally you want your chapati to be a little golden but, not too dry. After cooking each chapati, add a little extra ghee over each one and keep on a hot plate or cover with a tea towel, to keep warm before serving.

This recipe can act as a guide and you can play around with all different variations. I love using spelt, whole wheat or buckwheat flour. You can also add a little spice or some fresh herbs to create an interesting flavour. Chapati can also be enjoyed as a sweet dish by using sweet spices, dates or a little tahini.

Get creative and enjoy!

Seasonal Eating Guide: Spring

The true essence of Ayurvedic wisdom is about aligning ourselves with nature, and one of the most foundational ways we can do this is by understanding how to live in harmony with the seasons.

As the seasons change, different elements (doshas) become naturally more predominant, and Ayurveda teaches us to adjust the way we eat to find balance. We can use the foundational principle of ‘like increases like and opposites balance’ to choose foods that feel truly nourishing through every season.

In Ayurveda, Spring is considered a time when kapha dosha (earth + water) is naturally predominant, bringing earthy, heavy and slow qualities as nature emerges from its winter hibernation. To create balance, we want to embrace foods that naturally balance kapha dosha in their quality, taste and energy.

Here you can find a detailed guide to foods to embrace this season, and learn how to subtly understand which foods help to balance kapha dosha.

Tastes – favour foods that have a naturally bitter, astringent and pungent taste, such as leafy greens, legumes and fresh ginger. Go easy on foods that have an overly sweet, salty or sour taste, such as high-sugar fruits, excess salt or citrus.

Qualities of food – we want to embrace foods that are warm, light and energising for the body. We can also consider foods that have a more extractive or cleansing quality to help release excess water and heaviness accumulated over winter.

Vegetables that have a light quality, such as leafy greens like kale, spinach, rocket and lettuce, as well as beetroot, fennel, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, onion (cooked, in moderation), garlic (cooked, in moderation), celery, carrot, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, zucchini, radishes, fresh ginger and sprouts. Avoid vegetables that are overly heavy and sweet, such as potatoes, pumpkin and mushrooms.

Fruits such as apples, pears, oranges, lemon, lime, peaches, berries, pomegranate and raisins. Avoid fruits that are overly heavy and sweet, such as dates, bananas and mangoes. Citrus can be enjoyed in small amounts, but excess sour taste can aggravate kapha.

Grains that have a warm and drying quality, such as buckwheat, barley, millet, quinoa, spelt, rye, amaranth and brown or white basmati rice. Avoid having heavy grains such as oats, wheat and rice in excess. Generally, bread is best avoided – try some homemade chapati instead!

Spices that have a warming quality or are supportive for digestion, such as ginger (fresh and dried), cinnamon, clove, turmeric, cumin, cayenne pepper, mustard seeds, saffron, black pepper, asafoetida, ajwain, rosemary, thyme and parsley. Generally, most spices are supportive when balancing kapha dosha.

Legumes such as split or whole mung, red lentils, chickpeas, adzuki beans, black beans or cannellini beans. It can also be wonderful to sprout your legumes at this time of year.

Nuts and seeds are generally best avoided as they are heavy and oily. However, lighter seeds can be enjoyed in moderation, such as sunflower, pumpkin, sesame or flax seeds. Ground flaxseed can also be supportive for elimination if digestion is feeling sluggish.

Oils including ghee and olive oil for cooking, and flaxseed or sunflower oil for dressing, can be supportive for kapha dosha in moderation. Be mindful of using excess oil, as you want to maintain a dry, light quality to your food.

Dairy is best avoided or enjoyed in moderation at this time of year, as it is heavy and can contribute to excess mucus and congestion. If having cow’s milk, always make sure to have it warmed and with a little spice. You can also consider watering the milk down 50/50 with fresh water. Generally, cheese and yoghurt are best avoided; however, a small amount of white cheese or takra (digestive lassi) can be enjoyed in moderation.

Sweeteners are best enjoyed in moderation. A small amount of honey can be supportive, while sugary foods such as dried fruit, chocolate and cakes are best avoided.

To embrace the season, we can start to incorporate more of these foods into our ahara in a slow, steady way. It can be as simple as trying a new seasonal vegetable, switching up our spice mix or rotating our grain and legume choices.

This might look like adding more fresh ginger or ajwain into the weekly dahl, switching your oat porridge to millet or buckwheat, or choosing leafy greens and brassicas for your kitchari instead of pumpkin or sweet potato.

It’s also important to remember that the foundational principle of Ayurveda is balance. While these foods may be most supportive for the season, they are simply suggestions — not rules. Enjoy all foods in moderation and let this guide act as inspiration for more foods to simply invite into your life this season.

If you’d like to learn more about Ayurvedic nutrition & cooking, you can find more information on my website here.

For more recipe inspiration, you can explore my e-cookbook, Finding Balance, here.

Guide to Self Abhyanga (Ayurvedic Oil Massage)

Abhyanga is the soothing and healing practice of self-massage that is an important part of an ayurvedic dinacharya (daily routine). It is an incredibly nourishing practice that holds countless benefits for the body and mind. Abhyanga grounds us into the body, calms our nervous system and is particularly helpful for pacifying vata dosha.

Not to mention – it is the most wonderful act of self-love. In sanskrit the word for oil is sneha which holds a double meaning and simultaneously means ‘love’. We all know the healing power of touch and creating this ritual for yourself can be the most potent practice of self-love.

It can sound like a luxury at first and for many they feel they could never have the time for such things. I know I felt this way at the beginning, and abhyanga was one of the last things I implemented into my routine. But once you feel the benefits of a regular practice ~ it starts to feel essential to your wellbeing. And I promise it’s a lot simpler that it sounds when you get into a rhythm with it!

It's now something I am the biggest advocate for and personally practice almost every day. If you invite one ayurvedic body-based practice in your routine, let it be this one. And if you are holding any excess vata ~ consider this your daily essential.

Benefits of Abhyanga

~ Calms, supports, and strengthens the nervous system

~ Reduces anxiety, stress and can improve our sleep.

~ Enhances circulation and moves lymph in the body

~ Supports to the removal of toxins and can improve digestion & elimination.

~ Lubricates the skin and creates overall lustre, strength, and softness.

~ Slows the ageing process and increases longevity.

~ Strengthens and tones our muscles and tissues

~ Creates resilience in the body and boosts our ‘Ojas’ or immunity

Abhyanga is recommended daily or at least 2-3 times a week. It is best practiced in the morning as a part of your dinacharya after your meditation & yoga practice and before breakfast. However, it can also be done in the evening or generally anytime except right after eating so digestion is not disturbed.

The practice can be between as short as five minutes or as long as 20-30 minutes depending on the time you have available. The most important thing is to be slow, mindful, and present with the practice.

The key to abyangha is it is all about the oil and is what makes it different from just moisturising after a shower. If you’ve ever had an ayurvedic treatment with a practitioner, you’ll know they can absolutely cover you in oil (for good reason) ~ so be liberal.

How to Practice Self Abhyanga:

Find a place to practice that is warm and inviting. Treat this time like a meditation and be free from distraction. Lay down a towel on the floor beneath you that you have designated to be your ‘oil towel’ – it will get oily!

Using an oil of your preference, warm about ¼- ½ cup of oil (or maybe even more) either over the stove or by placing a cup of oil in a body of boiling water. (I usually put my bottle of oil in a bowl with boiling water) The oil is gently warm but not hot (or cooked!)

Using the palms of your hands, apply and massage the oil into your body starting from the top of your head down to the soles of your feet. In this order:

1. First start with the crown of your head and give yourself a good scalp massage. If you don’t want to get your head oily (same) then just apply a drop of oil to the crown of your head and massage with your fingertips. It can be beneficial to do a full head massage once a week.

2. Then start to move down your body and massage your face, ears, neck, and throat. Special attention can be paid to massaging your third eye centre.

3. Use circular motions massaging your upper chest area and then continuing down to your whole abdomen starting from your navel and spiralling out. Massage in a clockwise direction to support digestion.

4. Move on to your back and massage as much as your flexibility will allow. Use up and down motions on the spine and circular motions on the lower back around to the hips.

5. Then moving to the shoulders and arms, with long strokes along the muscles and circular motions on the joints. Start with the left side first for the feminine and right for the masculine.

6. Move down to your lower limbs, massaging in the same way all the way down to finish at your feet. Finish with a nice minute or two of grounding foot massage.

7. When you are finished, you can cover yourself with your ‘oil towel’ or some clothes or kimono you have designated for après abhyanga. Leave oil on for a minimum of 10 to maximum of 40 minutes to set the oil absorb into the skin. Often whilst I am waiting, I start getting breakfast ready or have a cup of tea in the sun.

8. When you are ready shower off the oil gently without using soap. The thin layer of oil that will remain on the skin after bathing keeps the skin moisturised and protected to move into the rest of your day.

Contraindications

Do not practice abhyanga if you are menstruating, have a cold or flu or inflamed skin conditions. If you have any particular health concerns or are pregnant, consult your ayurvedic practitioner before practice.

What oils to use & Doshic Variations:

Cold pressed black sesame oil is ayurveda’s favourite oil and used for most ayurvedic treatments. This is generally best to begin with. (Note: This is different from toasted sesame oil many of us know from asian cooking ~ I’ve made this mistake before!)

Although the amount and type oil used can depend on your ‘prakruti’ or ayurvedic constitution. It is also important to consider the season and environment you are practicing in.

Pitta Dosha / Summer  – Use coconut oil for its cooling and hydrating energy. Do not use coconut oil in winter season or cold climates.

Vata Dosha / Autumn-winter – cold pressed black sesame oil or sweet almond oil. For Vata types abhyanga is highly recommended and warming, thick oils are best.

Kapha Dosha / Late winter – spring – sweet almond oil can be a neutral oil to use. It is lighter than black sesame but still holds a warming effect. Kapha types can honour this practice less often than other doshas.