Gujarati Diet

 Gujarati Diet

Gujarati people are very famous for their varieties of snacks in breakfast and sweetened vegetables and dal in meals. Their staple food is Dal-Bhat-Sabji-Roti in lunch and Khichadi-kadhi-bhakhari-shak in dinner. There are sweets Sukhadi, Siro, Ladu, etc, and milk sweets Penda, Mavo, Thabadi, etc. 

The food is simple and easy to digest but some people consider it health hazardous. In fact, Gujarati food is a health food aligned with Ayurveda. Majority population eat thrice in a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), but the urbans may eat four times or many times in a day. Lunch and Dinner are eaten in regular quantity while breakfast and afternoon snacks are lighter.

There are many fried items: Bhajiya, Dalvada, Batatavada, Fafada, Papadi, Ganthia, Sev, Cholafali, Mathia, Fulvadi, etc, mostly made of besan (gram flour). There are steamed or baked items: Khaman, Dhokla, Patra, Handvo, Khandavi, Muthia, etc. Chatani and achar add taste to the snacks. 

How could they be said aligned with Ayurveda? Did you notice that Gujarati fried items are mostly the protein items and smoke/bake items are mostly the carbohydrate items? Fried protein is less injurious while fried carbohydrates is more injurious to health. Fried items increases the life of the food and the traders community used to travel long distances for business, therefore smart Gujarati ladies made their carry food tastier by steaming, baking or frying. 

Let’s talk about the jaggery or sugar used in Dal and vegetables. It is very common to add jaggery in arhar (tuvar) dal in all households. Large majority don’t add sugar in other dals. Large majority of OBC-ST-SC-Muslim don’t add jaggery or sugar in their vegetables, but the upper castes and hoteliers do add jaggery or sugar in vegetables made of potato, brinjal, pods (fail: guvar, choli, matar, etc). It was a practice because large majority was consuming less of vegetables and more of dal-Roti in past. The upper classes were consuming more vegetables. 

Now review, what is the connection between sugar and vegetables? Which food create gastric problem? Mostly the Arhar (tuvar) dal and green vegetables of different pods create more gastric problem. Ayurveda says that sweet juice subsides gastric problem. It is therefore, Gujarati use jaggery or sugar in vegetables and dal. Fafda and Jalebi is a suitable match. The sweet dish in other culture is there for the same reason. Many people feel sleepy after eating dal, therefore Gujarati arhar dal is not carrying only sweetened agent but also having five other juices. It is made of six juices sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter, and astringent. 

Are you convinced that Gujarati diet is a healthy diet easy to digest? In fact, the whole of Asia is eating healthy food suitable to their health considering their life style and the seasonal and atmospheric variations. 

If you are unable to fart and getting tired of gastric problem start eating food adding jaggery or sugar. To become Gujarati means to become calm and composed because after all we have to earn livelihood by trading and business. We can’t afford to fight with our consumers and suppliers because of our stomach disorder. 

Do you wish to enjoy varieties of snacks and sweetened meals? 

Be a Gujarati. 

You will become entrepreneur. 

It’s beneficial.😁

Punamchand 

10 June 2022