Ananda’s Restaurant
in the
Himalayas

It’s like dining in a maharaja’s tree house. Outside, an ancient sal tree emerges through the deck. Inside, a glass-domed roof and portal windows let in the Himalayan spring. A central island fireplace warms on cool evenings. Outside crickets provide the serenade, inside it’s Indian musicians. By day glimpses of the Ganges valley peep through the forest, by night it’s fireflies.

Ananda’s restaurant has several personalities. Its fine dining persona is reflected in the à la carte menu of Indian, Asian and Western cuisine. I can attest to the Indian food being exceptional; so much so, I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything else. The menu changes every day preventing culinary boredom even for those who are lucky enough to stay a month.

Ananda’s other culinary persona is its "rejuvenation cuisine" where Ayurvedic food theory is balanced with western nutritional theory. Ayurvedic nutritional requirements are quite different from western ones, but they are definitely complimentary. "Ayurveda categorizes foods according to six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent," explained Ananda’s Dr. Gupta. Sweet foods, for example, include not only bananas and mangos, but wheat, butter and cheese whereas astringent foods are the proteins and soy.

In Ayurvedic cuisine, nothing is good or bad. They believe elimination of any one thing results in it becoming the object of craving. Therefore, every meal should incorporate all six tastes, but the tastes should be balanced appropriately for your dosha. At Ananda, this is accomplished by giving each person a specially prepared elixir before the meal and a dry spice mixture to incorporate into their food.

Sound didactic? Not at all, the result is three exquisite meals a day that filled gourmet yearnings, stomach and soul. Moreover, Ananda has no diet police so if one gets a craving for parathas (Indian bread) dripping in ghee (Indian butter,) then just order it.

Ananda even has cooking lessons. In the demonstration kitchen, the personable chef de parti, Sandeep Biswas, prepared several soups and a warm bean sprout salad. He explained. We tasted. We also learned it’s better for our health (and our weight) to cut down on salt and that we should cook the salt we do use. Chopped onion, garlic, bay and pepper with balsamic vinegar reduced by half make a fine non-fat salad dressing. Variety, Ayurveda agrees, is the spice of life so we should vary the food, flavorings and preparation methods. The part I liked the best was, "It is important to treat yourself occasionally with a rich or sweet diet in order to control cravings." I neglected to ask exactly how often ‘occasionally’—once a day?

Oh well, never mind. Here’s one of Sandeep’s recipes that isn’t rich or sweet. It is quite nice:

Stir Fried Bean Sprout Salad

300 grams mung bean sprouts (about 10 ounces)
50 grams carrots, julienne (about 6 baby carrots)
50 grams bell pepper, julienne (about half a red bell pepper)
20 grams scallions, julienne
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, chopped
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons sunflower oil (good because it can stand high heat, but I used safflower oil)
salt and pepper
Heat oil in wok, stir fry garlic and ginger for 10 seconds. Add carrot, red pepper and mung beans. Toss on high flame until just wilted. Add scallion, soy and cilantro, toss again. Check seasoning. Serve immediately.
Per serving: 56 calories, 2g fat, 3g protein, 7g carbohydrates, O cholesterol and 110 mg sodium if you don’t add a whole lot more. ©Ananda-in the Himalayas

 By Kate Crawford  February 2005

LINKS WITH ATTITUDE 

Ananda's web site.