Chyawanprash

When I was staying in the Sivananda Ashram in Neyyar Dam, Kerala, the ayurvedic doctor there gave me two tubs of a dark sticky jam called chyawanprash. He informed me that the secret of good health was to meditate every day, do yoga every day and take chyawanprash.

Chyawanprash has an incredible history, unlike any Western food I can think of. The recipe was devised by the great sage (maharishi) Chyavana who was said to have been able to restore his youth. The first recipe for chyawanprash appears in the Charaka Samhita, the classical ayurvedic text written in the third to second century BCE.

I love it. I drink it most nights dissolved in milk or a milk/water mix. It’s better the cocoa because there’s just a tiny hint of sourness which stops it being too sweet, and you can feel righteous about drinking it because it’s supposed to be good for you, and even, as the legend goes, make you look younger. This is because the principle ingredient is amla or India gooseberry which apparently has one of the highest vitamin C contents.

I’ve tried both Dabur and Himalaya brands. For me, Himalaya is the best because it dissolves easier. You can also put saffron in the drink, or take it straight from the jar and spread it on toast, or even put it inside a date, together with an almond.