Recipe: Ayurvedic Postpartum First Days Porridge
Porridge photo from maed.co
First Days Ayurvedic Porridge
It is SOOOOO important that the first meal after birth be easy to digest, light, filled with spices and DEEPLY nourishing.
PLEASE NO PIZZA, hot dogs or hospital food. During labor and delivery the mother’s digestive fire, also known as AGNI, is completely extinguished as all energy went into delivering the baby earth side.
This means that much care and attention needs to be placed on rekindling this fire so that mama can digest and assimilate the nutrients she needs to replenish her body in the coming days.
This recipe can be made while mama is in labor so that it is the first thing she eats upon birth of her baby and settling in. I like to spoon feed it to her while she first holds her little miracle. In these moments after birth she will likely not think she is hungry, but she definitely needs to be replenished with nutrients. She can have this meal as many times as she desires in the first few days, or anytime in postpartum, really.
The warming nature of the spices are excellent for rekindling mamas digestive fire after many hours of not eating and birthing. This mushy porridge is the perfect comfort food that will allow her first bowel movements to slide out with no discomfort. This is also an excellent breakfast or snack anytime in the first 10 days and beyond.
16 cups water (this is not a typo! ;))
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups dark molasses (or less, if desired)
1⁄2 cup Ayurvedic Cultured Ghee
1 Tablespoon cinnamon powder
1⁄2 tsp clove powder
1⁄2 tsp black pepper ground
1⁄2 tsp pippali (long pepper)
2 pinches saffron
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp rose petals powdered (optional)
1 tsp shatavari powder (optional) 1 tsp ashwagandha (optional)
Rinse rise in a strainer until water runs clear. Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavey-bottomed pot Add rice to the water and let rice simmer without a lid, stirring occasionally for approximately 3-4 hours.
When rice thickens, add the molasses, spices and half of the ghee. Continue to cook and sir as needed. When porridge is thick and gelatinous, stir in remaining ghee and serve hot.
These recipes are copyright of Bliss Alchemy and Radha Schwaller.