At Agni, we dream of a world where everyone can access foods that nourish them during important life moments. Foods that taste so good it’s almost impossible to believe that they’re healthy, let alone healing.
We decided to create a challenge that would celebrate and inspire our community to cook and create delicious, healing foods at home — featuring our signature Sesame Nori Seasoning, designed to support endocrine function and immune health.
We are beyond thrilled to introduce you to the incredible chefs and recipes featured in our very first #FuelYourAgni Challenge:
Black Rice Noodles with Delicata Squash and Turmeric Miso Dressing by Gina Parisi
This dish is simple and comforting as we transition into fall. The sweetness of the delicata squash and noodles is well balanced with the pungent miso dressing and bitter greens. I like a weekday dish that I don’t have to think a lot about but can still make in less than 30 minutes, and this is it.
Quick Tip: Make the dressing ahead and store for up to five days.
Ingredients
- Black rice noodles
- 1 delicata squash, seeds removed, cut into half moons
- 2 cups dark leafy greens (kale, chard, spinach), chopped
- Sesame Nori Seasoning to taste
- For the Turmeric Miso Dressing:
- 1 rounded TBS white or yellow miso
- 2 TBS rice vinegar
- 1⁄2 tsp turmeric
- Pinch of smoked paprika
- 2 TBS toasted sesame oil
- 2 TBS grapeseed oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425
- Cut delicata squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds, then cut into 1⁄2” moons. Toss in a bowl with 1 TBSP olive oil and spread on parchment lined baking sheet. Cook in oven until lightly browned on both sides, about 10 minutes each side
- While the squash cooks prepare noodles to package instructions.
- Lightly steam greens in steamer basket until wilted but still vibrant green, about 3-5 minutes
- Layer the ingredients in a bowl: noodles, greens, squash.
- Whisk miso and rice vingar in a small bowl until miso dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until well combined and blended. You can also do this in a blender.
- Garnish your noodle bowl dressing and Sesame Nori Seasoning.
Creamy Lemon Rice with Sesame Nori Seasoning by Laura Plumb
Broken Rice is an Ayurveda staple. It makes your rice very creamy and especially comforting.
Quick Tip: This recipe is great with Cinnamon Maca Seasoning as well! Simply replace the rosemary with fresh mint and enjoy.
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 TBS Agni’s Sesame Nori Seasoning
- 1 TBS ghee
- 2.5 cups water
- 1/2 tsp pink or sea salt
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 rosemary sprig
Instructions
- In a strainer, rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Put the rice and 1 tablespoon Sesame Nori Seasoning, plus some rosemary leaves, in an electric blender and blend 15 seconds. You may need to scrape down the sides and blend again.
- Melt the ghee in a medium saucepan. Pour the rice and stir. Toast the rice for one minute then add the water and salt, and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Uncover and fluff with a fork. Grate lemon peel over the rice, and then squeeze the lemon for about a tablespoon of juice.
- Stir, fluff and serve with the remaining seasoning as a topping. Garnish with rosemary.
How to Serve
Enjoy as a bowl on its own with a drizzle of olive oil to make it sing, or serve with a dal, steamed vegetables, a curry, or a saucy tofu. The creamy, lemony flavor of the rice is a sunny complement to any savory side.
Sesame Nori Kitchari by Gina Parisi
"Kitchari is my go-to dish when my digestion needs a rest, the seasons are changing, or life feels stressful. Kitchari is a one pot dish that can easily be prepared in a slow cooker when life is hectic. I chose the Sesame Nori Seasoning because of it’s power to ground and calm Vata, the energy of movement in Ayurveda. Sesame is heating and lubricating to the body, balancing the excess Vata that can accumulate. The salty taste of seaweed is grounding and heavy, again a perfect balance to high and light Vata."
Ingredients
- For the Kitchari
- 1⁄2 cup yellow split mung dal or red lentils, soaked in water to cover at least 30 minutes or overnight
- 1 cup white basmati rice
- 1 TBS ghee, sesame oil, or olive oil
- 1⁄4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 4 cups vegetable stock or water
- 2 1/2 tsp of grounding masala (see below)
- 2 cups diced vegetable of your choice
- 1 1⁄2 tsp salt
- Garnishes:
- 1 TBS Sesame Nori Seasoning
- 1 TBS ghee, sesame oil, or olive oil
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Lime slice or pickled red onion
- For the masala:
- 2 TBS coriander
- 2 TBS fennel
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- 1⁄2 tsp black peppercorn
Instructions
- To make masala, combine all ingredients in a electric grinder or spice mill and grind to a powder.
- For the Kitchari, soak the rice for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse the dal and rice until the water runs clear.
- Heat the ghee in a heavy 4- quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the turmeric and toast for 10 seconds, then add the ginger. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the rice and dal and stir frequently until rice and dal are almost dry.
- Add the masala, salt, and vegetable stock. Add quick cooking vegetables such as zucchini or leafy greens 30 minutes into cooking.
- Bring to a full boil, cover, and reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes. You want the dal to begin to dissolve, the rice to be soft, and the vegetables to be cooked. If there is too little water, the rice and dal will stick to the bottom of the pan. Add more water if needed — you are looking for a creamy, stew like consistency.
- Garnish your kitchari with 1 TBS sesame nori seasoning, ghee, and cilantro. Enjoy hot with lime slices or pickled red onion.
Edamame Sesame Nori Salad by Teyler Wallace
Crisp and refreshing, this salad is perfect for dinner or lunch and can be prepared in advance and then assembled at the last minute for a delicious and nutritious addition to your weekly meal plan.
Ingredients
- Salad:
- 2 cups frozen shelled edamame
- 1 Persian cucumber halved and slivered
- 1 carrot peeled into ribbons or julienned
- 1 chopped green onion
- 1 cup purple cabbage shaved or thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 ripe Haas avocado
- 1 egg fried sunny side up
- Miso Ginger dressing:
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil
- 1-2 TBS of honey
- 1 TBS chickpea miso
- 2 TBS rice wine vinegar
- 1 TBS soy sauce or tamari
- 1 shallot finely minced
- 1 tsp Sesame Nori Seasoning
Instructions
- Boil water in a heavy bottom sauce pot with a tablespoon of salt. Once water is boiling add your frozen edamame and let cook for 3 minutes on medium heat. While edamame is cooking, prepare cabbage, bell pepper, green onion, carrot and cucumber, and combine in a bowl large enough to toss.
- Strain edamame once done boiling and run under cold water for 1 minute. Combine edamame with prepped salad ingredients.
- To make dressing, combine sesame oil, sunflower oil, chickpea miso, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, shallot, and Sesame Nori Seasoning into a bowl and whisk till combined (An emersion blender is also great for this!).
- Toss salad with dressing. Top with a fried egg, fresh avocado, and a sprinkle of Sesame Nori Seasoning.
Meet Our Featured Chefs
Gina Parisi is an Ayurvedic Chef and Health Counselor on Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Territory // Santa Cruz, California. As the owner and chef of Ayurveda Kitchen, Gina offers Ayurvedic experiences through dosha specific personal chef services, Ayurvedic cooking classes, and holistic health consultations to encourage synergy between people and nature for a well lived life. A compassionate guide, Gina teaches her clients to transform their health through embracing their true nature.
Gina’s food and health philosophy is informed by her own experience of mental illness and years of study in Ayurveda, yoga, sports medicine, mindful eating, Indigenous peoples’ spirituality, racial justice, and food sovereignty. Motivated by a vision for just humanity, Gina values the practices and initiatives that will sustain seven generations to come.
Instagram: @the_ayurveda_kitchen
Website: ayurveda-kitchen.com
Laura Plumb is the Founder and Director of VedaWise, and lead faculty for the Ayurvedic Integrated Nutrition 200 hour Professional Training, author of the best-selling book Ayurveda Cooking For Beginners, creator/presenter of the online video course The Medicine In Your Kitchen: Introduction to Ayurvedic Cooking hosted by Spirituality & Health, host of the 53-part television show CleanseVeda available through Gaia and Amazon, and a 12-part series called Divine Yoga available at Amazon.
Formerly the General Manager of The Discovery Channel Europe, Laura offers clinical services in natural medicine for whole person wellness, and health practitioner trainings in the Vedic sciences. She leads many online courses, and gives classes and consultations in Ayurveda, Jyotish, Yoga Therapy, Whole Food Cooking and Nutrition. Additonally Laura has served as a contributing Ayurvedic educator at the UCSD Center for Integrative Medicine, is an Ambassador for Banyan Botanicals and runs The Sophia Camp for Girls – a week every summer dedicated to cultivating self-esteem, self-care and self-regulation through Yoga, Ayurveda, mentoring and creative play.
Laura’s blog food-alovestory.com is an inspirational free resource for Ayurvedic recipes and wise living. Her popular whole food, plant-based seasonal cleanses are powerful, effective and deliciously nourishing. Her articles on health and wellness have been published in Huffington Post, Ayurveda Next Door, Spirituality & Health, Well + Good, Yoga Digest and the Times of India, among other national and international media.
As a graduate of the Kerala Ayurveda Academy, the American Institute of Vedic Studies, and decades of study into Yoga, Meditation, Vedanta, Jyotish, herbal medicine, nutrition, health and healing, Laura is an international educator on the power of the Vedic sciences to promote radical health and sacred, sumptuous living.
Instagram: @food.a.love.story
Website: lauraplumb.com
Teyler Wallace is a postpartum doula and private chef on a mission to heal, replenish, and nurture new parents with wholesome food. Providing parents with information, support, and delicious healing meals as they navigate the postpartum trenches, Teyler is passionate about empowering parents (specifically mothers) to nourish and heal themselves through food.
DONA trained, CPR/ first-aid certified, and knowledgeable in breastfeeding, sleep training, herbalism and nutrition, Teyler uses her expertise to work with new parents (virtually and in-person) to support the transitions that come with having a little one.
Instagram: @thefoodiedoula
Website: doulaforthepeople.com
