AVOCADOS…what can I say, they are my favorite!! Love them in both savory and sweet dishes, versatile by nature, humbly benefiting us inside and out with their high nutrition and super- healthy fats.
I have used them in many different ways…on salads, sandwiches, smoothies, not to mention raw desserts – chocolate and avocados make a heavenly combo!! Hard to resist freshly made chunky guacamole with perfectly ripe avocados…right?!! So, up until now, my experience with avocados has been eating them raw.
One thing about me is, I love variety in the food I eat – simply can’t eat the same dish done the same way again and again!! I admire folks who can do that…maybe someday for me…not now!
So, it was time to make something different with the avocados. OK, I admit this sounds a little strange – Sauteed Avocados, honestly I was a little skeptical myself trying it out…But after you try one bite, you’ll be pleasantly surprised! The bland flavor of avocados gets a new robust life when you saute them in olive oil with cumin powder and red chilli flakes. This dish is flavor-fully simple and made in 10 mins flat.
Before, we get started with this dish, wanted to share with you an amazing story, on how Mahatma Gandhi came to know about avocados! This momentous incident took place at Gandhiji’s ashram in Wardha, India, when Paramahansa Yogananda went to visit him.
Paramahansa Yogananda was intrigued to see several Western books on diet which lay on Mahatma’s desk. Gandhiji shared his belief with him, that one must follow a proper rational diet with all the necessary vitamins, minerals, and calories. Both of them compared their knowledge of good meat-substitutes.
That’s when Yoganandaji expressed “The avocado is excellent.” Gandhiji’s face lit with interest. “I wonder if they would grow in Wardha?” This is how Gandhiji came to know about this fruit.
You can read this full story in the Autobiography of a Yogi where Yoganandaji has dedicated an entire chapter “With Mahatma Gandhi at Wardha”.
The nutritional makeup of avocados makes it unique and exceptional. One medium sized avocado contains about 240 cals and 23 gms
of fat. I think it’s by far the fattiest of all fruits that I am aware of. But the good news, only 3 gms of this fat is saturated and the rest of it is all heart-healthy unsaturated fat.
I like calling avocados nature cooked butter containing more than 20 essential vitamins and minerals. They are good substitute in vegan dishes calling for butter and cheese. I generally try to eat half an avocado everyday during the fall and winter season.
Our bodies crave for more moisture during the Vata
(cold) season, and to balance that we should be eating good high quality fats. Celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder highly recommends eating avocados in our daily diet as they are high in fat soluble beauty vitamins, making our skin look beautiful and bright plus providing plenty of moisture.
One key thing to remember when using avocados in any dish, they need to be perfectly and rightly ripe! I generally buy them when they are quite firm to touch and store them in paper bags to get them rightly ripe.
Now, to the recipe…take about 4-5 avocados (serves about 4-5 people).These are perfectly ripe avocados…yum, yum!!
Cut them lengthwise and peel off the skin. Remove the seed and chop them in bite size cubes. Look at them, they look so pretty!
Gently saute the cubed avocados with little olive oil, cumin powder, red chilli flakes, and salt for about 5-8mins. Switch off the heat and add the chopped cilantro, lemon juice, and salt.
This is ready in just few minutes and tastes DEEEELICIOUS!! You can use this on your favorite sandwiches, goes very well in salads.
- 1-2 tsp EV Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Cumin powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper powder (optional)
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- 1-2 tsp Lemon/Lime juice
- 1 tbsp chopped Cilantro
- Salt to taste
Avocados are pretty forgiving, sauteing them with savory seasonings, takes the dish to a whole new dimension…give it a TRY!
