In the Ayurvedic tradition, food is more than taste or nutrition alone. Ingredients are understood through dravya guna: their qualities, energetics, digestibility, seasonal effects, and the way they interact with the body and mind.
For generations, Indian home kitchens prepared foods not only for hunger, but also for steadiness, warmth, lightness, strength, rest, digestion, growing children, aging bodies, and changing seasons.
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Chef Sanjai’s Healing Cooking experiences are inspired by this living kitchen wisdom. Drawing from Ayurvedic principles, seasonal intelligence, and traditional Indian recipes, these sessions explore how everyday ingredients such as grains, lentils, spices, greens, herbs, broths, milk preparations, and chutneys can be prepared thoughtfully and intentionally.
Each experience includes recipes selected according to the season, your interests, and your consultation process with our team. These are not clinical protocols or restrictive diets, but deeply nourishing culinary experiences rooted in traditional food wisdom.
All recipes are vegetarian unless otherwise specified within the selected theme.
This is a culinary and educational experience inspired by Ayurvedic food traditions. It is not medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment.
Medicinal Cooking Through the Wisdom of Ayurveda
Bone & Joint Nourishment
For aging, stiffness, dryness, recovery, menopausal support, vata imbalance, calcium-rich sattvic cooking, sesame, moringa, ragi, ghee, mineral broths, etc.
This cooking experience explores traditional Ayurvedic foods and time-honored kitchen ingredients associated with warmth, grounding, strength, and everyday vitality.
Possible recipe directions may include:
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A recipe using edible gum to support deep nourishment
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A recipe using ragi and warming spices
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A recipe using sesame and jaggery for grounding and mineral-rich sweetness
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A recipe using lentils prepared in a bone-strengthening, digestible way
A total of 8 recipes are available within this theme. Approximately 4 recipes will be selected for your session based on seasonality, ingredient availability, group interests, and prior consultation with Chef Sanjai.
This is a culinary and educational experience inspired by Ayurvedic food traditions. It is not medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment.
Weight Balance & Metabolic Fire
Not harsh dieting, but rekindling agni, reducing heaviness, improving digestion, supporting sustainable weight balance.
This cooking experience explores traditional Ayurvedic approaches to lighter, more energizing meals that support balanced digestion, mindful eating, and everyday vitality.
Rather than focusing on restriction or dieting trends, Chef Sanjai’s approach emphasizes seasonal ingredients, satisfying flavors, digestive spices, and meals designed to feel both nourishing and light.
Possible recipe directions may include:
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A recipe using barley and vegetables for lighter nourishment
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A recipe using mung beans and digestive spices
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A recipe featuring bitter vegetables and warming herbs
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A recipe using buttermilk, roasted spices, and fresh herbs for digestive support
A total of 8 recipes are available within this theme. Approximately 4 recipes will be selected for your session based on seasonality, ingredient availability, group interests, and prior communication with Chef Sanjai.
This is a culinary and educational experience inspired by Ayurvedic food traditions. It is not medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment.
Blood Sugar & Energy Stability
Lightness in the body begins with lightness in digestion.
This cooking experience explores Ayurvedic recipes traditionally used to support healthy metabolism, reduce heaviness, and rekindle digestive fire without harsh restriction or deprivation.
Chef Sanjai draws from classical kitchen wisdom using warming spices, lighter grains, seasonal vegetables, bitter greens, and deeply satisfying meals that help the body feel nourished rather than burdened.
Recipes may explore:
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Barley and millet dishes traditionally valued for metabolic balance
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Green mung soups and khichadis that are light yet sustaining
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Bitter and pungent vegetables such as fenugreek greens, dandelion greens, gourds, or lightly spiced cruciferous vegetables
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Digestive spice combinations using cumin, coriander, fennel, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, mustard seed, curry leaves, and hing
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Light sautéed vegetable dishes prepared with mindful amounts of ghee
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Herbal teas and traditional digestive beverages that support agni and reduce sluggishness
8 recipes are available in this theme. We’ll choose 3–4 that best fit the season, ingredients, your group, and your conversation with Chef Sanjai.
This is a culinary and educational experience inspired by Ayurvedic food traditions. It is not medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment.
Deep Sleep & Nervous System Calm
This cooking experience explores traditional Ayurvedic comfort foods and calming evening preparations associated with warmth, steadiness, grounding, and rest.
Chef Sanjai’s approach emphasizes simple, deeply satisfying recipes prepared with soothing spices, nourishing fats, slow cooking methods, and ingredients traditionally valued in home kitchens for evening nourishment and restoration.
Possible recipe directions may include:
A spiced milk preparation using turmeric, cardamom, and warming kitchen spices
A recipe using herbs, nuts, and traditional ingredients for grounding nourishment
A slow-simmered traditional broth prepared with goat bones, aromatic spices, and fresh herbs
A recipe featuring calming herbs and naturally rich ingredients traditionally used in evening meals
A total of 8 recipes are available within this theme. Approximately 3–4 recipes will be selected for your session based on seasonality, ingredient availability, group interests, and prior consultation with Chef Sanjai.
This is a culinary and educational experience inspired by Ayurvedic food traditions. It is not medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment.
Heart Health & Circulatory Well-Being
Warm circulation. Light nourishment. A steady heart.
This cooking experience explores traditional Ayurvedic foods and kitchen preparations associated with circulation, warmth, balanced digestion, and everyday cardiovascular nourishment.
Chef Sanjai draws from classical home-style recipes that combine spices, herbs, fruits, legumes, and mindful cooking methods to create meals that feel satisfying without excess heaviness.
Recipes may explore:
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A pomegranate preparation using digestive spices and fresh herbs
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An arjuna milk or warming tonic prepared with traditional Ayurvedic ingredients
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A garlic-based chutney or condiment traditionally valued in home kitchens
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Light lentil or barley preparations cooked with circulation-supportive spices
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Seasonal vegetable dishes featuring greens, beets, carrots, or aromatic herbs
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Herbal teas and spice blends prepared for warmth and digestive balance
8 recipes are available in this theme. We’ll choose 3–4 that best fit the season, ingredients, your group, and your conversation with Chef Sanjai.
This is a culinary and educational experience inspired by Ayurvedic food traditions. It is not medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment.
Growing Bodies & Family Nourishment
This cooking experience explores traditional Ayurvedic home-style recipes prepared for growing children, active families, and busy modern households.
Chef Sanjai shares practical, deeply nourishing meals inspired by Indian kitchen traditions where food was prepared not only for taste, but for strength, steadiness, digestion, and everyday vitality.
Recipes may explore:
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Nourishing porridges made with grains, nuts, dates, or warming spices
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Simple lentil and rice dishes prepared for easy digestion and sustained energy
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Vegetable recipes designed to feel comforting and approachable for families
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Homemade snacks and sweets using traditional ingredients instead of heavily processed foods
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Gentle spice combinations that support flavor without overwhelming heat
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Seasonal drinks, milk preparations, or chutneys commonly prepared in Indian homes
8 recipes are available in this theme. We’ll choose 3–4 that best fit the season, ingredients, your group, and your conversation with Chef Sanjai.
This is a culinary and educational experience inspired by Ayurvedic food traditions. It is not medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment.
Individual Participant
$525
Two Participants
$450 per person
Ideal for partners, friends, or family members who wish to learn, cook, and dine together with a shared wellness intention.
Small Group Experience
3 or more participants: $385 per person
Designed for families, wellness circles, yoga communities, or private groups seeking a more focused Ayurvedic cooking experience.
Each Medicinal Cooking session includes:
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A 30-minute pre-session consultation with Chef Sanjai’s assistant
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Thoughtful recipe selection by Chef Sanjai for your chosen theme
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Complimentary guidance on herbs, spices, and traditional kitchen ingredients when appropriate
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3–4 selected recipes from a larger theme-based recipe collection
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Hands-on cooking, discussion, and a shared meal with Chef Sanjai
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Send an Email to Chef Sanjai
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Please include your preferred Healing Cooking theme. Chef Sanjai will reply with available weekend times. Classes are held in his home kitchen in the San Francisco, Bay Area.