Almond
The sweet kernel soaked overnight and peeled in the morning in so many Indian homes. In Kashmiri kahwa, slivers float in the cup and are eaten at the end.
- Settles Vata
- Can raise Kapha
- Can raise Pitta
How Ayurveda reads almond
- Rasa · taste
- Sweet (madhura)
- Guṇa · nature
- Heavy, unctuous (guru, snigdha)
- Vīrya · potency
- Heating (uṣṇa)
- Vipāka · after digestion
- Sweet (madhura)
- Part used
- Kernel
Reviewed by the Vapika team.
In the tradition
Almonds came to India from Central Asia and Persia, and Kashmir has grown them for centuries. Its Sanskrit names Vātāda and Vātavairī, "enemy of Vata", tell you how the texts read it. Soaking almonds overnight and peeling them before eating is an old Indian habit, and the texts favour eating them that way.
How Ayurveda reads it
Badam is sweet, heavy and unctuous, and heating. It is described as settling Vata and nourishing, and as able to raise Kapha and Pitta if eaten in quantity.
In the Indian kitchen
Soaked almonds in the morning, badam milk, badam halwa, almond slivers on kheer and biryani, and the slivers in Kashmiri kahwa.
How we use it
We use slivered almonds in our Kashmiri Kahwa, in the Valley way.
Almond in our blends
From the texts: Bhāvaprakāśa Nighaṇṭu, Āmrādi phala varga (vātāda).
For learning, not diagnosis. If you are pregnant, nursing or on medication, please speak to your doctor first.