Every summer in England, the same thing happens.
The sun arrives, briefly and partially, with the tentative energy of something that knows it is not fully trusted, and the entire country responds by buying a bag of charcoal, standing outside in a moderate wind, and cooking meat over a fire until it is simultaneously burnt on the outside and uncertain on the inside. This is considered the peak of summer eating.
We say this with enormous affection. We have eaten at British barbecues. We have stood in gardens with paper plates and plastic forks and eaten sausages that needed more time and salad that needed less time and pavlova that needed nothing but appreciation. It is a ritual, and rituals have a value beyond the food they produce.
But we would like to make a case, this summer, for a different kind of warmth. Available at our restaurants in Norwich, Cambridge, London Islington, Twickenham, and Oxford.
What does Ayurveda say about eating in summer?
Ayurveda has thought carefully about what a body needs when the temperature rises, and the answer is not what most of us are currently doing. In Ayurvedic terms, summer aggravates Pitta, the fire constitution associated with heat, intensity, and sharpness. When Pitta is elevated by the season, the body does not need more heat. It needs cooling, grounding, and lightening. It needs the cold yoghurt of a kadi, the tartness of a raw mango preparation, the clean freshness of coriander and mint, and the gentle sweetness of a shrikhand to close. It needs, in other words, a Gujarati summer table.
Urmila's summer menu is not designed around the Ayurvedic Pitta calendar. It is simply the food that Gujarati cooking turns to in summer, because Gujarati cooking has understood for centuries what the season asks of a kitchen. The shrikhand gets lighter, the kadi gets more yoghurt, and the mango preparations arrive. This is not a trend. It is a tradition responding to a season, as it always has.
What is a Gujarati thali and what makes it perfect for summer?
The thali is the full expression of this. A circle of dishes including dal, kadi, sabzi, rice, rotli, papad, pickle, and a small sweet, each one doing its part in a meal that is balanced not because a nutritionist designed it but because centuries of Gujarati cooking have understood, through practice, what a body needs to feel well.
In summer, the thali tilts toward the cooling side: more kadi, lighter dals, seasonal vegetables prepared simply, and the kesar shrikhand to close. It is the best possible answer to a hot July evening in England. Lighter than a roast, more interesting than a salad, and more genuinely nourishing than anything that has been through a barbecue in a wind.
Thali Tuesdays - exclusive to our email subscribers
Through the summer, our email subscribers get exclusive access to the Thali Tuesday offer: the full thali at a weekday price, available Tuesday to Thursday. We do not advertise this publicly, and we mean that. It is for the people who have trusted us with their inbox, and it is our way of saying that trust is worth something. If you are not on the list, you can join below. If you are already on the list, your Tuesday table is waiting.
Kids eat free this summer
During the school summer holidays, children under 9 eat free at Namaste Village with every adult main meal purchased. A starter, a drink, and a main from the kids' menu are all included. A dessert can be added for just one pound more. Available across all six locations in Norwich, Cambridge, London Islington, Twickenham, and Oxford for the full duration of the school summer holidays. Because the best meal of the summer might not be the one that involved charcoal.
T&Cs: One child per adult main meal purchased. Children under 9 years of age. Dine-in only. Not valid with any other offer, set menu, buffet, or voucher.
Find us across all six Namaste Village locations this summer. Sign up to our email list for Thali Tuesday access. Book the long table. Bring the children.
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