Life In Colour

Choosing food according to colour leads to better health and brighter future

- Elle Kwan

They are called the body’s seven energy centres. Chakras, taken from the ancient Sanskrit word for ‘wheel’, are semimystical whirling forces located in key positions along the spine and up to your head, and are said to impart energy to our mind, body and spirit – except when they don’t. An imbalanced chakra can spin too fast or too slow, causing mental discord, a sluggish system or ill health. One way to rebalance them, experts say, is to be mindful of them during everyday activities. Spending more time in nature can balance the root chakra that connects us to earth, for instance. Another is to meditate. And still another, is through food.

At Hong Kong’s Grassroots Pantry eatery recently, diners were invited to try a special menu built around chakras. Joining Grassroot’s owner Peggy Chan was guest chef Garima Arora who flew in from her Bangkok restaurant Gaa, and who cooked dishes representing the solar plexus, root and crown chakras. “These chakras appealed to me because these require a diet that is comforting as well as nourishing,” she says.

Many of the dishes featured ingredients with colours corresponding to particular chakras. “The solar plexus chakra is fed by vegetables generally yellow in colour. Corn is one of them,” Arora explains. “The idea to mix corn and bitter greens, which is also suited for this chakra, came from an Indian dish, sarso ka saag and maki ki roti, mustard puree with corn bread.”