This is a wonderful dish for kapha types. Edamame (soya beans) have a wonderful flavour and are high in protein; they can be found in the freezer section of supermarkets or health food shops (look for GM-free).

Recipe taken from Anjum Anand's "Eat right for your body type"

Use broad beans when in season or even half a packet of firm tofu instead of the soya beans, or vary the vegetables.

Even though there is coconut milk in this dish, the quantity is small and this type of lightly-spiced brothy dish is really easy to digest and grounding.This dish can work for vata and even pitta without the chilli and black pepper.

Serve with basmati rice or add some cooked bean thread noodles (glass noodles) to the bottom of your bowl – they are made from mung beans which are really good for kapha.

Serves 2
1 tbsp vegetable oil
10 black peppercorns
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
1 Chinese red chilli, stalks off (medium heat, more for flavour) (pitta omit)
15g fresh ginger, peeled weight
3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled
250ml water

1 lemon grass stalk, halved and bruised with a rolling pin or a little lemon zest
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced thinly on the diagonal
100g small broccoli florets
1 head bok choi, quartered
90ml coconut milk
100g edamame (soya beans) or broad beans, cooked (shelled weight)
1–11⁄2 tsp lemon or lime juice, or to taste
Salt
Fresh coriander, to garnishHeat the vegetable oil in a medium non-stick saucepan, add the black peppercorns and onion and sauté until soft and lightly golden.

Meanwhile, blend together the three-quarters of the chilli with the ginger and garlic and a splash of water to make a smooth paste.Add this to the cooked onions with the lemon grass. Reduce over a moderate heat until you have only the paste, then cook over a low heat
until little oil droplets appear around the pan, around 3–4 minutes.

Slice the remaining chilli and add to the pan.Add the water and season. Add the carrots, cook for 5 minutes, then add broccoli and bok choi, cover and simmer for 4–5 minutes or until they are just cooked.There should be enough water in the pan to do this, but if the pan starts to
dry up, add a splash of water from the kettle.

Add the coconut milk, soya beans and lemon juice, bring back to the boil and serve garnished with the fresh coriander.

This recipe was taken from Anjum's Eat Right For Your Body Type, published by Quadrille, photography by Lisa Linder, £14.99

Anjum Anand is well known as the presenter of two BBC2 series of Indian Food Made Easy. Her accompanying books – Indian Food Made Easy and Anjum's New Indian – were both bestsellers, Anjum appears in newspapers and magazines and broadcasts regularly on radio TV about her light, healthy modern take on Indian Food.