Govt. Decides to Help Raise Availability of Apple in Market

Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) today welcomed the union government's decision to relax import restrictions on apples, saying it would help increase availability of the fruit in the domestic market.

Chamber President C S Kartha today said it had in the representation to the Ministry and DGFT, raised concerns and argued for relaxing the ban in view of the possible price hike of apples in the the country.

"We welcome the revised policy wherein other ports across the country, including Cochin Air and Seaports can now import apples," he said.

Issuing a fresh notification, the government has allowed inbound shipments of the fruit through sea ports and airports in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Kochi. The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has also permitted imports from land port and airport in Delhi, besides land borders.

In September last year, the government had restricted apple import by allowing its inbound shipment only through Nhava Sheva port in Maharashtra. Importers had earlier raised concerns over the restrictions and had termed that as a non-tariff barrier. The US authorities too had raised objections over the restrictions.

Apple is the most heavily consumed imported fruit in India, the world's third largest producer of the fruit. Depreciation in the Rupee, which is hovering at around 66 against the Dollar, makes imports costlier.

Apple production in the country is limited to the hilly states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. India imports the fruit from the US, China, Chile, New Zealand, Italy, Iran and Afghanistan, among others.

During April-September 2015, India's apple imports stood at USD 153.6 million. Domestic production is estimated to have declined to 18.85 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 as against Rs 24.98 lakh tonnes in the previous year.

By: Rohit On 23:49

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Broccoli's Saucy Side

Italians cook broccoli longer than we do in the United States, until it is quite a bit softer and darker than we are accustomed to. This has its advantages, because soft broccoli can be mashed with the back of a spoon, and the broken-down vegetable is very nice as a sauce with pasta.

I took the Italian approach recently, but I cooked the broccoli for only 5 to 6 minutes initially (Italians cook it for twice as long), which is long enough to render it soft but not so long that the broccoli loses its bright color and fresh flavor. I chopped the cooked broccoli finely, then melted anchovies in olive oil with garlic, added the broccoli, moistened it with some pasta cooking water and cooked it a little more.

I tossed this heady mixture with fusilli, a perfect marriage of pasta and sauce, as the broccoli, now almost puréed and perfectly seasoned, lodged in the coils of the fusilli in the most delightful way.

This is Italian country cooking at its best, a simple dish that requires few ingredients and very little time. Use the same pot of water that you use to cook the broccoli for the pasta. Then finish the broccoli and anchovy mixture in a pan while the pasta is cooking, and toss the pasta with the sauce right in the pan. It’s a great way to elevate broccoli from ubiquitous side dish — one that, let’s face it, we can get bored with — to the center of the plate.

Fusilli With Broccoli and Anchovies

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

1 generous bunch broccoli (about 1 3/4 pounds)

Salt and black pepper

1 pound fusilli pasta

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 to 5 anchovy fillets (to taste), rinsed and chopped

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino, for serving

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Cut broccoli crowns from stems, leaving about 1 inch of stem at the base of each crown; set aside thick stems for another purpose.

2. Salt boiling water generously and add broccoli. Boil 5 to 6 minutes, until tender enough to break apart with a fork.

3. Using a skimmer, tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer broccoli crowns to a bowl of cold water (do not drain water from pot). Drain broccoli, then blot on paper towels. Chop fine.

4. Bring water in pot back to a boil and add fusilli.

5. While fusilli is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy skillet and add garlic, anchovies and red pepper flakes, if using. Cook, stirring and mashing anchovies with the back of a wooden spoon, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chopped broccoli.

6. Add a ladle or two (about 1/2 cup) of the pasta water to the broccoli, season to taste with salt and pepper and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. Broccoli should be very soft. Remove another ladle of pasta water and set aside.

7. Drain pasta and toss at once with broccoli and remaining olive oil. Add water you set aside if you think it needs more moisture. Serve at once, sprinkled with cheese.

Sleep Better In 2016 With These 14 Foods

Like 50 million to 70 million other Americans, I battle with insomnia. My love for food inspired me to start there in search of relief. Here's what I found.
A shopping list for the sleep-deprivedAlmonds: Rich in magnesium, a mineral needed for quality sleep. A recent study published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine found that low magnesium levels make sleep more difficult.Carbohydrates: A bowl of your favorite cereal with milk combines carbohydrates and dairy.

 Along with corn chips, pretzels and rice (especially jasmine rice), cereal has a high glycemic index, which causes a natural spike in blood sugar and insulin levels, shortening the time it takes to fall asleep. Normally we want steady levels to avoid mood swings and insulin resistance. But if you're in need of sleep, the increase in blood sugar and insulin aids tryptophan in entering your brain and bringing on the sleep.Chamomile tea: Steeped five minutes with a teaspoon of honey, this increases the glycemic index while acting like a mild sedative to aid relaxation.Cherry juice: Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Rochester say that drinking this before bed will bring on sleep quickly, as cherries boost melatonin levels.Elk: Contains nearly twice as much tryptophan as turkey!Honey: Raises insulin and allows tryptophan to enter the brain more easily. A spoonful before bed, whether by itself or mixed into chamomile tea or yogurt, could give you a more restful sleep.Hummus: Chickpeas are a good source of tryptophan.Kale and other leafy veggies: Loaded with calcium, these help the brain use tryptophan to manufacture melatonin. If you're anti-kale, spinach and mustard greens are good options.Lettuce: A Guatemalan friend swears that drinking boiled water in which three pieces of lettuce have been soaked for 15 minutes before bedtime will put you out. Lettuce contains lactucarium, the milky fluid secreted at the base of a lettuce leaf, which has been reported to cause a mild sensation of euphoria.Passion-fruit tea: Contains a harmala alkaloid found in high levels in the passion flower. This is a naturally occurring beta-carboline alkaloid that quiets the nervous system. Drinking a cup one hour before bedtime will help induce a sounder sleep. [aside]Root vegetables: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips, daikon and red radishes, jicama, turnips and gourds are rooted in the soil and therefore reputedly ground us. When we are stressed, root veggies are the things to eat; in winter, they give us warmth and balance. Their magnesium helps relax the nervous system, which reduces stress hormones and helps the body rest; try eating them with leafy greens for additional magnesium. Potassium, which lowers blood pressure and calms the body, is found in high levels in root veggies, as is vitamin C, which does not deplete when cooked. And root veggies are complex carbohydrates, which produce serotonin (without causing a sugar rush) and lower stress. They can therefore help you sleep soundly without waking up.Shrimp and lobster: Crustaceans contain a lot of tryptophan, which the body converts to serotonin and melatonin.Walnuts: A good source of tryptophan, an essential amino acid that can enhance sleep by helping to produce the hormones that set our sleep-wake cycles -- namely serotonin (a hormone in the pineal gland that communicates information between neurons) and melatonin (which controls the body's circadian rhythm). Walnuts also contain their own source of melatonin.Warm milk: My grandma used to say warm milk can help you sleep, but so can any dairy product ingested before bedtime, including cheese and yogurt. Calcium helps the brain use the tryptophan found in dairy to manufacture sleep-triggering melatonin. It also plays a role in regulating muscle movements, quieting the muscles.
A meal to excite the taste buds yet calm the systemHere's a perfect dinner that's sure to induce sleep. Any full-bodied Pinot Noir or Cabernet will pair nicely.For more information on health and sleep, see Ronald Bazar's new book, "Sleep Secrets: How to Fall Asleep Fast, Beat Fatigue and Insomnia and Get a Great Night's Sleep." Also check out Jenny Herman's website, Healdsburg Nutrition.

From Capricorn To Aquarius, A Perfect Dish For Indian Festival

Celebrations, festivals and food are prolific on the Indian calendar. With life's hustle and bustle, I tend to weed out those that are difficult to fit in or lose their symbolism in our transported life in the United States. Sankranti -- marking the launch of India's harvest season -- usually is one of them. But a coconut changed my mind this year.Sankranti refers to the passage of the sun from one Zodiac sign to another. On Jan. 15, this transition happens from Capricorn to Aquarius, called Makara on the Hindu calendar. Makara Sankranti marks the beginning of the "auspicious" period for Hindus when non-devotional activities -- such as festivals and weddings -- can be held after a month-long "inauspicious" period dedicated to devotional activities alone.It's also the beginning of longer days. I believe that a modicum of practicality is rooted in many such traditions and longer days -- especially in times when there was no electricity -- made for more enjoyable festivals.Practicality also put an end to my irreverence toward Sankranti this year.

How cracking a coconut changed my attitudeIn my house, I had a fresh coconut that I had forgotten about, just in time for the January festival. I broke open the coconut, an action that is believed to bring good luck. As I looked at the pristine white meat that rested on my shelf in all its glory, I realized the fortune it brought me: an opportunity to celebrate Sankranti as it is traditionally done in my native Bengal. With pithey: warm, gooey rice and coconut dumplings.In Bengal, the colloquial name for the Sankranti festival is pithey parbon, or the festival of the pithey. Pithey is a sweet dumpling that is either steamed or fried and typically made with rustic ingredients symbolic of the rural bounty: rice, coconuts and date palm jaggery -- an unrefined brown sugar made from date palm sap.The process of extracting date palm jaggery is similar to tapping maple syrup, and I often use maple syrup instead. It is not as deeply flavored, but closer than other sweeteners that I have easy access to. The ingredients, despite their simplicity, result in delightful delicacies that are time-consuming but well worth the effort.Depending on the chef's enthusiasm and energy, an assortment of these are made for friends and family.I have fond memories of my grandmother and her sister making these for the family, as I often interrupted their progress by sneaking in and stealing handfuls of sweet, freshly grated coconut or moist and sweet golden jaggery that left my hands sticky and warm.
Pithey traditions in BengalThe first batch of pithey is usually placed in a container and floated into the river or offered at a temple in an attempt to appease the harvest gods.In rural Bengal, the farm community begins the day with an homage to the barn and dhenki, or rice storage urn. The women throw a handful of rice over their heads as an offering to the gods, and the urn is welcomed as a symbol of prosperity and hope for a good harvest.Living with the vagaries or nature, most predominantly the monsoon, this community is respectful about the importance of a good and successful harvest. There are a number of other rituals, such as tying the barn doors with hay and decorating the house. All are practiced in hope of a good harvest.For the Makara Sankranti festival, some Indian families decorate their homes to celebrate the harvest, like this woman drawing Alpona, a traditional Bengali rice paste decoration. Credit: Rinku BhattacharyaFor the Makara Sankranti festival, Indian families decorate their homes to celebrate the harvest, like this woman drawing Alpona, a traditional Bengali rice paste decoration for Indian festivals. Credit: Rinku BhattacharyaWhen I cracked open the coconut this year in my home, the thought of the warm, sweet dumplings it could bring me held the promise of all things good on that frigid day.It is easy to find frozen grated coconut in the aisles of our local ethnic supermarket. However, if you are looking for something comforting on a chilly winter day, consider picking up a whole coconut and grating it yourself to use in my recipe for Gokul Pithey, adapted from "The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles."