FOOD NEWS

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

How Yogurt (Curd) Can Help You Keep Cool this Summer

"Did you notice that the dahi (Indian curd) in chaat is always sweet," said Manjit Gill, corporate chef of the ITC Hotels group, while we enjoyed some Delhi papdi chaat, aloo tikkiand gol gappe at the unlikely location of a 5-star resort in Manesar, far removed from the crowded lanes of old Delhi.

According to Chef Gill,chaats, the popular street food of North India, were allegedly invented about 400 years ago in old Delhi when the Mughal rulers wanted to come up with a dish that helped counter water-borne diseases. The sweetness in dahi is because adding salt to yogurt leads to acidity, explained Gill, and hence salt in dahi is a no no. Today, we go to stores and buy probiotic curd as it is said to be good for digestion. However, Indian cooking traditions always knew that curd was good for health, this is nothing new to us.

I was in Delhi for the weekend recently and it was really (really) hot and dry there. Curd came to the rescue again, as I politely refused the wine and beer offered with meals and went for the lassi instead. Lassi is Punjab's flagship drink, made with curd and water churned together as the base. After hearing Gill out, I asked for the sweet lassi and not a salted one. What I noticed about the lassi at Delhi in places such as the United Coffee House at Connaught Place and the legendary Bukhara, as well as the lassis I have had in farmhouses outside Amritsar and at dhaabas such as Kesar Dhaba, is that they tend to be lighter and frothier and less sweeter than the lassisone gets in Mumbai. And they are a lot more refreshing too.

By: Rohit On 01:58

Tuesday, 19 April 2016

Magnesium Plays Role in Regulating Body's Internal Clock

Magnesium in our diet has an unexpected role in regulating body's internal clock and metabolism, finds a study."Although the clinical relevance of magnesium in various tissues is beginning to garner more attention, how magnesium regulates our body's internal clock and metabolism has simply not been considered before.

The new discovery could lead to a whole range of benefits spanning human health to agricultural productivity," added senior study author John O'Neill of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.Magnesium -- a nutrient found in many foods -- helps control how cells keep their own form of time to cope with the day-night cycle. The discovery is expected to be linked to the body clock, which influences the daily cycle of sleeping and waking, hormone release, body temperature and other important bodily functions in people.Researchers used molecular analysis and found that concentrations of magnesium rose and fell in a 24-hour cycle in all cell types and that this impacts on the cells' internal clocks."Internal clocks are fundamental to all living things. They influence many aspects of health and diseases in our body, but equally in plants and micro-organisms," said lead study author Gerben van Ooijen from the University of Edinburgh's School of Biological Sciences."It is now essential to find out how these fundamentally novel observations translate to whole tissue or organisms, to make us better equipped to influence them in complex organisms for future medical and agricultural purposes," Ooijen added in the paper, published in the journal Nature.The team examined three major types of biological organisms -- human cells, algae and fungi. They found in each case that levels of magnesium in cells rise and fall in a daily cycle and this oscillation was critical to sustain the 24-hour clock in cells.They were surprised to discover that it also had an enormous impact on metabolism in cells -- how fast cells can convert nutrients into energy -- throughout the course of a day.The surprising discovery may aid the development of chronotherapy -- treatment scheduled according to time of day -- in people and the development of new crop varieties with increased yields or adjustable harvesting seasons.

By: Rohit On 03:26

Sunday, 17 April 2016

Chicken Ghee Roast: Mangalore's Pride and Joy

When I was moving house the second last time, after having lived in one of the convenient parts of town for nearly seven years, a few of my friends had one request, "Can you please find a flat that is close to Coast II Coast? We need our regular fix of Chicken Ghee Roast and neer dosa.” Even today, when I don’t live within the easy reach of this restaurant, the combination of ghee roast and neer dosa is one of the most frequent suggestions made, when the invariable question - “what do we eat?” - comes up.

This Mangalorean delicacy, credited to have originated in Kundapura district, and in the kitchen of the famous Shetty Lunch Home, is one of the hottest selling, and most loved dishes of the cuisine. What is Indian food without its spices? And the case of the chicken ghee roast is no different; it’s the Kundapur masala that makes it stand out, and the ghee of course.

From the ‘secret’ combination of spices in the one found at Shetty Lunch home, to the subtle flavours at Kanua on Sarjapur Road, the posh upgrade at Karavalli at The Gateway Hotel, to the absolutely simple and home-style version at Bekal in Indiranagar – the Chicken Ghee Roast in the city has found its way to small hole-in-the-wall joints, to pubs, and five star hotels. In fact, few Mangalorean restaurants in the city don’t have it on the menu, with each place serving their own rendition of the dish.

Author Jane M D’Souza, who’s an expert on Mangalorean catholic cuisine, says in her book that there is no such thing as an ‘original’ recipe. “The dish originated in the Mangalorean Bunt community yes, but that community is a dynamic one that sees an overlap of Hindu, Muslim, and Christian cultures. Therefore, one naturally adapts from the other, and almost every community of the area has its version of the Chicken Ghee Roast. My recipe for instance is a mix of each of these cultures, and an experimentation of variations over time. In fact, only recently I began to include a squeeze of lemon juice, along with the curd and turmeric in the marinade. The result has been great," she writes in Jane's Cook Book.

What goes into the marinade of this delightful preparation? It’s mostly curd, turmeric powder, jaggery, dry red chillies (a combination of Kashmiri red or Bydagi, and Guntur), black peppercorn, cloves, fenugreek (methi) seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, and tamarind paste. Plus, you need curry leaves for tempering, and quite a bit of ghee of course. And as D’Souza says, you could also add a little lemon juice to the marinade.

D’Souza says that in her recipe, she omits the fennel seeds. “While the marinade of curd, turmeric powder and salt stands the same in most recipes, variations appear in the use of chillies, onions and sometimes fennel seeds. In my version of the recipe, I use a mix of Bydagi and Kashmiri chillies in the masala. I do not skimp on the ghee and ensure that I use a lot of curry leaves when frying the masala as this adds an additional dimension to the taste and makes for the perfect spoon to wipe a plate clean of all the masala.”

The Kundapura Masala, which is pretty much makes the chicken ghee roast what it is today can be found on the shelves and that means you don’t have to go through the arduous process of grinding all the spices, and prepping them.

A cook by passion, and profession, Vishal Shetty’s version of this Mangalorean dish is slightly different. “Typically, I make a paste with Bydagi chillies, garlic, and jeera. But first, I soak them for a bit and boil it. In the meanwhile, I half-steam the chicken with turmeric and salt and then sauté the masala paste well with ghee, add the chicken and let it cook. I also use curry leaves or sometimes coriander leaves for the tempering. I don’t always add curd, but if I do, it’s towards the end to add a bit of tanginess to the dish.”

Journalist, and a passionate cook, Anupama B, who also happens to be my private supplier of Chicken Ghee Roast should a moment of desperation arise, began making the Mangalore or Kundapur Ghee Roast Chicken after “my friends started singing ‘hosannas’ to this dish they had tried at Mangalorean restaurants. She says her ‘Mangalore-ness’ was called into question because she had never served this dish at her home. “And with good reason. This is a dish that’s a signature in Bunt homes, and my Saraswat Brahmin ethnicity was being whitewashed again with the generic Mangalorean term. Since I loved the dish too, I asked my Bunt friends to share this recipe with me and what I make at home and is much requested by my friends, is an improvised version of all the recipes for Mangalore Ghee Roast I have in my handwritten recipe book.”

And while Mangalorean cuisine uses coconut generously in their food, the ghee roast is quite unique in that way. This one ideally is not cooked in coconut oil, or uses coconut. Anupama, however, does add a little coconut to her recipe. She also doesn’t cook the dish with ghee only, using it only towards the end of fragrance and flavour.

There are two ways to make this dish; the first is the long and from-scratch way, and the second calls for snipping open a Kundapur chicken masala packet. “The masala I use is not branded, and is sourced from Mangalore,” she adds.

When it comes to picking the best place to find this dish, people have their favourites. While Shetty says she’s likes the one at Coast II Coast, Anupama’s favourite would be Shetty Lunch Home at Kundapur. D’Souza, however, says that the best she ever had was a Bunt friend’s home. “I believe that no restaurant can create a Chicken Ghee Roast to beat the ones made in a home. The aroma and the flavour of what I ate at my friend’s daughter’s wedding has remained with me for more than 15 years.”
And as far as I am concerned, I will go anywhere for a good Chicken Ghee Roast, even if that means packing an overnight bag.

By: Rohit On 03:15

Saturday, 16 April 2016

How Restaurants in Bengal are Celebrating Poila Baisakh

Poila Baisakh is the first day of the Bengali calendar. In Bengali, the word Poila means ‘first’ and Boishakh refers to the first month of the Bengali calendar. The festival is celebrated as the Bengali New Year.

As the city of Kolkata took a break today to celebrate Poila Baisakh, the Bengali new year, stand
alone eateries and restaurants of major hotels rolled out new dishes to greet the Bengali gourmet. Typical Bengali vegetarian and non-vegetarian items were served in some restaurants while lip-smacking street foods took center stage in some. 'Sonargaon' of Taj Bengal offered some of the specialties of the region like Topse Fish Fry, Kosha Mangsho, Echorer Kaliya, Shukto, Radha Bolobi, Kacha Aam ki Chutney. Another restaurant in the same hotel, 'The Junction' introduced a specially crafted menu drawing heavily from street food items - Machher Chop, Mangshor Chop, Mochar Chop to Postor Boda.

Bringing together two provinces of different frontiers, the Park Plaza introduced the 'Kapurthala to Kolkata' culinary journey where Macchi Amritsari, Masala Aloo Dum, Sarson Ka Saag will complement Chingri Malai Curry, Kadai Chicken and Doi Potol, The culinary route, reflecting the nature of both Punjabis and Bengalis to celebrate life, can be explored from April 13 to April 23. At Saptapadi Restaurant, fusion is the buzz word with typical Bengali items like Mochar Tarkari has been given a Latin American spin in 'Tex Mex Nachos With Refried Mocha'.

There are also other interesting dishes on the menu like 'Ranga Aloo, Karai Suti, Mangshor Pie' (A Scottish dish made with Bengal mutton and sweet potato served with garlic bread and house salad) along with 'Baked Dab Chingri Alaska' and 'Ilish Steak'. The chef and co-owner Ranjan Biswas said, "Timeless songs from Uttam-Suchitra films will be played in the background while the food is served on earthenware cutlery."

'Durbari' and 'Café Swiss' of the Swissôtel offers a a lavish spread of Bengali dishes at the ongoing 'Bengali Food Festival' like Gaach pathar chop (Crumb fried jackfruit patty), Agune Pora Parshe (Parshe fish marinated with freshly ground spices and cooked in tandoor), Posto Diye Potoler Dolma (Stuffed sweet gourd cooked in spicy poppy seed gravy). The festival is also majorly celebrated across Assam, Jharkhand and Odisha.

By: Rohit On 03:36

Friday, 15 April 2016

5 Incredible Fenugreek Benefits: From Lowering Cholesterol to Aiding Digestion

Beautiful green leaves with a distinct sweet smell, fenugreek is actually one of the oldest cultivated medicinal plants. Commonly known as ‘methi’ in Indian households, it is a prized ingredient in the culinary world, and can be used as a herb, a spice (seeds) or a vegetable (fresh leaves and sprouts).

How to use fenugreek

India is the largest producer of this ancient herb with over eighty percent of the production centered in Rajasthan. You'll mostly find it as fresh leaves in the market or as a cuboid-shaped, yellow-to-amber coloured seed. The seeds or methi-dana are used as a flavour enhancer while the leaves are used to make leafy delicacies. The quintessential 'Aloo Methi' is a household name synonymous with homely deliciousness. In South India, methi seeds are ground into powder or used whole in various delicacies to boost the flavour of the dish by that extra mile. "You could splutter a little methi-dana in oil and use it to flavour anything from rice to vegetables like okra and even fish (cooked in mustard oil). Or you can add another layer of flavour to fresh chutneys — that can balance sweet, sour and bitter, with the addition of this ingredient," suggests Food Blogger Anoothi Vishal.

Fenugreek in home remedies

No ingredient in an Indian kitchen is truly useful unless it is used as a part of a magical home remedy. Fenugreek seeds contain protein and nicotinic that are extremely useful against hair fall, dandruff and are also known to help in treating a variety of scalp issues like dryness of hair, baldness and hair thinning. It contains large amounts of lecithin as well, which hydrates your hair and strengthens the roots. You can make a hair mask by grinding fenugreek seeds into a paste or you could even soak them in water overnight and later use the strained liquid to rinse your hair.

By: Rohit On 11:29

Thursday, 14 April 2016

A Dangerous Chemical Lurking in Your Fast Food

Junk food addicts, take note! People who consume more fast food are exposed to higher levels of potentially harmful chemicals known as phthalates, a new study has warned.

"People who ate the most fast food had phthalate levels that were as much as 40 per cent higher. Our findings raise concerns because phthalates have been linked to a number of serious health problems in children and adults," said Ami Zota from George Washington University in the US.

Phthalates belong to a class of industrial chemicals used to make food packaging materials, tubing for dairy products, and other items used in the production of fast food. Other research suggests these chemicals can leach out of plastic food packaging and can contaminate highly processed food.

Researchers looked at data on 8,877 participants who had answered detailed questions about their diet in the past 24 hours, including consumption of fast food. These participants also had provided researchers with a urinary sample that could be tested for the breakdown products of two specific phthalates - DEHP and DiNP. They found that the more fast food participants in the study ate, the higher was the exposure to phthalates. People in the study with the highest consumption of fast food had 23.8 per cent higher levels of the breakdown product for DEHP in their urine sample.

Those same fast food lovers had nearly 40 per cent higher levels of DiNP metabolites in their urine compared to people who reported no fast food in the 24 hours prior to the testing, researchers said They also discovered that grain and meat items were the most significant contributors to phthalate exposure.

According to Zota, the grain category contained a wide variety of items including bread, cake, pizza, burritos, rice dishes and noodles. She also noted that other studies have also identified grains as an important source of exposure to these potentially harmful chemicals. Researchers also looked for exposure to another chemical found in plastic food packaging - Bisphenol A (BPA).

They believe that exposure to BPA can lead to health and behaviour problems, especially for young children. This study found no association between total fast food intake and BPA. However, researchers found that people who ate fast food meat products had higher levels of BPA than people who reported no fast food consumption. The findings were published in the journal Environmental
Health Perspectives.

By: Rohit On 23:43

Songkran Festival 2016: Celebrate with these Top 10 Thai Foods

The Songkran festival is celebrated every year in Thailand from 13th to 15th April, and this year it falls on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This festival marks the traditional New Year's Day. On the day of Songkran, people often visit local temples and offer food to the Buddhist monks. Did you know that the iconic ritual for this holiday is actually pouring water over Buddha statues? It apparently represents the washing away of all sins and bad omens. Younger people also engage in water fights for fun, and pour water over the palms of elders’ hands as a sign of respect.

Just like Deborah Cater had rightly put, “You have to taste a culture to understand it”. Presenting: Our top 10 Thai foods for you to celebrate Songkran Festival 2016. Ever wondered what makes Thai cuisine so special? It’s perhaps the rich curries or the explosion of flavours that make it such a rage across the globe. Home-Chef Malini Sawhney says, “Thai cuisine is all about balancing bold flavours - a unique mix of hot, sour, sweet and bitter tastes. And my personal favourite ingredient? Coconut milk. It works brilliantly to accentuate the piquancy of Thai food”. Exotic notes are brought about in each dish by blending aromatic lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal. Thai food is like a celebration of the fresh and fragrant.

Without further ado, we bring you our 10 best Thai recipes. From a scrumptiously simple Som Tum Salad to a heavenly Massaman Curry, every dish is indeed a gastronomic delight. Start cooking, stop drooling!

By: Rohit On 01:39