Vegetarian president brings own cooks to China

Source :Beijing,Indo-Asian News Service, May 29, 2010, 12:32 IST
   
   
       

President Pratibha Patil, a vegetarian, has flown in her own cooks for her six-day China visit, fully aware that she would be visiting a nation known for a cuisine that is primarily non-vegetarian and where gourmet dishes are whipped out of many animal, bird and fish species.

In fact, the president, who attended a sumptuous state banquet on Thursday, given by her Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of People, bypassed the non-vegetarian dishes and tucked into a meal which included a special dish of white gourd.

Officials said Patil, who is staying in the majestic Hotel Raffles in Beijing, has a huge suite which has a big kitchen, with separate entry for staff members. Patil is in China on a six-day visit that is taking her to Beijing, Luoyang and Shanghai.

"She is a simple eater. And likes her dal, rice and one vegetable. Her chef knows her liking," an official told IANS, not wishing to be identified as he was not supposed to talk to the media.

The chefs, Laxman Rai and Dheeraj Mani Bhatt, are not only taking care of the president's needs, but also of those of her husband Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat, son-in-law Jayesh Rathore and grandson Dhruvesh Rathor, who are accompanying her in the visit.

As Chinese dining etiquettes demand that guests do not decline any food that is served to them, Chinese authorities were informed about the president's preferences in advance. "She was not offered any non-vegetarian fare (at the state banquet)," said the official.

A huge steel box labelled with bold letters "grocery" was flown to China. In fact, it was one of the few things that were loaded first in the special aircraft Air India One in which the president and her entourage travelled.

"We are carrying everything for the journey. We know her choices so we have packed everything. We wanted to be fully prepared," the official told IANS. Chinese banquets typically serve about ten courses that include food cooked from animal, fish or bird anatomy.

Sharbats -Cold cuts are hot options

Source:Metro plus,vijayawada,24 th April,2010

HARJEET KAUR ALLAGH

 

The simmering heat getting the better of you? Harjeet Kaur Allagh offers a smorgasbord of options on a platter

Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar 
 
Cool preference Sharbats are wonderful substitutes to quench thirst in summer 

The weatherman has confirmed our worst fears. Summer will be more blistering, sweltering and scorching this year. In our eagerness to discover brand new ways to beat the heat and cool down the body, most of us tend to miss the age-old recipes that are sure-fire means of beating the heat.

Try a glass of cold lime juice with a bit of sugar, salt and a dash of cumin powder or grab a tumbler of buttermilk. If neither is accessible, stop over at a coconut vendor and help yourself to tender coconut.

These quick-fix solutions work rapidly to recharge our energy-sapped system. “ Panna is a juice made from boiled or roasted raw mango pulp. Instead of relying on carbonated beverages that make me feel bloated, I prefer mom's recipe for raw Panna – a blend of pudina leaves, coriander leaves, cumin seed powder and a dash of black salt, make a tasty and refreshing drink,” says Pavithra, a professor.

Many homemakers like Rukmini depend on traditional Indian cuisine that contains restorative supplements in preparations like chutneys, sherbets and the vast variety of raitas that we relish. “The key summer advisory for food is to eat light and include ingredients that have cooling properties,” says Rukmini.

Curd, cumin, khus, sandal, rose water, tamarind and anaardana (pomegranate seeds) are naturally cooling. Go heavy on homemade salads and squash vegetables like bottle gourd, snake gourd, pumpkins, which have high water content. If you don't like these vegetables and prefer foreign cuisines, there are interesting alternatives. Go for soups like gazpacho and smoked chicken cuts, Mediterranean dips and Thai salads instead of heavy spicy food. Tofu, green Thai curries, hummus and the Lebanese version of bhartha are very good alternatives to the hot Indian food. “Cold cuts are fairly foreign to the Indian food habit but the ones like tandoori or dum make great fillings for pita bread sandwiches and wraps, “says Tina, a gourmet cook.

“Steamed dhoklas and idlis and chaat items like dahi bhalla can be substituted for a main course,” opines Asmita, an expert cook.

The right kind of food and drink can help keep the body cool and healthy during hot summer. Here's a list of items that ought to be stocked in your fridge to survive the searing temperatures. Fruit with yoghurt is an ideal combination for breakfast in really hot weather. Fruits have high water content and so they help maintain the body fluid.

Intake of fruits is important in hot weather to bump up your fluid intake. Melons contain more than 90 per cent water and the good news is that they are ubiquitous during summer. Papayas too are available in abundance besides being affordable. For a more exotic drink try the Kiwi-Cooler.

The delicious light green colour of this mocktail is enough to entice you to have the drink. In a tall glass place cup of crushed ice. Pour 1 tsp of sugar syrup, 2 tbsp kiwi crush, 1 tbsp lemon juice over it and stir using a stirrer. Top each glass with a bottle of chilled soda water and serve immediately, garnished with a slice of kiwi.What you experience is simply divine.

The vital Vitamin

Source:Metro Plus,Thiruvananthapuram,24th April,2010

Ensure Vitamin D in your diet

Health and tasteMilk and milk products like cheese are a good source of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is more than just a vitamin: it is also a hormone. Research in the last few years suggests that Vitamin D – traditionally considered a “bone vitamin” – has a role in preventing infection, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. In parallel with this explosion of research, there is a change in the recommendations for optimum intake of this vitamin-hormone. The following is a brief overview of this topic.

Best sources

Vitamin D comes in two forms: D2 and D3. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) comes from plants and yeast. It is not as effective as Vitamin D3 at raising 25(OH)D levels in the body. Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) comes from animal sources and is a more potent molecule.

The best food sources of Vitamin D are fatty fish, eggs, fortified milk and cereals, and fortified milk products such as cheese and yoghurt.

Sunlight: skin makes Vitamin D3 when exposed to sunlight. However, the melanin in darker skin blocks Vitamin D production, and sunscreen with an SPF 15 blocks vitamin D production by 99 percent.

How much of Vitamin D should one take daily? The latest American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines doubled the recommended amount for kids from the previous 200 IU to 400 IU a day for all children.

Vitamin D supplementation should be given to infants who are exclusively breast fed because the Vitamin D content of human milk is low. The Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine society and the AAP now recommend supplementation with 400 IU daily of Vitamin D beginning within days of birth.

For adults, new guidelines are awaited. The Institute of Medicine recommendations from 1997, widely regarded as outdated, suggest dosing at 200 IU for under age 50, 400 IU for age 50-70, and 600 IU for over age 70 with an upper limit of 2000 IU per day. Many experts now recommend at least 800-2000 IU per day for adults. New and definitive guidelines will clarify the matter soon.

Worldwide, at least a billion people have low blood levels of Vitamin D. It is difficult for most people to get adequate amounts of Vitamin D from diet and sunlight alone. Vitamin D supplements may be necessary for more people than previously estimated. However, indiscriminate and excessive use of supplements has significant side effects, so take them only after medical approval.

DR RAJIV M.

THE WRITER IS A SPECIALIST IN INTERNAL MEDICINE

Pep up your salad

Source:Metro Plus,The Hindu,Pondicherry,24th April,2010

Try dressing broccoli salad with mustard

If you are like most people, the word “mustard” probably conjures up images of barbeques. Yet, once you add mustard seeds to your spice cabinet, the word will take on a whole new meaning, as you will relish the spicy, aromatic rustic taste and fragrance that mustard can add to your meals.
Mustard seeds come from the mustard plant, which is a cruciferous vegetable related to broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. While there are approximately 40 different varieties of mustard plants, there are three principal types used to make mustard seeds: black mustard, white mustard and brown mustard. Black mustard seeds have the most pungent taste, while white mustard seeds, which are actually yellow in colour, are the mildest and used to make American yellow mustard. Brown mustard, which is actually dark yellow in colour, has a pungent acrid taste and is the type used to make Dijon mustard.


Mustard seed is one of the most popular spices traded in the world today. As it grows well in temperate climates, the areas that produce the greatest amount of mustard seeds currently include Hungary, Great Britain, India, Canada and the United States.


Mustard powder and mustard seeds should be kept in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dark and dry place. Prepared mustard and mustard oil should both be refrigerated.

Mustard seeds are a good source of selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. They are also a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, dietary fibre, iron, calcium, protein, niacin and zinc.

Now, for a recipe.

Broccoli Salad with Dijon Dressing

Ingredients

Fresh broccoli: 200 gm
Salt to taste
Chopped red onion: 75 gm
Dijon mustard: 10 gm
Lemon juice: 1 5ml
Olive oil: 30 ml
Chopped parsley: 25 gm
Method: Trim broccoli of tough stems and leaves. Cut the remainder into bite-size pieces. Bring enough water to boil to cover the broccoli. Add salt to taste and broccoli. Let the broccoli cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp-tender; drain. Put the drained broccoli in a salad bowl; sprinkle with chopped onion. Meanwhile, put mustard in a mixing bowl and add lemon juice, whisking rapidly. Add oil while whisking. Add salt to taste, then the parsley. Spoon the dressing over the broccoli. Serve the broccoli salad hot, lukewarm or cold.

BHOLANATH JHA

Chef de Partie
Taj Connemara

Taming temptation

Source:Metro plus,Bangalore,24th April,2010

Easy to follow tips on not allowing your willpower to flounder when you're sticking to a resolution

PHOTO: REUTERS

SUGARY DELIGHT Enough to break your diet plan

Ever heard a doughnut cry out your name? It happens to me every time I pass my neighbourhood bakery and inhale that intoxicating, sugary smell. Most days, I'm able to resist. But sometimes, before I know it, I've broken one of my primary resolutions and stuffed two into my mouth. What happened to my willpower?

Many of us struggle with that vexing challenge — whether it's sticking to a new diet or resisting a shopping spree. Why is our self-control so strong on some days and so weak on others?

Contrary to popular belief, willpower is not dependent on psychological strength alone. Physiological factors, such as blood sugar, brain chemistry, and hormones, also influence and can undermine our powers of self-restraint. The good news: “Once you understand the forces that weaken your self-control, you can do a lot to strengthen it,” says Kathleen D. Vohs, associate professor of consumer psychology at the Carlson School of Management in Minneapolis.

Here's how to reinforce your willpower so it's ready when you need it.

Budget your resolve

Each of us has a limited supply of self-control, which means if you try to exert it in too many areas at once, you'll rapidly deplete your reserve. In a case study, researchers placed freshly baked chocolate chip cookies before two groups of participants, instructing one group to eat two or three and the other to eat radishes (while watching the others partake). Then, everyone was asked to try to solve an impossible puzzle. Participants who had to resist the treats gave up on the problem twice as fast as those who were allowed to indulge. “Willpower is like fuel in your car,” says Vohs. “When you resist something tempting, you use some up. The more you resist, the emptier your tank gets, until you run out of fuel.”

Tip:

Concentrate your will power where you need it most. Don't try to cut down on your computer chat time and lose weight at the same time. If you've spent the whole day fighting the urge to tell off a difficult colleague, don't go shopping after work. Vohs found that people were willing to purchase more when their will power had been drained by a previous unrelated exercise in self-control.

Keep blood sugar steady

Even a small blood-sugar dip, which occurs after you've skipped a meal, can impair the areas that oversee planning and self-restraint. Ironically, research shows that exerting your willpower decreases glucose even more. So, if you skip lunch and spend the afternoon fighting the desire to dip into a co-worker's box of goodies, you could set yourself up for an evening binge.

Tip:

Eat small meals that contain both complex carbohydrates and protein throughout the day (including breakfast). Keep protein-packed energy bars — with at least 5 g of protein — in your bag so you never have to skip a meal. By stabilising blood sugar, you'll be better able to resist over-eating and other impulsive activities later.

Don't over-diet

Eating too little not only depletes glucose, it also curtails the production of leptin, a hormone made by fat cells that helps regulate appetite. “Within a few days of starting to diet, your leptin levels can drop by half,” explains Neal Barnard, MD, author of “Breaking the Food Seduction”. “Plummeting levels can increase appetite and bring on a binge.”

Tip:

Follow “the rule of 10”: Multiply your target weight by 10, and never eat fewer calories than that daily total. And be sure to exercise 30 to 40 minutes each day. (A walk is fine.) Daily activity also maintains healthy levels of leptin, research shows.

Don't skimp on sleep

Research shows that getting less than six hours of snooze time decreases decision-making abilities and leads to what Vohs calls “failures of self-control” as the day wears on. One mechanism in play: ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger. One study of healthy adults found that after they got four hours of sleep just two nights in a row, their levels of ghrelin increased by 28 per cent and their appetites by a whopping 23 per cent, especially for salty snacks and sweets.

Cooking up a storm

Source:The Hindu,24th April,2010

Executive Chef Rajesh Radhakrishnan tells SHONALI MUTHALALY about the challenge of cooking up an inventive menu while keeping traditional flavours intact

PHOTOS: R. RAGU

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Rajesh Radhakrishnan

Think being consistently dependable is tough? Try being consistently surprising. Fortunately, Chef Rajesh Radhakrishnan seems to thrive on pressure.

The man behind the menus at Chennai's most determinedly trendy hotel, The Park, Chef Rajesh has been quietly, but steadily expanding his repertoire over the last four years. At 35, he's among the country's youngest Executive Chefs. Besides overseeing the hotel's restaurants, he handles menus at Madras Club's poolside cafe and Latitude — refuge of salad-and-six-pack obsessed businessmen, ladies-who-brunch and lanky girls toting It-bags. This is a cross-section of his guests: hip, health-obsessed and ceaselessly demanding.

Meeting expectations

When Absolute, which revelled in edginess, floundered, The Park was called in, and Chef Rajesh stepped behind the grills. Today, it's Italia. More recently, he's designed menus for the hotel's cruiser on Vembanad Lake in Kerala, drawing from local organic produce and cooking styles inspired by Cherthala, Muhamma and Alleppey.

“Every year, we try to get better,” he says, juggling a steaming pizza, bright with tomato and chunky broccoli florets, as we walk through The Park's popular coffee shop, 601. He adds: “Sixty per cent of our guests are repeat clients — and they eat here two to three times a week… They are all well-travelled, and expectations are high. Very, very high. We need to keep them challenged.”

We hop into the hotel lift, equipped with mini screens showing “Shrek”, and emerge on the top floor at Aqua, Mediterranean with a semi-kitschy twist. Between obligingly striking pose after pose for our photo shoot, Chef Rajesh points out their Aqua wellness menu, replete with food for the new-age fitness junkie — carrot spritzers zinging with spirulina, pesto-marinated cottage cheese, braised bekti with wild mushroom tom yum broth.

This is his signature: food that is intuitive, enthusiastic and bold. “Even when it comes to catering events, no one wants a menu that's been done before,” says Chef Rajesh discussing how every menu must be innovative every single time. His solution? “Progressive cuisine: Italian Thai, European Thai, Modern Chinese…” All, while maintaining a reverence for traditional recipes and flavours. “We don't want to lose the original taste — a rogan josh should taste like a rogan josh.” So, he deconstructs every dish, and then builds it up in a more contemporary way, using new techniques, international ingredients and artistic flair.

“It's not fusion. The flavours remain the same. So, you can relate to a dish — but it looks spectacular… a zucchini and paneer roll, for example.” Or a baked jamun tart at Latitude served with a five-spice gelato. Or, his experiments with molecular gastronomy, such as rose petal caviar, which attempt to make food interesting without crossing over into bizarre.

Dishes such as these convey that Chef Rajesh is as animated about desi ingredients as he is about suitably obscure Italian cheeses. He holds up a bowl of intensely-smoky Pippali pepper, inhaling delightedly before describing a recipe for fish crusted with it. “I keep hunting for ingredients that are uncommon,” he says, adding they also work on regularly reinventing old favourites.

Fish and chips, for instance. “We've done beer-battered fish. We've made it with yeast, olive oil and baking powder, for lightness. This year, it's vodka-battered.” This isn't just for attention. (Though, of course, that's a desirable side-effect.) “There's a science to it. With a batter that's 40 per cent vodka, the alcohol evaporates, and the fish cooks faster.”

World cuisine

Constant change requires constant information. Chef Rajesh draws from a base of multiple sources, including his former mentor New Zealander Willi, who specialised in contemporary cooking.

He's also learnt from Italian cuisine's big guns — Antonio Carluccio and Andrea Sposini of Cordon Bleu; and Jeffrey Lord of Betelnut in Koh Samui, famous for his vibrant global food. Before that came, the chefs he worked with in Kuwait, at the Crowne Plaza — Marc Boje for French cooking, and Simon Slim for Lebanese.

His definite Italian slant, which translates into many of his menus, comes from a course in Italian cooking in Calabria followed by a trip across Italy, revelling in Gorgonzola, artisan pasta and delectable trattoria meals.

“The base comes from travel and learning,” he says. “I enhance that with lots of reading: Michael Roux, Jamie Oliver and — of course — Carluccio. For ideas I go everywhere. Chefs around the world. Menus of restaurants — El Bulli and French Laundry…”

Hence dishes such as Spanakopita: spinach and feta phyllo parcels with corn coulis. It is worlds away from his grandmother's Kerala kitchen where he would help with rolling the chappatis as a little boy. Or, maybe not. After all, Chef Rajesh's cooking is still rooted in tradition.

A healthy way to break a fast - simple recipes

ONE should adopt a sensible approach to food and not starve or deprive oneself of nutrition. A healthy breakfast provides a good start to a busy day — not with gnawing hunger in an empty stomach leading to frustration, stress, poor performance and a justification to indulge in junk food. Here are some nutritious, low calorie breakfast recipes, which are not only filling but easy to prepare.

1 ) Steamed rava idlis with onion chutney (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

Rava (sooji or semolina) 2 cups
Thick curds 2 cups
Water 1 cup
Chopped cabbage 1 cup
Chopped carrots 1 cup
Peas 1 cup
Oil 2 tbsps
Eno fruit salt 1½ tsps
Salt ¾ tsp
Mustard seeds ½ tsp
Chopped green chilli 1
Chopped ginger ½ tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard. When it splutters add rava and fry till it becomes light gold. Remove and cool. Then mix with curds, water, salt, fruit salt, green chilli and ginger into a smooth batter.

Grease idli moulds lightly with a little oil, sprinkle some of the cabbage, carrot and peas into each mould, top with the batter and steam for 15 minutes and serve hot with onion chutney.

Note: Cabbage reduces the risk of cancer, and is rich in beta-carotene and vitamins, A, C and E. Carrots help prevent strokes and heart diseases. Carrot juice helps strengthen the heart and prevents constipation.

* * *
2 ) Onion chutney


Ingredients

Chopped large onions 3
Dry red chillies 4
Oil 1 tbsp
Channa dhal (kadalae paruppu) 1 tbsp
Tamarind size of a pea
Salt ½ — ¾ tsp
Mustard seeds ½ tsp
Hing a pinch

Method

Fry the red chilli, channa dhal and onions in ¾ tbsp of oil until the onions turn light brown. Cool and grind along with salt, tamarind and six tablespoons of water into a smooth paste. Transfer into a dish.

Heat the remaining oil in a pan, add the mustard and hing powder. When the mustard splutters pour over the chutney paste.

Note: Onion helps in thinning of the blood.

* * *
3) Nutritious rice balls (Serves 6)

Ingredients

Grated carrots 4 cups
Rice rava 2 cups
Grated coconut ½ cup
Water 3 cups
Oil 2 tbsps
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Urad dhal (black gram) 1 tsp
Channa dhal 1 tsp
Salt ¾ tsp
Chopped ginger 1 tsp
Chopped green chillies 1 tsp

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard and both the dhals and fry till the mustard splutters. Add the green chillies and the ginger, fry a bit. Add the salt and water. Allow the water to boil, add coconut and the rice rava, stir till the batter becomes dry. Remove from flame and allow to cool.

Mix in the grated carrots and make moderate sized balls from the mixture.

Steam in an idli cooker for 10 minutes. Serve hot with sambar or with garlic tamarind sauce.

To make rice rava: wash rice, drain well and spread on a towel to dry.

Put the rice in a mixer and run dry for a second. Two cups of rice will get you two cups of rice rava).

* * *
4 ) Garlic tamarind sauce

Ingredients:

Garlic 10-12 flakes (chopped)
Dry red chillies 2 (broken into halves)
Tamarind size of a lemon
Oil 2 tbsps
Jaggery powder ½ tbsp
Rasam or sambar powder 1½ tsps
Salt 1¼ - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp

Method:

Soak tamarind in 1½ cups of water, squeeze well and strain the juice. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard and the red chillies. When the mustard splutters, add the garlic and a teaspoon of chopped curry leaves. Fry till the garlic is light gold.

Add the rasam or sambar powder, and fry till you get an aroma, pour in the tamarind water, salt and jaggery powder, simmer till thick.

One teaspoon of rice powder, mixed with ½ cup of water, helps thicken and produce more of the sauce. Serve with rice balls.

Note: Garlic prevents heart attacks, breaks up cholesterol in the blood vessels, thus helping in the prevention of hardening of arteries which leads to high blood pressure and heart attacks.

* * *
5 ) Power puha (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

Puha (aval or rice flakes) 2 cups
Chopped onions 1 cup
Grated carrots 1 cup
Fresh moong sprouts 1 cup
Chopped capsicum ½ cup
Coarsely powdered ground nuts ½ cup
Grated coconut ½ cup
Chopped green chillies 2
Oil 2 tbsps
Cumin seeds (jeera) 1 tsp
Salt ¾ to 1 tsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Chilli powder ¾ tsp
Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
Lime ½

Method:

Wash and drain the puha. Heat oil in a pan, add the jeera. When it splutters, add onions, green chillies, capsicum and groundnuts and fry till the onions become light gold. Mix in the puha, chilli, turmeric powder, salt and sugar. Stir in the carrots, sprouts and lime juice. Serve immediately.

Note: Sprouts have the maximum nutrition when compared to other foods.

* * *
6 ) Samba Rava (Dalia) Porridge (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

Fine samba rava 1 cup
Milk 2 cups
Water 2 cups
Bananas (ripe) 2
Deseeded dates10
Honey 6 tbsps
Raisins 2 tbsps
Peeled and chopped almonds 2 tbsps

Method:

Soak the raisins in water over night and drain. Cook the samba rava in water and milk till it is well cooked, stirring all the time. Add a little water or milk if it becomes too thick. Add dates and keep aside. When slightly cool, mix in the honey, the chopped bananas, the raisins and the almonds. Serve in bowls. Sugar can be added as required.

If you don't want a sweet porridge, cook the rava in three cups of water and one cup of milk. When cold, mix in salt and curds as required and serve with any pickle or chutney of your choice.

Note: Samba rava is extremely wholesome and nourishing and is recommended for the diabetic person.

Honey has unique nutritional and medicinal properties.

By USHA BAIL