Raw food and its benefits

The message that’s been around for many years that I am just discovering is that raw food is THE healthiest. I might tend to agree if they are organic but I am not so sure if all our vegetables and fruits are genetically engineered or sprayed with insecticides, pesticides, etc.

Also, can our digestive systems that are so used to cooked food handle raw food? I don’t think my system can handle it very well. The message about raw food is that we will be taking in the least amount of toxins into our system and also benefiting the most in nutrition. Our immunity levels will also be high.

I am not really ready for raw food, not sure if I ever will be. I am happy being vegetarian with no meat, chicken, fish, sea-food or any moving being in my diet.

Any raw foodies? Do write back.

Broccoli Sabji

As promised I have new, incredibly tasting recipe for broccoli. Check it out at http://vidyaswamyskitchen.com.

Are there times when you just don’t feel like eating?

I opened the refrigerator a few times this evening. Was extremely busy with work and when the stomach clock started ticking, I got up to cook. Opened the refrigerator, then the pantry, back to the refrigerator and then the pantry; repeated this at least 3 times. Just lost my appetite.

What a dull day! I decided not to cook and just had 3 slices of toast. Hey, this could be a way to lose weight too. That was an as easy diet.

Too much of something…

When looks take over one’s life, when exercise takes over or when eating takes over, it only means we are heading for trouble. But it is true. I have an example of one or two people at least for each of these. There are a lot of things blamed on chemical imbalances in our body. So, I am going to say that chemical imbalance is the cause of these aberrations too. There is always going to be something in our lives that is not just right. I would say balance is what one should seek. Balance is what I am looking for, nothing more nothing less.

Rasam, a southern Indian recipe very similar to a light soup

Rasam (an Indian soup)

Rasam is like a light soup. A warm cup is perfect if you have a cold or an itchy throat. Rasam also improves appetite. There are many types of rasams I have learned from my mom. Here is a simple one.

Pointer 1: This can serve as a meal starter.
Pointer 2: Serve it as hot as you would any soup.

Ingredients:

* 2 cups water
* 2 tsps. salt
* 1 medium sized tomato
* 1 Tbsp. tamarind paste^ or,
* Soak a half lemon-sized fresh tamarind in water and use the juice of the tamarind^
* 1/2 tsp. crushed black pepper
* 1/4 tsp. crushed cumin seeds
* 2 cloves crushed garlic
* 1/4 tsp. mustard seeds for garnish
* 1/2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
* 1 tsp. of curry leaves (optional)

Method:
Add all of the above ingredients until garlic to a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring the whole mixture to a boil for about 5 minutes. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Make sure that the liquid does not dry up. If it reduces too much in quantity over the course of boiling, you may add some water and continue simmering. Finally add, a 1/2 cup of water and let it simmer in low heat for about 5 minutes. You may garnish it with 1tsp. of the clarified butter and spurted mustard seeds. Top it off with some fresh curry leaves if available. This should be enough for a 3-cup serving.

^ Please contact me for any of these ingredients or utensils.

Taking a short break with my workshop

The next healthy vegetarian cooking workshop is on May 22nd. Please register by writing to vswamy@vidyaswamyskitchen.com or contact me via my Web site http:vidyaswamyskitchen.com

The next green one – Broccoli

I agree it is pretty hard to make something exciting out of broccoli. The most exciting I have seen in restaurants of any kind is broccoli with cheese. Here and there are recipes like broccoli soup of course with tons of cream and cheese, or just plain old with some melted cheese.

Next week’s recipe on my site which would be broccoli based, I hope is exciting. Look for it on Sunday evening.

Garlic, a magical ingredient

I would if I could. That is add tons of garlic in everything. I just love the taste of garlic. I don’t add it in all my dishes but when a dish calls for garlic I don’t hold back. It is not only tasty but also good for our health. It is the odor in someone’s breath that I cannot take. So, generally what I do if a dish needs a healthy dose of garlic is make it on a Friday evening or a Saturday so that it has time to get out of the system. That is the only remedy I have for now. Do write if you have a better way of eliminating garlic breath.

Brussel Sprouts Sabji

Recently, I made this sabji and it was unbelievably delicious. Try out this simple recipe.



Pointer 1: Tender brussel sprouts are the best for this preparation. You don’t smell or taste the rawness, the reason why I believe many people avoid it completely.
Ingredients:

» 1/2 pound fresh brussel sprouts
» 1 medium onion chopped
» 2 fresh tomatoes diced
» 1/2 inch fresh ginger minced
» 2 fresh garlic cloves minced
» 2 tsp. turmeric^
» 1 tsp. cumin seeds^
» 2 tsps. canola or extra virgin olive oil
» 2 red chillies (cayenne pepper)
» 1 tsp. mustard seeds^
» 1 tsp. red chillie powder
» 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh coriander
» 1 Tsbp. fresh curry leaves (optional)
» 1 tsp. garam masala^
» Salt to taste
Method:

Boil fresh brussel sprouts for about 8 minutes in a saucepan with a tsp. of salt. Then drain and keep it aside.

Take a wok^. Add the oil and warm. Add the mustard seeds and let it splatter. You may want to cover it with a lid to contain the seeds within the wok. Now add the fresh cumin seeds. Let it brown. Add the chopped onions and sauté until translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and the dry cayenne pepper. Continue to sauté. Add turmeric and the chillie powder. Add the chopped tomatoes and let the mixture cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the blanched brussel sprouts. Let it all cook together. Be careful as to not cook the brussel sprouts too soft. Finally, add the garam masala, curry leaves and the chopped fresh coriander.

^ Please contact me for help with any of these ingredients or utensils.

Brussel Sprouts Sabji

Recently, I made this sabji and it was unbelievably delicious. Try out this simple recipe.

Pointer 1: Tender brussel sprouts are the best for this preparation. You don’t smell or taste the rawness, the reason why I believe many people avoid it completely.
Ingredients:

» 1/2 pound fresh brussel sprouts
» 1 medium onion chopped
» 2 fresh tomatoes diced
» 1/2 inch fresh ginger minced
» 2 fresh garlic cloves minced
» 2 tsp. turmeric^
» 1 tsp. cumin seeds^
» 2 tsps. canola or extra virgin olive oil
» 2 red chillies (cayenne pepper)
» 1 tsp. mustard seeds^
» 1 tsp. red chillie powder
» 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh coriander
» 1 Tsbp. fresh curry leaves (optional)
» 1 tsp. garam masala^
» Salt to taste
Method:

Boil fresh brussel sprouts for about 8 minutes in a saucepan with a tsp. of salt. Then drain and keep it aside.

Take a wok^. Add the oil and warm. Add the mustard seeds and let it splatter. You may want to cover it with a lid to contain the seeds within the wok. Now add the fresh cumin seeds. Let it brown. Add the chopped onions and sauté until translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and the dry cayenne pepper. Continue to sauté. Add turmeric and the chillie powder. Add the chopped tomatoes and let the mixture cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the blanched brussel sprouts. Let it all cook together. Be careful as to not cook the brussel sprouts too soft. Finally, add the garam masala, curry leaves and the chopped fresh coriander.

^ Please contact me for help with any of these ingredients or utensils.

Eggs in a regular soup?

I came across a recipe that sounded great, almost, until I came to the very end when it said add an egg. Eggs are good for you. I don’t doubt that but I am not sure about eggs in a soup.

The Benefits of Vitamin D

I browse through certain articles related to health everyday. Lately, I have been reading a lot about Vitamin D being one of the most needed vitamins for our health. Most of us do not get enough Vitamin D, escpecially if we live in the northeast where the sun hardly comes out during the prolonged winter months. So, the advice is to take supplements.

The next healthy vegetarian cooking workshop

The next healthy vegetarian cooking workshop is on May 22nd from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. at Hillwood Farm in Media, PA.

At this workshop, I will be covering southern Indian spices and herbs. I will give you an introduction to these spices, their health benefits, how to use them in your everyday cooking, resource list, recipes, demonstrate three different southern Indian recipes and gave you sumptuous samples to taste. You will find the taste distinctly different from the ones you got to taste in my last workshop. Please email me for more details.

Beet root, an almost forgotten vegetable

I used to like beet root. My mom created a couple preparations with it and I remember her telling me that it is packed with nutrients although she never told me exactly what those nutrients were. I was not very thrilled with the color then and am not now. But the color is part of the ‘packed nutrients’ I am talking about. Beet roots apparently are high in antioxidants, folic acid, potassium and calcium.

I rarely cook them, maybe once in 2 years if that. The reason is, to me they always smell like a vegetable injected with chemicals. I have tried both fresh and canned ones. I am not giving up on them completely. I’m going to give it another try, sometime soon.

Fresh coconut in vegetarian foods

Through my research and through speaking to health enthusiasts, I gathered that fresh coconut is one of the most nutritious foods that all vegetarians should take advantage of. Coconut contains a good bit of B vitamins except B12, folic acid and vitamin C. It is also a good source of minerals with calcium, iron, of magnesium, potassium, and zinc.

So, here’s a recipe you can take a look at. With just 1 Tbsp. of shredded coconut there will be a good bit of nutrition in this preparation.

Mayuri, a fabulous Indian restaurant on Olive Street in St. Louis

Saturday, March 13th, 2010
We thought this was just another Indian restaurant that we can try at, once. I am glad we went there without expectations and we were very pleasantly surprised.

I have never seen such a spread in an Indian restaurant. There were about 35 different items, a mix of southern and northern indian vegetarian and meat dishes. Every dish we tasted was better than the one before. I couldn’t taste the entire spread since I was too full by the time I finished going thorugh half of them. But, there is always another time.

I thought to myself. Hmm. This is one more thing to look forward to when I next come to St. Louis.

Taj Palace in Chesterfield, MO

Taj Palace is the second in the St. Louis area under the same ownership. The first one, India Palace is right outside St. Louis airport.

I am not the greatest fan of Indian restaurants in this country, and have to do much vicarious taste-testing before I step into one. But a co-worker who happens to be Russian, urged me to go out with her for lunch to Taj Palace. It was the first Indian restaurant experience for her. So, I went.

I was a little surprised to see quite a decent crowd on a Thursday afternoon. This place is in a humongous shopping Center and has a good corner location. Well lit and decent decor for an Indian restaurant. It is still new though and I am sure the decor will improve in the next few months. I can even vouch for it since India Palace has a great ambience and decor.

It was a buffet lunch with Naan, plain pulav, 3 vegetarian and 3 meat dishes. They also had a couple desserts. The vegetarian dishes while I wouldn’t call them superb, were pretty decent- saag paneer, mixed vegetables and dhal. My co-worker liked the meat dishes as well. The degree of spice was a 1, a bit too mild for my palette. The mango custard was anything but. I don’t know why they would name a dish one thing and serve some thing quite different. The rice pudding was okay.

The waiters were courteous and the service was good as well. Overall, I would give it a rating of 2.5 on a 5 scale.

Greens and Potato Gratin

Just the other day I came across this recipe ‘Greens and Potato Gratin’. I loved reading about how to make it. Today, I’m actually going to prepare it for dinner. I will write back as to how it turned out.

Recipe of the week

In one of my blogs and also in Twitter, I had mentioned that I will be posting some recipes with coconut in them. Well, this week’s recipe is Onion Saambar with some fresh coconut.

A gluten-free diet, it is easy to follow with Indian vegetarian foods

I have always thought about giving more information on this, but never really covered it in my blogs or in my workshop. However, with so many requests coming in, I need to highlight that factor big time. If you are allergic to gluten diets, Indian vegetarian diet is the ideal one for you.

Except for the wheat bread (roti), I don’t remember ever including anything in my Indian cooking that has gluten in it. Join me at the next workshop where I will give you more information and demonstrate come incredibly tasty and healthy recipes as well.

Spring is here, almost

Couldn’t wait to get out for some sun. This winter seems endless.

I often say to myself I need to move out of here. Not move out of my home because I love it, but from the east coast weather. If I decided to pack up and leave, where would I go? Obviously, somewhere warm. So, would it be the west coast or the south? Got to do some research. Either are unlikely, but you never know!

Buenos Aires for Those Who Shun Steaks

I read this article about the number of vegetarian restaurants that have recently sprung all around Buenos Aires. I wish I can switch the clock. When I was there in 2005 with my husband and son, we spent a good 10 days between Buenos Aires and Calafate. My husband had a ball eating the best beef and endorsed it as the best in the world. My son had it occasionally. Most of the time, I just watched them eat. There was hardly anything except for some bread for me to try at most restaurants.

As a true vegetarian, (not a vegan) I found it so hard to go for days without one really good meal. There was no true salad concept at the time. A few wilted leaves with an occasional tomato thrown in there for good measure were what salads were all about. We had a meal or two in hard to find Italian restaurants and of course one chinese meal. They were both excellent. Obviously, we were travellers and didn’t have the time to go to the same restaurants. It is a great country to visit and now with more of vegetarian restaurants and vegetarian choices at restaurants, food for me would be less of a pain. I would consider going there again.

Eggs for lunch with Indian flavors

For some weird reason the other weekend, I decided I needed to have some eggs for lunch. The end result turned out pretty tasty. I added some Indian spices to the eggs which gave them a kick. Let me tell you what they were.

Ingredients were just a half diced onion, 1 Tbsp. chopped ginger ginger, 2 green chillies. In a pan, I sautéd them with just a couple tsps. of canola oil. Added some turmeric, cayenne pepper, a dash of garam masala and salt. Poured 2 beaten eggs into the pan. Let them all cook together until it appeared like a well cooked scrambled egg. Turned off the heat and added some chopped coriander and gave the whole thing a good mix. It was delicious but couldn’t finish them. The finished portion was enough for two people, so stored the rest for later. Oh, I just remembered that. I have to look in the fridge and throw that away. I am not for wasting things, but this one might not be good after 3 days.

What would you like to see cooked at the next workshop?

It is easier and more relevant if there are requets from the attendees for the next workshop. So, please let me know what you would like to see demonstrated at the next cooking workshop on March 20th. The focus is going to be southern Indian vegetarian cooking.

Peppers packed with antioxidants are the best

I love all colors and sizes of peppers. I feel they are so easy and forgiving. I have added them to almost all my creations be it Indian or Italian or Thai or Mexican. I have even made plain old mixed pepper roasts in the oven with a lot of olive oil . It makes a great side-dish.

I will keep in mind to include some recipes with peppers in them.