How to make bad cooking a disaster for unwelcome Guests.

29 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by Sandeep Bhalla in Food, Humour

Tags

Bad-cooking, black gram, Butter, Cook, Cooking, food, grinding teeth, Guests, human civilization, kidney beans, Microwave, Techniques, Vegetable

Violence in cooking

Image credit & © Sandeep Bhalla

Human civilization is structured on violence. Barring very few races, all races have survived and thrived on violence. The spread of civilizations across the continents was achieved through invasion of land, killing of habitants, plunder of culture and assimilation the Governments. We can not change now. Vegetarianism is also often violent. In this era of Television and Internet we all are dubious actors. Cosmetic smile and artificial blush is an accepted way of social life. Smiling while grinding teeth underneath is a new expertise in multitasking. In this era a polite ‘NO’ is replaced by manipulative smile and display of helpless atrocity. Honesty has a back seat or no seat at all. We all do it. An unwelcome guest had always been a problem. Violence to unwelcome guest by inviting him to a dual is a thing of past. Now we treat such guest with a new weapon: ‘Unpalatable food’. Bad cooking is not always enough. It is important that we channelize the violence into cooking to make it impossible for the guest to eat or to forget the nightmare, ever. Here are some tips to turn bad cooking into a disaster for visitor: Continue reading »

About these ads

Brain Drain Soup

15 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by Sandeep Bhalla in Food, Health, Home Remedies

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Beet, beet root, braindrain, Carrot, chopped vegetables, Cooking, dinner, food, necessary vitamins, Vege, Vegetable, vegetarian

This soup is called brain drain not because of its effect on human brain. But actually, its aim is to suck all the vitamins of the vegetables. This soup taken once/twice a week replenishes the necessary vitamins naturally. (No need for vitamin B12 tablet.)

Ingredients

Tomatoes — 4

Beet-root — 1

Spring onion – 1 (with green leaf)

Carrot — 1

Green Chillies — 3

Green beans — 4/5

Squash/Pumpkin/Gourd — all or any 10 cubes of 1/2 inch total.

Cabbage — 1 or 2 leaves.

Recipe:

Wash all the vegetables thoroughly. Chop all the vegetables into pieces of about half inches. Put 5 cups of water to boil. Add all the chopped vegetables to water. Add salt and seasoning as per taste.reduce heat and let it simmer for 45 minutes. add water if it starts to dry.

After 45 minutes. strain the water in a cup/glass and drink it. It is the best part of it.

Add more water to the remaining pulp and simmer for about 10 minutes. Use blender and pulverize the pulp. Add two cups water or more as per your taste for consistency. Bring it to boil. Strain it through some large filter.

Serve warm with little butter (preferable white) on top.

Pumpkin nutrition facts and health benefits

23 Saturday Oct 2010

Posted by Sandeep Bhalla in Food, Health

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Antioxidant, Cooking, Dietary fiber, Health, Kaddu, Macula of retina, Nutrition, Pumpkin, Saturated fat, Seetaphal, Sitaphal, Tryptophan, Vitamin

Health benefits of Pumpkin

It is one of the vegetables which is very low calories; provides just 26 cal per 100 g and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; but is rich a source of dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins. Recommended by dieticians in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.

Pumpkin is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E.

With 7384 mg per 100 g, it is one of the vegetable in the cucurbitaceae family with highest levels of vitamin-A, providing about 246% of RDA. Vitamin A is a powerful natural anti-oxidant and is required by body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucus membranes. It is also an essential vitamin for vision. Research studies suggest that natural foods rich in vitamin A helps body protect against lung and oral cavity cancers.

It is also an excellent source of many natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds like alpha and beta carotenes, cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin. Carotenes convert into vitamin A inside the body.

Zea-xanthin is a natural anti-oxidant which has UV (ultra-violet) rays filtering actions in the macula lutea in reitina of the eyes. Thus, it helps protect from “age related macular disease” (ARMD) in the elderly.

Rich in B-complex group of vitamins like folates, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin and pantothenic acid.

It is also rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.

Pumpkin seeds are good source of dietary fiber and mono-unsaturated fatty acids which are good for heart health. In addition, they are very good in protein, minerals and many health benefiting vitamins. For example 100 g of pumpkin seeds provide 559 cal, 30 g of protein, 110% RDA of iron, 4987 mg of niacin (31% RDA), selenium (17% of RDA), zinc (71%) etc… but no cholesterol. The seeds are an excellent source of health promoting amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is converted to GABA in the brain.

Source: Pumpkin nutrition facts and health benefits.

Yellow Pumpkin Soup recipe

Watermelon lowers blood pressure

How To Make Pumpkin Pickle

Yellow pumpkin dry curry Recipe

Pumpkin Pickle Recipe – How To Make Pumpkin Pickle – Pumpkin Pickle Receipe

23 Saturday Oct 2010

Posted by Sandeep Bhalla in Food

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Cooking, Kaddu, Pumpkin

How to make pumpkin pickle:

Cut the pumpkin with skin into long slices.

Put in hot water for 10 minutes.

Put in a strainer to drain the water and cool.

Mix all the ingredients with oil and rub on the pumpkin pieces.

Put in a clean jar and leave in a warm place for 3 days and shake it once daily until tender.

Serve after 4 days.

via Pumpkin Pickle Recipe – How To Make Pumpkin Pickle – Pumpkin Pickle Receipe.

Yellow pumpkin dry curry Recipe

22 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Sandeep Bhalla in Food

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Chili pepper, Cooking, Cumin, Curry, Pumpkin

As always, there are several methods of cooking Yellow Pumpkin Curry.

First Method

First grind coconut and red chillies, then add water, cumin and onion.

Grind for a moment to make it a coarse paste and keep aside.

Clean the pumpkin and keep aside.

Heat a Pan & add the tempering items one by one in hot oil.

Add the cut pumpkin cubes and fry for a minute.

Add turmeric, salt and the ground coconut mixture and a little water and mix well.

Close the kadai with a lid to make sure the pumpkin gets cooked.

Keep the flame low.

Cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring now and then.

After the pumpkin is cooked and water evaporates completely, cook on a high flame till the coconut mixture turns to a golden brown colour.

Serve as an accompaniment for rice.

(The above is south Indian method. Source of Recipe is Rajeswari Vijayanand)

Second Method:

Chop onions, green chillies and tomatoes finely.
Cut the pumpkin into medium size pieces.
Heat tawa add mustard seeds, when it splutter add Bengal gram dal and Urad dhal.
Add onions fry it becomes soft and add tomatoes.
Add diced pumpkin and fry then add salt, sugar, Red Chilli powder and fry it well.
Sprinkle some water and allow the pumpkin to cook until it becomes soft.
Add grated coconut at the end and garnish with cilantro.

(Source of Recipe is Jayalakshmi but addition of coconut, makes this recipe a suspect. It is claimed to be a North Indian rather Punjabi Recipe. Their are no coconuts grown in Punjab. Hence it is not part of their traditional recipe. But who cares if it tastes good)