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FOODLINE

Green tea

How does one prepare green tea?

Vinod
Himayat Nagar

Green tea is rich in antioxidants, inhibits growth of cancer cells and tumour formation. It is a non fermented tea and helps lose weight.

Recipe for green tea:

Cover the bottom of covered cup with one teaspoon dry leaf. Heat two to three cups of filtered water in saucepan. Heat the water to 160 to 180 degrees F.

Pour the water in the cup. Let the leaves rest, then allow it to rise for three minutes.

Stir with a teaspoon. Replace the lid. It is ready to drink within a minute It is best to follow the manufacturers instructions for each variety of green tea.

Syrup standard

Is there a standard rule to follow while making syrup used as a base for most Indian sweets?

Sirish Kumar
Begumpet

Two varieties of syrups are made for basic Indian desserts.

Type A: 1 kg of sugar and 500 ml water is used. This type of sugar syrup is thick and is used for soaking gulab jamun, rasmalai and rasgulla.

Type B: 1 kg of sugar and 700 ml of water. This syrup is thinner than the first one and is used first to soak the dessert and second soaking is done in the 1st syrup.

Otherwise there are various stages of sugar syrups like thin syrup, sticky syrup, half thread consistency, one thread consistency, two thread consistency, ball consistency and caramel consistency.

`Thattai' tip

Kindly explain the preparation of crisp Thattai and what are the ingredients to be included?

Vasantha
R.K. Puram

Follow this recipe for a standard thattai. Raw rice: 4 cups, urad dal: 1/2 cup, hing: 2 tsp, grated coconut:1 cup, chilli powder:11/2 tsp, gram dal: 2 tbsp, salt to taste, butter 100 gms, oil to fry.

Method: Wash and clean the rice well, let it dry and then powder it. Fry the urad dal, powder it and keep it aside. Let the gram soak in water for one hour. Take the rice flour, urad dal flour, soaked gram, grated coconut, hing, salt, butter and mix well. Take a ball of this paste and put it into a plastic sheet of paper. Flatten it and deep fry in hot oil. Turn it over until it is fully cooked and crisp. Keep flipping it until crisp. Store in air tight container.

Green buys

How does one select greens?

Subhashini
Abids

Greens should be bright, lively colour, crisp and they are at their best when bought at the peak of season. They should be firm, deep green in colour. It is a matter of sight and smell.

They should have a garden fresh aroma. They should have smooth stems and free from insects.

Imported greens come with quality specification of USDA.

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