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Time to go organic

THE HEALTHY WAY TO LIFE Chef and I at Uppal's Orchid celebrates an organic food festival this April

Emphasising the importance of organic food, Uppal`s Orchid is celebrating an organic food festival at its interactive oriental restaurant, Chef & I. The festival, which continues till this month end, highlights the use of organic food as a key to a healthy body.

Available for both lunch and dinner, the fest offers a wide assortment of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Dishes in the vegetarian section include crispy fried soya bean cakes, peppered potatoes, organic vegetable lemon soup, eggplant in hot garlic sauce and stir-fried whole wheat noodles. The non-vegetarian dishes include aromatic spiced eggs, steamed chicken with organic vegetables, crispy chicken with chilly garlic dip and curried lamb with yellow chilli.

The restaurant's Executive Chef Devraj Halder, underlining the value of having organic food, explains that they do not contain pesticides and are not made from genetically modified crops. "Organic foods contain higher levels of vitamin C and essential minerals such as calcium and iron," he says.

The shelf life of organic vegetables and fruits is higher as they have a higher water content, which retards the growth of organisms, he states.

Though organic food is nutritious, it has certain limitations too. "It is difficult to get non-vegetarian organic items and also items such as coconut milk and cream. The rates are also exorbitant," says the chef. Question him about the difference in tastes between organic and inorganic food, the chef laughs, "It is purely psychological!"

Companies such as Fab India, Meer and Swasa, which produce organic food items on a large scale, are the usual source for organic products. Besides, the restaurant has brought organic vegetables and fruits from Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

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