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A feast for fitness

If prepared well, Ayurvedic dishes can be both healthy and delicious

GREEN AND GLORIOUS A chicken dish prepared with basil Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Eat healthy, live long. That is the mantra these days. The food should taste great, look good.

But remember the primary function of food is to provide energy and fulfil other biological needs. However, "sensible, well directed and planned" food takes you a step ahead of the primary needs.

Ayurvedic food takes that step, as it not only talks of the food energy but also of the added advantages like the medicinal values in food, stronger immune system, stress killing, improved body organ functions and to some extent improvement in lifestyle. But this doesn't mean a strict regimen of bland, tasteless or bitter vegetarian dishes only.

On the contrary, creativity of dishes can surprise and delight you every day. If done well, Ayurvedic food can be both healthy and delicious. You can create a breakfast with fresh fruit, juices, herbal soups, home-baked breads and cookies and a selection of other breakfast dishes. Lunch and dinner can be created with a wide selection of mild fish, trimmed chicken, vegetable and herbal curries.

In Ayurveda food and drinks are classified according to their taste - sweet, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent - and by their influence on the doshas (body energies). The goal is to represent all tastes in every meal.

Ayurvedic way

According to Ayurveda, every individual has unique needs. Since diet is one of the most important tools for achieving balance, one has to generally design diets after carefully selecting the ingredients.

Talking of the ingredients, we have all known and read about herbal and medicinal spices. Be it tulsi, be it heeng, be it turmeric... . The list is endless. And since the food has to be designed for individual and unique needs, there is no hard and fast rule about the recipe of the dish. Be experimental and try to put in the ingredients that are suited to your needs. If basil is needed then get "experimental" and make your basil and carrot curry. What stops you from doing just that? If need be then use shilajeet as an ingredient for your designer food. Just be sure that it makes some culinary sense and taste buds are kept happy too.

On a similar pattern, here is a recipe to try out this weekend: Basil ka tandoori chicken, or tandoori chicken hara masala

Basil, basil and basil! That's the best way to describe this unique tandoori preparation.

Of course, other spices and herbs too go into the preparation, but it is dominated by basil, and all other spices play a supporting role.

So hail basil!

Tandoori chicken hara masala

Time for preparation: 25-30 minutes

Time for marination: 30-35 minutes

Time for cooking in charcoal tandoor: 6-8 minutes

Ingredients

800 gms lean chicken
One medium-sized lemon
One tsp ginger paste
One tsp garlic paste
One thick cup yoghurt
One tablespoon garam masala
Three table spoons fresh basil paste
One tablespoon refined oil
Paste of 1-2 green chillies
Salt to taste
One tablespoon besan (gram flour)

Method

Take chicken and remove skin by with the help of a knife.

Trim off excess fat from the chicken. Use knife to put deep cuts, three each in chicken breast, two in the thigh and one in each drumstick to allow the marination to take better effect.

Fry the besan in some oil till aroma emerges. Now separately squeeze juice of one lemon, mix ginger and garlic paste with it and rub it on the cleaned chicken on all sides. Leave aside for 15 minutes.

Mix the besan with yoghurt, salt, green chilly paste, basil paste and garam masala powder. Apply this mix to chicken, making sure that all chicken is covered with it. Leave aside for 30 minutes.

Skewer the chicken from rear side in. Cook it in medium heated tandoor till half done. Remove from tandoor and apply oil as basting. Put back in tandoor and cook till fully done.

Remove from tandoor. Serve hot after putting a dash of lemon juice on it, with green salad and mint chutney.

RAKESH KUMAR

(The author is Executive Chef, Crowne Plaza. He can be emailed at chefrk@crowneplazadelhi.com)

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