Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

To cook or not to cook

Read on to know when it is good to cook food and when it is not

THE BASICS OF GOOD EATING If cutting vegetables is necessary for a dish, then do cut them in large pieces and do that just before cooking

In continuation to my last piece in these columns about not overloading our body by overeating, let's nowtalk about what to eat, when to eat and the best form of eating. Though you might know it already but I would still like to remind you that food, which has not been cooked over fire, is of great importance to our health. Its vitamins are not destroyed and its enzymes also remain intact this way. This reminds me of an old English proverb, "God sends food and the Devil sends cooks". Reason enough to have raw fruits and vegetables in today's action-packed life, one would say!

However, cooking while playing havoc with vitamins, enzymes and other important nutrients, no doubt has some advantages too. It eliminates harmful organisms found in food. It increases palatability and digestibility of food. It also makes alteration in the nutritional value of some foods. Starchy foods like potatoes and beans are made more easily digestible by cooking. The nutritional value of legumes such as kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, soyabeans improves after cooking.

Despite some advantages of cooked food, raw or live food as it is termed now, is very essential for a healthy living. Almost all fruits can be eaten raw. Cucumber, gourd, tomatoes, though vegetables, can be used like fruits too.

Dried fruits, nuts, fruit kernels, seeds of various types are also eaten without cooking. Dried seeds of pomegranate, mint, coriander, tamarind and amla, etc. are eaten in the form of pickles and chutneys. Lentils can also be eaten raw by sprouting them.

For minimising nutrient losses during cooking, we should choose fresh foods that are not bruised or cut. If the outer peel is palatable, then why not cook with the peel? If cutting is necessary, then cut them in large pieces and do that just before cooking. In case of boiling, add food to the boiling water which should be of minimum quantity and could be used for gravy later. We should cook at high temperatures for less time using a tight-fitting lid. Cooked food should preferably go directly to the table from the fire.

Dal sprout

Moisten your wheat that the angel of water may enter it

"Essence - Gospel of Peace"

Sprouts relatively contain the largest amount of nutrients per unit of any food known to man. Sprouts produce a fountain of power for chemical changes. Enzymes are produced and starch gets converted to glucose.

Sprouts and peanut salad

Ingredients

Peanuts - a fistful
Half cup black gram
Half cup green moong dal
Salt to taste
One onion, finely chopped
One tomato, finely chopped
Half cucumber, finely chopped
Green chilly - 1, chopped
Half tsp white pepper
Half tsp chaat masala
Two tsp fresh lemon juice
One tsp each of coriander and cumin seed powder
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method

Soak the black gram and green moong lentil for 7 to 8 hours. Drain and keep them in a muslin cloth till they sprout. Mix all the other ingredients in a pan with the sprouts. Garnish with chopped onions and slices of lemon.

MONISH GUJRAL

(The author is MD, Moti Mahal Tandoori Trail chain of restaurants. He can be e-mailed at motimahal@vsnl.com)

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail