Kitchen Chemistry

Here is a recipe for a quick and healthy mid morning snack. I got my lipid profile test done recently. Everything was in order except that the HDL was very low, well below the required  >65 mg/dl reference range. I was recommended to stay off animal fat- cheese, butter and ghee. Therefore a toast with butter or cheese on it was an absolute no no! Researching on the internet, among various recommendations one was the use of olive oil to increase the HDL levels. I hit upon the idea of substituting butter/cheese on my toast with virgin olive oil. The idea is nothing new! During my stint in Italy from 1988 to 1995, I have seen my Italian friends pour extra-virgin olive oil on their breads and munch away!   Olive oil apparently  has a high concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids, which promotes "good" cholesterol (HDL) while lowering "bad" cholesterol (LDL).  Good quality olive oil contains valuable vitamins and nutrients, and it is loaded w...

I heard about the "Miracle Juice" for the first time from my cousin Geetha's post on facebook. You will find the article at  http://lachicaorganica.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/miracle-drink-carrot-beetroot-and-apple/ . I  am however skeptical about the claims in the article that it cured Mr. Seto of cancer.  As an engineer and a physicist I believe in experiments under controlled conditions. I would tend to argue that Mr. Seto's was a one off case. So be forewarned that what worked for him might not work for everybody. The Original Miracle Juice ingredients are A for Apple, B for Beetroot and C for Carrot.  My recipe is quite different. Ingredients for 2 tall glasses: Apple - 150 gm (1 medium size) Beetroot -150 gm ( 1 medium size) Bottle Gourd (Louki) - 100 gm Celery - 2 to 3 ribs Carrot - 70 gm Ginger - 1 small finger Lemon - 1 medium size White Pumpkin - 150gm I used a centrifugal juicer to extract the juice out of the vegeta...

Here is the recipe for the second green juice. Hearing a lot of buzz about celery recently, I researched on it a bit on the internet.  Raw celery is apparently a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Potassium. An interesting website to check out this type of information  on fruits and vegetables is  http://nutritiondata.self.com/ .   The local  Namdhari shop stock celery on most days and so do various mega bazaars of malls in Bangalore. Having successfully acquired my main ingredient from Star Bazaar  Orion Mall, Malleshwaram, I decided to throw in an apple for a dash of sweetness, white pumpkin and tomatoes for the body of the juice and lemon juice for tanginess. Other ingredients that you may add is a piece of ginger and/or a couple of carrots. Ingredients for 2 tall glasses. Celery - 2 to 4 ribs Apple medium size (3" dia) - 1 number White Pumpkin - 200gm Tomatoes - 1 large or 3 medium size Le...

Juicing is a a good way to absorb nutrition from vegetables. Most of us cannot take in large quantities of vegetables. Juicing would be therefore a good way to add a variety of vegetables to your diet. The juice nutrients need very little time to enter the blood stream which in turn carries it to the parts of the body that needs it the most. The body need not wait for the vegetables to be digested to get the nutrients. Green juices detox the body effectively. They contain large quantities of  chlorophyll a nutrient that attaches to toxins and heavy metals and removes them from your body. It also increases your blood's oxygen-carrying capacity by catalyzing red blood cell production. Ingredients for 2 tall glasses: Apple -1 number Carrot - 1 number Lollo Rosso Lettuce - 1 number Tomato - 4 numbers Cumber - 2 numbers Orange - 1 number White Pumpkin - 200gm Wash the fruits, vegetables and the lettuce thoroughly and let them dry.  Peel t...

The Kadaranga Oorkai (கடார ங்காய் ஊர்காய்  ) or Citron Pickle is another of my  favorites. The tangy bitterness of the citron goes well along with Thayir Saadam ( தயிர்சாதம் )  aka Curd Rice. For those who are not familiar with Citron, it is a large sized lemon like fruit belonging to the citrus fruit family classified as Citrus Medica. It has probably been used since ancient times in Indian medicine and grows in most places. The plant just requires well manured soil to grow. I must have been in the 4th or the 5th grade when I first saw this over sized lemon like fruit. I have always been a foodie as long back as I can remember.  Curious to know what my mom was going to do with it  I tagged  along with her to the kitchen. What followed was a fascinating process of making the Citron Pickle. Preparing the Citron: Ingredients: Gingeley oil - 1 teaspoon Citron ( கடார  ங்காய் ) - 1 number Salt - 1/4 teaspoon Heat an iron...

I did my schooling at Chennai. The standard packed lunch that we would carry in those days was "thayir sadam" (curd rice) with either a vegetable palya or a lemon pickle to accompany. Once a while my mom would get some fresh green pepper pods from the market and would make "kuru milagu" ( குருமிளகு )  pickle. This was a welcome change for a tongue that by now does not respond favorably to vegetable playa or to the standard pickle accompaniments.  The kuru milagu pickle is considered  somewhat of a delicacy in Chennai as the main ingredient milagu (pepper) is brought from far of places such as Kerala or Coorg where they commonly grow. Now for my mom's kuru milagu recipe: Ingredients: Kuru Milagu (tender pepper pods) - 1/2 kg Lemon Juice - 1 dawara Table Salt - 5 to 6 teaspoons  Wash the pepper pods thoroughly in water and shake them dry in a colander. Spread it out on a piece of muslin cloth or old and soft piece of dothi cloth. When t...

Ask any Tambram worth his salt as to which food item that he cannot live without? The answer would invariably be Thair Sadam (curd rice). It is the sacred duty of every Tambram to top off his meal with a liberal quantity of Thair Sadam. Ask a second question as to what would he have to go along with it. While he is thinking about it, suggest Maavadu Oorkai, and you would see ecstasy in his eyes. He will be drooling all over and will be your slave forever! In my younger days, during the school's summer vacation my parents would pack me off to my maternal grandpa's place located in a quaint village called Thirukodicaval. The village is located somewhere between Mayavaram and Kumbakonam.  The maavadu from the farm was something to die for. Nowadays, we get the bottled maavadu sold in the local super market. These taste pathetic and by no means anywhere near the quality and taste of the farm fresh maavadu oorkai from my grandpa's village. A dozen and a half  years...

Let us say that I am getting good at this- the salad stuff. I keeping looking for variations that I can make to keep my palate un-bored. For tonight's dinner, I tried the following variation and the result was a crunchy, sumptuous and an awesome salad. Don't think that I am praising myself! I have the ultimate certificate from the wife! Ingredients: Same as the Apple Cucumber Salad In addition Almonds - 3 numbers Walnuts - 3 numbers Raisins - About 10-15 numbers Chop the almonds and walnuts into small granules. Sprinkle the almonds, walnuts and raisins on to the Apple-Cucumber salad and mix evenly. Almonds and Walnuts are supposed to contain oils that increase the good cholesterol. They should be used in moderation as they have other fats besides the good ones- too much of a good thing is also bad! Yummy crunchy Apple-Cucumber salad with almond, walnut garnishing is ready! I would advise that the almonds and the walnut granules be added just befor...

Last week, I went in for an executive health checkup. I always dread these annual thingies for you don't know what you might be in for.  More daunting is the life style changes that your spouse puts you through and the harangue that you will have to hear if you put one wrong thing in your mouth.  As the results of the medical tests came in, I was in for a rude shock.  My cholesterol levels were higher than last year.  It surprises me because, I am a regular jogger and an exercise freak.  I run about 50 km a week and do weights at least three times a week. I silently sat through the discourse given by the dietitian of the clinic as to how I need to go for a brisk walk for 40 minutes (oblivious to my 50 kms-a-week routine) and that I should reduce the amount of oil that I consume. Surprising advice because as a family of three adults we consume about 1.5kg of sunflower oil which is considered quite low consumption...This report is definitely...