Spiritual leaders in India used to stress the importance of including white pumpkin in our diet regularly as it is considered Saatvik (meaning ethical, pure & vital) conducive for practicing yoga & meditation. Food plays an important role in meditation because each food generates different effects on different parts of the brain. Saatvik food is recommended to…
Fermented rice is a classic version of overnight oats popular in the west. It has been the staple food for working class here in India, but this humble meal is in vogue even among elites in the recent times. This is mainly because people prefer to take simple nourishing meal over a lavish meal followed…
My father never missed to treat me with a glass of delicious mixed fruit juice when he took me out for shopping during hot sunny days. He always preferred to take fresh mixed fruit juice without ice & sugar, thus I got motivated to prepare fruit juice without ice (or ice cream) and to use…
Cottonseed milk is one of the best vegan milk traditionally used by people in the villages near my home town, Madurai, for making nutritious desserts. As a part of my college education, I served as a NSS (National Service Scheme) volunteer. We used to camp in the surrounding villages during summer vacation to understand the…
Few years ago I had a serendipitous encounter with an amazing fruit kudampuli while I was looking for a gut-friendly substitute for tamarind used in south Indian cuisine. Kudampuli (Garcinia Cambogia or malabar tamarind) is a rich source of an interesting chemical compound hydroxycitric acid (HCA). HCA is well known to western medicine for its astounding property…
As a child I hated few things imposed by my grand parents during our visit every summer. It was disgusting to find all our clothes reeked of bitter neem oil as they were washed using neem detergents. We also disliked to gobble up extremely bitter balls made of neem leaves paste forcibly given by our…
Typically pickling is a time-consuming process and those fermented pickles have longer shelf life. But I like to make instant pickles that can be consumed immediately and has limited shelf life. Besides I like to prepare melt-in-mouth mango pickle unlike the conventional one made al dente. So anyone who shares such similar taste would definitely…
Ever since I realized the weight loss properties of musk melons I started including them in my diet as much as possible during the entire summer. Also I stopped making musk melon juice with added sugar for myself but started taking salads to enjoy its health benefits completely. Now lets make melon ball fruit salad…
Panchamirtham is a sacred fruit salad that we offer to God and is also used for abishegam (bathing deities) in temples. The renowned Palani panchamirtham made using bananas that are exclusively grown near Palani hills is offered to Lord Muruga in Palani temple. You can check this video to see how panchamirtham abishegam is performed…
Jackfruit Panna Cotta is a chilled creamy dessert. It is so captivating to see snowy panna cotta dotted with vanilla bean wobbling on a plate fringed by delectable golden jackfruit coulis. I have made Panna Cotta, an Italian dessert, layered with locally grown fresh seasonal fruit. Since I do not like to use egg nor…
Panakam is a traditional ayurvedic lemonade offered to God on Kandha sashti day observed by Saivites and also on the day of Rama navami celebrated by Vaishnavites. Rama navami is celebrated on the birthday of God Rama and Kandha Sashti Viratham is observed for 7 days after Deepavali, apart from the regular Shasti every month….
Nungu payasam is a creamy dreamy delightful dessert served in wedding feasts and in star hotel restaurants. It is a perfect finish to a meal for the impeccable taste and enticing flavors of nungu (palm fruit or ice apple), saffron & cardamom. Nungu is a jelly like sweet fruit covered with astringent white skin and…
