Potato Masala

Our famous potato masala has done polygamy.  Its one better half is the Mysore masala dosa and the other better half is the poori bhaji. Beautiful combination with both the dishes and absolutely my favourite breakfast. The trick for a yummy potato masala is to keep it basic and simple.

Here is what you’ll need:

3 large potatoes

1 onion

10 curry leaves

1 tsp channa dal

1 tbsp mash/urad dal

½ tsp mustard seed (rye)

5 green chillies slit

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 inch finely chopped ginger

¼ tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp oil

½ cup chopped coriander

Salt

Method:

1. Pressure cooks the potatoes in salted water. Mash them roughly once cooled.
2. Heat oil in a large kadai and let the mustard seeds splutter. Add in the urid dal and channa dal. Fry till light golden brown, take care not to burn them
3. Add the chopped ginger, curry leaves and slit green chillies.
4. Add the onions and fry onions on medium heat for 5 minutes till it turns golden.
5. Sprinkle in the turmeric powder.
6. Mix in the mashed potatoes.
7. Sprinkle the red chilli powder and mix well.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves.

    Learn to make crispy Masala Dosas in The Kitchen Counter column.

Recipe by Zohra Sada

Packaging of frozen food

The most important aspect of freezing food is the packaging in which it is to be frozen. Appropriate packaging is essential to prevent any damages to the food in freezing, prevent mixing of flavours and also to easily distinguish foods and separate them for storing. For this very important function of packaging the frozen food, the type of packaging and the quality of packaging is an important factor.

The prime purpose of packaging is to keep food from drying out and to preserve nutritive value, flavor, texture and color. A good packaging material should have the following characteristics:

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• Moisture/vapor-proof or at least moisture resistant.

• Made of food grade material, i.e. designed to be used for food products.

• Durable and leak-proof.

• Doesn't become brittle and crack at low temperatures.

• Resistant to oil, grease or water.

• Protect foods from off flavors and odors.

• Easy to fill and seal.

• Easy to mark and store.

The packaging to be done will depend on the type of food to be frozen, personal preference and availability. The various types of packaging include:

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Type of Packaging	Note
Ordinary waxed paper and paper cartons from ice cream and milk	Packaging not sufficiently moisture/vapor-resistant for long-time freezer storage.
Rigid containers are made of plastic, glass, aluminum and heavily waxed cardboard	Suitable for all packs. These are often reusable.
Glass jars	Should be made for the purpose. Do not use regular, narrow-mouth canning jars for freezing foods packed in liquid, as expansion of the liquid could cause the jar to break at the neck.
Cans	Shortening and coffee cans are good for packaging delicate foods. Line the can with a food-storage bag and seal the lid with freezer tape because they are not airtight.
Baking dishes	Can be used for freezing, heating and serving. Dishes may be covered with a heavy aluminum foil taped with freezer tape.
Ice cube trays	Good for freezing foods in small amounts. Freeze food until firm and then transfer to freezer bags.
Bags and sheets of moisture/vapor-resistant materials and heavy-duty foil	Suitable for dry packed vegetables and fruits, meat, fish or poultry. Bags can also be used for liquid packs. Protective cardboard cartons may be used to protect bags and sheets from tearing and to make stacking easier.
Laminated papers	Made of various combinations of paper, metal foil and/or cellophane. These are suitable for dry packed vegetables and fruits, meats, fish and poultry. Laminated papers are also used as protective over-wrap.

The essentials of packaging and storing:

• Cool all foods and syrup before packing. This speeds up freezing and helps retain natural color, flavor and texture of food.
• Pack foods in quantities that will be used at one time.
• Most foods require head space between the packed food and the closure for expansion as the food freezes. Loose packing vegetables, such as asparagus and broccoli, bony pieces of meat, tray-packed foods and breads, do not need head space.
• Pack foods tightly to cut down on the amount of air in the package.
• Run a nonmetal utensil, such as a rubber scraper handle, around the inside of the container to eliminate air pockets.
• When wrapping food, press out as much air as possible and mold the wrapping as close to the food as possible.
• When packing food in bags, press the air from the bags. Beginning at the bottom of the bag, press firmly moving toward the top of the bag to prevent air from re-entering or force the air out by placing the filled bag in a bowl of cold water taking care that no water enters the bag. Seal either method by twisting and folding back the top of the bag and securing with string, good quality rubber band, strip of coated wire or other sealing device. Many bags may be heat sealed, and some have a tongue-in-groove seal built in.
• Keep sealing edges free from moisture or food so they’ll make a good closure.
• When using tape, it should be freezer tape, designed for use in the freezer. The adhesive remains effective at low temperature.
• Label each package with name of product, date, amount and any added ingredients. Use freezer tape, freezer marking pens or crayons, or gummed labels made especially for freezer use.
• Freeze foods at 0 F or lower. To facilitate more rapid freezing, set the freezer at minus 10 F about 24 hours in advance of adding unfrozen foods.
•  Freeze foods as soon as they are packaged and sealed.
• Do not overload the freezer with unfrozen food. Add only the amount that will freeze within 24 hours. Overloading slows down the freezing rate, and foods that freeze too slowly may lose their quality.
• Place packages against freezing plates or coils. Leave space between packages so air can circulate freely. After freezing, store packages close together.
• Arrange packages so you use those that have been in the freezer the longest first.

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Post by Faiz Lahori

Masala Dosa

Paper crisp from outside and soft in the centre. These crepes served with potato filling are a staple diet in many south Indian homes. Masala dosa reminds of happy times in Mangalore which is a twin city to Udupi and udupi is famous for its masala dosa.

The recipe for Masala dosa is an absolutely simple one. Even as a beginner I had never gone wrong with this recipe. The batter ferments beautifully after 12 hours. No need for bicarbonate, yeast or any fermenting agent unless you live in a really cold environment.

I use only 2 ingredients for my batter, the white rice or dosa rice and urad dal. Wash it, soak it for an hour and grind it into a medium thick batter. Let the batter rest for 12 hours in a closed space, like an unused oven. Your batter won’t necessarily froth but it will considerably increase in volume.

Once the batter is fermented, salt the batter and your dosas are ready to make.

The dosa is served with green coconut chutney, red coconut garlic chutney and potato filling.

This recipe serves 4 people giving a total energy of approximately 430 calories per serving (3 masala dosas).

Here is what you’ll need:

1 cup white rice/dosa rice

½ cup urad dal (Black gram dal)

Salt 

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice and dal for 1 hour.
2. Drain the water and grind the rice and dal till smooth using less than half cup water.
3. Add salt and let the batter rest for 10-12 hours.
4. Heat a tawa/gridle and pour ½ cup batter and smoothen it into a flat crepe with the back of the ladle going in a circular direction till the crepe becomes super thin.
5. After a minute when the dosa starts browning, add ½ tsp oil along the edges.
6. Once the dosa turns completely brown at the base and cooks from the front, ease it out on a plate with a spatula.
7. Serve with red coconut chutney or green coconut chutney and potato filling.

Learn how to make Potato masala and Chutney in The Kitchen Counter column.

Recipe by Zohra Sada

Acute Pancreatitis

                         

 

Pancreatitis refers to the inflammation of the pancreas and is characterized by oedema, cellular exudates and fat necrosis. The disease can range from mild and self-limiting to severe condition which results in auto digestion, necrosis and haemorrhage of pancreatic tissue.

Acute pancreatitis results from auto digestion of tissue and toxic effects of digestion products.

The causes of acute pancreatitis are biliary tract disease, such as gallstones, alcohol abuse, trauma and hyperlipidemia (rarely).

The symptoms of this condition are continuous or intermittent pain of varying intensity in the upper abdominal region that radiates to the back and the symptoms worsen with ingestion of food, swollen and tender abdomen, nausea and vomiting, steatorrhoea and malabsorption, sweating, fever, mild jaundice and rapid pulse.

Some complications of this condition include low blood pressure, heart failure, kidney failure, diabetes, ascitis and cysts in pancreas.

Parenteral nutrition and metabolic support becomes essential in order to minimize mortality. The goals of nutritional management in acute pancreatitis are to provide rest to the pancreas and maintaining fluid balance, maintaining nil-by-mouth till the pain and fever subsides, providing support to the patient by early enteral nutrition with the formulation of nutrient in predigested forms and supplementation with low fat intake, resorting to clear fluid diet when starting oral feeds and maintaining a total fat intake of 30 g/day which maybe gradually increased as per the patient’s tolerance.

Decreased calcium levels are observed during acute pancreatitis due to hypoalbuminemia and soap formation of calcium with fatty acids created by fat necrosis.

               Post by Faiz Lahori

How to freeze food?

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A simple technique to make busy lives easier is to cook extra food at one meal for future meals. This extra meal needs to be preserved in a manner to be kept fresh for consumption, thus freezing of food is an appropriate method to do so.  One easy method of freezing foods, including liquid foods such as soups and stews, is to freeze them in freezer bags. 

The steps for successful freezing are as below:

STEP 1: Cool foods "slightly" at room temperature before refrigeration:

It is not necessary for a food to be completely cool before it is refrigerated. But slight cooling can be achieved by placing a shallow container of food on a cooling rack to allow air to circulate all round the pan for about 20 to 30 minutes and by limiting the depth of food to 2 inches.

STEP 2: Complete cooling of foods in the refrigerator:

Cool foods to refrigerator temperature before bagging them for your freezer. Loosely cover food while refrigeration so as to allow heat to escape and protect the food from accidental contamination from other foods during cooling. It is OK to refrigerate foods while they're still warm.

STEP 3: Pack foods into freezer bags:

Use "freezer" bags, not "storage" bags for storing food in the freezer. Freezer bags are thicker than storage bags and will keep the food fresh longer. Speed freezing and hasten thawing by freezing foods in a thin, flattened shape in freezer bags. Flatter packages also will stack better in your freezer.

To avoid getting food on the outside or stuck in the closure of the freezer bags, use a wide-mouth funnel. Place the freezer bag in a container such as a quart measuring cup. Standing the bag upright also helps if you are filling the bag with a more liquid-type food. You may wish to double-bag liquids to prevent leakage. Open the top of bag and enclose the edges around the bottom of the wide-mouthed funnel. Add food, in desired amount, through the funnel. Hold edges of the bag in place as needed. OR, use some type of scoop - such as a measuring cup with a handle - to transfer the food to the freezer bag.

STEP 4: Label foods:

To avoid confusion between types of food, label foods using freezer tape, gummed freezer labels or permanent marking pens/crayons. The label should include:

·         name of food;

·         packaging date;

·         number of servings or amount;

·    Additional helpful information, such as form of food (sliced, chopped, etc.), any special ingredients.

It is helpful to place filled freezer bags on a flat surface in your freezer, such as a metal pan. Do not stack freezer bags until frozen so they will freeze faster. After they are frozen solid, the bags may be removed from the pan and stored, stacked, directly on the freezer shelf. Or turn them on their edge and store them vertically.

STEP 5: Thaw and cook frozen foods

DO NOT thaw perishable foods at room temperature. If perishable foods are left at room temperature too long, bacteria may grow and produce heat-resistant toxins that can cause food-borne illness. Cooking may not be able to destroy these toxins. It's best to plan for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. If there is the possibility a thawing package might leak, you may want to thaw it on a plate or a pan. If food is thawed in the microwave, finish reheating it right away. Unlike food thawed in a refrigerator, microwave-thawed foods reach temperatures that encourage bacterial growth. Cook immediately to kill any bacteria that may have developed and to prevent further bacterial growth:

• Food may be transferred from a freezer bag to a microwave safe container for thawing in the microwave.
• If the freezer bag manufacturer says it is OK to thaw foods directly in their freezer bag, follow manufacturer's directions for such things as venting, recommended heat settings, types of foods suitable for microwave-thawing, etc. for that specific bag. Also, follow manufacturer's directions for your microwave.
• While you may be able to satisfactorily defrost food in some freezer bags in the microwave, DO NOT cook the food in the freezer bag - unless recommended by the microwave manufacturer. At the higher temperatures used in the microwave cooking process, it is possible for the plastic to reach melting temperatures.

Following are some important tips for freezing:

1. When making extra food at one meal for future meals, the portion to be served later should be separated and refrigerated before serving the food on the table. It also helps keep food safe.
2. Freeze foods in portion sizes you'll need for future meals. For example, if there are two in your family and you each eat a cup of rice for a meal; freeze in two-cup portions.
3. Keep a temperature check in your refrigerator and in your freezer to assure that the food stays at 40° F or lower (refrigerator) and 0° F or lower (freezer).
4. Never re-freeze anything that's been frozen. Even if the food was frozen raw and then cooked, to be extra safe it still shouldn't be re-frozen.
5. Make sure to wrap foods properly or put them in sealed containers before freezing, otherwise the food can get freezer-burn.
6. Refrigerate perishable foods in less than two hours (or one hour in temperatures above 90 F) of being at room temperature. As a general rule, eat perishable foods within two days or freeze them. Perishable foods include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, dairy products, pasta, rice, cooked vegetables, fresh, peeled and/or cut fruits and vegetables
7. If you are unsure of how long something has been frozen or are a bit wary of something once defrosted, don't take any chances, throw it away.
8. You get out what you put in. Don't freeze old food because you don't want to waste it; the point of freezing is to keep food as its prime. Freeze fresh to retain that quality of food.
9. Label the frozen food so that it’s easier to identify while picking it out for thawing. Use different colour markers, labels and abbreviations easier for you to understand. Also mention the date of freezing on the label.
10. An icy freezer is an inefficient one, so make sure you defrost your freezer if ice builds up. Don't worry about the food; most things will remain frozen in the fridge for a couple of hours while the freezer defrosts.
11. If there has been a power cut or you think the freezer has been turned off at some point, don't open the door. Foods should remain frozen in the freezer for about 24 hours, leaving you time to get to the bottom of the problem.
12. Some dishes can be cooked straight from frozen. When cooking food from frozen, use a lower temperature to start with to thaw, then increase the temperature to cook. Foods include: Soups, stews, casseroles, bakes and potato-topped pies. Thin fish fillets, small fish, sausages, burgers, and seafood if added at the end of a hot dish. Foods that should never be cooked from frozen are raw poultry and large joints of meat.

     Foods which are not freezer friendly:

·       Raw eggs in the shells will expand and crack.

·       Hard-boiled eggs go rubbery.

·       Vegetables with high water content, such as lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts and radishes, go limp and mushy.

·       Soft herbs, like parsley, basil and chives, go brown.

·       Egg-based sauces, such as mayonnaise, will separate and curdle.

·       Plain yogurt, low-fat cream cheese, single cream and cottage cheese go watery.

     Foods great to freeze:

·        Butter and margarine can be frozen for 3 months.

·        Grated cheese can be frozen for up to 4 months and can be used straight from the freezer.

·     Most bread, except crusty varieties such as French bread, will freeze well for up to 3 months.  Sliced bread can be toasted from frozen.

·        Milk will freeze for 1 month. Defrost in the fridge and shake well before using.

·        Raw pastry will freeze for 6 months and takes just 1 hour to thaw.

 Post by Faiz Lahori

Tips for a Healthy Ramadan

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS TO INCLUDE AND AVOID FROM YOUR RAMADAN MENU

Must include	Must Avoid
MEAT AND PROTEIN: ·         Fish ·         Grilled/boiled chicken or turkey ·         Moderate amount of prawns ·         Beans,lentils and peas ·         Egg	·         Fried chicken ·         Fatty meat ·         Cured meat, sausages and hotdogs ·         Large amounts of prawns
MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS: ·         Milk ·         Yoghurt ·         Low fat cheese	·         Ice cream ·         Whipped cream ·         Full fat cheese ·         Creamy and cheese sauces
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: ·         All fresh fruits and vegetables ·         Vegetables cooked by boiling, steaming, baking and light gravies ·         Fresh fruit juices	·         Off the shelf juices ·         Fried vegetable or vegetable pakoras
BREAD AND GRAINS: ·         Pita bread/Arabic bread/khubs ·         Multigrain/ wholewheat chapattis ·         Plain rice/pasta (moderate amount)	·         Pastries, donuts, croissants ·         Spring rolls, samosas ·         Fried rice ·         Dessert ·         2 minute noodles

HERE ARE A FEW TIPS TO MAKE YOUR IFTAR A HAPPY MEAL FOR YOUR TUMMY:

·         MAKE HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES:

Choose wisely from the wide range of food groups of grains, meat, fruits and vegetables and milk and milk products. For example, choose whole grain bread, brown rice, brown pasta, 2 servings of fruits and vegetables each, low fat milk, leaner cuts of meat and fish. Use oils sparingly.

·         OPT HEALTHY COOKING METHODS:

Go for a baked fatayer than a fried samosa. Go for a non greasy vegetable/chicken curry than fried chicken and pakoras.

Focus on healthy soups as they not only provide adequate nutrients but also replenishes the fluid in the body.

·         PORTION CONTROL:

Keeping small amount of food in your plate, chewing well  and eating slowly is one way to keep your weight in control.

·         INCLUDE VARIETY:

Make the iftar table colorful and different every day. Eating a variety means you take in more varieties of nutrients every day. For example: Make different types of fresh fruit juices for each day.

·         DIVIDE MEAL WITH TIME:

Eat suhoor just before azaan, dates and water after sunset, a well balanced meal after maghrib salah, and a light snack after isha.

Post by Zohra Sada