Eating habits

Eating habits that you suspect may not be right but still carry on with anyway.
1. Can I drink diet soda every day?
A can or two isn't likely to hurt you. There's no credible evidence that the artificial sweeteners and chemicals in these cause cancer. But diet soda is not a health drink, although it saves you calories. One soda a day-regular or diet-increases your risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Go for fruit juice or skimmed milk. Or sip water through the day, with a squirt of lemon added for variety.
2. Are chicken eggs good or bad for cholesterol?
If you are healthy, the recommended dietary cholesterol limit is about 300 mg a day (200 mg if you have heart disease, diabetes or high blood cholesterol). One large egg has about 213 mg of cholesterol-all in the yolk. So it's perfectly fine if you eat an egg on a given day and limit other sources of cholesterol for the rest of the day. If you like eggs but don't want the extra cholesterol, use only the whites. They contain no cholesterol.
3. Is coffee good or bad for me?
Coffee doesn't seem to hurt and actually may help. No, it doesn't raise cancer or heart attack risk if consumed in moderation (no more than two cups a day). Four to seven cups a day, however, can cause restlessness, anxiety, irritability, sleeplessness and headaches. Coffee is believed to protect against Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes and liver cancer.
4. Is microwaving food in plastic containers harmful?
Although stories have circulated for years that microwaving plastic food containers or wraps causes them to release cancer-causing dioxins, this isn't thought to be true. Still, it's important to follow general safety guidelines: use containers or wraps labelled as "microwave-safe"; don't use carryout tubs, or paper or plastic grocery bags.
5. Does drinking water during or after a meal disturb digestion?
No. Water doesn't dilute the digestive juices or interfere with digestion. In fact, drinking water during or after a meal can actually improve digestion. It helps break down the food in your stomach and keeps your digestive system on track.
6. How long can I safely keep leftovers in the fridge?
Eat refrigerated leftovers within four days to reduce the risk of food poisoning. For food safety, never allow perishable foods (meat, poultry, fish, dairy products and eggs) to sit more than two hours at room temperature. Your goal should be to minimise the time a food item is in the 'danger zone'(between 4 deg C and 60 deg C) when bacteria can multiply. Before eating leftovers, reheat them thoroughly. Cover foods with a lid or a microwave-safe plastic wrap to hold in moisture and provide safe, even heating.

Indian Cookery

Indian cuisine is popular all over the world for its variety, mouthwatering tastes and aroma. It is as diverse as the country itself with its numerous styles of cuisine and its typical regional variations.
In almost every country in the world you can find Indian restaurants and hotels representing every kind of Indian cuisine. Some of the most famous among them are the Mughalai, Chettinadu, Hyderabadi Cuisine etc.
Indian Cooking is known for its use of spices, herbs and flavorings. The common ingredients in Indian Cuisine are rice or bread (rotis), a variety of dals (lentils), regional vegetables, pickles, ghee, chutneys, a meat or fish dish. Spices are an essential element to Indian cuisine. The cooking medium is generally oil. The type of oil used differs in different regions. Sweets are usually milk based. Many popular sweets such as Gulab jamun, Ladoo are common throughout India, while many others like Rasbari, peda, burfi, halwa, Malpuwa, Rasgula etc are local favorites. Food is often eaten with fingers, rice or breads are accompanied by vegetables and curries.
The tastes and variety of the multiple cuisines from Kashmir in the north to Kanya Kumari in the south, is absolutely mind blowing. Indian cuisine can be divided into two, Northern and Southern Indian cuisine.

South Indian Cuisine
Cuisines from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu are all part of South Indian Cuisine. Mostly vegetarian, Rice is the basis of every meal in a South Indian Cuisine and the cooking medium could be either gingelly, coconut or sunflower oil. Coconut is one of the main ingredient in all South Indian food and spices are abundant in south Indian cooking. Spices commonly used are mustard, Asafetida, pepper, curry leaves, peppercorns etc. Other fragrant spices added are cardamom, clove, cinnamon and star aniseed. Areas with access to waterways rely more heavily on seafood. Saturated with ghee, rice is served with Sambhar, Rasam, lentils, vegetables etc. South Indians are great lovers of filter coffee especially the Madras coffee is popular in South Indian restaurants throughout the world.
Made of fermented rice and dal batter, the dosa, vada and the idli as well as puttu made of rice flour are inexpensive south Indian snacks which are popular all over the country. The popular south Indian dishes are Appam and Stews, sea food dishes (Kerala), Mysore Pak, basundhi, jangiri, the semolina-based upma, Milk or wheat based Payasams/ kheers, Hyderbadi Biryani and the Goan vindaloo curry etc.

North Indian Cuisine
North Indian Cooking is often called Mughal Style Cooking which is similar to the food of the Middle East and Central Asia. With its rich uses of sauces, butter-based curries, dried fruits and nuts, ginger-flavoured roast meats and mind-blowing sweets, it is one of the world’s popular cuisines. A typical North Indian meal consist of chappatis, roti, parantha, pooris and tandoori baked breads like nan etc. made of wheat. Rice is also popular and is made into biryanis and pulaos. Kashmiri pulao is one of the famous north Indian food. The cooking medium is generally oil, cream, butter or ghee. Sunflower and canola are mostly used vegetable oils used in north Indian cooking. Garam masala is a spice mixture used mainly in northern Indian cuisine.
Mutter Paneer (a curry made with cottage cheese and peas), Bengal's Rasagulla, sandesh, Rasamalai, gulab jamuns, Biryani, Pulaos, Daal Makhani, Dahi Gosht, Butter Chicken, Kheer, Chicken Tikka, Kebabs, Fish Amritsari, Samosas (snack with a pastry case with different kinds of fillings), Chaat (hot-sweet-sour snack made with potato, chick peas and tangy chutneys), 'makki ki roti' and 'sarson ka sag', Motichoor laddoo are some of the delicious north Indian foods.

Meen Kuzhambu (chettinad fish curry) chapala pulusu

For the past one month, I couldn’t find much time to take snaps of the items which I wanted to blog.My idea was to write next about the famous chettinad chicken but due to the fear of catching bird flue people at home are scared of even hearing its name.So till the chickens get well let me blog about the chettinad special fish items .
Meen kuzhambu prepared in chettinad will seem to be very simple and easy to prepare but the real taste will depend on the care with which it is made.But by experience one can make mouthwatering meen kuzhambu which will make your partner sing’ Nethuvecha Meenkuzhambu ennai ezhukkuthayya’(Yesterday’s fish curry is driving me to the kitchen).This kuzhambu kept outside is said to be very tasty the next day. But I have not taken that risk.If refrigerated,the taste will be fine for 2 to 3 days

Ingredients

Fish (known to be good for gravy)-1/2 kg

Small onion-20

Garlic-15 pods

Chilly powder -1 spoon or kuzhambu milagai thool-2 spoons

Coriander powder-2 tablespoons

Tomato-1

Curry leaf- little

Tamarind-gooseberry size(double the quantity you use for sambar)

First marinate the fish withChilly powder-1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon

Lemon juice-1 teaspoon

Salt-1 teaspoon

Keep the fish marinated for 1 to 2 hours.

Procedure
Soak the tamarind and required salt in 3 to 4 cups of water. Keep a flat bottom kadai in the stove. Pour 2 to 3 spoons of oil(gingelly oil if available will be the best).Season withFennel seeds-1 teaspoonFenugreek seeds-1/2 teaspoonCurry leaf-littleAddthe minced onion, garlic and tomato and sauté well for 3 minutes. Now add the tamarind water. Add the chilly powder and coriander powder also and wait till the mixture boils. Once it starts boiling keep the stove in sim and allow the curry to cook in low fire for 10 to 12 minutes till the gravy has reduced to half. Now slowly add the fish one by one in such a way that all the pieces stay aloof. Once the fish is added, you will find the gravy becoming watery. Increase the flame a little and cook for 5 more minutes. Always make sure that you use the gravy only 2 or 3 hours after cooking.(this time is for the fish to get the taste of the gravy) .It is always better not to transfer the contents to another vessel since the fishes are likely to break while transferring.

How to make Plum Cake

Ingredients:
• 1-1/4 Cups plums, pitted and sliced
• 1 Cup all purpose flour
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup butter, softened
• 1/2 Cup white sugar
• 1 tsp Lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder

How to make Plum Cake:
• Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Grease a nine-inch tube pan.
• Beat the egg whites in a bowl and leave aside.
• Cream the butter with sugar in a large bowl.
• Beat egg yolks and the lemon zest. Add it to the butter mixture.
• Stir together 1-cup flour and baking powder.
• Fold in this flour mixture into the creamed mixture.
• Add and stir the egg whites.
• Arrange the batter uniformly into the prepared pan.
• Arrange the sliced plums attractively over the batter with skin-side down.
• Bake it for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F.
• Remove and cool on a rack.
• Plum Cake is ready.

Paravai Muniyamma village recipes new

Thirukkai meen kuzhambu - Paravai Muniamma style

Paravai Muniyamma is known for her village recipes from southern Tamilnadu even though she is a famous singer. She hosts a Sunday afternoon show in which she quickly whips up snacks, vegetarian and non-veggie dishes. What I like the most out of her’s is the ingredients that go into the dish. You can imagine the aroma that would rise when the dish is cooking. She grinds the pastes required in a stone grinder and cooks in earthernware which would definitely add the distinctness for any dish.
Also at the end she would sing a nice folk song about the dish and about the person she would invite to taste it. Last week she demonstrated Thirukkai meen (Whip tail sting ray fish) kuzhambu. Amma had made this umpteem number of times during my pregnancy and lactation days but she cannot wait to make it again in Muniamma’s way.
And what to say, we had a treat
And I am giving the recipe below. No changes to the recipe!

Ingredients needed :
Thirukkai fish (cleaned and cut in to 3 inch squares) - 1/2 KG
Small onions - 20
Garlic pods - 20
Tomato - 1 big chopped
Tamarind - 1 medium sized lemon soaked with 1 teaspoon of salt in 4 glass of water for 15 minutes
Gingelly oil - 4 T spoon
Vadagam - 1 T spoon for taalipu
To be ground to a paste:
Black peppercorn - 3 T spoon
Red chillies - 6
Cumin - 2 T spoon
Coriander seeds - 4 T spoon
A little piece of kombu manjal or 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
First take all the ingredients for the paste and grind it to a smooth paste with little water. Squeeze the soaked tamarind to get all the extract and then filter it in a colander. In the tamarind liquid mix the ground paste and well.
In a thick bottomed vessel heat the gingelly oil and once hot add the vadagam. Let it turn golden brown and add the garlic pods. Saute till they turn golden and add the small onions and saute till they turn pinkish. Add the tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy. Add the tamarind-masala mix now and mix well. Check for salt now and add if required more. Let it boil for 10 minutes. Add the fish pieces and cover the vessel with the lid. Let it cook for another 10 minutes and by this time the oil will get separated. Garnish with coriander leaves. This is a thick gravy like kulumbu and the fragrance it spread the whole house when boiling is extra ordinary. The ingredients and their quantity might sound that this is a fiery kuzhambu but actually not. The coriander seeds and the mixing of the paste in the tamarind liquid actually mellows the pepper’s hot taste.

SHAKKARPARE

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
11/2 cup maida (plain flour)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp Saunf
1/3 cup ghee
Ghee to deep fry

Method

* Mix the above ingredients with a little water and knead into a soft dough.
* Divide dough into equal parts and roll out into thick chappatis.
* Cut with a cookie cutter or knife into small diamond shapes.
* Lift with spatula and keep aside on a dry cloth for 1 hour.
* Deep fry in hot ghee over slow flame till light golden brown.
* Drain well and keep aside till cool.
* Store in clean, dry containers.

RAWA LADOO

Ingredients

2 cups semolina (rawa)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup ghee
1 tbsp broken cashew nuts
1 tbsp raisins fried
1 tsp fried cardamom powder

Method

* Heat 1 tsp. ghee in a pan and dry roast the rawa till pink.
* Grind the fried rawa and powdered sugar in a mixer to a fine powder.
* Heat the remaining ghee and add the powdered rawa, cashew nuts, raisins and cardamom powder.
* Mix thoroughly.
* While still warm, make into small lemon-sized balls.
* Cool and store in an airtight container.