Mucking About!

It is just a few days to my mother’s 83^rd birthday. For the last three years she has spent her time between her bed and a wheel chair. Seeing her now, so helpless and weak, it is hard to believe how active and enterprising she used to be when we were young.

When I was around 6 years old, we moved into the ground floor of one of the lecturer’s quarters in IIT Powai, Bombay. There was ample space around the house, so my mother got a man to put a fence of wooden posts and barbed wire around it and proceeded to grow a vegetable garden. Initially, a man was hired to clear the space and dig the ground. In one corner of the garden she got him to dig a compost pit. But after that we were on our own. She would work in the garden a little bit every day and little by little it began to take shape. Of course, my brother and I got involved in this interesting enterprise. Initially we had to pick up the stones that she dug out from the ground and carry them to a pile in a corner. As the beds began to take shape, she would let me rake and break up the clods of earth with a fork and then showed me how to use a small digging trowel to make rows in the bed to plant seeds. My brother was still too small to do any real ‘work’, but pottered around alongside us.

My mother believed in using natural fertilizers and there was an abundance of it all around us. There were cows, buffaloes, donkeys and goats wandering about the IIT campus in plenty. Since she couldn’t possibly go around collecting the stuff herself, my brother and I were recruited for this important job. We were too young to know enough to be embarrassed by this assignment and, fascinated by the different types of droppings left by the various animals, we willingly agreed to go. Armed with a bucket, a trowel and a dustpan, we set off in search of the desired commodity. Every time we spotted a dark pile on the ground, we’d rush to it with cries of glee, shouting “cow!” “goat!” “donkey!”, scoop it up triumphantly and put it in the bucket. When there was enough in the bucket and it was too heavy for one small child to carry, the two of us would take the handle together, and singing, “Jack and Jill went up the hill” at the top of our voices, march back home with our precious booty.

We were soon spotted by other kids playing around in the vicinity. Noticing that we seemed to be having fun, they came up to investigate and quickly got involved in the project. Spreading out with eyes glued to the ground, they would shout whenever they saw a pile. Soon, it developed into a “Who can spot the dung first” competition. We showed them how to identify the different kinds of droppings – the large, flat cowpats, the lumps of donkey dung and the black marble-like goat droppings. What a jolly game this was! The bucket was full in no time and the band of us made our way back to our house, arranging to meet again the next day.

The following day so many of our friends turned up, that my mother had to find us another bucket. She didn’t complain. She mixed some of the manure into the soil in the beds she was preparing and then added the rest to the compost pit. As we brought her more manure, she filled the pit gradually, interspersing it with layers of soil, leaves, grass and kitchen waste, until in a few short days it was full. She then covered it with earth and we forgot about it for a few months. When enough time had elapsed, she dug it out and used it in the garden.

My mother did all the real work of building and planting our garden, but we got to help water the growing seedlings with a watering can and watch with fascination as they sprouted leaves and grew bigger and bigger. Soon I graduated from the trowel to the spade and then the pick and did some real, hard digging and gardening. It was fun to wander in the garden every day and see how the plants were doing. I soon learnt to identify the various kinds of plants by the leaves. We grew spinach, ladies fingers, brinjal and tomatoes, as well as coriander, mint and green chillies. Just outside the kitchen window, my mother planted a curry leaf tree. On our verandah grill climbed vines of marrow, cucumber and ridge gourd.

Very soon, the vegetable garden began to yield and we would go out in the mornings to pick the ladies fingers or cut some spinach leaves, green chillies and coriander or mint leaves. Eating fresh vegetables from our own garden was a wonderful privilege. We happily ate everything that grew and it never occurred to us to fuss or complain that we didn’t like a certain vegetable. My mother planted pumpkin seeds, which she saved from the vegetable we bought from the market. We loved the preparation she would make with the tender leaves and flowers of the pumpkin creeper. She would exchange notes with other garden enthusiasts on the campus and would often return home happily carrying some seeds or sapling they had given her.

My mother learnt that chicken manure was an excellent fertilizer, and banana plants love it.  So one day she and my Dad went to a farm exhibition and returned home with eight White Leghorn chicks. They built a large cage in the garden against our verandah and covered the floor with sawdust. The cage had a door through which we could enter. My Dad made a large sieve with wood and wire mesh. Every few days, we would rake up the sawdust, sieve it, spread it back on the floor, and add the chicken muck to the compost heap. This also became one of my regular chores.

Soon there were a couple of banana plants and a few papaya plants growing in our garden. We kept one male and one female papaya tree and removed the others. The banana was of the “Elchi” variety – small, yellow and thin-skinned. But the bunch that grew in our garden had about a hundred fat and delicious fruit, larger than any we had ever seen in the markets. My dad cut the bunch of bananas and hung it from the ceiling in our dining room and as they ripened, we ate them and gave them away to friends and neighbours. We got a lot of delicious papayas too, and during the days when seedless papayas were unknown, we were delighted to find ours had hardly any seeds.

Sadly, we moved to Delhi when I was 10 years old and we moved house so many times, that my mother never got up the energy or time to start another kitchen garden. Most of the time we lived in flats on the first or second floor. Finally when we moved to the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus, she was much older and had learnt Russian and was spending her free time doing translation. We had a patch of garden in front of the house, but by then we had a gardener coming once a week to weed and clean and plant and dig when necessary. We grew mainly flowers and our role was reduced to just watering the plants every day.

However, this part of my childhood is forever etched in my mind because of the kind of life my parents gave us. One of my main regrets is that we were not able to do this for our children, since our circumstances were so different. However, if and when we are fortunate enough to have grandchildren, I am very keen that we should be able to offer them similar experiences, because I know that this is the stuff treasured childhood memories are made of.

The Dignity of Labour

One of the good things about having been brought up in a middle class family in India was that I learnt  to be self-reliant. 

Like I said earlier in my post “A Happy Childhood”, we didn’t have much money when I was growing up.  My Dad was a lecturer in Russian at IIT Powai, Bombay, and we lived in the lecturers’ flats on the campus.  My mother managed the home without any domestic help, so I learnt to help around the house.  Dad was a handyman - he just liked to fix things.  We hardly ever gave anything to be repaired as far as I remember.  He had a set of tools at home to do practically anything, and weekends invariably saw him sitting at the table taking apart some gadget (not that we had many), or fiddling with the plumbing or electricity in the house.  Dad didn't differentiate between my brother and me on the basis of gender and taught us both the same things.  At an early age, I learnt what a hammer, screwdriver, drill (the manual one), saw, pliers, chisel, etc. were and what they were used for. 

We had tape cots and cotton mattresses in those days, and every once in a while, when the bed began to sag, he would get set to tighten the tapes, or, if they were worn out, to change them.  We children had an important job to do then – we were stationed on the opposite side from where he was working, and we had to brace our feet on the edge of the cot and pull the section of the tape that he passed us with all our might.  We did the long side first and then the broad side, where it was fun to weave the tape in and out.  It was tiring work and we were quite small, so we had to take it in turns to help.

During holidays, he would decide to build something or paint something and my brother and I enjoyed working with him.  He started with small stools, which he cut and built from scratch.  During that part, all we could do was to fetch and carry for him and sweep away the sawdust. But when it was done, then we had the privilege of helping with the sanding and the fun job of painting. We learnt about different grades of sandpaper and how to make the surface smooth and nice, how to dip the brush in the paint, wipe gently on the side to remove the excess paint and paint with smooth strokes.  We were all proud of our handiwork when the stool was ready and was being used.

When I grew up some more, I knew how to change bulbs and fix a loose connection in a faulty plug.  I could fix a leaking WC cistern and have even taken apart the trap under the bathroom sink to rescue the tiny ruby earring that slipped and fell through the drain holes – what a tremendous relief it was to see the red stone glittering through the muck. My maternal grandmother had given them to me when I was a toddler and my mother would have been furious if I had lost it.  I never thought of all this as unusual.

So when I got married, it was a tremendous surprise to me that my husband didn’t do any of these things.  If anything needed doing, it had to be done by me, or it wouldn’t get done.  I couldn't understand it - I had thought all men were like my Dad!  When I was expecting my daughter, I went to stay at his parents’ house for a few weeks, and I understood why.  His parents were used to having helpers do all the manual work.  I stood amazed while his father called their local handyman to change a bulb!  Though my father-in-law was a university teacher just like my Dad, they had a woman to clean the house, another to cook, a man to take care of the garden and someone who came on call to do odd jobs!  It was all very alien to me.  I later realized that I was seeing them when they were quite old (they were at least a decade older than my parents) and no longer comfortable with physical labour.  Being the youngest of five children, my husband had grown up when they were aging and perhaps able to do less on their own.  Besides, my mother-in-law had gone through a serious surgery to remove a brain tumour when he was barely a toddler.  The operation had caused her to lose the function in one eye and one ear.

But it was also true that my in-laws knew how to manage workers.  My mother-in-law was a very patient woman and able to put up with faults of people, whereas my mother was quite intolerant and so couldn’t keep a helper for long.  The result of this abundance of domestic help was that my husband grew up not having to help much around the house or think about any of the domestic chores or responsibilities.  It may have also had to do with socially acceptable roles of boys and girls in those days – girls had to help in domestic chores, but boys were not expected to do much and were allowed to play when they were not studying. 

Being so independent and self-reliant sometimes worked to my disadvantage, as I would automatically take on everything that needed to be done and exhaust myself.  To avoid being a drudge, I had to keep domestic help.  Also, our circumstances were such that I was totally consumed by the task of looking after an extremely hyperactive and dysfunctional younger son, so I just couldn’t cope without someone to help me. 

The result was that our daughter also grew up with other people doing everything that needed to be done, so there was no need for her to help around the house.  Because of this, when she was old enough, I looked for an opportunity to send her abroad to study.  This was not because education was better there, but because she would learn the dignity of labour and get an opportunity to learn to manage multiple activities like work, study, housework, cooking and managing finances.  She was also very possessive about her privacy, since she had to protect herself constantly from her intrusive brother, so living with other housemates taught her tolerance, cooperation and better interpersonal skills.  She got a part time job in a retail chain and held it for a year and a half, learning to work hard and speak politely to difficult customers.  She also learnt to be responsible and to value money, since she knew how tough it was to earn it herself.  The expense of studying abroad was huge, because she was there for three years. However, in the experience she gained on how to manage on her own, I truly believe it was a wise investment, given that she was learning life skills I had not been able to teach her as she was growing up.

Westerners reading this will not quite understand the Indian context and will be quick to judge us.  In these countries, people are geared to doing their own work and public systems support this lifestyle through the conveniences and facilities provided by the government as also by public and private enterprises.  Most young people work at part time jobs to pay their way through college.  Learning these skills is necessary for survival as an adult, because unless you are very rich, there is no other option.

However, here in India, because labour is so abundantly available due to widespread poverty and lack of education, our social systems are geared differently.  If people became independent enough to all their own work, millions of poor people would lose their jobs.  Also, our culture of male dominance ensures that if we were to do all the work ourselves, it would be the women of the house struggling to do it all, with no practical help from their male siblings or partners.  Availability of affordable labour has made it possible, for our women especially, to delegate the routine and time-consuming chores to someone else and devote their time to a career or hobby and a more active social life.

But things are changing now.  Our generation of Indians may be the last to have enjoyed having domestic help to do all our manual work.  We already see now that it is becoming more expensive and more difficult to find domestic workers, because the poor in our country have begun to have higher aspirations.  They want to educate their children and come out of poverty and the youngsters among them would much rather work at jobs in factories and retail outlets than at manual work in someone’s home.  This in my opinion is the best thing that could have happened for them – the breaking free from the cycle of poverty through education, higher aspirations and greater opportunities.  At the same time, it also means that the more well-to-do among us need to foresee the change that will surely come in the future and teach our children to do everything that needs to be done; and for that we ourselves need to believe in the dignity of labour.

Facts about Fat

As you have probably noticed by now, the advertising and marketing industry seem set on confusing us, deceiving us with all kinds of lies, half-truths, misinformation and feeding us hogwash as reliable information based on “research”. Conflicting information on the same things are forcing discerning consumers to distrust the tall claims of products and product categories and do their own research to find out what is really true. And even then, one can never be sure, as there are so many vested interests involved.

For example, something shouts out “Fat free!” but fails to tell you it is loaded with bad-for-you refined carbohydrates, sugar, sodium and all kinds of artificial ingredients that will make you fat anyway and are much worse than having a bit of butter or oil. And that it contains plenty of calories from the carbs and sugar contained in it. Or something that cries out “Sugar Free!” and is loaded with artificial sweeteners, trans fats and a lot of other harmful stuff. All the ads try to tell you that just because something is “fat free”, “sugar free” or “low calorie”, you can eat any amount and nothing will happen, which is a lie. Because calories are numbers – they add up. And if what you take in is more than what you expend, you have excess calories in your body, which will be stored as fat! Simple Math – which they try and deceive you into ignoring!

One of the dietary items to fall casualty to people’s misconceptions is fat. Many people in their fruitless efforts to lose weight cut out fats, because fats are high in calories and also are blamed for causing heart disease and clogged arteries. Or if they do have fats, they stick to only one kind of highly polyunsaturated fat like sunflower oil, thinking it is ‘healthy’ fat. 

Here are some facts I have collected about fat over the years that help me to be balanced in my attitude to them and use them judiciously.

Facts about Fat:

There are two main types of natural fats: Saturated fats and unsaturated fats. The unsaturated fats are further divided into polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats.

Then there are the artificially created hydrogenated oils like Dalda or margarine that contain the extremely unhealthy trans-fats. Because they are more stable, they are preferred by the food industry.  Avoid them - they are dangerous for health. Bought bakery goods like cookies, cakes, muffins, puffs etc. contain them, and so do many processed foods. Most biryanis have hydrogenated fats used in their preparation. Buy only from reliable sources.  

• Fat does not make you fat! Fat takes longer to digest, so you feel full longer and you will take in less calories totally because you don’t get hungry too quickly and snack in between or overeat at the next meal. 
• Some vitamins like A, D and E are fat soluble, so if you don’t take enough fat, you will have deficiency in these vitamins. 
• Our body needs a balance of different kinds of fatty acids to be healthy, so consume a variety of fats and use various kinds of natural oils in your cooking. Don’t use only oils that claim to be ‘heart healthy’. 
• Dairy fat is good provided it is not highly processed. Stick to natural butter, ghee and natural cheeses in limited quantities (if you can make these at home, all the better). Avoid highly processed dairy products, esp. cheeses and U.H.T. milk .
• Add nuts to your diet, but not fried and/or salted ones. Have them raw or lightly roasted and unsalted, and in very limited quantities, as they are high in calories. Nuts contain Omega3 fatty acids and vitamin E and protect the heart by lowering the LDL cholesterol. Avoid nuts that have gone rancid. 
• Polyunsaturated fats like sunflower oil are more fragile and deteriorate at high temperatures. They also go rancid faster. Both processes generate free radicals that are damaging to our health. Use these fats, but not exclusively, and don’t heat them to high levels or keep them too long.  
• Coconut oil and ghee can stand much higher temperatures before they deteriorate. Since they are saturated fats, use sparingly in small amounts in certain foods that are improved by the flavor of these fats. Don’t avoid them completely as they too have health benefits.
• Olive oil is very good, but it is not suitable for Indian cooking. In fact, it deteriorates at high temperatures and creates free radicals that are harmful. Use it raw for salads or sprinkled on bread, or for sautéing vegetables, but not at high or smoking temperatures. If you don’t use it frequently, buy smaller bottles and keep in the fridge. Use as quickly as possible.
• Indians use sesame (til) oil, peanut oil, mustard oil, all of which are good and contain higher amounts of monounsaturated fats and a healthier balance of Omega3 and Omega6 fatty acids. Use more of these oils.
• If you use oil for deep-frying anything, don’t heat too much oil. Use a smaller quantity and fry the item in batches. Top up with more oil as needed. Use the left over oil the same day in cooking other dishes.
• Throw away any oil that has accidentally become too hot and has smoked too much. It has already deteriorated to dangerous levels and is loaded with carcinogenic free radicals.
• Don’t buy oils and fats in bulk and don’t use rancid fats or damaged fats! The small amount of money you save may backfire in poorer health and higher medical bills! Buy oils in smaller packets/bottles and check date for freshness. If you cannot consume it within a few days, keep it in an airtight bottle in the fridge and keep smaller quantities of it outside.  
• Don't eat out too often, as you cannot control the type, quality and quantity of fat among other things. Most restaurants reuse oil, use hydrogenated fats, (and harmful MSG and artificial colorings), so for better health limit eating out to special occasions as much as possible

(To know more about the different kinds of fats, their benefits and dangers, Myths and Facts, Good vs Bad cholesterol, Omega 3 fatty acids, etc., see http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fats.htm   I personally don’t agree completely with everything written here, but this article is a good source of information on the role of the various fats in our bodies and can help to improve our fat-eating habits for better health.)

On Selecting Vegetables

In my last post I had given some general tips about getting the best out of your vegetables. Here I would like to give you some hints about some of the common vegetables used in Indian cooking.

In most Indian markets, you can hand pick your vegetables, esp if you have made friends with the vegetable vendor. It is advantageous to cultivate such friendships - the vendor gets a regular customer and keeps you happy by giving discounts and letting you handpick your choice. Find a friendly vendor who sells good ware at a fair price and stick to him/her as far as possible. Give a smile and ask how he/she is whenever you meet, ask questions and indulge in some friendly bargaining and you have got yourself an ally. Avoid unpleasant bargaining that borders on exploitation - remember he has to make a living and the bit of money you save means more to him than you.

When choosing vegetables, try and pick them of uniform size, because it is easier to cut them the same size so that they cook evenly and look attractive. 

Basic and essential vegetables in Indian cooking:

Coriander leaves – Choose a bunch that looks fresh, dark green and leafy. Cut off the roots and excess stalks and if it is to be consumed within a couple of days, put in a plastic container in the fridge as it is. Otherwise, roll in a piece of newspaper and store in an airtight bag till needed. Never store any greens wet, they will rot. If you wash before storing, dry thoroughly on a newspaper under the fan. Usually green coriander is added to the food at the last minute, just before taking off the fire. Cut just before adding for fresher flavor – never cut and store or leave around for too long.

Green chillies – buy fresh and tender chillies, not over ripe ones, which are full of seeds and tough to slice or chop. Remove the stalks (that’s where the rotting begins) and store in a container in the fridge. Line the container with a piece of newspaper to keep them dry. If you want the flavor without it being too hot, slit the chillies lengthwise and scrape off the seeds with a spoon or the back of a knife. Some chillies are hotter than others, so quantity may have to be adjusted accordingly. Touch your finger to the cut edge of a chilly and then place it on your tongue to gauge its strength. DO NOT touch your eyes after handling chillies!

Mint leaves – Remove yellowed or discolored leaves if any and follow the same instructions as Coriander leaves. As far as possible, buy only fresh looking bunches.

Curry leaves – These are usually given free when you buy vegetables in India. Avoid discolored or spotted leaves or those that are too tender, too large or too small. Remove the leaves from the stalks and store in a container in the fridge. Wash and shake off the water just before adding to the seasoning and they will not burn, but remain green. Watch out for spluttering, though.

Limes – Buy limes that look fresh and yellow, but not over-ripe. Check to ensure there are no soft brown spots – the hard circular marks don’t mean anything. Green limes are sometimes good too, provided they are not too immature. Test for juiciness by pressing lightly – they must not feel dry and hard, but give a little under pressure and bounce back. Limes that don’t release their juice easily can be heated a bit either by plunging them in hot water or microwaving them for a few seconds before cutting. The membranes of those tiny capsules containing the juice will burst and release the juice and they will be easier to squeeze.

Ginger – buy plump, healthy looking rhizomes. Avoid shriveled or dry ones. Soak for a few minutes to loosen dirt, wash with a brush to remove soil and air-dry before storing in the refrigerator in a container or bag. You can grate some whenever you need it – no need to peel if it is clean.

Garlic – buy plump, healthy looking bulbs – avoid shriveled or dried up pieces with exposed, yellowing flesh. Hill garlic with its larger cloves is easier to handle, though a bit more expensive. To peel separate the cloves, slice into two lengthwise and twist off the skin – it comes off easily.

(Ginger-garlic paste -To crush a small amount of ginger and/or garlic, chop roughly, place on the chopping board, sprinkle some salt over it and crush with a rolling pin. You will get a fairly smooth paste. Scrape off with a knife and use in cooking. It is good to use fresh ginger garlic paste, but if you use a lot of it in your cooking, it is time consuming to do it every time.

Most of us make ginger-garlic paste in bulk and store in the freezer for up to a week or more. Proportions vary according to preference. Some people use equal proportions, others use four parts of ginger to three parts of garlic. Cut roughly and put in the mixie jar with some salt and grind, stopping often to push it down with a spoon or spatula. The salt will make it easier to grind and will also act as a preservative. Adding a bit of oil towards the endwill help keep it fresh longer and you need not store it in the freezer, but can keep it in a jar in the fridge for a week or more.)

 

Potatoes - Choose smooth, firm, well-shaped (not crooked or bumpy) potatoes of medium size without green patches, blemishes or sprouts. Store in an airy basket at room temperature – don’t leave them in a plastic bag, or they will get moist and rot. New potatoes are thin-skinned and can be scraped. Older potatoes need to be peeled. Peel as thinly as possible, as most of the vitamins are just under the skin. Don't expose peeled or cut potatoes to air for too long - keep them submerged in water until needed to avoid oxidation.

Onions – The bulbs should be smooth, well shaped and dry, with clean, papery outer skin. The ends should be tight and dry. They should not have hard stalks, shoots or smelly wet patches. Avoid double onions. Wash them after removing the skins, as they often have a sooty deposit on them. Store open at room temperature. It is easier to remove the skins if you first cut the onion in half lengthwise. Use cut onions quickly, do not store as they deteriorate very fast.

Tomatoes – must be firm, smooth and red without wrinkles or cracks. Local or country tomatoes are better for cooking  - they are juicy and sour and make tastier gravies. Hybrid tomatoes are good for salads, but can also be used for cooking. Store in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. If you are slicing tomatoes for sandwiches, it is good to peel them first, or the whole slice comes out when you take a bite. Plunge them in boiling water, leave covered for a minute and then remove and cool. The skin will come off easily. Tomatoes contain a cancer fighting flavinoid called Lycopene, which becomes more easily available to the body when cooked.

Some Common Vegetables:

For most vegetables, follow the general tips given in the previous post.  Here I’m going to give some tips for certain vegetables so you get the best out of them. If you are not going to use them immediately, refrigerate them in a plastic bag or large airtight container, or they will get dehydrated. Wash before cooking, not before storing.

Greens (Saag, keerai)– They should look fresh and crisp, not limp. Avoid wet bunches that have rot in between and those with spotted leaves or holes chewed by insects. Also, avoid greens that have flowers or seeds, as these will be tough and fibrous. Break off excess stalks to clean and wash thoroughly in as many changes of water as needed to get them clean, otherwise you will be chewing mud and sand and ruin your tooth enamel. Soaking first for 5 - 10 minutes (not more) should loosen the dirt so it washes off more easily. Again, don’t cut too long before cooking. To store the greens for a couple of days, wrap in newspaper or cloth, put in an airtight bag and store in the fridge. Never store wet greens, store dry and wash before using.

Brinjals (Baingan, Katrikai) – Brinjals are of many kinds – large, small, long, round, dark purple, violet, green, white, striped, etc. Press each piece lightly – they must feel fairly springy and must not be heavy. I usually pick them up and tap them. If they sound hollow, they are tender. Seedy ones sound more solid and feel hard. Visually check each brinjal, as they are prone to worms and reject the ones with holes. Always be alert when you are cutting and remove all wormy and defective parts.

 

Bottle gourd (Lauki, dudhi, sorakkai) – Tender bottle gourds are usually slimmer and you can pierce the skin with your thumbnail. If they are tender and unblemished, you can cook them without peeling. Store as it is in the vegetable drawer of the fridge - cut only when needed.

French/bush beans – Fresh and tender beans should be fleshy and snap if you bend them. Don’t buy them if they look old and have large seeds, as they will be stringy and fibrous. Always string the beans before cutting. Break off the point in the opposite direction and slowly pull away the string. Then do the same with the top end and pull away on the opposite side. Really tender beans will not have string.

Flat beans (Papdi, Avarakkai) – Don’t buy them if they are bulging with seeds – they will be fibrous and tough. Look for beans with tender seeds inside, which you can hardly feel under your fingers. These too need to be properly stringed before cutting.

Cluster beans (Gavar, Kotarakkai) – These should be young, slim and green. Don’t buy yellowish ones full of seeds, they will be tough. It is difficult to string cluster beans, as the string does not pull off completely. Young beans need not be stringed, only topped and tailed.

String beans (Lobia, karamani) – Buy the green variety, they are more expensive, but fleshy and delicious. They should be smooth and springy. Avoid seedy beans. The white variety is not so fleshy – mostly skin and seeds.

Cabbage (Pattagobhi, Kos)– See that there are no holes in the outer leaves; otherwise the inside may also be infested with grubs. A cabbage head should be heavy. Can be stored in the fridge as it is as the outer leaves will protect the insides.

Cauliflower (Phool gobhi)– The florets should be densely packed and white. Don’t buy if the florets are yellow, loose or sprouting or if they have blemishes. I have not found the popular practice of soaking in salt water effective in removing grubs in cauliflower. The most effective way I find is to break the cauliflower into florets and hold each under running water, opening it as much as possible for the stream of water to get in and loosen the grubs. Store as it is in the fridge or break into florets and store in an airtight bag or container.

Drumsticks – Drumsticks should be fleshy and springy. Pick up one and twist gently  - it must twist easily and spring back. Over-ripe drumsticks will resist twisting and crack at the joints, esp at the tip. Don’t buy thin, stringy ones either, as they have no flesh, or ones that look dried up. When I was a child, my mother removed the outer skin from the drumsticks by cutting them half way with a knife then pulling it off the main body. Hold the skin that is jutting out and pull away, and cut another piece across the clean side and pull away the skin from the other side. Do this with each piece until the whole drumstick is cut. When I moved to Chennai, I found that most people here don’t remove the skin and the drumstick tastes just as good and is easier to handle while eating, so just do what suits you. Drumsticks are awkward to store because of their length, so cut into 2" pieces and store in an airtight container. As far as possible, cook the same day or the next day for best flavor.

Ladies Finger (Okra, Bhindi, Vendakkai) - Pick medium size ladies fingers that look fresh and green. To check for tenderness, bend the tail end with your thumb - it must snap off. Don't snap ends of all the pieces - just a random few if in doubt. If the tail does not snap but just bends or splits, it is too fibrous and will not cook well. Top and tail and cut as you wish. Some people don't cut off the tail end - it is edible, but I personally like to chop off a tiny bit for aesthetic reasons alone. Ladies fingers release a mucilaginous slime when the cut edges are wet, so wash and dry well before cutting and keep wiping the knife with a piece of absorbent paper whenever necessary. If you are cooking dry bhindi sabzi, don't add salt too soon, or it will release water and get slimy. Add salt when it is half cooked and looks fairly dry. Cook in an open vessel to retain color and avoid excessive moisture. Turn carefully to avoid breaking up the pieces.

I know this is not an exhaustive list, but hope it was helpful. My next Post will be about facts and myths about Fat. Until then, bye!

On Shopping, Food and Nutrition

 

Like I said before, my mother did all the housework herself, so from a young age I was called upon to help whenever needed and wherever the assistance of a 6 – 10 year old was appropriate. This usually happened during summer holidays, when time hung heavy and we needed to be kept out of trouble. In fact, when I was little and bored with my limited play options, I would follow my mother around begging her to let me do what she was doing. I longed to be grown up. 

One day my mother ran out of coriander leaves while cooking and asked me to go across the road to buy a bunch. Having no change, she gave me a Rs.5 note and told me to get 10 paise worth of coriander leaves. I was excited to be entrusted with such a responsible task. “Be careful while crossing the road,” she called after me. Normally, I should have gone down the road in front of our home a short distance, gone out the gate of the campus and then crossed the main road to the line of shops across. I decided to take the short cut.

Clutching the money in my hand, I ran across the road in front of our house, jumped across the ditch, climbed over the campus wall and jumped down, crossed the wide ditch on the other side and then looking left and right as I had been taught, crossed the main road to the vegetable shop. The vendor recognized me as he had seen me with my mother. He gave me what I needed and I ran across home the same way I had come.

My mother had watched my progress from the window and was already annoyed with me. “Where is the change?” she asked when I gave her the bunch. Change?  I looked at her blankly. Switching off the stove and taking me by the hand, she hurried me back to the shop, this time by the proper route. I got a sound lecture on the way about my irresponsible behavior while crossing the road and carelessness with money. The shopkeeper had the change ready. “She ran off before I could give it to her. I would have come to return it, but here you are." (“हम आता होता, पण तुमच आया,” were his exact words in the Hindi-Marathi-Gujarati blend common among the locals.)

That was my first lesson in shopping. After that I began to take more interest and learnt from my mother over the years how to buy vegetables and fruit, how to select good ones, how to compare prices and bargain. She would not tolerate my bringing home sub-standard stuff and would scold me roundly. Later, I learnt how to buy meat and fish and not to unquestioningly accept the vendor’s word as to the item’s freshness.  Today I have domestic help and often I send them to go and buy something. Sometimes they come back with something unsatisfactory and I have to bite my tongue, as I’m not a scolder by nature and the alternative is to go out and get it myself. Whenever I shop, I feel grateful to my mother for teaching me this skill, especially when I watch other shoppers put unsuitable stuff in their baskets. 

My mother was interested in health and would always ensure we ate nutritious food. We were not allowed to fuss or leave anything on our plates. Whether we liked something or not, we had to eat it if it was on our plates. This training has stood me in very good stead. Wherever I have traveled, I have never had trouble with food. I can eat almost anything that is edible and I am willing to try new things. I am an easy guest to please where food is concerned, because there is hardly anything I don’t like. I have watched other Indians during my travels suffer acutely when their preferred diet was not available. Some even carried food from home to tide them over, or bottles of pickle or chilly sauce. But I was always able to find something on the menu to enjoy.

Perhaps because of my early training, I developed an interest in health and nutrition. I’m going to share some of what I have learnt, first from my mother and then from other sources like friends, relations, books, magazines and the Internet. Perhaps some of you may find something of value here. I would also welcome your input and feedback to expand my knowledge, because I’m sure there are many things I don’t know. I will need to do this over multiple posts, as there is so much to convey. Here is where you can help me by asking questions or telling me your areas of interest.

So let’s begin with some general tips:

• It is generally better to buy local fruits and vegetables that are in season. They are likely to be both cheap and fresh, as they don’t have to travel that far to your table. The fresher, the more nutritious.

• Buy vegetables that have a good color and look healthy and attractive. They should be firm and not wilted or dull looking, overripe, under-ripe or damaged in any way.

• Don’t buy fresh and then store too long or carelessly even in the fridge. You lose both nutrition and taste. Keep them in containers or plastic bags in the refrigerator to avoid dehydration. Use within a couple of days.

• Wash your veggies well, but before cutting, not after to ensure minimum loss of nutrients.

• Eat fruits and vegetables of different colors every day. The various pigments contain different kinds of flavinoids, which have antioxidant properties and work to prevent cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Include red, green, yellow, orange and purple on your plate. You have the double advantage of your food looking attractive and appetizing as well as being more nutritious.

• Include plenty of greens – eat them three or four times a week. Eat different kinds of beans and legumes too, both fresh and dried. A high fiber diet keeps your colon healthy and is a guard against colon cancer.

• Ensure variety in your diet. Don’t eat the same old vegetables all the time. If you don’t like a certain vegetable, it is possible that you will like it if it is prepared differently.  Experiment with different recipes. (I never liked ‘lobia’ or ‘karamani’ until I ate it in a friend’s place prepared in an entirely different way. I liked it so much then that I cook it regularly now and always take a second helping.  Many friends have told me they never liked pumpkin until they had it at my house. My pumpkin bharta always gets cleaned out at parties).

• Don’t buy cut vegetables or fruit, however convenient they may seem. Cut surfaces get oxidized and you will be ingesting more free radicals, which are responsible for sickness and disease. Besides, fruits and vegetables begin losing nutrition from the moment they are peeled or cut. Cutting all your vegetables before starting your cooking is a dubious habit if your cut veggies are sitting around too long. Cut as you are cooking or just before eating for best nutrition value. Especially onions should not be cut and kept – they deteriorate very fast. They are also bacteria magnets and are likely to make you ill. Cut only what you need and throw away left over raw onion.

• By the same token, avoid raw salads at restaurants and weddings unless you are assured of them being washed and freshly prepared in a clean environment. Especially if you reach the table late, the salad will have deteriorated in nutrition value and have accumulated a lot of bacteria by the time you eat it. Stick to cooked food at such times.

Enough for now. In my next post I plan to share some more specific tips on selecting and storing vegetables for maximum freshness, nutrition and minimum wastage. Until then, cheers!