[www.keralites.net] Super foods found in Indian kitchens!

 

Super foods found in Indian kitchens!   Jyothi Prabhakar         Veggies and other food items from our backyards, are basking in the superfood limelight these days Long before the West discovered the `super-ness' of turmeric powder, moringa, millets and gheeclarified butter, we were eating them morning, noon and night. Unlike cuisines of other parts of the world, ours is a very wellresearched menu that includes every superfood available. Plus, local produce is the best fit for the temperament of the locals. And while an entire generation gave up eating idli and ghee-podi, and reached out for multi-grain bread because the west said that was the breakfast food, here's news, the West have re-discovered our cuisine for us. Here's a list of our backyard superfoods that we always complained we were bored of eating, but are now being lapped up abroad... RAGI This one is making a blazing comeback in India, as it is across the world. A US study said this millet has the potential of a `super cereal', and opined that "the world's attitude towards ragi (finger millet) must be reversed. Of all major cereals, this crop is one of the most nutritious." Well, our grandparents knew this way before, which is why they'd cajole the entire family to eat ragi dosai for the 4pm snack. Research shows that this crop came to India about 4,000 years ago, and it has been found in the Harappan civilization excavations as well. URAD DAL The possible reason that south Indians are considered brainy could be because of all the vigna mungo in their idli, dosai and vadai on a daily basis. That's urad dal for you -a pulse we've been growing here for some 2,000 years now.When fermented, urad dal releases essential fatty acids or EFA -a nutrient essential for the growth of the human brain.While the west is still researching the myriad benefits of this `new' superfood, we can enjoy guilt-free idlis... MORINGA This one is all set to knock of the celebrated kale right off its superfood pedestal.But did we know, even as we chewed it in sambar, and made dosai out of its leaves, that the fruit, leaves, flowers, bark... just about everything of the drumstick tree is used world over for pharmacological purposes? That even though it was grown only in India and North Africa, this newly discovered `miracle tree' is now being cultivated in many parts of the world. Or that, for the last many years, the WHO has been using the moringa plant to counter malnutrition and hunger in third-world countries? GHEE In his book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, Jonny Bowden has said, "Ghee contains butyric acid, a fatty acid that has antiviral and anti-cancer properties and that raises the level of anti-viral chemical interferon in the body ." Well, let's tell you, ghee was discovered as part of the Ayurvedic healing tradition in 6500BC. The reason why our elders always added one spoonful of ghee to rice? It was not to enhance flavour, but to cut the diabetic properties of rice with the linoleic acid and EFA present in ghee. JACKFRUIT The humble jackfruit is well on its way to superfood-dom, enticing the swish set of NY and LA with its taste and its `slimming' properties. A 2015 Washington State University study said that mice fed a diet containing 0.1 per cent resveratrol (in jackfruits) were able to convert their excess white body fat into metabolism-boosting beige fat.And a New York-based food writer and columnist has said this about the jackfruit's taste, "The flavour falls somewhere between a pineapple and a banana with hints of mango; the texture, depending on the ripeness of the fruit, can be mildly chewy like a soft gummy bear or as juicy as a succulent scallop." TAMARIND The McCormick Flavor Forecast for 2016 puts tamarind right on top with other Asian flavours fast gaining popularity world over. But US researchers have also discovered that this fruit, almost ubiquitous to Indian cooking, is packed to the gills with stuff that's good for the health.We, of course, knew it ages ago...right when we added it in our rasams and our fish curries. Recent studies have proved that apart from cutting fat, and keeping our liver and urinary tract in order, tamarind can offset the effects caused by regular ingestion of fluoride. AMLA Indian gooseberry is right up there with blueberries and gang, when it comes to the superfoods category . Though a late discovery , the amla is slowly winning the race, what with researches discovering its magical properties by the day . The total antioxidant content of more than 3,100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide, published in the Nutrition Journal (The Antioxidant Food Table, Carlsen, et al., 2010), lists the Indian gooseberry with an antioxidant score of 261.53 millimoles (mmol)100g. Compare this with the antioxidant score of 9.24 for blueberries! AMARANTHUS Exotic to the rest of the world, Amaranthus states a published US research can feed the world's hungry ."Amaranth, a little-known crop of the Americas... offers important promise for feeding the world's hungry" states the research, adding that this plant is one of the world's 36 most promising crops.Reason enough to eat this? TURMERIC And last but not the least, the most celebrated `new' superfood -turmeric. We've used this spice for thousands of years as part of Siddha medicine, and know it cures everything from skin ailments to flu. Ever since this colourful spice was zeroed in upon online food Trends report as the `breakout star' ingredient of 2016, the world's been on a turmeric overdrive. From turmeric latte, to turmeric tea, to turmeric flavoured oils, a famous brand has even launched a turmeric based face mask now. RED BANANAS We all probably totally ignore them on the supermarket stalls, and reach out for exotic fruits. But wait... Red bananas are fast gaining the superfood status, for, apart from keeping many ailments at bay , it has been discovered to aid in getting rid of substance abuse. It's been observed to help in coping with the nicotine withdrawal symptoms. So if you're thinking of quitting smoking, reach for these.

 

 

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