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| Vegetables |
| Thursday, December 02, 2010 |
Note: After I wrote it, I realized I am just way too jobless to write such a boring post. :--) I just got done with a small deadline and felt too overworked, needed some respite. I just wrote for myself, feel free to give it a skip, my few priced readers.
Its been about two years since I started cooking regularly. It does help when parents visit and show how things are done. So when parents visited in '08, thats the first time DH and I as a family hosted our parents for the first time. Nope I didnt have the usual, Mom coming to help set up the house right after the wedding.
I kept a load of frozen stuff for weekdays, while DH was not around and fresh veggies for weekends. Quick cooking would be done on weekdays, like beans poriyal or capsicum/potato curry, or eggplant potato curry, or spinach dhal. Sambhars and kootus were reserved for the weekend.
Then we moved together under one roof late '09. I couldnt do away with frozen veggies, for I had cook something that would last a minimum of 4 servings. 2 for dinner, 2 for lunch. So, I started adding lentils with every vegetable. Friend R openned my eyes to the world of fast cooking. Tadka, put the vegetable and dhal in the cooker and wait for whistle. Pheeeeeeeeeeee! All done! This can be used for chappathis or rice. And lasts for more than 4 servings thanks to the lentils. At the same time I discovered kootus, which are no different from these one pot concoctions. Cabbage kootu was my first. A dash of coconut took it to a whole new level of taste. Thats when I discovered the secret of coconut too. DH's Mom used to use coconut in almost everything, being more a Keralite. But the thought of cholestrol made me stay away from it.
Then we moved again and joined AID. Enjoyed going to farmer's market. Since DH offered to cut all the veggies for me and since we were done with all the crazy travel finally and were settling down in the new home, all assortment of veggies were made in the SK household. From being in a household where cooking was done with few vegetables, like, potato, okra, beans, capsicum, spinach we graduated to making all kinds of vegetables - beetroot, radish, drumsticks, kovakkai, avarakkai, string beans, snake gourd, sorakkai, chayote, ridge gourd, eggplant, cabbage, carrots, hmmm and many more.
There was a time when I ate potato every other day. Now thankfully we stayed away from it unless every other veggie is over, or if suddenly there is a craving for potato.
Around the same late '09 I started making all kinds of lentils as well. From buying a packet once on impluse and then finding the packet hidden under many other such packets years later, only to throw it away, I actually started making lentils every week. I learnt all the different types of Lentils. Green moong dhal, Masoor dhal, Moth Dhal, Black Eyes Beans, Black Channa. Easy to make, and healthy. Can go with rice or chappathi.
I take a lot of veggies. I prefer stuffing myself with veggies than empty calories of rice or roti. A sampler would be, DH would use the amount of veggies I would take for one chappathi, with two chappathis. I never thought I would say this, but I love veggies! I think its more because I know subconsciously its good for health and I can have how much ever I want.
In my opinion a meal of idli/chutney or upma/sugar is not healthy. Even rasam sadham I would say is not healthy. What is the point of making sambhar with no veggies in them? Where are the veggies? I would eat any of the veggies with idli/dosa/upma. Even sambhar, if its too watery adds no nutritious value to the diet.
Not too long ago I used to not give too much importance to food. But lately I have come to realize, nothing can come close to home made food. Its fresh, its healthy, and its yummy. Recently I made eggplant curry. Yumm, yumm. Eggplant with some ground spices with a dash of tamarind, makes the veggie out of the world. I devoured it with thayir sadham and I was giggling and jumping like a little girl to DH, who does not favor eggplant as much. Incidentally I also looked up on the internet the nutrient information and was thrilled to see it contained soo many vitamins and minerals.
Indian cooking especially in restaurants sometimes spoil the goodness of the veggies by adding too much oil and coconut and cashew or cooking it soooo much that the goodness is lost. But at home you decide what you want to put in. On a normal day, you make them without too much fanfare and those are the items that turn out to be healthy.
On a side note very few vegetables contain fat in them, one of them being chayote, namma chow chow. Some vegetables have too much sodium like spinach. Sometimes its so apparent, especially in the Cafe at work, I cannot down it.
Too bad veggies dont fill your stomach else I would only eat veggies.
My dad visited Germany when I was very young. He came back a changed man and said Foreigners eat 50%rice and 50%vegetables and thats how we should eat too. It has somehow stayed with me. I think Indians generally fill their plates with rice and keep vegetables on the side, thottukka literally. But I dont like them that way. I also like the 50-50 policy of eating as much vegetables as rice or any other form of carb.
Now the reason I am reminded of all this is, DH packed lunch yesterday. He keeps a lot of rice, and very little vegetable. When I pack lunch I keep little rice and a lot of vegetables. I have been throwing bits of wisdom on nutrition here and there and he has really changed, even started eating vegetables he hates. But he is still not there 100% with me. DH if you are reading this, you know what I expect. ;--) |
posted by SK @ 6:22 PM  |
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| 6 Comments: |
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I could have written this post :-). My parents (dad especially) are total veggie-lovers and both sis and me have been trained to eat more veggies than carbs since childhood. Till today, when I visit someone, they are amazed that I eat so little rice (not that this has had amazing effects on my weight) and I am equally amazed when hotels here give enough rice with my one saapadu to feed me, sis, mom and dad!
Just so you know, I enjoyed reading the post :-).
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GO Veggies !! I swear by them! I was never fond of Veg as a child, but love them now.
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:) my mom was too firm on the balanced meal concept - a dal for protein and veggies with curd at the end.
which ofcourse I carried ovr, and if ad whne i cook it will always have to be one dal item(sambar/ dal with veg/ kootu) and another veg. item. I hardly make raasam for the same reason.
Rice as such was lesser @ home and I made it even less now
ps: http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Vegetables/Chayote.html - this one says chayote has no fat!
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Oh...this is soo true of me. My parents used to despair of sending me to relatives or friends houses, because I eat more veggies than rice or chapati. But we loved it that way - my father was a total fruit/veggie junkie and am glad I am that way. Just wish I can get my daughter to try it :( The spoilt brat does not touch veggies or fruits, unless it is in kootu form :((
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Arch,
They do stuff you with rice no. I like rice portions in Thai/Chinese places, just enough.
Glad you enjoyed the post :--))
Shoba, Same pinch. :--)
Sachita,
good good. :--)
Chayote , i checked a couple of websites - http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2401/2
Saumya,
hahaha!! Kids love koottu no? Not sure why. Dont worry she will learn when she grows up. :--)
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hey gals try sometimes hamour biriyani, shee kabab.. chicken tikka.. prawn masala... hammous with kuboos... u gals may change your opinion... try sometimes with outdoor camping with barbecue... wow..... dats the life...
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I could have written this post :-). My parents (dad especially) are total veggie-lovers and both sis and me have been trained to eat more veggies than carbs since childhood. Till today, when I visit someone, they are amazed that I eat so little rice (not that this has had amazing effects on my weight) and I am equally amazed when hotels here give enough rice with my one saapadu to feed me, sis, mom and dad!
Just so you know, I enjoyed reading the post :-).