Critical Review for the Book Titled "Zaika-Kashmiri Pandit Cuisine"

I was searching for some good books on Kashmir cuisine. At this time, I came across the book on Kashmiri Hindu Cuisine titled “Zaika-Kashmiri Pandit Cuisine”. I wanted to purchase the book online. However, it was a futile attempt for me. The name of the author for this book is Sonya Atal Sapru. Somehow I got her contact information and placed a call to her. I told her about my interests in Kashmiri Cuisine and my attempts to get a hold of her book. In a very polite manner, she added on to me that she has one copy of the book and she may like to gift it to me. Nothing could prevent me now other than reaching to her place, meeting her and get the copy of the book. Finally she gifted me the book with her blessings. It took me nearly five years to write the review of her book (I was lazy enough). I read it six times till date.

The book is not very thick one. The total number of pages is 70. It was published in the year of 1999. it was published by harper Collins, India. The ISBN is 81-7223-341-8. The cost of the book is Rs.195. The cover page is a photograph with two frames combined together-one with the photograph of Kashmiri Puloa and fennel seeds and second one is the photograph of a typical Kashmiri Pandit lady wearing a saree with full blouse, typical Kashmiri Jewellery with the characteristic long chained jhumkas and handmade fan in her hands. The back side of the book is the awesome photograph of the author with her child in her lap. The author claims the authenticity of the genuineness of the recipes shared in the book. She thanked her mother-in-law -Smt.Gita Sapru- for her help and guidance.

The book has been divided into six sections and they are the following:

a. How to plan a Kashmiri Meal (original contribution)? There are in total four ways in which the menu can be set for the day.

b. Kashmiri Garam masala (separately discussed in the entire book)

c. 16 Non-vegetarian recipes

d. 12 Vegetarian recipes

e. 5 Dals and 4 Rice dishes

f. 2 Chutneys,2 Raitas and 4 Desserts

The excellent points in the book are:

1. There is good number of rare and unique family photographs exhibited in the book. These are old and black-white in color showing the period during which they were clicked and shared with not only the future family members; however, with each and every reader of the book. They are rich in showcasing the culture of the Kashmiri Pandit families. The author states “portrait of an ancestor and found in an old chest of photographs”.

2. The author has taken time to mention total number of servings, preparation time and cooking time for each and every recipe in the book.

3. She has explained every recipe in simple English language.

4. The manner in which she acknowledges to her family members for their contribution towards the publishing of the book.

5. The best recipes are: mutton cooked in milk with green almonds, liver cooked in sour curd (khatti kaleji), meat cooked in plums (stuffed passande dum), mutton cooked in coriander powder (dhania ka shufta), jackfruit kababs (kathal kababs), fried pieces of lotus stem (nadru ki kurkuri), colacassia cooked in curds (khatti arvi), sour lentils (khatti arhar dal), mixed vegetable biryani (sarvari), baria, kishmish raita, and meethe chawal.

The weak points of the book are:

1. Very few recipes have been shared and presented in the book.

2. Festive recipes are missing in the book.

On the whole, the book is small and with few pages. It exhibits the recipes and their contributors. The book is a mixture of recipes and culture of Kashmiri Pandits shown via the rich and detailed photographs from the author’s family.

Source by Ramani Swarna

Healthy Cooking: The Connection Between Healthy Food and Cookware

Believe it or not there is a strong connection between cooking healthy food and the cookware you’re using. Depending on the pot the food cooked in it turns our either depleted– lacking in nutrients and toxic or nutritionally dense and 100% non-toxic.

Let’s see how the cooking pot makes the difference:

The Effect on Nutrients

The nutritional value of food is derived from the ingredients you are using, but if you make a mistake in choosing the wrong cookware, you can lose most of the essential proteins, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and other nutrients. They are delicate and when cooked with the harsh heat from metal and ceramic pots they are destroyed in this process. This loss of nutrients causes food to turn out less tasty and while additional seasoning can help improve the taste, what would you do to make up for the lost nutrients? Continue reading “Healthy Cooking: The Connection Between Healthy Food and Cookware”

Best 4 Scholarships for Indian Students to Study Abroad

In India, many students dream of studying in top international universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Caltech and MIT. Due to financial constraints, however, many young minds are denied the opportunity. This is the reason why many governments and international bodies have come together to introduce low-interest student loans and scholarships ensure that talented students are not denied the chance of quality education due to lack of funds. Here are 5 scholarships you can apply for, if you too are planning for higher studies in countries such as the United Kingdom, Europe, China, Canada and the United States.

1. Fulbright-Nehru Fellowships Continue reading “Best 4 Scholarships for Indian Students to Study Abroad”

Meeting Wayan From Elizabeth Gilbert’s "Eat, Pray, Love"

The book Eat, Pray, Love, topped the New York Times best seller list for a year. Author Elizabeth Gilbert writes about her quest to ‘find herself’ after a devastating divorce. She spends four months in Italy eating fabulous food, four months in India meditating in an ashram and four months in Bali finding love and contentment. I read Eat, Pray, Love just before my trip to Bali.

Wayan was my favorite character in the book. She’s the proprietor of a small healing shop and restaurant in the city of Ubud. Elizabeth Gilbert is riding her bicycle in Ubud and falls injuring her knee. She goes to the shop for some ointment to heal her wound and ends up making friends with Wayan and her cute, irrepressible daughter, Tutti. Wayan has left an abusive husband and is having difficulty surviving on her own, since in Balinese culture divorce carries such a strong stigma. Wayan is often forced to move her business from one rental site to another and so has trouble holding onto enough established clients to be financially successful. Elizabeth Gilbert puts out an appeal to American friends to donate money to buy Wayan her own shop. It doesn’t take Gilbert long to collect $18,000. Before she leaves Bali, Gilbert sees Wayan established in a mortgage free two-storey building. Continue reading “Meeting Wayan From Elizabeth Gilbert’s "Eat, Pray, Love"”

Hey Honey, Be Careful What You Eat

Over the years, I’ve always put honey in my diet – I consider it a super food in fact. I have a few special recipes I use that include honey. Word has it that if you have allergies and you eat the local honey at the beginning of the season, you will become immune from the local pollen which affects those allergies. This is well known and it works very well.

Not long ago, an acquaintance sent me some information from a viral email about the Honey we eat; “Does Honey Contain Botulism? Honey may contain botulism spores which can lead to botulism poisoning. There are some areas in the US where the possible contamination of honey with botulism spores is higher due to the soil. Soil contains botulism spores/bacteria and the flora that bees use to feed on grows in that soil. Honey is mostly consumed in raw form and is typically not pasteurized, sterilized or radiated. Even pasteurized honey can contain botulism spores and shouldn’t be given to children under the age of 12 months.” Continue reading “Hey Honey, Be Careful What You Eat”

Everybody Poops – What Your Poop May Be Trying to Tell You

I have to admit up front, this is going to be the crappiest article I’ve ever written.

You see, as I was walking my dogs Marty and Rosie the other day, it occurred to me that poop plays a huge role in my life. I’m not afraid to admit it. I pick up after my dogs every day, I scoop my cat’s litter box every day (OK, not EVERY day, but it certainly feels that way), and I talk with my clients about their bowel movements. In fact, while I was in India this past summer, poop was actually the number one topic of conversation between my colleagues and me, as we compared notes on who had diarrhea and who was still healthy. I even remained on “poop watch,” for several weeks after my return to the States, making sure that everything was OK (and thankfully, it was!)

So, if you are a pet owner, parent, health care professional, or world traveler, you probably know what I mean! Continue reading “Everybody Poops – What Your Poop May Be Trying to Tell You”

Do We Want Genetically Modified Food?

I have been to several conferences and meetings this week where there has been a discussion on genetically modified (GM) foods. With the current food shortages and rising food prices there has been a focus on whether we in Europe in order to improve yields and efficiency should grow GM crops. Whenever I try to have a balanced discussion on GM foods, I find it almost impossible and because I am a food scientist people often ask me questions such as:

What is genetically modified food?

How do we know if we have eaten it, or meat from an animal that has eaten it?

Should food be labeled so that we can make the choice if we want to eat it or not? Continue reading “Do We Want Genetically Modified Food?”

How an Experienced Lic Agent Can Help You to Get the Right Insurance Plan

Introduction

Life Insurance Corporation is a part of Indian life right now. An LIC agent will offer life insurance in all forms. They have you covered right from when you start earning to the day you get ready to invest in a car or a house to the day you get married to the day your child is born to the day you retire and ultimately die.

LIC becomes a part of your life in a number of ways. It is helpful in a number of ways and the two prime reasons are security and savings which have been merged to create the concept of Secure Savings. It becomes very important if you have a family and they might need money after your demise for their survival.

Continue reading “How an Experienced Lic Agent Can Help You to Get the Right Insurance Plan”

Antoine’s Recipe A Culinary ‘Scoop’ – Steak Robespierre

It’s a shame the gourmet’s of the world don’t unite to present an annual award to the Best Restaurant Of The Year.

I felt this shortcoming rather acutely some weeks ago when some of us gourmets – hearty eaters always refer to themselves as gourmets – were sitting around drooling on our bosoms.

The favorite indoor sport of those who enjoy good food is recalling Memorable Meals at famous eateries.

I opined that Antoine’s of New Orleans has to be ranked with the leaders because of its Steak Robespierre.

“Steak what?” demanded my incredulous companions, as learned eaters are wont to do. “Who ever heard of that dish? You’re putting us on.” Continue reading “Antoine’s Recipe A Culinary ‘Scoop’ – Steak Robespierre”

Incredible India and Pushkar Journal

We arrive to the land of 1000 languages and 1000 gods. At the Intercontinental, the women in my group are welcomed with marigolds and branded with the typical red dot on our foreheads. This hotel is an oasis of luxury in a polluted city of 14 million people.

Two days are spent touring Delhi. The obligatory sites include Gandhi’s Tomb and many UNESCO World Heritage Sites. No where else have ancient traditions blended with the modern on a scale so evident as in Delhi. Fat sacred Brahma bulls block traffic creating delays. In this Hindu land, cows rule. Dogs, monkeys and children cross at their own risk.

I love spiced food and begin each day with a 3 alarm-curry breakfast. We head by coach for Rajasthan, the beautiful desert state where cows are replaced by camels. The air is sweeter and everything more colorful. Here is a microcosm of all that India is.

The people are genteel with a humility if spirit and still light up at the sight of foreigners. We continually wave through our windows to those who stare with curiosity and seem to say, “why have you come here?” As a fan of the third world, this place has been on my dream list for years. I now vividly enter that element of travel that provides me astonishment. Continue reading “Incredible India and Pushkar Journal”