Coffee with coconut milk, anyone?

Raviprasad Kamila

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How about using coconut milk to make tea, coffee and shakes? It is a possibility, going by research currently on at the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, Kerala.

“Initial experiments have shown encouraging results. We hope to introduce coconut milk as a substitute for dairy milk,” P. Chowdappa, Director of the institute, told The Hindu .

He said the institute had made vanilla and chocolate shakes with coconut milk. “I have had all, even tea and coffee, and they taste very good,” he said.

He said the new use of coconut milk would help small and marginal farmers, as sale of the raw nuts alone would not be profitable for them. The value addition, part of the institute’s continuing research, would help. Coconut chips, virgin oil, neera and snowball tender coconut had earlier come out of its research pipeline.

Referring to the research in the coconut sector, he said more focus was being given to developing tissue-cultured palms.

Though the institute developed three varieties of palms tolerant to root wilt disease common in Kerala, farmers could not be supplied enough seedlings because fewer mother palms were available. Hence, the focus on tissue-cultured palms.

Food

Idlis done differently

Idlis are open to culinary interpretatio

If Cows Could Speak |
 Kirschner's Korner

kirschnerskorner.wordpress.com

... to the food we eat. The grain should be consumed by hungry children, not us. It takes thousands of gallons of water to produce one pound of our flesh.

loved their veggies

The Neanderthals loved their veggies

Natasha Culzac,TNN | Jun 29, 2014, 07.42 AM IST

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Neanderthals weren't the culinary philistines they'd had us believe, scientists say, as they discover that the extinct human species actually rather quite liked vegetables.

Archaeologists examined 50,000-year-old fossilised faeces taken from a location in Alicante, Spain, amid a longheld notion that their diet of the time was almost entirely made up of meat.

The El Salt site is a Middle Palaeolithic open-air clearing that is thought to have once been the stomping ground of Neanderthals.

After analysing faecal biomarkers in five samples considered to be the oldest poo matter ever discovered, researchers were able to more clearly understand the nutrients that were digested.

They found that while the Neanderthals had a largely carnivorous diet as previously thought, they also had "significant plant intake as shown by the presence of a compound often found in plant sources," archaeologist Ainara Sistiaga said.

The group of researchers comprised of those from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of La Laguna, Spain. "Diet reconstruction remains difficult. Current methods of dietary analysis use isotopes and focus on the role of meat in the diet, which may be overemphasized," Sistiaga added. "This study represents the first approach to Neanderthal diet through the analysis of faecal markers found in archaeological sediment." It was thought that the matter had been deposited on an unlit campfire. The rest of their diet is believed to have been made up from berries, nuts and root vegetables.

"It's important to understand all aspects of why humanity has come to dominate the planet the way it does," said co-author Roger Summons. "A lot of that has to do with improved nutrition over time."  [a lot of Americans are pure non-veggies- call them pre Neanderthal generation?]     










 

Idli Origin-Gujarati origin-Indonesia origin-Karnataka origin

Idli Origin-Gujarati origin-Indonesia origin-Karnataka origin

Simple dish Idly has been in controversy regarding the origin.

Idly in literature
‘iddalige’, first mentioned in a Kannada work Vaddaradhane of Sivakotyacharya in 920 AD. The Sanskrit Manasollasa of 1130 AD has ‘iddarika’. Tamil apparently only first mentions ‘itali’ in the 17th century.

Gujarati origin
Gujarat have IDADA which is steamed dhokla made from same ingredients as Idly.Namely Urad dhaal and Rice which are fermented overnight and next day steamed.Gujarathis claim Idaly is a dish which came to south from Gujarat during 10/12th century AD.when lot of silk weavers from saurashtra came to south via Maharashtra.The dukkia is first mentioned in AD 1068 in Gujurathi Jain literature, and dhokla appears in AD 1520 in the Varanaka Samuchaya. Besan flour is fermented overnight with curd, and steamed in slabs which are then cut into pieces and dressed with fresh coriander leaves, fried mustard seeds and coconut shreds. A coarser version is khaman and both are popular breakfast and snack foods in Gujurat. But we have to note that Gujart was ruled by chalukyas and Rastrakutas for many centuries before that and Idada may be from iddalige. Since we dont find references to that before that.

Indonesia origin
Acharya notes:the use of rice grits along with urad dhal,the long fermentation of the mix, and the steaming of the batter to fluffiness. Only after 1250 AD are there references to what seem to be idlis as we know them. Achaya’s contention is that this absence from the historical record could mean that idlis are an imported concept — perhaps from Indonesia which has a long tradition of fermented products, like tempeh (fermented soy cakes), kecap (from where we get ketchup) or something called kedli, which Achaya says, is like an idli. This is plausible enough given the many links between Southeast Asia and South India, through rulers and traders. Acharyra also adds many legendary stories ,but there is no basis for them.
Heuan tsang says no steaming vessels south india in seventh century.But steaming vessels are not required for steaming dishes , steam can be produced using cloth over the vessel, still this method is used in south India.

Karnataka origin
Vaddaradhane by Shivakoti Acarya ( Rashtrakoota times)of the 10th century names Iddalige ( Idli ), Holige (Poli) and Savige ( Vermicelli). The 12th century encyclopedia Manasollaasa of Somashekhara Ballala III (Kalyani Chalukya) is a veritable treasure house of recipes and cooking styles. Lets not forget that these were empires with catholic tastes and wide trading hinterlands.

Potato took Gujarat route to India

Pramod Panwar,TNN | Mar 2, 2014, 12.33 PM IST

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READ MORE Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University

PALANPUR: Potato fries and chips are surely a hot favourite with the foodies of the country. But very few are aware of the fact that this tuber was first tasted by Gujarat as it entered India through Surat. It was called bateka by Gujaratis, a name that continues even today.

A well-known historian and former dean of law faculty at Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University (HNGU) Mukund Brahmkshatriya said, "It was in beginning of 17th century that Sir Thomas Roe landed at Surat as an ambassador of King James I to the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. When he left for Delhi he obviously left behind the ship that carried potatoes that were distributed among the labourers as it was feared that they would rot." The East India Company established its first warehouses in Surat in 1612.

Brahmkshatriya said, "Potato being a nonperishable tuber usually lasting for long was preferred by the mariners."

"Potato was a South American tuber that had later come to Europe," research director at Krushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University (SDAU) R M Chauhan said.

Today, Gujarat with its famous Deesa potatoes, ranks fifth in the country in potato production. The cultivation began after the British allotted land in Deesa on the banks of river Banas. "Today, Deesa is one of the highest potato growing centres in the state accounting for more than 50 per cent of total production coming from Banaskantha district," scientist Narendra Singh at potato research station in Deesa attached to SDAU said.

"seven out of 10" richest Indians are vegetarian [gujarati-marwadi-and few brahmins from south]

Taj Hotels' Executive Grand Chef Hemant Oberoi smilingly remarked at the 5th anniversary of Wasabi in New Delhi last month that "seven out of 10" richest Indians are vegetarian.

Nor does that average decrease much if the richest 100 are counted. Ambanis and Adanis, Birlas and Ruias, Mittals and Jindals, Bajajs, Dhoots, Piramals, Malvind beyond. So it is not surprising that swish Indian hotel outlets and standalone restaurants are upping the glam and innovation quotient of their vegetarian repertoire to match that of the patrons.

 Equivalence is a must. So if Taj's Varq has its signature 'Varqui crab' it also has a 'Varqui khumb', both between delicate sheets of filo pastry. And the Leela's Megu has a non-veg 'Edomae style' sushi platter as well as a Vegetable 'Zen' one for almost the same 4-figure price. Top restaurants in the west have been serving veggie delights to HNV (high networth vegetarian) Indians for a while now.

In fact, the Michelin 3-starred Waterside Inn near London has built up an enviable repertoire thanks to 'regulars' such as Birlas and Mittals. And its 2014 winter vegetarian menu not only includes a salad with celeriac remoulade for £28.00 but also a Farandole multicolore de legumes de saison or a seasonal veggie main course for a respectably hefty £50.50.

 However, doing upmarket veg for Indians has its unique challenges. Adding zeroes to a meaty entree price tag is easy. Just import something rare for snob value-addition - like bluefin Toro tuna, that can go up to $8,000/kg!

 No HNC (high net worth carnivore) would quibble about forking out moolah for that. But it is impossible to get HNV to pay even 800 for 'beetroot with manchego cream and hazelnuts', as the former Aman hotel in Delhi realised in 2009.
 As one Lutyens Delhi vegetarian (who can probably buy any restaurant if he so wishes) says only half-jokingly, "Just because I eat 'ghaas-phoos' that doesn't mean I will pay a fortune for merely that!"

 A daikon by any other name is still a mooli for our increasingly well-travelled vegetarians and they won't be swayed easily. That's probably why Le Cirque puts Acquerello in the name of its risotto as this Carnaroli rice brand is organic and aged three years in its husks!