TIP OF THE WEEK

Dried fruits:

Dried fruits and vegetables like raisins, prunes and sun-dried tomatoes, retain almost all of their nutrients. Since they weigh less, the nutrient content is actually concentrated.

MEEN KUZHAMBU(FISH CURRY)

Meen kuzhambu (Fish curry)

Ingredients:

Fish – 1 whole (Cut in to thin slices) (Or) Small fishes 8 to 10 Pieces

Onion – 1

Tomato – 1

Cumin – ½ tsp

Peppercorns – 10

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Garlic – 5

Oil – 4 tsp

Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Tamarind – 1 lemon size

Chili powder – 3 tsp

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Cumin – ½ tsp

Methi – 1 tsp (Fenu Greek)

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Make paste:

½ Onion, tomato, garlic, peppercorns, cumin, and turmeric, make a fine paste.

Method:

1. Heat a big pan and add oil. Then add all the ingredients for the seasoning.

2. Let it splatter, and then add the onion Sauté for 2 mins.

3. Now add the paste and ½ cup of water and let it boil for 15 mins.

4. Extract the tamarind juice and filter it add the chili powder and set aside for 10 mins.

5. After the 15 mins add the tamarind mixture.

6. Let it boil and make it to a gravy consistency.

7. Now add the fish and cover with a lid and boil it exactly for 5 mins and turn the heat off.

8. Serve hot with rice.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Healthy tips :

Maintain a healthy weight. The weight that's right for you depends on many factors including your sex, height, age and heredity.

Excess body fat increases your chances for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some types of cancer and other illnesses.

But being too thin can increase your risk for osteoporosis, menstrual irregularities and other health problems.

If you're constantly losing and regaining weight, a registered dietitian can help you develop sensible eating habits for successful weight management. Regular exercise is also important to maintaining a healthy weight.

MINT CHUTNEY

Mint chutney(Thovayal)

Ingredients:

Mint - 1 cup

Coriander – ½ cup

Coconut – 2 tbsps

Salt – to taste

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Asafoedita(hing) – a pinch

Red chilies – 4

Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

1. Heat a pan, add oil and add all the other seasoning ingredients.

2. Let that splatter.

3. Now add mint, coriander and coconut.

4. Sauté for 5 mins and let it cool.

5. Grind well, and add salt mix well.

6. Serve with idli,dosai,vadai,bonda,pakoda etc.,

TAMARIND CHUTNEY

Tamarind chutney

Ingredients:

Tamarind – 1 lemon size (Soaked)

Coconut – 1 cup (Shredded)

Red chilies – 6

Mustard seeds – 2 tsps

Urad dal – 2 tsps

Salt – to taste

Oil – ½ tbp

Method:

1. Heat a little pan add oil, mustard seeds, and urad dal. Let it splatter.

2. Leave it to cool.

3. In a blender add the soaked tamarind, shredded coconut, salt and add the seasoning mixture and grind well.

4. Serve with idli and dosai

TIP OF THE WEEK

Healthy tips:

Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Surveys show most of them don't eat enough of these foods. Do you eat 6-11 servings from the bread, rice, cereal and pasta group, 3 of which should be whole grains? Do you eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables? If you don't enjoy some of these at first, give them another chance. Look through cookbooks for tasty ways to prepare unfamiliar foods.

NEWS FOR THE MONTH

Apricot:

History:

The Apricot is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation, but most likely in northern and western China and Central Asia, possibly also Korea and Japan.

It is a small tree, 8–12 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The leaves are ovate, 5–9 cm long and 4–8 cm wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip and a finely serrated margin. The flowers are 2–4.5 cm diameter, with five white to pinkish petals; they are produced singly or in pairs in early spring before the leaves. The fruit is a drupe similar to a small peach, 1.5–2.5 cm diameter (larger in some modern cultivars), from yellow to orange, often tinged red on the side most exposed to the sun; its surface is usually pubescent. The single seed is enclosed in a hard stony shell, often called a "stone", with a grainy, smooth texture except for three ridges running down one side.

Apricot cultivars:

The Apricot was first cultivated in India in about 3000 BC. In Armenia it was known from ancient times, having been brought along the Silk Road; it has been cultivated there so long it is often thought to be native there. Its introduction to Greece is attributed to Alexander the Great, and the Roman General Lucullus (106-57 B.C.E.) also exported some trees, cherry, white heart cherry and apricot from Armenia to Europe. Subsequent sources were often much confused over the origin of the species. Loudon (1838) believed it had a wide native range including Armenia, Caucasus, the Himalaya, China and Japan. Today the cultivars have spread to all parts of the globe with climates that support it.

More recently, English settlers brought the apricot to the English colonies in the New World. Most of modern American production of apricots comes from the seedlings carried to the west coast by Spanish missionaries. Almost all U.S. production is in California, with some in Washington and Utah.
Many apricots are also cultivated in Australia, particularly South Australia where they are commonly grown in the region known as the Riverland and in a small town called Mypolonga in the Lower Murray region of the state. In states other than South Australia apricots are still grown, particularly in Tasmania and western Victoria and southwest New South Wales, but they are less common than in South Australia.

Medicinal and non-food uses :
Cyanogenic glycosides (found in most stone fruit seeds, bark, and leaves) are found in high concentration in apricot seeds. Laetrile, a purported alternative treatment for cancer, is extracted from apricot seeds. As early as the year 502, apricot seeds were used to treat tumors, and in the 17th century apricot oil was used in England against tumors and ulcers. However, in 1980 the National Cancer Institute in the USA described laetrile to be an ineffective cancer treatment.

In Europe, apricots were long considered an aphrodisiac, and were used in this context in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and as an inducer of childbirth, as depicted in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi.

Due to their high fiber to volume ratio, dried apricots are sometimes used to relieve constipation or induce diarrhea. Effects can be felt after eating as few as three.
Research shows that of any food, apricots possess the highest levels and widest variety of carotenoids. Carotenoids are antioxidants that help prevent heart disease, reduce "bad cholesterol" levels, and protect against cancer. In traditional Chinese medicine, apricots are considered helpful in regenerating body fluids, detoxifying, and quenching thirst.

Some claim that the kernels also have healthy properties, including toning the respiratory system and alleviating a cough. However, the tip of the apricot holds a concentrated amount of the chemical laetrile, which can be upsetting to the system. The tips of the seeds should be removed and consumption should be limited to no more than five a day.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Healthy tips:

Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all.

Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods.

How much you should eat depends on your calorie needs. Use the food guide pyramid and the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels as handy references.