Five smart Kitchen edibles for the brain

Science has not yet uncovered any one thing proven to prevent cognitive decline, but diet is one of the easiest change we can make to help keep our brains in good shape. Eating well in your 50s, 60s and beyond can help reduce the damage that causes dementia. Here are some thing you should stock for in your kitchen – they could make all the difference.

QUINOA

This has about twice the protein of rice, and it’s ‘complete’ (meaning it has all the essential amino acids), which is unique among plant foods. It’s extra-high in fibre, and a good source of minerals, includingiron and zinc. The three varieties (white, red and  black) are nutritionally practically the same.

OILS

Walnut, extra virgin olive oil, cold- pressed sesame, flaxseed, macadamia or rice bran oil are just a few that most fitness experts swear by. The ‘good’ fats in these oils are so important for your brain (they reduce inflammation) that it’s worth buying the best you can afford. Have a couple at hand-use premium oils for dressing and cheaper once for cooking.

SPICES

All spices contain antioxidants and many have been shown to also have helpful anti-inflammatory properties, beneficial to the brain. Use cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, coriander and fennel seeds and paprika (whichever you choose, it’s packed with antioxidants).

CANNED FISH

All tinned fish contain the same omega-3fats as fresh products, so having them in the pantry is a good idea.

NUTS

Walnuts are especially high in omega-3fats, but all nits contain protein, antioxidants and an array of super useful, brain-supporting nutrients.

Back to the stone age

29.06.2016 Zero chemicals and a mineral boost. Here’s why you need to give Teflon and stainless steel a miss, and stock up on artisanal kitchenware with these brands

The taste of pappu pulusu (lentils cooked in tamarind juice) that antique collector Y Krishnamurthy’s mother used to make in a ratichippa (stone cooking pot) still lingers on his tongue. In fact, even today, Sunday lunch at his household is incomplete without traditional Andhra dishes prepared in a stone pot that has been in the family for over three generations. “Food cooked in such vessels is enriched with the minerals of the respective stone or metal. This is why many families in the old days used to eat in silver plates,” says Hyderabad-based Murthy, recalling how rice was earlier cooked in brass vessels.

As people grow more aware of the dangers of modern cookware — nickel and chromium leeching from stainless steel pots, BPA in plastics leaking into foods — traditional materials like copper, iron, stone and clay are making a comeback into Indian kitchens. And addressing this growing demand are a range of brands specialicing in heirloom cookware. Like Bengaluru-based Namu Kini’s two-month-old online store, happyhealthyme.com, which has a range of cast iron and khansa (bronze) kitchenware. “There’s a lot that revolves around food in Indian culture, and these metals have a story to tell. Not only do they make your meal look beautiful, they have an Ayurvedic, therapeutic advantage,” says Kini, who switched from non-stick to metal a few years ago, in her effort to get healthy. However, she advises people to check a vessel’s authenticity. “Many online shopping sites sell cast iron kitchenware with Teflon coating, and many aren’t aware of that,” says Kini, whose range, sourced from Tamil Nadu, is in the ₹600 to ₹3,000 range.

Longpi Black Pottery, Manipur

Handcrafted with ground and powdered Serpentine and weathered rocks, it’s a unique craft of potters in the Nungbi Khullen village. All products are ideal to slow cook meat and lentils, and also to store food. 100% biodegradable and microwave-safe, they can be used on the gas stove, firewood too. No machines or electrical supplies are used in the making process. On giskaa.com, in the ₹400 to ₹2,000 range.

Meanwhile. Murthy, who actively blogs on ykantiques.com, shares that he gets numerous e-mails from people who are wary of the carcinogenic properties of plastic and Teflon-coated utensils, and want to set up a traditional kitchen. While he admits that maintaining them might be time-consuming (articles abound on how to season and store such cookware), over time the benefits show.

If you are looking at revisiting these forgotten materials and wondering what and where to pick them up from, this list of stores and brands should help.

Set in stone

The Craft Council of India (CCI) launched a line of handcrafted kalchattis — made with maavu kal (soft stone) — last month, which are increasingly being picked up by the health conscious. “Earlier, there was little demand and diminishing numbers of skilled artisans.

With the popularity of lighter, easier to manufacture cooking utensils like steel and aluminium, the traditional kalchatti got left behind,” says Geeta Ram, Chairperson, CCI, explaining why their efforts to revive the cookware a couple of decades ago did not work. “But today, with everything organic and handmade taking centre stage, these have become popular again. People are tired of factory-produced things and are looking for handmade, exclusive products that have a logical, scientific advantage,” she adds.

Pros: With zero chemicals, these pots are easy to use. They need a single curing process before use. The oven-proof range includes pots, kuzhiappam chetti, dosa kal and salad bowls.

Available at: Kamala store (Egmore), from ₹100 - ₹800. Details: 28191457

Metal advantage

The latest edition to Yaksha, Dhanyam Organic Superstore’s range of artisanal earthenware, is the eeya chombu (tin pot). Hammered into shape from tin sheets by artisans in Kumbakonam, these handmade utensils were used to prepare rasam in traditional South Indian households. Madhusoodhanan K, Director, explains how, over the years, due to the adulteration of tin with lead, many stopped using it. “We have tested it in labs and would like people to start using them again. The eeya chombu is an heirloom vessel; the one we use at home was given to me by my mother, and has been in the family for over 70 years,” he says. He adds that their pre-cured cast iron cookware are fast moving, too, and wooden chopping boards (made from mango and pencil wood) and cooking ladles (neem) are also making a comeback.

Pros: Known to increase haemoglobin, tin enhances flavour and cooks food evenly. Cast iron increases the food’s iron content

Con: Tin has a low melting point, so you need to use it carefully.

Available at: All Dhanyam outlets and on dhanyam.in, between the ₹300 and ₹5,000 range.

Think bronze

Priya Deepak, co-founder of Bengaluru-based The Village Fair, sources and sells metal and earthenware from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. With a range that includes bronze uralis, oven-proof cast iron pans, stone kalchettis, and microwavable clay pots, their aim is to bring back the utensils used by our grandmothers. “In the olden days, payasam was always made in a bronze urali as it retains flavour and is non-toxic. And if you cook in an iron vessel, you are less prone to becoming anaemic,” says Deepak, who believe stone is best used for curries.

Pros: Preserves micro nutrients and prevents acidity.

Available at: The online store, thevillagefair.in, in the ₹650 to ₹2,800 range.

Copper calling

There are many scientifically-proven health benefits of copper, but the pure metal turns acidic if wet — one of the reasons why Pune-based Studio Coppre creates serveware, like platters, tumblers, flasks and mugs. Speaking about how storing water in copper pots kills bacteria, co-founder Sudakshina Banerjee says, “Copper helps maintain healthy skin, and even affects the brain and heart. It also helps heal wounds faster.” Working to revive heritage metal crafts since 2014, the social venture works with artisan clusters in Maharashtra, Konkan and Karnataka. Their certified, lead-free kansa range is popular, too. A mix of tin and copper, kansa does not tarnish with time, and tin is known to improve brain activity. They also have collections in brass and silver.

Describing the making process, Banerjee says the products go through anywhere between 30 to 50 steps (with cutting, sanding, heating, cooling, washing and buffing being just the basics). “Each plate-sized platter needs about 2,500 strokes of the hammer, and this requires years of skilled work,” she shares.

Pros: Improves immunity and aids digestion.

Available at: The coppre.in, from ₹1,000 to ₹8,000.

Rooted in earth

Rekha Ramu, convenor at Farmer and Co., sources an array of earthenware pans, water filters, cookers and soup bowls from artisans across the State. And she swears by their health benefits: nutrient-rich, chemical-free and naturally filtered. “Earthenware calls for slow cooking, and all Indian grains are meant to be cooked this way. It helps retain their nutritive value,” says Ramu, who uses heirloom cast iron pans, and stone and copper pots at home. Wary of plasticware and non-stick utensils, she explains how Teflon coating gradually enters the food being cooked in the vessel, making it carcinogenic.

Pros: Neutralises food’s pH balance and adds nutrients.

Available at: Most organic stores, including Dhanyam. Costs between ₹30 and ₹350.

From the Michelin starred chef’s kitchen

Indian celebrity chef Vikas Khanna’s kitchen is lined with copper utensils, 100-year-old spice boxes, and even an iron kadhai from his grandmother’s wedding. “Ancient India had mastered the art of alloys, and I am happy to see combinations of brass, copper, tin, iron, and carbon making their way back into our kitchens. They represent not just heritage, but scientific research, arts and design and unique shapes,” says the Michelin starred chef whose latest book My First Kitchen, a beginner’s guide to cooking and setting up the kitchen.

Vikas, who has made over 69 trips to India for the culinary museum he is setting up in Manipal, says he’s found the most interesting utensils from Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Puducherry, Goa, and Andhra. “Actually my list is endless! The North East and Kolkata have the most sophisticated tribal works. There’s so much to explore.”

Ajinomoto India factory.

Andha Japan companies-ah…ipdi ponga (Head this way to reach the Japanese companies),” says a guard. He might as well have said just ‘Japan’. For, OneHub Chennai – a sprawling 400-acre project – is practically a Japanese enclave, housing companies such as Hitachi, Takasago and Ajinomoto.

“The main challenge before us is to dispel common misconceptions by giving facts to the general public,” says Mishuku.

monosodium glutamate (MSG) Enjoy the fried rice at the small Chinese restaurant down the road? Its flavours have probably been rounded and amplified by Ajinomoto’s MSG.

eco stove

24.05.2017 praktidesign.com

These eco stoves are  made at our Chennai and Puducherry factories. They are tested for emissions and durability at our Puducherry lab. We don’t want users to change their cooking style, so our designers work with women to understand what they cook and how they cook. We’ve employed a full-time ‘testing’ cook from a nearby village, who test our stoves each day. If our stove doesn’t work well, we don’t have lunch, and we have an upset cook!

What’s new about Prakti Ray?

It’s the latest in our single burner wood stove design series and much lighter than our other variants. With Ray, we made a significant improvement in usability, allowing fuel and smoke reduction. While most stoves have small doors, our models have larger outlets. To be priced at ₹999, it will be the cheapest in the market and we are aiming for a pre-Diwali release.

How do you work out the pricing?

While social enterprises are an excellent way to create a sustainable, scalable impact, the support and funding available is inadequate. We are competing against the traditional chullah, which costs nothing. So we source material and staff locally and buy in bulk, which helps reduce overall pricing by over 30%. The single burner stoves are priced at ₹1,499 and our institutional ones at ₹4,500. But they are subsidised for rural markets and prices go as low as ₹800 (for a bulk order).

Your work towards promoting healthy cooking in rural households is popular.

Our products are aimed at the poor, but we treat them as any other paying customer. Creating innovative methods to interact with them are important, and our online Prakti Cooking Show is one such tool. Our focus is on promoting healthy, local ingredients and we bring in foreigners who speak Tamil to teach villagers how they can tweak international recipes with locally-available produce. For instance, a video of our French colleague from Auroville cooking a Thai green curry, was a big hit. They have also learnt how to cook their own version of the banana flambée using jaggery and ghee.

Common method of cooking rice can leave traces of arsenic in food

Millions of people are put ting themselves at risk by cooking rice incorrectly , scientists have warned.

Recent experiments showed that the common method of cooking rice -boiling it in a pan until the water has steamed out -could expose those who eat it to traces of the poison arsenic, which contaminates rice while it grows as a result of industrial toxins and pesticides.

The chemical has been linked to health problems, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer, as well as development problems.While it is generally believed traces of arsenic are expelled when rice is cooked, it has now been claimed this only takes place when the rice is soaked overnight.

Andy Meharg, professor of biological sciences at Queens University Belfast, tested three ways of cooking rice to see whether it altered the levels of arsenic.In the first method, Meharg used a ratio of two parts water to one part rice, where the water was “steamed out“ during cooking.He found this left most of the arsenic present.

By contrast, when he used five parts water to one part rice and washed excess water off, levels of arsenic were almost halved. In the third method, in which the rice was soaked overnight, levels of the toxin were reduced by 80%.

The safest method of cooking rice is therefore to soak it overnight, then wash and rinse it until the water is clear, before draining it well and boiling in a saucepan, with a ratio of five parts water to one part rice. According to research, around 58% of rice-based products in the UK contain high levels of arsenic.