Sale of junk foods near schools could soon be a thing of the past

With an eye on the health of school going children, the food safety regulator FSSAI is contemplating restrictions on the sale of junk food items in and around schools. The junk food would include noodles, chips, carbonated drinks and confectionery items.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 18 October 2015.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has worked out some draft guidelines on availability of wholesome and nutritious food in schools to counter the desire of junk food consumption pattern among children.
FSSAI has said that schools should not be taken as a place to promote foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS foods). The eating outlets in the schools should not be treated as commercial outlets and schools should develop a canteen policy for providing nutritious, wholesome and healthy foods.
Schools should ensure that the sale of widely promoted and advertised junk food is restricted in schools and nearby areas of 50 meters.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Indian influence on the West from Yoga to turmeric

It is usually accepted that Indians love to ape the West in not just dress and lifestyles but even in food habits – proof is the growing popularity of fast food joints and the craze for burgers and pizzas and fizzy drinks.
However, things appear to be changing and the West is gradually switching to Indian lifestyles like going in for yoga. Yoga is just one of many home remedies for health that the West has taken a liking to and have adopted as a part of their daily routines.

Use of turmeric in food is another area on interest. Turmeric is a staple spice in every Indian households and is an integral part of the food chain because this spice is loaded with anti-inflammatory properties. Realizing this important aspect, the West have embraced it and it has become extremely popular in the West.
The ginger s yet another item gaining popularity. Tea is the popular drink of the British. And, we Indians have added herbs and spices to it. Ginger tea is one of the most popular drinks in the west because it is considered to be a great source of detox. It also helps to fight cough and cold.
Read more at this link. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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No more cold drinks or junk food for Amarnath Yatra

Supreme Court of India had ruled in 2012 that there should no sale of cold drinks or junk food to pilgrims who are going for the Amarnath Yatra to ensure that health of the pilgrims is taken care of. Hence, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board has decided that from this year onwards, the ban would be strictly enforced. This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 26 June 2015.

Following the Supreme Court's concern over the large number of pilgrim deaths in 2012, an expert committee had explained that shortage of oxygen supply on the route to the cave results in difficulties in digesting stuff like fast foods and cold drinks – that leads to breathing problems and health problems. The SASB has also asked the larger organizers not to distribute fried food items and cold drinks since they are also not good for the health in low oxygen conditions. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Winter and fast foods like green peas kachuri are inseparable

Winter arrives with an abundance of vegetables and most versatile among them are the farm fresh green peas – not the refrigerated ones that are available all throughout the year in shopping malls but lack the twang of the fresh ones. Research has revealed that the health benefits of green peas are many.
Anyway, green peas in Bengal are held in high esteem by all fast food lovers because expert cooks can transform these into tasty morsels and would have a tough time to avoid the continuous pestering by its lovers for more and more.
The transformation of green peas into kadai shutir kachuri is usually in one of two methods – in the first one, the peas are not mashed totally but left half smashed. In the second variety, the peas are mashed into a paste.
The green peas are fist shelled and then boiled. Depending on which variety is chosen, the boiled peas are either half mashed or made into a paste in a food processor – tiny slices of ginger and green chilies are added along with with sauf (fennel seeds) during the grinding operation, salt is added for taste.
This mixture is then slightly fried with garam masala powder and is ready for the next stage namely stuffing the mixture in the dough made of flour and converting them into flat, round chapati shaped ready-to-fry objects. The diameter should be approximately three inches and the kachuris are ready for frying.
For frying, add sufficient oil in the pan, heat id to boil and immerse the kachuris so that they sink to the bottom and again swell and rise. Turn them over till they acquire a brownish tinge remove from the pan. Place on a sieve to drain away any excess oil and the kachuri is ready to serve. Mustard sauce (kasundi) goes well with this preparation.
The other variety is with half mashed peas – in this case, the filling is made with ingredients as above. Only, the dough is made into balls and the half mashed peas are stuffed into the balls which are then deep fried in oil or ghee. These used to be a brand of Dwarik Ghosh of Shyambazar – the heavenly smell of the ghee would attract the customers from afar and, the quantities on offer would finish too quickly. Customers would have to return disappointed at times.
Incidentally, a ready-made variety of green peas kachuri has entered the market – it is a powder, supposedly of green peas with spices included, that is mixed with the dough, rolled into puri-like roundals, deep fried and served.

Fast food culture of India: the East-West divide

India is a land of diverse cultures and equally diverse eating habits, hence it is but natural that the same is reflected in the fast food culture – while there is a predominant North-South divide, there is also an East-West one.
When one broaches the subject of fast food, one normally visualizes pizzas, hamburgers and coke because fast food is supposed to be a Western concept, an indication of a fast lifestyle. But, it would be of interest to know that fast foods were known to Bengalis as far back as the fifties – there used to be a tele-bhaja shop near Beadon Street where one had to stand in queue to wait his turn of the deliciously hot, crisp tele-bhaja made of thin slices of brinjal or potatoes dipped in a batter of besan.
The people in the queue would be from six to sixty years of age, men and women alike. It was rumored that the oil used to fry these delicacies was never changed – when the level became low, some more oil was just added to top up the level! The special taste of these tele-bhajas was attributable to this singular factor – that is what people say!! This is not to belittle the moghlai parathas and kaviraji cutlets which used to hold center stage in the times when people still patronized the cinemas.
Then there are the singaras and the jilipis specific to the Bengalis.
In other parts of the country, singaras are better known as samosas and jilipis as jilebis. The only difference is that in the Bengali culture, both these items are normally found in the breakfast menu and are seldom prepared after nine in the morning! The reason is not very far to discover – the fast food menu of Bengalis revolve around the umpteen plus one roadside stalls set up at nearly every street corner. A very practical method of tackling mass scale unemployment, each stall owner manages to break even and earn a reasonable amount of profit.
Nowadays, they have entered the roll market – it allows money to roll freely. There are various types of rolls like egg roll, chicken roll, mutton roll along with Chinese dishes like noodles and chili chicken. Variety is the spice of life, so the saying goes, and the Bengalis have mastered the art of serving innumerable types of fast foods. With hundreds and thousands of hungry mouths to feed, they seldom face a shortage of customers. Irrespective of whether it is a sultry summer evening or a wet monsoonish one, fast food is always in demand. The ingredients used in all such preparations, when mixed in the correct proportion and fried, emit such an out-of-the-world aroma that you would literally stop in your tracks to taste the final product. Our TV chefs would give millions to learn these secrets!!
In the Western part of India, to the Mumbai crowd, fast foods mean bhel-puri at the Juhu sea beach or pav-bhaji or misal-pau or wada-pau or sabudana wada – pau is a common factor. This pau is a form of bread – shaped like a bun, it is not sweet and is an integral part of these fast foods. And - there is no dearth of customers. One needs to remember that chilies are an important ingredient.

Indians love American pizzas – the most popular fast food

The world of today is fast paced and one can get connected to chat with anyone thousands of miles away at the click of the mouse. Advances in modern day technology have eliminated distances and, likewise, have given rise to a new trend in food – namely, fast foods.
There are any number of TV channels like TLC, Khana Khazana and Food-Food that showcase the wide varsity of fast foods on offer all around the world and one can sit for hours in front of the screen as his mind wanders off to America or Turkey or Australia to observe their fast foods and food habits.
Incidentally, several fast food giants like KFC, McDonalds, and Dominos of America have already arrived in India and some more like Burger King, the world's second larger hamburger chain, has already stepped in while Wendy’s is waiting at the doorstep – these are also of American origin.
Moreover, TV programs on food and cooking are very popular and these are available in every channel – language is no barrier because it is all about innumerable combinations of well-known items that abound in the kitchen. The attraction is, basically, in the packaging as the contestants do in MasterChef who have to think out of the box to come up with novel ideas.
A favorite question that used to be put to would be brides of yore in Bengal was aimed at trying to ascertain the extent of creativeness the girl was endowed with.
The question would usually be a simple one – ‘suppose some elderly relatives suddenly descended upon you and plan to stay over for the night, what would you serve for dinner?’
It has to be remembered that the scene is a remote village where bullock carts are the only means of transport, where kerosene lanterns provide the only source of light after sunset, where shops are absent hence, getting something off the shelf is also absent and where no one would venture out in the darkness to pluck vegetables from the field or throw a net in the pond to land some fish!
The girl had to, perforce, rely only on what was physically available in the kitchen at that moment and, naturally, her options were extremely limited. In some cases, the girl would be told what ingredients were to be used, in other cases, the choice would be left to her. If she was able to conjure up some good recipes and managed to obtain pass marks, she would be assured of favorable placement in her new house – after marriage.
In order to pass such examinations, these girls were taught how to make umpteen plus one preparations out of a simple vegetable like potato. It can be fried. It can be boiled, mashed and converted into quite a number of mouthwatering dishes. Small freshly removed potatoes can be boiled and cooked with green peas to present a fantastic dish called ‘aloor dum’.
Girls today do not have to face such critical examinations and undergo humiliation because they usually choose their life partners themselves –thanks to coeducation, interaction at workplaces apart from friendships at social networking websites.
However, in case such a situation does arise, the questions asked of them would probably be like – ‘do you know where pizzas originated from?’ or ‘how many brands of pizzas have you tasted? Which is your favorite?’ or ‘how many pizza outlets are there in your locality?’