The Art of Putting Life in to Vegetables

The Art of Putting Life in to Vegetables:-

Banana flowers are delicacies and favorites among some South Indian communities. But each floret inside needs deft handling to remove the stiff stamen. Another favorite in the South is the banana stem or pith. The fibre in it has to be carefully removed while cutting it. Another example is jack fruit with baby.

Most tubers like yam, tapioca, withstand longer cooking and more water and could even be cooked in pressure cookers. Under-cooking could also turn these dishes itchy. Visual appeal is as important to food as it is to any other aspect of life. Taking care not to over-cook or burn the vegetables goes a long way in preserving the color of vegetables like carrots, cauliflowers, beans intact. Copper-bottomed kadais that have flooded the market these days, take care of this problem.

Beauty aids from our own kitchen-shelf like turmeric powder, coriander leaves, coconut scrapings enhance the look and flavour of vegetables. Some vegetables like bananas and potatoes have to be immersed in water to avoid discolouration and blackening as they are cut.

Some vegetables need expertise in cutting and chopping them. If the unwanted parts and portions are not removed properly, they could spoil the dishes in which they are used. While even the very thick stems of a variety of greens available in Karnataka cook soft and tasty along with the leaves, the stalks of palak have to be carefully removed and only the leaves used in preparations, for best results.

Seeds whose membranes have to be removed while cutting and chopping. The phrase kabab me haddi gets justified if one has to chew on the unwanted part of a vegetable.

Repeated mishandling of vegetables could create a dislike for the vegetables among family members.

BUYING THEM

One has to be careful about vegetables not only in the kitchen but in the market too. Bottle gourds could be bitter; hence taste a bit of it before going in for them. Potatoes grown near or in sugarcane fields could be too sweet for curries. Contrary to popular belief, small, green tomatoes are more sour than bigger, ripe ones and must be used sparingly if the dish is not to be too sour.

A vegetable might rate low on the preference list of a family due to a lack of recipes resulting in too frequent presentation of it in the same monotonous way. Getting recipes from friends, magazines, etc solves the problem in more than one way because the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and next door — Aunt’s recipes could click with your family even if it uses the despised vegetable in it!

Vegetables are gifts of nature. A good intake of vegetables is said to be helpful in preventing heart diseases and certain types of cancers. Most of them are not taboo even for patients and those on diets unlike carbohydrates and fats.

Cooking them in the right way and presenting them attractively is necessary, not only in the interest of planning the menu but in the interest of the family’s health too.