Monsoons are incomplete without the company of roasted corn, popularly known as bhutta.  Whatever way you decide to have corn—steamed, sautéed, roasted, flaked, popped or in soups–this much is for sure that they are going to tantalize taste buds and deliver nutritional punch too. An important food plant that is native to America, corn is thought to have originated in either Mexico or Central America. Read ahead to know more about this once upon a time wild grass—teosinite’s metamorphosis in the coveted corn of today. Trivia  Farmers grow corn on every continent except Antarctica.  One bushel of corn will sweeten more than 400 cans of Coca-Cola.  There are about 800

There is more to summer than muggy afternoons and parched throats. Summer offers unique bounty of fruits, like—mangoes, melons, litchis and watermelons. True to its name watermelon has an extremely high water content, approximately 92%, giving its flesh a crumbly and subtly crunchy texture and making it a favourite thirst-quenching fruit. In the capital during the months of summer you can see giant green melons sitting pretty on the sidewalks, perched one on the top of another in neat rows. As a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, the watermelon is related to the cantaloupe, squash and pumpkin, other plants that also grow on vines on the ground. History–Originating in Africa,

This time of the year gourd family, bottled, ribbed and ridged, dominates the vegetable market. To make matters worse, they are extremely high on nutritional quotient and guilt gnaws you each time you avert their stare while looking for more options. Capsicum—the curvaceous, crunchy veggie not only rescues us from the gourd fare but also adds fire, zest and colour to your culinary skills. Besides the well-known, green-coloured capsicum, there are other kinds too, in richer hues, like—yellow and red. Latino link Like other relatives of the chilly family, capsicum originated in South America with seeds of a wild variety dating back to 5000BC. It was Christopher Columbus who discovered

 Cantaloupe–a fruit with a fascinating name, refreshingly rich flavour and aroma is a dieter’s delight and an antioxidant powerhouse. The fruit derives its name from the ltalian papal village of Cantalup, where it was first cultivated around 1700 A.D. It belongs to the same family as the cucumber, squash, pumpkin and gourd, and like many of its relatives, grows on the ground on a trailing vine. What’s in a name? Cantaloupes are also referred to as a netted melon because it has a rib less rind with a distinctive netted skin. Inside of the melon there is a hollow cavity that contains seeds encased in a web of netting. Cantaloupe is also known as rock melon and muskmelon in

Sink your teeth in a pear and the taste of soft buttery flesh with somewhat grainy texture overwhelms your palate. Pears are one of the oldest cultivated and beloved fruits. Greek poet Homer lauds pears as “gift of the gods.” Pears are members of the rose family and related to the apple and the quince. Pears generally have a large round bottom that tapers towards the top. Depending upon the variety, their paper-thin skins can either be yellow, green, brown, red or a combination of two or more of these colors. Like apples, pears have a core that features several seeds. Nutritional profile    Pears are an excellent source of fibre. An average pear provides 6 grams, which amounts to

Creamy, rich and sweet banana, wrapped in biodegradable wrapper from nature, banana is a huge favourite with adults and children. Whoever termed banana as common man’s fruit was ignorant of the nutritional advantages of it? Though banana doesn’t have proverbs indicating its virtues like apples, but who cares as long as there is a whole country named after you—Banana Republic. And, then the fruit itself is an epitome in multitasking that can help you rein in high blood pressure, nudge bowels, build bones and soothe hyperacidity and improve eye sight all at the same time. Impressed! Well, looks can be deceptive and this is the case with banana. • Banana is a good source of

Guava doesn’t have the glamour of strawberry, warmly appealing looks of orange or have health books singing praises like apples; yet, this common man’s fruit is packed with nutrients. It gives you more value for money and more nutrition as compared to other fruits. Find it hard to believe then read on— 100 grams of guava gives you more than twice potassium as compared to apples, four times more vitamin C than oranges for the same amount and yet, it is not considered a super star fruit. Strange, isn’t it? Why should you munch on guava? 1. Eat guava for hassle free mornings. Fibre content in guava is well-known to nudge your bowels and even chronic constipation yields way to

  You must have heard people exclaim which vegetables they should cook in summer. The excuse normally given is that there are limited options which include bland gourds of almost all conceivable kinds with  a welcome respite offered by lady fingers. This is not true. Summer has its share of vegetables which are just apt for the hot weather. Summer greens Lauki. Lauki the big daddy of all summer vegetables is nutritious and versatile. It is known for it’s cooling properties. The cooked vegetable is nutritious, healing and easy to digest. It is excellent for low -cal diets and for small children, people with digestive disorders and for diabetics. It has properties that are valued in

As the winter months of November and December have drawn in India, one can see mounds of plump carrots in vegetable markets, eye catching in all their orange glory amidst the green. Carrots do not  come only in rich orange color, but they grow in a host of other colors too– white, yellow, red, or purple, the latter being the color of the original variety. It has a thick, fleshy, deeply coloured root, which grows underground, and feathery green leaves that emerge above ground. The name carrot is ‘Celtic’, which means ‘red in color.’ Scientifically it is known as ‘Daucus Carota’ that signifies its pungent and stimulating qualities. The favorite food of Bugs Bunny hardly

When it comes to veggies, they are of two kinds—ones’ that we eat and make martyrs of ourselves; then there is other kind, which we look forward to eat. Mushroom definitely belongs to the second group. The Egyptian folklore says that this delectable fungus was reserved only for royal mouths. After all, there is something magical about them. N for nutrition Without additional ingredients, a serving –5 medium sized mushrooms has only about 20 calories, no cholesterol and virtually no fat and sodium. Now, this is the stuff with which health foods are made of. Mushrooms, white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) are an unexpected source of three B vitamins–riboflavin, niacin and