Power Foods:

Curry Leaves Curry:

Karivepilai Kuzhambu. Karivepagu Pulusu. Kari-Patha ka Salan.

To Boost Iron:

Few weeks ago….I went to donate blood. They rejected my blood….as it had very low platelets count. Generally Haemoglobin counts should be around 12%….but I had just 7. I felt very bad on the other day. We all think we’re so healthy. Sometimes eating healthy diet and regular exercise….is just not enough to meet our daily vitamin and mineral requirements. Its usually an excuse for us to skip breakfast/ fresh foods when we are in a hurry.

My friends advised me to take iron and multi-vitamin tablets. I am not big fan of these supplements. Supplements need to be prescribed. If we take without prescription….sometimes over dosage will cause more harm. Moreover vitamin supplements are not drugs…..so I thought of boosting the system with better diet.

Most of the vitamins lie on the skin/very close to the skin of the vegetables, fruits and nuts. Since they are bound into tough fibrous material, they stay for a long time in the food track(stomach, intestine & colon). Where they can neutralize free radicals. Whereas supplements may be digested too quickly.

Well…..now in each post I would be highlighting how to procure, clean, chop and cook to retain maximum vitamins and minerals. Today I chose Iron rich curry recipe to go with rice.

Tips:

As you’ll know greens are rich in iron and fibre and especially curry leaves. So I chose dark and mature leaves today. Do not use dried or powdered form curry leaves. As all the essential oil in them would have dried up.

Use an iron wok Limited iron from the skillet will leach into the food. Don’t worry it wont give any metallic taste to your food.

Use citric juices in cooking. As they act as coupling agent with iron-rich foods. Acid increases the iron absorption.

Generally iron present in veggies(non-heme)are made available to the body on combination with vitamin – c. (So vitamin c makes it bio-available.)

Choose lemons, tomatoes or tamarind based preparation to maximize iron rich food.

However, the absorption of both inorganic and heme iron is impaired by calcium…a cup of milk with your meal significantly reduces availability.

Ingredients:

Curry Leaves – Mature Leaves 1 bunch
Cricket ball size tamarind or 1 spoon of thick tamarind paste
Red onion 1 large finely chopped
Garlic 1 large peeled and semi crushed
Tomato 1 large chopped
Jaggery or brown sugar 1 spoon
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/2 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Rice powder 1 spoon
Sesame oil 1 cup
Mustard seeds 1 spoon
Cumin seeds 1 spoon
Fenugreek seeds 1/2 spoon
Chana dal 1/2 spoon
Urad dal 1/2 spoon
Asafoetida 1/2 spoon
Dry red chilies 3-5.

Method:

In a cast-iron wok, heat oil. Stir-in curry leaves. Stir-fry for a brief period. Then wet-grind using limited water. Set aside.

In the smae pan, add few spoons of oil. Add garlic, fry till its raw smell goes off. Further add onions, fry till they turn to golden brown color. Now add tomatoes, fry them till they loose their water content.

Now add salt, turmeric, chili powder, sugar/jaggery and rice powder. Mix them together.

Then add tamarind paste and 2 cups of water. Bring this to boiling stage. Later add wet-ground curry leaves paste. Continue cooking over medium heat.

When gravy thickens and oil shows up on sides, remove from heat.

In a separate pan, heat oil. Add mustard, cumin, asafoetida, fenugreek, chana dal, urad dal and dry red chilies. Let them pop and splutter well. Run this seasoning over the gravy.

Serve to go with plain steamed rice. Run a spoon full of ghee over it…..just before serving.