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Art of eating
SMITHA SADANANDAN
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Kadaleevanam, a joint near Chettikulangara in the city, is turning into a major haunt of foodies,who are sparing a few thoughts to their health.
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WHILE EATING, how often has your mind been pre-occupied with thoughts other than those about food? And how long has it been since you actually relished your food?
Perhaps it's time you quit worrying about work and concentrated on the menu in front of you. For a change, you could try something different from the usual fare served in hotels. Try the `Rajakiya Prakriti Bhojan' or the `Vishishta Prakriti Bhojan' served at `Kadaleevanam', a joint in the city that promotes healthy eating.
`Kadaleevanam' is the outcome of Dr. M. K. Jayadevan's desire to motivate people to eat healthy food. The lunch here is priced at Rs. 50 and Rs. 30. Its speciality is that it has over 10 items to feast on, and the strict vegetarian menu has nuts, fruits, juices, soups and so on! Dinner comprises chappati with curry and kanji (rice gruel), while breakfast has tender coconut water, raisin juice etc.
"Food should have certain qualities: poshakam (nutrition), gandham (smell), ruchi (taste) etc. There are certain food combinations that can harm your digestive system and lead to ill-health", says Jayadevan, a practitioner of alternative medicine, who runs the Jeevodayam Prakriti Bhojanashala and a heath treatment centre. The food is served according to the poshana shastra vidhi. Easily digestible food is consumed first and the `difficult-to-digest' ones are taken later. `Venna', according to him, is easily digested, unlike `ghee'. He does not recommend the combination of cow's milk and vermicelli; maida is not good for health either.
So here goes the list -- fruits such as mangoes and bananas are to be eaten with a tangy-flavoured chutney made of ginger, chilli, coconut and curry leaves. Then follows the `date shake' that has coconut milk in it. The next is `nuts milk' with honey followed by haritha buttermilk. This buttermilk, which has karuga juice, vazhapindi juice, koovapodi (arrowroot) mixed with curd, ginger and chilli is considered to be good for the digestive system.
The vegetable soup is made without peeling the skin of most vegetables to retain the vitamins and minerals. Stalks of chilli are also added to the soup, which is filtered and then mixed with coconut milk. Rice soup is a concoction of salt, jeera (cumin), rice starch and coconut milk.
Then comes thavidu mix. Wait! Don't jump to the wrong conclusion; it tastes good. Vegetable salad has a mixture of vegetables and curd. Rice is to be first eaten with prakriti cream and then with sambar, erishery or pulinkari. Side-dishes or thorans are also served. The meal is rounded off with payasam. The best part is the honey that's served.
"While having food, chew well and do not gobble. All the vegetable dishes should not be mixed together. They should be eaten one after the other. Eating is an art," points out Jayadevan. There's a sumptuous sadya that's on the cards for Onam, with three payasams. So here's to healthy eating!
Photos: A. J. Joji
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