All posts by Sumana Rao

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Athirasam sweet for Diwali

Athirasam sweet for Diwali

This year on the occasion of Diwali – Festival of light,  try preparing delicious athirasam at home.  Athirasam also known as kajjaya is a traditional sweet of India. In Southern states of India this sweet is popular. It is made of rice flour and jaggery. It tastes very delicious and popular amongst all age groups.

Ingredients:

  1. Raw Rice – 1.5 cup
  2. Jaggery- 1 cup
  3. Water – 1 cup
  4. Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
  5. Sesame seeds – 1 tsp
  6. Ghee – 1 Tbsp
  7. Oil – For frying

Method:

  1. Soak raw rice for least 2 hours. After 2 hours drain the water and spread soaked rice on paper towel or clean think cloth. Let excess water drain.
  2. Grind rice to powder form with cardamom. Sieve and keep it aside
  3. Powder jaggery and dissolve in water. Filter jaggery to remove impurities.
  4. Boil jaggery to get a soft syrup consistency. To test the consistency, take a cup of water and add little boiled jaggery into it. If you can collect jaggery from water, then it is the desired consistency for athirasam. This is the important step of preparing athirasam.
  5. Add hot jaggery syrup to rice flour mix. Mix both well. There should not be any knots. Cover the athirasam base with paper towel or plate for few hours.
  6. After few hours knead the mix and store in a cool place for a day.
  7. After a day knead the mix again and prepare small lemon size balls.
  8. Apply little oil on banana leaf and flatten the balls using your fingertips.
  9. Apply sesame seeds on both sides of flattened athirasam mix.
  10. Heat oil on medium heat and gently slip the flattened athirasam mix inside hot oil. Fry the athirasam till it turns golden brown color.
  11. Remove athirasam and place on paper towel to remove excess oil.

**Do not use newspaper to remove excess oil as newspaper ink will stick to athirasam and not good for health.

Cool and store athirasam in an airtight container or serve hot athirasam on festival occasion.

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 6, 2018
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Mesothelioma

What is Mesothelioma

November is Mesothelioma awareness month. Mesothelioma is an aggressive, rare form of cancer. It develops in the lining of lungs, heart and abdomen. According a report by CDC (Centers for Disease Control, 2017) 2,400 to 2800 people diagnosed with mesothelioma in the US alone each year.

Who is at higher risk of developing mesothelioma?
People who have worked or exposed to asbestos have higher risk of developing this rare form of cancer. ! Exposure, inhalation or swallowing asbestos fibers. If a person comes in contact with asbestos while working or by other means, it can take 20-50 years to appear! Men are at higher risk of developing mesothelioma. It can affect their abdomen, lungs, heart and testes.
Is there a cure?

As per Mesothelioma experts, the life expectancy of patients who suffer from this cancer, is poor as there is no cure for the disease. Key factors that play role in chance of a patient survival are – cell type, stage of the disease and location of tumor(s). Other factors like patients age, overall health also play crucial role in prognosis.

Types of Mesothelioma:
Pleural Mesothelioma: It is the most common type of mesothelioma and is caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers. Every year nearly 2500 people are diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in US. Asbestos is the definitive cause. After diagnosis and cancer treatments life expectancy of patient can be average 6 to 12 months.
Symptoms: Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma might appear anywhere from 20 to 50 years. Asbestoses fibers will stick to lungs during exposure causing inflammation and scarring overtime. As scarring worsens tumors develop and person will have problem in chest and respiratory system. Pleural effusion or fluid buildup in pleural cavity is one of the most common system. Excess fluid interferes with lung and other neighboring organs functions.
Chest pain, shortness of breath, fluid in lungs, dry cough, weight loss, fever, fatigue and night sweats are some of the symptoms.
X-Ray, CT scans, PET or MRI helps to find potential tumors.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma: It is found in peritoneum membrane of abdomen. It is the second most form of mesothelioma type. This type of mesothelioma is very rare. Survival rate of patients is better due to new treatments like hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.
Cell type, tumor size, stage of cancer, gender and age plays role in survival of patients.
Symptoms: Inhalation and ingestion of asbestos fibers results in lodging of the fibers in peritoneum causing irritation scar tissue. Damaged cells develop tumors.
Abdominal pain, swelling, anorexia and weight loss, fluid in peritoneal cavity, night sweats, blood clotting, fever, intestinal obstruction, inflammatory lesions are some of the symptoms.
Diagnosis is by CT scans, X-rays, blood test (to rule out the other conditions), biopsy.

Pericardial Mesothelioma: Extremely rare form of mesothelioma. Cancer develops in pericardium membrane around the heart. Prognosis of this cancer is extremely poor and in most cases autopsy reveals the cause of death! Each year about 50 people are diagnosis with this type of mesothelioma.

This type sometimes forms secondary tumors in the body. Pericardial mesothelioma has the worst life expectancy and it could be up to 6 months. Very few cases so far reported on this type of cancer. Stage, cell type, age and gender play crucial role in survival. patients who suffer from this experience metastasis or adenocarcinoma.

Symptoms: It takes many years for symptoms to appear. It develops in between two layers of delicate membrane around heart. Researchers are unsure how the asbestos fibers reach the heart membrane. Tumors thickens the membrane and limit the function leading to improper heart functioning.
Chest pain, night sweats, irregular heartbeat, fluid collection, difficulty in breathing, heart murmurs, low BP, heart compression, inflammation of pericardium are symptoms.
Diagnosis of this cancer type is difficult. CT scan, x-rays might help to find pericardial effusion or any visible tumors. Biopsy is correct way to find the disease.

Treatments:
Like other cancer types, mesothelioma treatment depends on stages (1 to 4). For all mesothelioma standard treatments are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiations. Newer treatments are part of research and clinical trials and might be available for patients who does not respond to conventional therapies.
Some patients may show improvement and their life expectancy might improve significantly after receiving the treatments.

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer. If you or your close ones who worked with asbestos or in the close vicinity of asbestos and show above symptoms, then talk to your doctor. Your doctor will recommend you what should be your next step.

References:
https://www.cancer.org
https://www.cancer.gov/types/mesothelioma
https://www.maacenter.org/mesothelioma/

Image credit: Image by oracast from Pixabay  (Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 5, 2018
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Parent child playtime bonding

Playtime helps in parent child bonding

Young children and toddlers look forward to spending time with parents. If you see, these young children prefer playing with parents who make their playtime fun. When asked who your best friend is, many young children will say ‘my dad is my best friend or my mom is my best friend!

Playtime is when child expresses emotion, communicates, bonds, and learns a lot on several topics. Playtime plays a significant role in parent child bonding. Playtime helps in parent child bonding.

Parents might find it hard to engage child during playtime. The problem of keeping them excited and engaged is more challenging during school holidays. How to make playtime more fun for your child and be a best playmate? Here are few suggestions:

  1. Play outside: When you play outside in garden, woods, beach, river side, it creates a memory in child’s mind. They love outside world and want to be with nature. It can be watching butterfly, looking at flowers, hide and seek in garden, building sand castle etc.
  2. Let child chose: Instead of you deciding on what to play, allow your child to decide. Your job is to help them make decision. Ask them what they want they want to do. Let them take charge. By deciding they will start making right decisions and it improves their communication skill.
  3. Give attention: During playtime, it is important to give undivided attention. You have made a commitment and you need to honor it. A child may be young, but child’s mind can grasp and notice everything that is happening around them. If you do not pay attention while playing their enthusiasm of playing will go away. When you give attention, they play with confidence and will learn many more things.
  4. Have your friends’ kids join the play dates: Once a while invite your friends children close to your toddler’s age. Ask your child to share toys. his will teach child fun of sharing. Child will learn social skills and will make friends. Creating such opportunities is the ideal way to bring positive relationship in child’s life.
  5. Include your other family members: Rope in your family members – child’s grandparents, your husband, and any other family members to play in turns. Child will learn to enjoy the company and will be more accustomed to the idea of playing amidst of people.

Being your child’s playmate makes your child’s little world happier. Children will learn invaluable lessons from playtime with parents. The fear of moving around, outdoors and people will go away. It also teaches discipline and importance of physical activity. Parents involvement in early childhood makes significant contribution in a child’s life. Be a good playtime partner and enjoy parenthood!

Image credit: Image by Neil Dodhia from Pixabay

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 1, 2018
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Glyphosate Pulses

Glyphosate contamination in Imported pulses

Glyphosate contamination in pulses ?! Yes, says reports!! Recently glyphosate herbicide traces were found in pulses imported to India. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked imports division to check consignment of pulses for herbicide presence. In order to test the contamination FSSAI  has directed officers to instruct regional laboratories to test glyphosate presence while testing for other contamination parameters. The results have to be shared with FSSAI every 15 days says the order dated October 12th!

According to FSSAI, there is a possibility of higher level of glyphosate residues present in pulses and cause adverse health conditions in consumers.

Looks like a bit of glyphosate is in everyone’s body!

What is glyphosate? Glyphosate is a chemical that kills weeds by blocking an enzyme that takes part in synthesis of amino acids. Glyphosate is manufactured by Monsanto, a US based Company and is a popular selling herbicide element also present in Roundup. It was considered to be safe to use till 2015. Later World Health Organization’s IARC classified glyphosate as possible human carcinogen. There are many reports suggesting glyphosate is responsible for cancer conditions in humans. Recently in California, a gardener who is suffering from cancer won 289.2 million in law suit filed against Monsanto!  Many countries have banned use of roundup.  Traces of glyphosate reported in ground water too.

When ingested in copious quantities glyphosate is considered to be highly toxic for human health. It can affect overall health by harming immune system. It might even disrupt absorption of minerals and vitamin nutrients.

Even though India is the largest producers of pulses, to meet the demand it imports pulses from other countries around the world. In the year 2017, India purchased pulses worth of USD 2696 million!. Countries from where India imports pulses are Australia, Canada, Maymnar, Russia and Ukraine.

Maximum residue limits (MRLs) for glyphosate in pulses not yet specified in Food Safety and Standard Regulation, 2011. For now, labs are advised to follow the MRL for glyphosate as specified in Codex Alimentarius, (a joint committee set by the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization -FAO) standards with regards to import clearance. Codex can upgrade the MRL of glyphosate of pulses from time to time!

The MRL for glyphosate specified for few commodities are:

  • Dry beans up to 2mg/kg
  • Dry lentils 5mg/kg
  • Dry peas 5mg/kg
  • Dry soybean 20mg/kg. Soybean has glyphosate tolerant varieties. This MRL level is higher than MRLs indicated in the draft notification released in India in December 2017.
  • MRL was set at 1 mg/kg, 0.01mg/kg and 0.05 mg/kg for tea, rice, meat and meat products respectively.

“This is a small step in the right direction”- Says Kavitha Kuruganti of Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture. Testing of Indian samples is needed given the amount of illegal use of glyphosate in the country.

In India, glyphosate used as weed killer. Despite its known ill effects farmers are not ready to give up on glyphosate. In fact, the use of glyphosate in India is restricted to tea plantations. It has been reported that farmers are handling it liberally without proper directions. Another reason to use roundup is, wide spread labor problem in Agriculture and farming. Manual weeding is very expensive, and costs go up almost three times.  According to Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage in India this herbicide sale has gone up! Of the dozen formulations available in India, the most popular one is Roundup the sale of which increased by 9%  in 2016-17 as per Monsanto’s annual report.

As consumers we should be aware of the quality of the food and must know where it is coming from. Take maximum precautions to wash pulses, rice and other types of grains before using similar to fruits and vegetables. Washing might take some of the residues that is present on the surface. If you are concerned about health and sources of the food, try going organic. The more we buy organic, demand for organic increases and costs will come down!

 

References:

 

 

 

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:
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Cabbage pakoda

Evening snack Cabbage pakoda

Wondering what to prepare for evening snack? Try cabbage pakoda today! Cabbage is known for its good health benefits and particularly for weight loss. It reduces constipation as it has good amount of fiber. In earlier recipe on cabbage salad we have explained good benefit of cabbage. “Cabbage is one of the fibrous and nutrient rich vegetable. Cabbage can vary in color from green to red and purple, and the leaves can be smooth or crinkled. With less than 20 calories per half cup cooked, it is a vegetable worth making room on your plate for. It is a very good source of manganese, dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin B1, folate and copper. Additionally, it also a good source of  phosphorus, vitamin B2, magnesium, calcium, selenium, iron, pantothenic acid, protein and niacin.

Cabbage helps to relieve constipation. Cabbage consumption in any form is good for health – prepare salad, soup, sambar, curry or pakora using cabbage – not only it tastes good, it has positive effect on the body”

Cabbage pakoda is a good evening snack and good item for parties. Frying cabbage pakoda takes little extra time than regular onion or vegetable pakoda. But it is worth trying.

 Cabbage pakoda

Ingredients:

  1. Finely chopped cabbage – 2 cups
  2. Grated ginger – 1 inch
  3. Cashew – few
  4. Green chilli – chopped 3
  5. Rice flour – 1 Tbsp
  6. Chickpea/besan flour – 2 Tbsp
  7. Salt – as per taste
  8. Chilli powder – little
  9. Cumin – 1 tsp
  10. Asafetida – pinch
  11. Coriander leaves- chopped – ¼ cup
  12. Small rava/ small coarse wheat – 2 Tbsp
  13. Oil – for frying

 Method:

  1. In a large bowl mix besan, rice flour, coarse wheat by addling two Tbsp hot oil
  2. To flor mix add chopped green chillis, cabbage, ginger, chilli powder, asafetida, cilantro, cumin and continue mixing well.
  3. In a frying pan heat oil on medium heat
  4. To hot oil, slowly release a spoonful of cabbage besan mix.
  5. Fry the pakoda -Keep turning pakoda till it cooks & turns golden brown color.
  6. Transfer pakoda to a paper towel to remove excess oil.
  7. Serve hot pakoda with chutney or tomato sauce and hot coffee / tea!
Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: October 31, 2018
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Beauty and Salt

Beauty and salt

Salt has several other benefits apart from adding to get taste in the food.

Salt helps in getting clear skin and healthy look.

See yourself-

  1. Salt scrub – Mix 6 tsp of sea salt with 12 tsp of olive oil or coconut. Apply this lightly on the skin. Gently scrub on the skin in circular motion. Don’t apply near eyes. This is a rejuvenating scrub.
  2. For nails – To half cup warm water, add one tsp of salt and little baking soda. Mix and add one tsp of lemon juice. Dip your fingers in this water for about 10 minutes. Your finger nails will get healthy look.
  3. For rough heel – Add few tsp on salt in warm water. Mix well and soak your feet in this water for 15 minutes. After removing feet from water, scrub the heels to remove dry skin. This also helps in keeping feet healthy.
  4. Honey – salt scrub – Mix salt and honey in 2:4 ratio. Mix well and apply on the skin. Avoid near eyes. Leave for 10 minutes and wash face. This will remove dead skin and also gives a glowing look. Honey and salt have anti-inflammatory properties and soothe skin. With this helps in keeping skin hydrated.
  5. Salt steam – Expose face to salt steam for few minutes every week. This removes any black heads and reduces acne, pimple and skin looks healthy.
  6. Sea salt – Mix a tsp of sea salt in warm water (1/2 glass). Dissolve salt and transfer it to a spray bottle. Mist the salt water on clean skin. Avoid misting on or near eyes. This helps to cleanse pores in the face and balances oil production. Reduces bacterial infection that usually results in acne.
  7. Salt with Aloe vera – Another rejuvenating scrub that exfoliates the skin. Aloe vera is known for its positive effect on the skin. Mix half a cup of salt and Aloe vera juice or gel. To this add a ¼ cup of olive or coconut oil and few drops (5) of lavender essential oil. Mix well and farm a paste. Apply this on skin and scrub gently in circular motion. Take a bath in warm water. Skin will give rejuvenated look with this scrub. Do this at least once a month.
  8. Salt as teeth whitener – Mix salt and baking soda (1:2). Apply water on toothbrush and dampen it. Dip the damp toothbrush in the mixture and brush teeth. If salt feeling is too much in the mouth, apply little toothpaste on the brush and dip in the salt mixture.
  9. Epsom salt bath – To remove the body ache and reduce swelling in feet, have bath in Epsom salt water. Epsom salt contains magnesium that absorbed by the skin will help system to balance the muscle and nerve system. This is a good treatment for the feet and calves if you are getting pain due to wearing high heel shoes.
  10. Creating waves in hair – Mixture of sea salt, coconut oil and water helps in creating that magic hair! Mix 2:2 sea salt and coconut oil and add a cup of water. Transfer the mix into spray bottle. After shower mist on the hair and allow it to dry. After drying you will get that wavy hair look!

Image credit: Photo by Lorena Martínez from Pexels
(Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: October 28, 2018
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Purslane sambar

Delicious Purslane sambar recipe

Purslane known as wild spinach or ground spinach is good for health. It is cultivated for its beautiful flowers and grows wild in farm, roadside and in our gardens. Similar to other leafy vegetables like spinach, amaranth, water cress purslane contains many important vitamins and minerals. Visit today’s grandma’s remedies to see list of health benefits of good old purslane !

If you are keen to include purslane in your diet then there are different ways to use this medicinal herb.

Did you know you can prepare delicious purslane sambar?

Ingredients:

  1. Bunch of purslane – with tender stem and leaves
  2. Grated coconut – half a cup
  3. Red chilli – 6
  4. Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
  5. Chenna daal – 1 tsp
  6. Urad daal – ½ tsp
  7. Black pepper – 5-6
  8. Cumin – ¼ tsp
  9. Toor daal – ½ cup
  10. Curry leaves – few
  11. Asafetida – pinch
  12. Mustard – 1 tsp

 Preparation:

For this recipe you do not need to use tamarind as purslane has bit sour taste. If you want to use tamarind then add very little (1/2 inch) tamarind.

  1. Wash and chop purslane leaves and stem to small pieces
  2. In a cooker, cook toor daal
  3. Dry fry red chillis, chenna daal, urad daal, black pepper, cumin. Let chenna and urad daal turn golden brown. Keep aside for few minutes to cool.
  4. Grind all dry fried contents with grated coconut. Keep it aside.
  5. In a vessel add little oil and on low flame cook chopped purslane
  6. Now add cooked toor daal, grinded contents to cooked purslane. Add ½ cup water to grinder and rinse grinded spice content and transfer to the vessel.
  7. Add desired amount of salt and boil
  8. In a small vessel prepare seasoning – to heated oil add mustard, curry leaves, one red chilli and asafetida.
  9. Transfer seasoning to boiled sambar
  10. Serve hot purslane sambar with rice, chapati or roti.

 

 

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: October 22, 2018
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