Friday 7 August 2015

MINT PUNCH BROWN BASMATI RICE WITH POMEGRANATE ARILS - HAPPY BEATS SERIES





Friends do you know if you love your HEART your heart loves you 10 folds back. How? We all know from our school Biology lessons that the HEART pumps blood throughout the body via the circulatory system and in this process supplies oxygen and vital nutrients to the tissues, removing carbon dioxide and other wastes. Wow that was a refresher to again reiterate the function of the HEART which is again a reminder to all of us to aid the HEART in its all important function rather than decreasing the efficiency of the HEART by pulling down its efficiency by harbouring an unhealthy lifestyle.



Today's pointer or take away is for a HEALTHY HAPPY HEART MAINTAIN NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE. I think all of us are familiar with this term BLOOD PRESSURE. Just a quick refresher about BLOOD PRESSURE. BLOOD PRESSURE is the force that your blood exerts on the walls of your arteries. Arteries are the blood vessels in the heart that carry Oxygen Rich Blood away from the heart to enrich your entire body. If your unhealthy life style results in cholesterol laden plaque depositing on the walls of your arteries, then over a period of time this cholesterol laden plaque build up leads to a narrowed artery. 

Friends just imagine a garden hose. If you with your hands squeeze a section of the garden hose, what happens. The water flow from the nozzle of the garden hose becomes less and there is a huge pressure build up just below the section that your hands are squeezing the water hose. Similarly a narrowed artery is just like you squeezing a section on the garden hose with your hand. As a result of a narrowed artery pressure builds up making your HEART to work very hard which is definitely not good for YOUR HEART.

Our aim should always be to aid our HEART in its functions and avoid doing anything that will make it any difficult for an already continuously working heart. MAINTAINING A NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE IS THEREBY SO SO VERY IMPORTANT IN FACILITATING OUR HEART IN ITS NON-STOP WORKING, APPRECIATING OUR HEART AND SHOWING SOME LOVE FOR OUR HEART. 


If you want to know whether your Blood Pressure is normal consult your physician today. This is the first step you take in loving your HEART a little more. Knowing your blood pressure and keeping it normal is so so important for your HEART'S HEALTH AND HAPPINESS. Our doctor had given us a few pointers which would help us maintaining a normal blood pressure. I am sharing with the one on which the doctor laid the maximum emphasis.

LESS INTAKE OF SALT GOES A LONG WAY IN KEEPING OUR BLOOD PRESSURE NORMAL. My doctor told me firstly to immediately stop serving salt on the side of our plate during our meals. This practice is prevalent in many Indian homes to serve salt along with rice, curries etc. on the side of your plate. The second thing was to REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF SALT IN MY COOKING. Friends according to the doctor we were advised to monitor that our salt intake should not increase to more than 1 tsp a day through the food we ate. Food here would mean home cooked food, store bought food, drinks etc. Remember friends there are many desserts which do use pinches of salt too. They even count in our intake of salt. It is therefore totally in our hands, who cook food for their family how we can keep the salt intake of our dear ones under control by keeping a close tab on the salt we use for cooking.

Most Recipes do not mention the amount of salt to be used in it leaving it for our discretion by mentioning Salt To Taste. So it is totally in our hands how we keep our salt intake at bay and in turn keep our Blood Pressure normal. Friends what I have understood is LESS SALT = NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE =HEALTHY HEART WITH HAPPY BEATS.


The dish that I am sharing with you today us a very simple and utterly flavoursome rice dish which can me made in less than 15 minutes with left over rice. The oil used again is 1 Tsp. This MINT PUNCH BROWN BASMATI RICE WITH POMEGRANATE ARILS has everything in it going great for a HEALTHY HAPPY HEART. 

Brown Rice is very good for your HEART HEALTH. I am quoting this article published on MAYO CLINIC. ORG " WHOLE GRAINS SUCH AS BROWN RICE ARE GOOD SOURCES OF FIBER AND OTHER NUTRIENTS THAT PLAY A ROLE IN REGULATING BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART HEALTH." Please do read the whole article which will guide you to make healthy substitutions from refined grain products that you use in your day to day cooking.

Fresh Mint leaves like all green herbs and vegetables supply a wide array of vitamins, minerals and photo chemicals that will nourish the cells of your heart resulting in a HEALTHY HAPPY HEART.

Pomegranate as our nutritionist told us contains a compound called Punicalagin which is the main component responsible for Pomegranate's antioxidant properties and in turn heart health benefits.

Friends I keep on repeating HEALTHY HAPPY HEART many times in capital highlighted letters throughout my write up so that you will take our own step towards your HEALTHY HAPPY HEART which I have set out to achieve through my HAPPY BEATS SERIES.

MINT PUNCH BROWN BASMATI RICE WITH POMEGRANATE ARILS RECIPE : 


SERVES - 4
CUISINE - INDIAN
TYPE - RICE DISH
TIME - 15 MINUTES WITH LEFT OVER RICE OR 30 MINUTES IF YOU HAVE TO COOK THE RICE

INGREDIENTS : 

1) 250 Gms  Brown Basmati Rice or Brown Rice or 500 Gms of cooked left over rice
2) Crunchy Mint Paste
3) Juice of 1 Lemon
4) 3 Tbsp of Pomegranate Arils
5) 1Tsp Oil
6) Salt to taste

FOR THE CRUNCHY MINT PASTE :

1) 1 Cup ( 20 Gms approximately) of Fresh Mint Leaves
2) 8 cloves of Garlic
3) 1/2 Inch of Ginger
4) 1 Tsp Coriander seeds
5) 1/2 Tsp of Cumin seeds
6) 2 Green Chillies
7) 2 Tbsp Roasted Peanuts

THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT:

1) Prepare the crunchy mint paste by grinding all the ingredients under the heading FOR THE CRUNCHY MINT PASTE, except the groundnuts into a fine paste. Once done add in the roasted groundnuts into the grinder and whizz just once. The mint paste is ready.
TIP: After adding the roasted groundnut just whizz the grinder once as we want the groundnut to remain chunky and not become fine. This will ensure a nutty bite to the rice.


2) In a non-stick wok add 1 tsp oil and add the mint paste. Season well with salt. Saute for two minutes. Add 2-3 Tbsp of water and remove from the flame.

3) Add the cooked rice. Mix well. Add the lemon juice followed by the pomegranate arils. Mix everything well and check the seasoning again and add salt if required. 

SERVE HOT WITH RAITA OR ANY CURRY


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MINT PUNCH BROWN BASMATI RICE WITH POMEGRANATE ARILS RECIPE : 


SERVES - 4
CUISINE - INDIAN
TYPE - RICE DISH
TIME - 15 MINUTES WITH LEFT OVER RICE OR 30 MINUTES IF YOU HAVE TO COOK THE RICE

INGREDIENTS : 

1) 250 Gms  Brown Basmati Rice or Brown Rice or 500 Gms of cooked left over rice
2) Crunchy Mint Paste
3) Juice of 1 Lemon
4) 3 Tbsp of Pomegranate Arils
5) 1Tsp Oil
6) Salt to taste

FOR THE CRUNCHY MINT PASTE :

1) 1 Cup ( 20 Gms approximately) of Fresh Mint Leaves
2) 8 cloves of Garlic
3) 1/2 Inch of Ginger
4) 1 Tsp Coriander seeds
5) 1/2 Tsp of Cumin seeds
6) 2 Green Chillies
7) 2 Tbsp Roasted Peanuts

THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT:

1) Prepare the crunchy mint paste by grinding all the ingredients under the heading FOR THE CRUNCHY MINT PASTE, except the groundnuts into a fine paste. Once done add in the roasted groundnuts into the grinder and whizz just once. The mint paste is ready.
TIP: After adding the roasted groundnut just whizz the grinder once as we want the groundnut to remain chunky and not become fine. This will ensure a nutty bite to the rice.

2) In a non-stick wok add 1 tsp oil and add the mint paste. Season well with salt. Saute for two minutes. Add 2-3 Tbsp of water and remove from the flame.

3) Add the cooked rice. Mix well. Add the lemon juice followed by the pomegranate arils. Mix everything well and check the seasoning again and add salt if required. 

SERVE HOT WITH RAITA OR ANY CURRY
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Disclaimer : The HAPPY BEAT Series is a result of my own experiences in my journey towards a healthier heart through food and also things learnt on the way from different certified sources and qualified professionals. It should therefore be noted that I have no expertise, neither am I qualified to advise anyone on health related issues. Please consult your doctor or nutritionist before incorporating any lifestyle changes.


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