The food that we eat must not only be palatable, it should also be nutritious. Neither can be sacrificed at the cost of the other. The nutritive value of foods can be enhanced at low cost by using certain pre-cooking procedures.
Here are some of them:
Soaking: Anti-nutrients in pulses and dals prevent the absorption of nutrients and the unavailable sugars are not digested in the human small intestine due to lack of enzymes necessary for their digestion. They are digested by the micro-flora in the large intestine resulting in the production of gas and flatulence after eating pulses. Soaking of pulses helps to remove these anti-nutritional factors, hence whole pulses need to be soaked for atleast six hours, while dals for one to two hours. The water used for soaking, should be discarded and fresh water should be used while boiling them.
Certain vegetables such as tender bamboo shoots contain taxiphyllin, a cyanogenic glycoside which is toxic. This compound needs be removed before using bamboo shoots in cooking, hence after peeling and chopping, bamboo shoots must be soaked in water for two days, changing the water at least twice in between. Banana stems and banana flowers too need to be soaked in water or butter milk for a few hours after chopping to remove the astringent taste and sticky sap.
Sprouting: Traditional Indian medical literature has considered sprouts as Purna and Amrit Aahar which means complete and rejuvenating foods. A sprout is the transitional stage between a seed and plant and represents the miracle of birth. The process of germination of seeds, results in an increase in the vitamin content and availability of nutrients to the body. The enzymes naturally present in the grain convert the starch and proteins into the predigested form thereby making them easily digestible by the body. Sprouts are packed with vitamins and minerals. They are rich sources of B-complex vitamins, vitamins C and E, and bio-available calcium, iron and phosphorus and antioxidant phytochemicals. They also provide dietary fibre, which provides satiety, controls blood sugar and cholesterol levels, enhances intestinal motility, reduce cancer risk and prevent constipation. They are also good sources of chlorophyll that is said to have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and do not produce gas and flatulence like unsprouted pulses.
Malting: Malting is the process of drying sprouted grains. Malted grains are particularly rich in enzymes such as alpha amylase and proteases, calcium and iron. Alpha amylase is a starch digesting enzyme that breaks down starch into maltodextrins, maltose and glucose, while the proteases break down proteins making them easier to digest. Since malted foods are easy to digest, they are suitable for people requiring soft diet and as weaning foods for babies.
Fermentation: The process of fermentation encourages the growth of certain desirable microorganisms naturally present in foods, and increases the digestibility since the starch and protein are in predigested form. It also doubles the vitamin B content and increases the bio-availability of the iron. Fermented foods have a soft and spongy texture and are tasty. Dairy products like curd, yoghurt, kefir, koumiss, some soft cheeses and foods such as sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, kombucha, kimchi, sour mustard- based pickles, fermented ragi porridge (ambali), fermented rice gruel (pazhankanji, pakhala bhaat or panta bhaat), gajar ki kanji etc are rich in probiotics that have been shown to improve the health of the digestive system.
Food combinations: The proteins of cereals, pulses and nuts lack some of the essential amino acids and are known as proteins of low biological value or incomplete proteins. When two or more incomplete sources of proteins are eaten together, they complement each other as the deficiency of amino acids in one is made up by its presence in the other giving complete protein. Traditional recipes such as Dal-Rice, Khichdi, Idli-sambhar, multi-grain ladoos etc. are examples of food combinations.
(The writer is a consultant nutritionist with 27 years of experience)
