Rajma-rice, a plateful of sliced onion in vinegar, a few books in hand, hot debate on current topics and our dinner would be over in no time. This was the regular evening routine for a bunch of close friends during the college days we spent together away from our homes in Delhi, hardly missing out on homely food. We would stop by that open Dhaba (makeshift restaurant) with a very few chairs spread under a tree and wait for our piping hot plate of Rajma-rice served by this rugged looking pot bellied man who cooked & served the same meal throughout the year. At times he served us Rajma with Naan and a dessert which looked like cooked rice in sugar syrup during festivals to make sure we remain his loyal customers. Must say that I have never been able to cook nor have eaten better tasting Rajma than that.

A prudent way to practice healthy eating in children is to start variety foods at a younger age. As an adult we normally follow the same diet which our palates are used to, from our childhood days. And adjusting and trying out for new food is quite difficult when we grow old.

Even my kids resist any new recipe or a food ingredient, which looks or sounds unusual. It was quite difficult to introduce soybeans in their diet and this recipe calls out for my successful trials of the same.

Quantity of Soy chunks was minuscule in the beginning, but increased to a substantial amount as they started liking the taste of it.

“Idlies are not a right choice for breakfast” my statement startled many of my friends for whom Idlies and breakfast go hand in hand. I found the answer in Glycemic Index !

Fiber is that part of plant food that is not digested by the enzymes in our body. The major classes of dietary fibers are:

Set your pulses right! More so if you are a vegetarian or follow a vegan diet. Pulses or ‘dal’ a major source of protein is also very economical as compared to other sources such as nuts and animal proteins.

Legumes Defined: legumes are the most common plant family consumed by people all around the world.