Articles and Contests

By

 

Breakfast in 30 Minutes was an initiative to help you to get inspired to cooking home cooked healthy foods to begin a healthy start to your day. Browse through the delicious collection of wholesome and healthy breakfast recipes that can be prepared in your own kitchen with just a little preparation. Giving time for breakfast each day is very important. It is impotant that we try and avoid eating processed or ready to makes foods that are available in the market.

By

Organic Food is becoming increasingly popular and so are its news stories across India and around the world.

What exactly is Organic Food?

Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve the use of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers during the growth of edible plants. Organic foods are also not processed using chemical food additives.

What is Non Organic Food?

Food that is grown with the addition of pesticides to kill any harmful bacteria and insects and also helps in the healthy and larger production of food.

Among many studies one study found a 20% smaller yield from organic farms using 50% less fertilizer and 97% less pesticide. Some studies and supporters of organic farming claim that organically managed soil has higher quality and higher water retention. The supporters also claim that organic methods could produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without increasing the agricultural land base. (source wiki)

So is one or the other better? What does research say? And where do we stand now?

From what I have been reading the current research has not shown a consistent and significant difference between organic and more conventionally grown food in terms of safety, nutritional value or taste. The biggest difference in all the research I notice is that the food that is not organic where chemicals and pesticides are used could be carcinogenic. The organic foods are less like to be carcinogenic because of their limited exposure to the pesticides and chemicals.

So in short in my opinion I would love to shift to all things organic and be pesticides and chemicals free. But there are times, when I can avoid them when we travel and not all the time do I get fresh vegetables and fruits that are organic in India.The dry produce like lentils, fruits, spices etc are now readility available in many Stores-Deals from Groupon India- across india

I do now see a growing trend in also organic milk by a few farms, but it is not yet fully available in the retail markets and stores in India. I am surely looking for the day; every locality has a weekly farmers organic market, where I can go shop. Until then, I am no rigid about this or that, if organic food comes along my way I will go ahead and consume it, if now I will just live with reality.

By

Pressure Cooker is absolute must in every kitchen. This equipment helps cut down the cooking time, preserves nutrition and save fuel. It makes excellent equipment for cooking, rice, lentils and legumes by reducing the time taken to cook them to half as compared to other methods.

By

Mortar and Pestle is a fantastic tool for grinding and crushing very small quantities of ingredients like cumin, fennel, cardamom and other spices. They are made either from stone or metal. I do possess one that is handed down from my mother made of copper and a one that is made from marble.

By

Measuring cups are a very important instrument in measuring food, as most of the recipes in this book and many other cooking books will call for standard cup measurement which is either UK or US cup measurement. Although there is a subtle difference between the US and the UK cup measurements it will not significantly alter the quality of the recipe.

By

Hand graters are perfect for grating ginger, garlic, tomatoes in small quantities for a single dish. This way you use fresh ginger and garlic every time as opposed to making a jar full of ginger garlic paste and storing them for later use. Using fresh ingredients every time not only makes the dish feel fresh and flavorful but also retains the nutrients present in them as well.

By

Knives are an important part of every kitchen. Investing in high quality carbon steel knives can last you a life time and make your chopping, dicing and mincing faster and easier.  The Chef’s knife is my personal favorite and to accompany it is a paring knife which comes handy in cutting many softer items. Caring for the knives is very important. Avoid jumbling them up in a drawer; instead use a magnetic knife holder or a wooden block stand to store your knives.

By

How to write a recipe like a professional is an article to help Contributors of Archana’s Kitchen or even aspiring cooks and writers to begin writing a winning recipe. Recipe writing did not come naturally to me and every time I write I want to make it better for the reader. It took me many years to get where I am. Remember writing a winning recipe is about constant reviewing, practice and adherence to a few rules. A poorly written recipe or an article can result in wasted time, money and effort. It's something we take very seriously at Archana’s Kitchen and that is why I test all the recipes that I a multiple times. 

By

Last Sunday Nov 11th 2012 was a epic experience meeting our very own MasterChef Judge Vikas Khanna and the Gadjet Guru Rajiv Makhni at the NokiaAppTasting event at ITC Gardenia. The presence of both of them on stage drove the crowd into laughter, fun and information on some very interesting apps.

By

Cooking along with Chef Rohan, Pepper Cafe, Bangalore and a group of people who were so much of foodies was a fantastic experience at the Le Creuset Bangalore Store.

Cooking on Le Creuset Cast Iron Cookware and using the colorful stoneware was an experience everyone of us dreams of and I had a fantastic experience not only cooking in them but showing the foodies how to use them as well.

Together me and Chef Rohan cooked up a storm and yes everyone loved it. The menu for the class was

By
SCREEN SHOTS FOR JOINING GOOGLE PLUS HANGOUT  

STEP 1: Once you have a google account, and you click on the hangout link it will ask you to sign up for the google plus page. using your google account id enter the USERNAME and PASSWORD and click sign in.


STEP 2: When you dont have a goople plus account, google will take you through the simple steps to join Google Plus. Fill in the details like I have done below and click on UPGRADE that is in the right side corner of the page
If you already have a goole plus account then you when you sign in it will automatically take you to STEP 6 - JOIN HANG OUTS PAGE. 


STEP 3: The set up will take you to adding friends. You can do that at leisure later, So just click CONTINUE.
3-Get started_1-_Google

STEP 4: The set up will take you to follow friends/ people you know. You can do that at leisure later, So just click CONTINUE.
4-Get started_2-_Google

STEP 5: DO THIS STEP: SO WE CAN SEE WHO YOU ARE. Follow the Steps to ADD A FACE TO YOUR NAME. You can add the rest of the details later. Click on FINISH.  That was simple, wasnt it?
5-Get started_3-_Google

STEP 6: Click on JOIN to join me in my kitchen. WELCOME !
6-Google Hangouts
By

This was the first session for the year 2012 and had a full batch of 8 foodies who came before 10 AM. I loved it! I have to give them full credit for working around their work and home schedules and leave on time and reach a place from distances to get to a class on cooking.  Thank you everyone for making it on time and I do hope my strick text messages on being punctual did not hurt anyone.

By

This session was started after a year long break in cooking lessons. The set of people who came to attend the classes was an enthusiatic lot. A few working women, a few who work for themselves and a few with a few allergies and a few who dont eat eggs. All took time off from their work, their commitments and allergies to attend a class as they wanted to do something new. I was excited, wanted to please them all in the little space - my kitchen.