COWBERRY's Blog: Organic Food, Recipes & Healthy Living

Nutmeg benefits, each tied to its source: traditional use, the seed's compounds, essential-oil lab studies, minerals per 100 g. Then the side effects at high doses, the honest daily limit and how to use jaiphal.

Kala chana for babies: when whole black chickpeas can join a baby's meals, the 5 g amounts in ICMR-NIN's sample menus, how to soak, cook and mash them, and what to keep off the plate.

The types of rice eaten in India, from basmati, sona masoori and kolam to indrayani, red, black and brown rice: what each grain is like, nutrition per 100 g, tested GI values, which rice suits which dish, and how to cook and store it.

Mustard seeds nutritional value per 100g from IFCT 2017: 510 kcal, 19.5 g protein, 40.2 g fat, 14.1 g fibre, 402 mg calcium, no GI printed. Plus per-teaspoon numbers and mustard against fenugreek and cumin.

What is emmer wheat used for? Khapli atta (emmer flour) goes into roti, paratha, bread, halwa and upma, and the whole grain into khichdi and dalia. Soak, rest and cooking times, quantities, mistakes and storage.

Kala chana benefits from the numbers: 18.77 g protein, 25.22 g fibre and 6.78 mg iron per 100 g, GI 23, with the side effects, gas included, who should limit chana and how much to eat daily.

What kachi ghani means, how it relates to cold pressed and wood pressed labels, and the facts on cold-pressed mustard and groundnut oil, from the ICMR-NIN guidelines and USDA figures.

Rajma in English is kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). A guide to the types of rajma sold in India (Kashmiri, chitra, red and white), which one suits rajma masala, salads or kebabs, how to cook it safely and soft, its IFCT 2017 nutrition and what to check when buying.

Mustard seeds in Hindi is rai; in English it is mustard seeds, Brassica nigra. All 13 Indian language names from IFCT 2017: mohori, sorse, sasuve, avalu, kadugu and more.

Jaggery uses in the kitchen: sweeten tea, oats, dal and sweets, bake with jaggery powder and swap gur for white sugar, with the kcal, carbohydrate and GI numbers for both.

Thick, medium, thin (nylon) and red poha compared: how each behaves in water, which dish uses which, how poha is made, how to check quality, how to store it and what to look for when buying.

Chickpeas vs chana: kabuli chana is the white chickpea, chana is the umbrella word, chole is the dish. Side-by-side nutrition with kala chana and chana dal, taste, cost and which to buy.