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october 2010 programmes
Tuesday Lunches at The Attic – a 2
month experiment in meditative eating
19th october, 23 november,
21 december
For the last year we have explored
the concept of eating mindfully. This once a month
event concentrated on the traditional Indian
principles of eating as expounded by Charaka, one of
the principal contributors to Ayurveda. The main
emphasis was eating wholesome, nutritious foods,
silently while concentrating on the food.
In the discussions that followed we
talked about eating whole grain foods (brown or
black instead of white rice, brown/black bread
instead of white) the merits of amaranth, millet and
oats instead of wheat and rice, the hearty flavour
of simply cooked food and the Indian tradition of
eating silently compared with the French tradition
of mealtimes being a social occasion.
We
have eaten black rice from Manipur, Chaulai
(Amaranth), Kulath (horse gram), Naurangi Dal,
Jhangora (barnyard millet), Jau (oats) all from the
Kumaon hills. These extremely nutritious foods are
rich in fibre, iron, calcium, vitamin E and have
been almost totally lost to the urban population.
1 to 3 pm tuesday 19 th october
Forgotten Foods – an experiment in eating
  Makhana
(foxnut) Botanical: ‘Euryale ferox’ is a flowering
plant classified in the water lily family. It is an
annual native to eastern
Asia, and is found in
India,
Korea,
Japan and eastern
Russia. It grows in water, producing
bright purple
flowers and starchy
white
seeds, which are edible. The plant is
cultivated for its seeds in lowland
ponds in Bihar, Japan and in China for
over 3000 years. Evidence from
archaeobotany indicates that foxnut was a
frequently collected wild food source during the
Neolithic period in the Yangtze region.
In
traditional Chinese medicine they are
often cooked in
soups along with other ingredients, and
believed to strengthen male
potency and retard aging.
Seeds are collected in the late
summer and early autumn, and may be eaten raw or
cooked. In
India they are often roasted or fried. In
Mithila the
makhana is an auspicious ingredient in
offerings to the
Lord during festivals and is used in
cooking kheer.
Today these seeds are being made into
a rich North Indian style gravy.
Brown Rice
is made by “hulling” the outer husk of the grain.
White rice is made by further milling the bran,
leaving mostly the starchy endosperm.
White rice is nutritiously worthless.
Several
vitamins (B1, B3 and
iron),
dietary minerals (magnesium,
manganese, and zinc), fatty acids and fibre
are lost in this removal and the
subsequent polishing process. Also removed is the
oil in the bran which helps lower LDL cholestrol.
The brown rice takes longer and
requires more water for cooking but has an
interesting nutty and chewy flavour.
Beans
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Rajma
(Kidney Beans) are just one of the 4000
cultivars of beans grown around the world. They have
been grown from the earliest times and include azuki,
black, red, fava, lima, anasazi, cannelloni,
Peruvian, navy, lablab, soya and the Indian mung
bean. They are
high in
starch,
protein and
dietary fiber and are an excellent source
of
iron,
potassium,
selenium,
molybdenum,
thiamine,
vitamin B6, and
folic acid.
In Mexico, Central and South America,
the traditional spice to use with beans is epazote,
which is also said to aid digestion. In East Asia a
type of seaweed, Kombu, is added, and in India
either ajwain (thymol seeds) or hing (asafetida) are
added to beans as they cook for the same purpose.
This afternoon we serve you a variety grown only in
the Kumaon hills and not available in Delhi.
Menu
1. Kidney beans (hill variety)
2. Makhana (fox nut) Korma
3. Mixed seasonal vegetables
4. Mixed raita
5. Brown rice
6. Moong dal halwa
7. Pink Amaranth Rotis
Charges Rs 200/- per person.
Reservations are possible on advance
payment but not necessary. Seating will be on
cushions on the ground and silence will be
encouraged.
Telephone Mina Vahie 23746050 or
email
mina@theatticdelhi.org,
anaam@aol.in
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