An introduction, a little explanation and some gyaan

   I've finally done it!  After a looooot of procrastination [and nudging from a close friend], here's my first post. 

Let me say a little bit about the title - Wellness as a Context for Life. Somehow, eating and living healthily has come to be a struggle for most people - it occurs as 'something extra that I have to do in my already busy and hectic life' or 'it would involve big changes in my life that I'm not ready for' or 'It's just not possible for me - I'd have to sacrifice so many things that I love and enjoy' !  

  The truth is that, most of us wait for emergencies in health to start taking appropriate care of it. It's all about perspective - for example, if you've just been told you have high cholesterol, you'll be more motivated to make changes for health like cutting out the oily and fried stuff, sweets, etc than if you've just had a checkup done showing that, while you're a little overweight, all levels seem normal. Instead of waiting for a health emergency [which may be closer than you think], you can get into action now keeping in mind the big picture - I want to live to be ____ years old and have a healthy heart, memory, sugar levels, digestive capacity and joints. Fill in the blank :) Wellness is not so much a bunch of actions as it is a state of mind. 

I believe an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure as Benjamin Franklin once said.

My first recipe - first of many to specifically show that you don't have to sacrifice taste for health. I got this one from the internet.

Hara Curry

Ingredients:

onion - 1 medium

coriander leaves[cilantro] - 50 gms

green chilli - 1

garlic - 3 cloves

ginger - 1 inch pc

turmeric - 1/2 tsp

chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

garam masala - 1 tsp [available in stores ready made or formula can be downloaded]

mushrooms / potatoes+ corn kernels+ baby corn/ paneer [cottage cheese - low fat] - 300 gs 

1 cup low fat curds [200 ml] mixed with corn flour [1 tbsp]

tomatoes - 2 small and 1 more for garnishing

salt to taste

oil - 2 tsp

Method:

1] Grind the onion, mint , coriander, green chilli, garlic and ginger to a smooth paste.

2] Mix in turmeric and chili powders and garam masala to this paste.

3] Heat 1 tbsp oil [I used groundnut oil and it was great], add the paste to this and stir. Cook till the raw onion smell disappears.

4]It is best to steam the mushrooms or potatoes and corn you're using so that you don't have to wait for them to cook in the gravy. If using Paneer, toast it lightly in a non stick pan without oil.

5] Add the mushrooms / veggies / paneer to the cooking gravy and mix well. Add salt. 

6] Fold in the curds [yoghurt] and simmer the whole thing for 8 mins.

7] Garnish with a finely chopped raw tomato and coriander leaves.

Now this recipe with these quantities gave 3 servings. I used mushrooms [it was my first time cooking mushrooms, seriously!] - the whole thing requires a bit of trial and error so I highly recommend you try it out before sharing the recipe. This curry is brilliant because it can be used with any veggies and even paneer or tofu. Happy cooking :)