Experimental cooking - A talk with Dr. Aprajita!

How experimental are you in your kitchen? 

Doing the same old rote cooking, OR do you keep reinventing the way you cook, experimenting new recipes, and exploring newer healthier options? 

If you are one of the former, it’s the time to change. 

Our feature today is about experimental cooking and how it can bring more value in your kitchen and your everyday life. When cooking doesn’t remain an everyday chore but a stress buster and a time to explore!

This feature is inspired by a meeting with Dr. Aprajita, a psychiatrist by profession, a marathon runner, bird watching enthusiast, a potential theatre artist (if she takes it seriously), and most importantly masterchef of Lobana family! Got a couple of tips from her and will be sharing them with you today.

We all love popcorns, but have you ever tried popping any other grain? A recent whatapp ping from Aprajita about how much fun she had popping bajra and Amaranth (with photographs) made me rethink. She tried this for her kids, a new snack loaded with nutrition and taste. Nowadays quinoa is the new super food fad, highly expensive, and honestly tasteless. However, we have our own traditional Indian grains like bajra, jowar, and amaranth that can give you better nutrition and health.  Fun way to increase protein intake for your children. How about popping some bajra or jowar and giving ur kiddos a switch from popcorns! You can also make home made chikkis and laddus out of popped amaranth.

They will love it, and you pop them the way you pop pop-corn (recipe at the bottom).

Coming back to our experimental mom-chef, Aprajita makes awesome cakes and you don’t feel guilty when you pick another piece of it because she only makes it with whole wheat. She never uses maida and the cakes turn up as tasty, a lil grainy and much healthier. The recent I had was Zucchini chocolate cake and it was yummy. I had 3 pieces in a go and did not once had to think twice about itJ

Nowadays, Aprajita has been researching about the traditional methods of cooking. Cooking on slow heat in porous alkaline clay pots preserves much more nutrients and taste. It gives a different texture and deliciousness to your dish. She’s been using the clay pots for cooking for quite some time now and is advises all to start this in their own kitchens. I also looked this up and here’s some food for thought for you to revamp your cooking style (http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-deal-with-clay-pots-138933).   I myself am planning to buy a few clay pots, it not only will give colour to my kitchen but also so much more :). Lots to learn from Aprajita, and this is the first of the series :)

Here’s how you pop bajra (millet) and Amaranth:

It’s similar to how you pop corns. 

Take a heavy base vessel (like a cooker) and put a tablespoon of the grain and cover with a lid. What I do is, cover the cooker with cooker lid but without the whistle. Keep shaking, both grains pop quickly, you need to be careful not to burn them. It’s so much fun!

Do not let the vessel heat too much, otherwise they will burn.

In Aprajita’s words, Amaranth is like bullet train, the seeds are so tiny and within seconds, they are done. Very light and delicious – the same ones that are used in vrat chikki and laddus. So, what are you waiting for – go try something new in your kitchen – a new nutritious snack your kids have always been waiting for :)