Culinary uses of Sesame seeds (til)

Culinary uses of Sesame seeds (til)

Sesame seeds have delicate nutty flavor. Their flavor indeed becomes more pronounced once they are gently roasted under low flame just for few minutes.

-Use it as the traditional seasoning to enrich the taste of your food.

-Sesame seeds add a great touch to steamed broccoli that has been sprinkled with lemon juice.
-You could make a paste of sesame seeds, add crushed garlic, lime juice and salt and use it as a dip for raw vegetables.

- Grind the seeds fresh shortly before using them.
-Sprinkle whole or  ground seeds over cereals, vegetable dishes, salads or fruit. 

- Can be added  to parathas
-Also in Tamil Nadu, 'Milakai Podi', a ground powder made of sesame and dry chili is used to enhance flavor and consumed along with other traditional foods such as idli.
-Dry fried sesame seeds ground to a thin light brown color paste known as tahini. Tahini is one of the main ingredient in famous middle-eastern dip, hummus.

-Dry fried seeds sprinkled over toasts, biscuits, breads, cakes, salads, stir fries etc.

Just a hand full of sesame a day provides enough recommended levels of phenolic anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins and protein.

Go ahead enjoy sankranti with til ladoo, til gajjaks, til chikki…..just control the portion size and have it in the earlier part of the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin

Do u know your body uses protein to make hemoglobin the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen to every part of your body. …so just taking your iron supplements will not help if the diet is deficient in protein.

Benefits of Dates Fruit (Khajoor)

Benefits of Dates Fruit (Khajoor) 

Dates are a type of sweet fruit that grows on palm trees. They have been cultivated since approximately 6000 B.C. They grow on the tree for six or seven months before they are ripe enough to eat. There are three main types of dates, which are classified based on the moisture of the flesh: dry, semi-dry and soft. The health benefits of dates are derived from the nutrients they provide.

 Fresh vs. Dried Dates

	Fresh Dates	Dried Dates
Shelf life	If kept in an airtight container, stay fresh for up to 8 months if kept refrigerated, or for up to year in the freezer	If refrigerated in an airtight container stay fresh for up to one year, and if in the freezer can last up to five years
Calories 100 gm	144 calories	317 calories
Macronutrients
Carbohydrate	33.8 g of carbohydrates	75.8 g of carbohydrate
Fibre	3.7g fibre	3.9g fibre
Protein	1.2 g of protein	2.5 g of protein
Fat	0.4g fat	0.4g fat
Micronutrients
Calcium	22 mg of calcium	120 mg of calcium
Iron	0.96 g of iron	7.3 mg of iron

Source:- Nutritive value of indian foods

 

Carbohydrates

Dates are a good source of energy. Up to 80 percent of the date flesh is sugar that the body can easily access for energy. Fresh dates have a somewhat lower percentage of sugar because they contain more moisture than dried dates, and the sugar in dried dates is more concentrated, but fresh dates are still a good source of carbohydrates. Fresh date is made of soft, easily digestible flesh with simple sugars like fructose and dextrose that when eaten replenishes energy and revitalizes the body instantly; thus, for these qualities, dates are being used to breakfast during Ramadan months. 

Minerals

Dates are a particularly good source of calcium, which helps promote strong teeth and bones. Dried Dates are an excellent source of iron, being a component of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells, determines the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.

In addition, They are good in potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help controlling heart rate and blood pressure; thus offers protection against stroke and coronary heart diseases.

 Fiber

The fruit is rich in dietary fiber. Most of the fiber is of the insoluble type, meaning that its major health-promoting effect is to add bulk to stool and help food move through the intestinal tract. The fiber content helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time and as well as binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon. It prevents dietary LDL cholesterol absorption in the gut.

They contain many health benefitting flavonoid polyphenolic antioxidants known as tannins. Tannins are known to have anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hemorrhagic (prevent easy bleeding tendencies) properties.

Low Fat

Another health benefit of dates is that they are low fat. In 100 g of dates, only a fraction of a gram is saturated fats.

 

Muslims generally break their fast by eating dates. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said: “Break your fast by eating dates as it is purifying.”

So go ahead have a few dates everyday whether dried or fresh as u wish just enjoy the benefits.............

SESAME SEEDS (TIL)

SESAME SEEDS (TIL)

                              Sometimes, small seeds can sprout large health benefits. This can certainly be said about til (sesame seeds). In addition to their popular use in making crunchy til ladoos, gajjaks, as dips or as a garnish for breads and desserts, these seeds are abundant in lesser known health promoting properties.

Lets have a look at its health benefits.

Did you know that half a cup of sesame seeds contains three times more calcium than half a cup of whole milk? Just 100 gm of white sesame seeds provides approximately 1,000 mg of calcium.

In addition to being an excellent dietary source of calcium, sesame seeds are also a good source of manganese, copper, magnesium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1 (thiamin), zinc, vitamin E, healthy protein, and fiber.

Sesame seeds contain methionine and tryptophan — two important amino acids that most other vegetarian foods such as peas, groundnuts, rajhma, chowli and soya bean are deficient in. These fine quality amino acids are essential for growth, especially in children.

Sesame seeds are rich in EFA’s(essential fatty acids) that are of help to prevent dry skin, mood swings, PMS, pain and inflammation.

Black and red sesame seeds are particularly rich in iron, folic acid and are effective in treating anaemia. 100 g of sesame contains 97 mcg of folic acid, about 25% of recommended daily intake. Folic acid is essential for DNA synthesis. When given in expectant mothers during peri-conception period, it may prevent neural tube defects in the baby.

In addition to these important nutrients, sesame seeds contain two unique substances: sesamin and sesamolin. Both of these substances belong to a group of special beneficial fibers called lignans, and have been shown to have a cholesterol-lowering effect in humans, and to prevent high blood pressure and increase vitamin E supplies in animals. Sesamin has also been found to protect the liver from oxidative damage.

Watch out for Culinary uses of Sesame seeds (til) in the coming post