Open Sesame !!!

Lets see what sesame seeds have to offer us as a part of our diet.

Sesame seeds are very nutritious and provide excellent source of protein, particularly for the vegetarians.It also has really good amounts of calcium and unsaturated fatty acids.

Has very valuable and heart friendly antioxidants, namely, Vitamin A , Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Iron, Zinc, Magnesium and Niacin.

The black seeds yield the best quality of sesame oil and is mostly used for medicinal purposes
especially as a massage oil. It gives strength to the muscular as well as skeletal systems. It is thus very popular as a massage oil particularly to growing children.

The white seeds are richer in calcium and can be used in vegan diets as a good source of calcium.

The reddish seeds have exceptionally good amounts of iron. They can be safely used in the treatment of Anemia.

Sesame seeds soften and nourish the skin when used externally.
Taken internally, sesame seeds are nourishing and tonic. They have soothing, laxative and a slightly diuretic effect. It can also stimulate menstruation.

Sesame oil has a golden amber colour and has distinct nutty flavor. Because of its high smoking point it can also be used for stir frying and Indian style of cooking.

Sesame oil can also replace olive oil in salad dressings. It can replace cashew nuts in rich Indian curries as well.

Interesting fact worth considering is : 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds supplies 14% of a woman's daily calcium needs.

Another interesting way of using these wonderful seeds is to use them as mouth freshener along with saunf (fennel seeds) after your food.

GO AHEAD AND TRY THEM !!!!!

New year Wishes, The Indian Way !!!

Happy New Year To All !!!!

Come January and we are all happy to welcome the new year. Happiness is all around and everyone is full of new vitality and energy to start afresh. New year brings new joy, new hope and strength to try and strive further. This is the true season to share and multiply your joy.

Come January and the season starts to change in India. The day starts to lengthen and the sun starts showering the earth with its warm love that grows each day. The bitterness of the cold winter starts to slowly wear off its effect and everything seems to be full of life again.

Come January and the households in India are ready to share their joy with others and the very feeling of sharing our joy with others has kept us going as a strong culture with rich tradition and a vast and beautiful heritage.

Come January and we Maharashtrians get ready to celebrate the “Makar Sankraman” or the “Makar Sankranti“. We believe in multiplying our joy by giving and sharing. Giving and sharing well wishes, giving and sharing positive vibes, and giving and sharing food made with love and care.This also comes with a hope to forget all the sorrow, struggle and pain and forgive one and all. So...............

Come January and we are all ready to FORGIVE AND FORGET and with a big smile we greet each other to say “Til gul ghya ani god god bola” ( we offer each other TILGUL , try to forgive and forget and show the willingness to start afresh.)

You sure guessed it right,
I am guiding you to think about “til-gul” from a different point of view, other than what i mentioned above. And it cannot be anything else but nutrition at this address !!!!

Interestingly, sesame plants were first cultivated in Africa and later introduced to India, probably via the spice route. It was identified in an excavation in Harappa, now in Pakistan, dating to 2000 BC and was recorded in Egypt about 1300 BC. Sesame seeds have been widely used for a long long time in India, and they even establish an important spot in Vedic literature too.

We have been using sesame seeds in our kitchens for a long long time. The very thing that these wonderful seeds have a place in our kitchens is that they are absolutely worth it. These small seeds we amongst the first ones to be used as a source of oil in human diet.

In India we get different varieties of sesame seeds. White, black and brownish red. Interestingly all of them have great nutritional and medicinal value.

As a way of offering “til gul” to all of you, I will be glad to share some more nutritional information on sesame seeds this time of the year. Hoping you will find it interesting and will give you learned joy in offering “til gul” to friends and family this year.