Eating well by color - Orange color of Pumpkin

As we are born out of Nature and we are part of Nature, I believe that Natural is the way of living. At least we can try.

The beauty of Nature lies in its various colors. Can we name all the colors found in nature??

Well I can't go too far...

I have read somewhere that if we eat food i.e. fruits and vegetables as per colors, we can get all the nutrients necessary for the body. Nature has found a clever way to highlight the nutrients in foods. Different nutrients actually impart different colors to the foods they’re in. There are Blue, Purple, Red, Orange, Yellow and Green colored fruits and vegetables with various nutrients.

Today I would like to talk about orange color. Mango, Oranges, Papaya etc, are of orange color when they are ripe. They can be eaten in their natural form. Sweet Potatoes taste best boiled or baked. Sweet Potato chips can be grilled too. Halwa and dry vegetable is also cooked with Sweet Potato during fast.

Pumpkin is the next vegetable rich in Alpha and Beta Carotene. The Phytochemicals found in them also operate as antioxidants, sweeping up disease-promoting free radicals, thus acting as anti aging agents. It is very popular in West but  in Indian Cooking pumpkin is eaten as dry vegetable or Halwa (a sweet) in Rasam etc. and sometimes we prepare soup also. I make paratha too, which my MIL likes a lot. Let us discuss the recipes of the same

 
 


For Pumpkin soup:

Ingredients:
      Pumpkin 250 gms

      Onion 1 medium size

      Garlic 3 cloves

      Black pepper 1 tsp or as required

      Indian Valerian or Ganthoda powder 1 tsp

      Salt to taste and little oil for sauté

Method: Crush garlic cloves and leave for 10 minutes to enhance the power of Allicin, which is a compound found in garlic, known for its anti microbial and bad cholesterol lowering properties. If the skin is good and fresh then cut pumpkin into cubes with skin otherwise peel it before cutting. Cut the onion into cubes too.

Put oil in pan, when heated sauté half the crushed garlic. Add pumpkin and onion cubes. Saute till brown. Add other half garlic, salt and black pepper. When cooled, blend it in the blender. Boil a little and add Ganthoda powder. Ganthoda or Indian Valerian is good for indigestion along with so many other properties. Mix it and..............voila soup is ready. If you like you can add a dash of lemon juice to enhance the taste. In winters or rainy season, this warm soup feels like heaven.

For Paratha:

Ingredients:
         Wheat flour 2 cups

         Pumpkin peeled and boiled 250 gms

         Green chillies chopped 2 nos.

         Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp

         Black pepper powder 1/2 tsp

         Green coriander leaves or cilantro chopped 2 tbsp.

         Oil 3 tsp and for frying

Method: Mix all ingredients together and make thin parathas or flat breads with rolling pin. Fry on griddle with little oil and have with coriander chutney, dahi (Yoghurt) or achar (pickle).
 
These recipes are simple and healthy, made with minimum ingredients. And the purpose of sharing is to have lesser known or less used ingredients in our daily diet. These are light on stomach and tasty too. We are trying to eat well by color, my family loves them.. hope you all also like them.