The Everlasting War With the Street Kitchen Monster

It was 11 in the night and I could feel Shayra's hands turn cold, her pulse miss a beat, her face pale in fear as she peeped through the glass to catch a glance of Linda. The doctors were examining her, exchanging medical terms and initiating treatment. From the little I understood of medicines we figured out that it was a case of acute food poisoning.

It reminded me of a piece of news I read the other day. A new study by the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition, Pusa revealed high faecal contamination in junk food items, specifically in West and Central Delhi. The study showed extremely high volumes of E.coli bacteria in street foods, causing severe infections. The numbers aren't quite convincing in other parts of the country as well.

A drop trickled down the syringe and as it made its way into her child's body, Shayra clawed my palm in horror and pain. That's how mothers are and I could feel every bit of anxiety she was going through.

Linda had been complaining about stomach cramps since the past few days and as is the general norm, we love to diagnose such complains at home. From a bitter Ayurvedic tonic straight from the grandma's kitchen to popping up that pill suggested by the next-door pharmacy, we try our hands at everything before consulting a specialist. It was no different with Shayra, who was juggling between two worlds, one of the corporate ecospace and other of that being a single parent to a five-year old daughter. It was only late today when Linda broke down in pain that Shayra realised the seriousness and rushed her to the nearby clinic.

"We have given her an intravenous to ease the pain and put her on drips to stabilize the condition. She needs rest and a platter of healthy meals for the next one week"

The doctors had done their work, leaving us to ponder on what all the girl might have gobbled in the past week. Burgers, chips, confectioneries, the list was endless. So, where did all the health-conscious sandwiches and consciously made noodles low on spice go? Shayra anticipated the answers, it had to be either the playground adjacent to her apartment or her girl's street side pet, Browny.

"I'm so tired of her. What else can I do but pack her lunch box early in the morning to avoid all of this. Why doesn't she understand. I can't see her going through this"

Shayra mumbled in between sobs, seeing Linda on bed with hands pricked with needles. I could relate to every bit of her apprehension as there was a similar battle with my kiddo each day. While I love the glint in her eyes as she gorges on to a slice of her favourite cheese pizza or twirls that long string of noodle in her fork before slurping it up, I'm equally worried about how I could supplement the nutritious value via other foods essential in her growth years.

The concern and fear often have me think of floating yet another business idea; health meal plans for kids across schools and homes. I'm sure it won't drill as big a hole in my pocket than buying a drone and have it hover around my kid's head to monitor what all bacteria and viruses she picks up on her way home.

Alternatives to Ingredients To Use In Your Recipes

Have you ever had the problem where you didn't have the correct ingredients for the dish you are making? Rest assured that there is something you can use instead of the ingredient you don't have available. Here are few ingredients that can be substituted.

Allspice - Allspice is a mixture of different spices that can be used on chicken and other meat. A substitute for one teaspoon of Allspice is half a teaspoon of cinnamon, a quarter teaspoon of ginger and a quarter teaspoon of cloves.

Baking Powder - Baking powder is used in many confectionaries. To achieve one teaspoon of baking powder, mix a quarter teaspoon of baking soda with half a teaspoon of cream of tartar. Baking soda requires an acid to activate it to achieve the dish you are preparing. Baking powder already has the cream of tartar in.

Lemon Grass - this herb is used in many eastern dishes for a lemon flavour. Although, lemon grass is easy to find, however you may not have the time to go to the store to get this ingredient. An easy substitute is grating the zest of half a lemon.

Saffron - there are some recipes that require a pinch of saffron. Unfortunately, this spice is very expensive and not many people are willing to spend money on a spice for just one dish. A cheaper and easy substitute for a quarter teaspoon of saffron is using a quarter teaspoon of turmeric.

Cream of Tartar - cream of tartar is used to activate the baking soda. It is a type of acid that can be replaced with either lemon juice or vinegar. Use the same amount of the latter instead of the cream of tartar.

Sour Cream - it's difficult to find another dairy product with the similarity of sour cream. Plain yogurt is the best substitute to use when you are running low on sour cream. Both have gone through a similar process and can be used instead of the other.

Ghee - not many people are able to find ghee. The best substitute for ghee is to use the same amount of cooking oil or butter. The taste might differ slightly but the dish will still taste good.

Take into consideration that your dish might not taste the way it normally would if any of these ingredients is used instead of the required ingredients. But it can still give the recipe a good flavour twist.

The Difference Between Ghee and Cooking Oil

You might come across a recipe that requires you to add ghee instead of oil. There isn't a big difference and you can substitute ghee with cooking oil if you prefer.

Ghee is a type of clarified butter that is prepared from cow's milk. Normally, the ghee is made by heating up the butter in a deep pan to avoid spilling. The butter is stirred slowly to avoid remixing the fat. The oil from the butter will eventually separate from the butter.

You will notice that when you cook with butter it will release froth once heated and melted. This froth will be strained so that none of the oil will be wasted and discarded. The leftover oil from the butter will turn into a pale yellow which will be strained to remove any remaining bits and then stored as what is known as ghee.

On the other hand, cooking oil is a neutral and non-polar chemical substance which means that it does not have an electric charge and will not conduct electricity if it is in such a situation. It is also a sticky or greasy liquid when it is exposed to regular temperatures.

The extraction process of oil is dependent on the type of fruit or seed it comes from. For instance, the sunflower seeds are compressed until the liquid gets released. It will also be refined to change the appearance so that it looks like the cooking oil on the shelves. Other cooking oil may also go through processes to change the taste and smell of it thus making it more appealing.

In some cuisines, the type of cooking oil used in the dish is very important. Flavour is important and chefs prefer to achieve unique textures and flavours that are native to their culture.

Ghee is lighter on the stomach because of the way it has been extracted from the butter. There are some people who struggle to digest food because of the viscous properties it may have. With ghee, a person does not have to worry about uncomfortable indigestion.

Cooking oil, however, has properties that can only come from fruits, vegetables and nuts. This means that there are other fats, such as trans fats, that your body needs to maintain a healthy immune system.

Those are the properties and differences between ghee and cooking oil. It is up to you as the chef to decide on which one is best suited to your recipe.

Various Knife Cutting Techniques

Chopping and cutting might not be the most relevant activity in the kitchen but it can make the life of the chef much easier and the food on the plate much prettier. There are some cutting and chopping techniques used regularly in the kitchen that can be learned by anyone.

• Slice

This is the most basic cutting technique that anyone who works in the kitchen will know how to do. This technique is often used on vegetables such as baby marrows and cucumber. Depending on which fruit or vegetable you are slicing will determine which knife to use, namely whether it should be serrated or straight edged. Depending on what type of dish you are making the thickness of the slice will vary too.

• Julienne

This is a technique similar to slicing but not quite. The style leans more towards the cutting of strips. To achieve this type of cut, you would first need to top and tail (cut off both ends) the vegetable. The seeds will then need to be removed to cut the vegetable into rectangular pieces. After it has been cut into rectangular pieces you will need to cut it into strips along the longer side.

• Dice

Dicing is another common cutting technique used by anyone who works in the kitchen. Chefs often use this technique on onions when making anything from pasta sauce to curries. There are also different sizes that you can cut the onion into depending on what you are fond of. Professionals prefer to leave the root of the onion intact when using the dicing technique. They do this so that they can keep the onion together during this process.

• Mince

Use this technique when dealing with garlic. Many people prefer not to have pieces of garlic floating around in their food but love the flavour. Mincing is a way to get the flavour into the dish without having large pieces in the food. Crush the garlic with the flat side of the chef's knife then constantly chop and repeat until you have miniature pieces.

• Chiffonade

This technique might sound complicated and difficult but it really is quite simple. Chefs often use this technique to create a presentable garnish for the plate. All you do is roll up the herbs or leaves such as basil or spinach and slice them to make coils of garnish.