Indian Food Sense: A health and nutrition guide to traditional recipes

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

With India coming of age gastronomically, health concerns are as much as priority as fine food, Indian Food Sense, designed to appeal to the health-conscious gourmet, brings together the nutritional expertise and culinary abilities of Ruth N Davidar, who firmly believes that sound nutrition is not about eating poorly prepared, tasteless food merely because 'it's good for you'.

The book is divided into three parts. The first highlights the rudiments of nutrition, and is meant to dispel notions on food and health that are often inaccurate, inadequate, contradictory or just plain confusing. It also provides valuable insight into the culinary wisdom of ancient India which is today established in scientific fact. The second section is a compilation of traditional Indian recipes with emphasis on low-fat cooking, a celebration of taste drawn from regional cuisines. The recipes are written in easy-to-follow steps so that even a beginner can attempt to cook Indian food. Further, every recipe has been analyzed for its complete nutrient content, and tips to facilitate ease in cooking have also been suggested. The final part gives listings of, among other things, ingredients with regional names, the various nutrients in foods, heights and weight tables for Indian children and home remedies.

This book has something for everyone - health professionals looking to clear a nutritional doubt, concerned housewives, students in schools, universities and medical colleges, and anyone wishing to be initiated into the unique ways that distinguish Indian cooking. It is for people who care about what they eat and why. It is a gastronomic experience that takes the worry out of making a prudent choice. It is all about eating wisely and well.

About the Author :

Ruth N Davidar graduated with a Master's degree in Food Service Management and Diatetics from Women's Christian College, Madras in 1984, and later taught at the Nirmala Niketan College of Home Science in Bombay. While teaching she contributed articles on food and health to a number of popular and women's magazines like Savvy, and Body and Beauty Care. But is was only when studying at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi that she decides to bring the science of nutrition out of the classroom and into the mainstream of life. The result was Foodsense, a column she started with The Pioneer newspaper in December 1993.

Today, Ruth N Davidar is an established columnist and food writer whose specialist columns in the English Language and in translation appear in publications as varied as the Indian Express, Financial Express, Hindustan Times, Sentinel, Aaj, Rajasthan Patrika, Akshar Bharat, Navajyoti, Hindustan, Aryavasta and Dainik Bhaskar to name a few. She is also on the panel of reviewers for the Indian Review of Books. Indian Food Sense is her first book.

Ruth N Davidar lives in Wellington in the Nilgiris in South India.