Health Benefits of Cabbage

Cabbage or headed cabbage (comprising several groups of cultivars of Brassica oleracea) is a leafy green or purple biennial plant, grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. Closely related to other cole crops, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, it descends from B. oleracea var. oleracea, a wild field cabbage. Cabbage heads generally range from 0.5 to 4 kilograms (1 to 9 lb), and can be green, purple and white. Smooth-leafed firm-headed green cabbages are the most common, with smooth-leafed red and crinkle-leafed savoy cabbages of both colors seen more rarely. It is a multi-layered vegetable. Under conditions of long sunlit days such as are found at high northern latitudes in summer, cabbages can grow much larger. Some records are discussed at the end of the history section.

It is difficult to trace the exact history of cabbage, but it was most likely domesticated somewhere in Europe before 1000 BC, although savoys were not developed until the 16th century. By the Middle Ages, it had become a prominent part of European cuisine. Cabbage heads are generally picked during the first year of the plant's life cycle, but plants intended for seed are allowed to grow a second year, and must be kept separated from other cole crops to prevent cross-pollination. Cabbage is prone to several nutrient deficiencies, as well as to multiple pests, and bacterial and fungal diseases.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that world production of cabbage and other brassicas for 2011 was almost 69 million metric tons (68 million long tons; 75 million short tons). Almost half of these crops were grown in China, where Chinese cabbage is the most popular Brassica vegetable. Cabbages are prepared in many different ways for eating. They can be pickled, fermented for dishes such as sauerkraut, steamed, stewed, sautéed, braised, or eaten raw. Cabbage is a good source of vitamin K, vitamin C and dietary fiber. Contaminated cabbage has been linked to cases of food-borne illness in humans.

Health benefits of cabbage

The health benefits of cabbage include frequent use as a treatment for constipation, stomach ulcers, headaches, obesity, skin disorders, eczema, jaundice, scurvy, rheumatism, arthritis, gout, eye disorders, heart diseases, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Fresh, dark green-leafy cabbage is incredibly nutritious; but very low in fat and calories. 100 g of leaves provide just 25 calories.

The vegetable is a storehouse of phyto-chemicals like thiocyanates, indole-3-carbinol, lutein, zea-xanthin, sulforaphane, and isothiocyanates. These compounds are powerful antioxidants and known to help protect against breast, colon, and prostate cancers and help reduce LDL or "bad cholesterol" levels in the blood.

Fresh cabbage is an excellent source of natural antioxidant, vitamin C. Provides 36.6 mg or about 61% of RDA per 100 g. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.

Total antioxidant strength measured in terms of oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC value) is 508 µmol TE/100 g. Red cabbages contain more antioxidant value, 2252 µmol TE/100 g.

It is also rich in essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that our body requires them from external sources to replenish.

It also contains a adequate amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is required for the red blood cell formation.

Cabbage is a very good source of vitamin K, provides about 63% of RDA levels. Vitamin-K has the potential role in bone metabolism through promoting osteotrophic activity. So enough of vitamin K in the diet would gives you healthy bones. In addition, vitamin-K also has established role in the cure of Alzheimer's disease patients by limiting neuronal damage inside their brain.

Cabbage Curry Recipe

Ingredients (240 ml cup used)

1 tbsp. oil or as needed

½ tsp cumin / jeera

¼ to ½ tsp mustard

¾ to 1 tsp ginger or ginger garlic paste or grated

1 large thinly sliced onion

1 large finely chopped tomato

salt as needed

a pinch of turmeric

½ tsp red chili powder

¾ tsp garam masala or sambar powder as needed

¼ cup green peas or 2 tbsp. chana dal (soaked and cooked)

2 to 3 cups chopped cabbage

few finely chopped coriander leaves

Instructions

Remove the outer leaves of cabbage and cut to quarters. Soak them in salted water for sometime. Cut and discard the core. Chop the cabbage and set aside. Alternately, chop the cabbage and add to salted water. Drain off and set aside.

Add oil to a hot. When the oil turns hot, add mustard and cumin. when they begin to sizzle, add ginger garlic and fry till it turns aromatic.

Add sliced onions and fry till they turn transparent.

Add tomatoes, salt and turmeric. Fry until the tomatoes turn mushy and soft. Add spice powders and fry for a minute for the raw smell to go away.

Add green peas and then saute for a minute.

Add chopped and drained cabbage. Stir for the masala to coat the cabbage well and fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

Fry until the cabbage is cooked to your liking. If needed cover and cook.

Sprinkle Coriander leaves.

Serve with rice or roti.

Awadhi Food Festival at Hotel K C Residency

The richness Awadhi cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also is the ingredients used in creating such a variety. The Nawabs of Awadh were renowned for their extravagance and their patronage of the best courtesans, craftsmen and cooks. 

Under dim lighting of Falak, the hotel's restaurant where everything bears a rural feel, from the mughal jharokas to the earthen warmth, the Chef recreates the nawabi delicacies. From a dessert made of lamb stock to a course of dal chawal prepared solely from dry fruits, the rich and ostentatious cuisine of the Muslim royalty has always made for a curious study. However, a cuisine that has remained unexplored till date is from Rampur, a city that once was home to hundreds of nawabs, a city that gave way to several gastronomic inventions, courtesy the Incessant experiments of the royal khansamas (cooks) and a city that still hold several food secrets in its belly.

Awadhi cuisine was never paid attention to, except for a few food enthusiasts like Mohammad Rehman who are now trying to gather these secrets from the predecessors of khansamas. Rehman, who has been researching on the cuisine for years, has developed a few royal flavours and organized Awadh food Festival at the K.C Residency these days. 

Rehman has not only worked on getting the flavours and techniques right but also on reviving the log -lost recipes from the royal kitchens. So you have something like Gosht ka Halwa ,a dessert made from mutton lamb and even Mirchi ka Halwa which is made of green chilles and was devised by khansamas after years of experiments to keep aliments like flu and stomach infections at bay. There are many dishes with sandalwood powder too, like Gobhi Musallam (cauliflower dish) and Rampuri jheenga (prawns) and in some, he has used khus attar (poppy seed fragrance). "The cooks then were so sharp that to suit their employer's royal taste, they created a recipe of dal chawal from badam (almonds) 

The cuisine still remains one of the most unexplored ones because its history was never documented anywhere."If you try hard, you many come across some culinary information in Persian. Whatever is left of this cuisine is through the passing on of the recipes from one generation to the other, "rues Rehman. Though a few gave away their secrets one the condition of confidentiality, most never divulged their methods & techniques. 

"Words like korma, sheema and pulao stumble upon in most Muslim royal cuisines, be it Kashmiri, Hyderabad or Awadhi and every khansama will claim it belongs to the cuisine of his state. The fact, however, is the truth got buried in the pages of history centuries ago, except for a few that were passed on from one generation to the other.Taar kormas, the dish, still an essential part of Rampur, got its due to the unique gravy which, when held between two fingers, produce a wire-like texture. "Its is a lamb dish and requires a good 24 hours of slow and continuous cooking. Lamb bones contain gelatin and the more you cook, the more they get gelatinized. Hence, the wire-like consistency,"he explains, adding, "It is because of prolonged cooking only that this cuisine acquires its character."

After the downfall of the royals, these cooks could not become popular, partly because of the lack of opportunities and partly because of what Rehman describe as "attitude problem."He says, "since most nawabs were hypersensitive about how their food tasted, they employed different cooks from different delicacies. For example, if someone excelled at the art of firni making ( rice dessert),he would make just that and not do anything else. Over the years, these khansamas developed an attitude which resulted in them finding it difficult to survive anywhere else other than royal kitchens. They don't like to be ill-talked - something that happens in most restaurant/hotels, they won't do any chores other than what they are expert at and things like that. That is why they are still confined to the smaller towns and cities. 

Chinese Food Flavor

The oriental flavor and seasoning to reach the world

The food is always going to be one of the main points of pleasure and enjoyment to be found in the lives of all people in the world, for the exquisite taste and pleasant aromas immediately cause a good feeling in people, as a delicious food from the mouth, immediately causes a sensation of enjoyment and pleasure, so the food has great importance in people. So you have to get the most out of the different foods that can be found in the world and one of the best meals that can be tested in many parts of the world, China is food thanks to its ancient tradition has achieved excellent flavors that are very pleasing to palates not only of China but a large number of people around the world.

Chinese food is one of the most complete and rich foods that can be found all over the world, since this food has gone through a long historical process of culinary tradition that has helped to achieve excellent flavor and because this has been spread worldwide.

Chinese food is the mixture of all those special paltillos made in different regions of China and then were extended to various parts of the world starting with Southeast Asia, through the whole continent of America coming to Europe.

Chinese food is basically divided into two groups:

"One is the group of starches which represents the basic dishes or main meal, which usually consists of rice, noodles or steamed buns.

"The other is the side dish that is composed of general vegetable or meat different tips.

As you can understand the way in which food is served China is different from Western food, as it serves the opposite, since in most Western societies the main course is meat and starches and vegetables are a complementary part of animal protein.

It should be noted that in China the only food ingredient that is inevitable and very important is rice, they may serve in different ways and get different flavors but the rice in a good, typical Chinese food can not miss.

Another typical aspect of Chinese food is that first solid foods are served such as rice, meat and vegetables and finally the soup, with another feature that differs from Western customs.

In Chinese food is not very common to find that the desserts are served at the end of the meal, most commonly found in the course of all the food regardless of the time in which they should consume, so you can say that desserts as such there is no food in China, as close to these in Chinese food are served sweet dishes.