Discovering local foods

Reading books and hearing people speak about raw opens you to so many new raw foods.

I'm in Singapore now and guess what it is a land of mushrooms, goji berries and many asian greens. Thanks to the mix of cultures here, I get to know discover so many new greens, fruits, vegetables and many other foods.

My latest discovery is Jicama a white root that is crispy and tastes sweet. It is used in veg rojak.

I also discovered Miso the fermented soy and rice sauce. It is salty but good fermented food.

I also tried the Shiitake and wood ear mushrooms. There is a whole new world of mushrooms here. Visit a Chinese herbal stores near your place or in the China town.

And then there are herbal teas, chrysanthemum tea, Ginseng etc. These can be easily tasted in China town.

There are a lot of greens yet to be explored by me here. Mustard greens, water cress, bok choy etc. Then there is Ginger flower, lotus stems etc.

A world to explore out here and hope I get some time to do it and enjoy!

Raw banana stem salad

Hi there, I'm returning to raw foods again. I watched "raw for life" documentary to motivate myself. I also re-read my own blog.

I've shifted to S'pore and I miss my big garden back in Bangalore where I used to source my organic greens and vegetables. It was a large part of my life and it used to keep me happy.

I bough a nice fresh banana stem yesterday. We had 20 banana plants (8 varieties) back in my garden. We used to enjoy the fresh fruits, stems and banana flower. The leaves were used for Puja, cooking or for eating a meal.

You should use only the core of the stem discarding the outer layers. If you are buying from a shop this would already be done. Select the one that has no black, brown or red colourings. Chop it into really small squares and remove any fibres that come off. Add this to a bowl of water or a spoon of curd mixed it water. This stops the oxidation. Now take a fork or a barbecue rod and mix the chopped stems in circular fashion. It removes the fibres that is hard to bite.

Now do the tempering/tadka. Take a tea spoon of coconut oil (the best oil for cooking) or any other oil that you have. Add mustard, once it splitters, add urad dhal and chana dhal. Once this becomes golden brown add a cut green chilli and curry leaf. Add a little hing. Turmeric is optional.

Drain water from the banana stem. Add the tempering. Add a little salt. To this add some curd or thick buttermilk. Now if you are a vegan you can add a little lemon and some shredded fresh coconut.

Time to enjoy the crunchy banana stem salad!