Food Doctor

Chikki is a very common and most loved snack consumed by each and every household in India. It is a hard crack made of peanuts / ricepuff / til (sesame seeds) / Rajgeera or anything that one can think of, and jaggery / sugar. We all Know how is it made, and like my other articles, I will not mention the recipe here since its available all over the internet. What I will do is give you the basics and give you the science behind each step so that you can never go wrong with making chikki. Like I always emphasize on, cooking right is a science. If you know it, you are a Masterchef! So let’s get started. I’ve already told you the ingredients of making chikki. Lets jump on to the science and Know – How of making chikki. 1. Caramelization of sugar:  The first step we take in making a chikki is to caramelize the sugar or jaggery. However, using jaggery i sbetter than sugar since it contains micronutrients and added benefits which i shall enlist in the next article. Right now...

Day in and day out, each Indian adds flavour to his meals by including pickles, commonly known as achaar. But, ages back, was the pickle made to add variety to the meals or as a simple method of preserving fruits and vegetables?? In the era of old age, when people did not have access across the globe, the Indian farmers felt the need to preserve the extra stock of mangoes that grew in India. It came as a preservation method to avoid wastage of food for efficient food management. Also, being a seasonal fruit, the discovery of preservation methods, gave the added advantage of availability of the fruit throughout the year, in the off seasons. Mangoes are an Indian favourite and is known as the king of fruits! And we Indians convert this fruit into various other forms and enjoy it's lavishness throughout the year! But now, let's have a look at the different forms of pickled mangoes and the science behind each. Today, since pickling has become a business to earn extra profits, S...