This season tuck into some delectable greens to beat the heat

Summer salads

This season tuck into some delectable greens to beat the heat

    Summer is a month where you need to eat food that is fresh, refreshing and more importantly, something that will help you remain out of a hot kitchen! Salads are ideal when it comes to summer foods. They are quick to prepare, don’t need a lot of kitchen time and the health benefits trump the easiness of preparing them.
GO SEASONAL Try and go for seasonal summer foods like capsicum, cucumbers, ice lettuces and tomatoes. They are readily available, high on natural nutritional content and also cost effective. Besides, include season veggies like Amaranth or Chauli leaves, popularly known as Saag, to add a bit of zing to your salad. They’re also a great source of protein. Even Arugula leaves or baby beetroot leaves can be added if you’re bored of the ice lettuce and cucumber combo.
INCLUDE FRUITS It’s a great idea to include fruits in your salads. Summer fruits like watermelon and muskmelon have many health benefits. Besides a high water content, which your body needs, they also add a high nutritional value to your diet. Another reason is, you can ditch the high calorie desserts and go for a healthy fruit salad instead. A mango and pineapple salad is a good option for those who possess a sweet tooth.
PROTEIN If you miss meats in your diet and that’s the reason you avoid salads, a portion of boiled and marinated meats could provide you with the needed protein. Mostly athletes or those who are into bodybuilding will benefit from these, since a meaty salad provides you with a mix of vitamins as well as protein and gives all the complexity your diet needs. Use herbs like oregano, rosemary, and even some mild onion and garlic paste can be used to marinate meats and
    give it a nice
    flavour.
DRESSINGS While supermarkets offer a wide variety of salad dressings, there is always an option of making dressings at home. This is beneficial for those who are looking to avoid preservatives in their diet. 1 Buttermilk herb dressing A refreshing summer dressing for your green salad, this provides the needed calories to your diet and is easy to prepare at home. Take one and a half cup of buttermilk, one tablespoon of flavoured vinegar of your choice, a handful of chopped basil leaves and half a teaspoon of minced garlic. Mix the ingredients and use them in your green salad. This goes amazingly well with a spicier salad since the tang adds to the strong flavour of the salad. You can also add some pepper to increase the pungency.
2 Ginger Ponzu Sauce An easy dressing to make, this citrus based concoction can add the much needed zing to your blend of veggies. Inspired by Thai cuisine, all you need is less than half a cup of soy sauce, one tablespoon of freshly crushed and peeled ginger and one fourth cup of lemon juice. You can use this dressing on meaty salads including a fish salad.
3 Honey Dressing This is another easy dressing you can make at home and goes best with fruity salads. Take a cupful of yogurt, two tablespoons honey and just about two teaspoonfuls of grated lemon peel. Mix all the ingredients nicely until you get a rich, thick blend.

Add a portion of meat for protein in your salad

Yogurt and buttermilk dressings are a great idea

Decor tricks that you can use to make a small kitchen more spacious

Decor tricks that you can use to make a small kitchen more spacious

Keep the colour scheme low contrast This trick is like an optical illusion. When the difference between the colours of the walls is marginal, the eye tends to glide over surfaces without a break. This movement deceives the mind into thinking that the room is bigger than it actually is. So, paint the walls, flooring, cabinets and furniture in a low contrast colour scheme. This movement tricks you into thinking the space is larger than it really is. 

Have glass doors for cabinets Another way to fool a guest’s eye is to replace wooden or metal doors of cabinets with plain glass. This idea works because the eye goes beyond the cabinet’s frames into its depths. Ensure your cabinet is clutter-free and colour-coordinated from the inside and out, though! You don’t want guests to peek into messy storage. 

Let sunlight stream in Natural light makes any space appear larger and brighter. If you don’t have large windows to let loads of sunlight in, keep the window embellishments and treatments to a minimum. For privacy, draw an opaque shade so the light is not blocked but you’re still safe from prying eyes. 

Create space for storage Recessed shelves that sit between the studs in the kitchen have the dual value of providing storage without eating into air space or floor space. Even better if they are matched to the wooden furniture, since they would blend with the design. Don’t have a spot for recessed shelves inside your kitchen? Make room in the passageway. 
Use smart floor coverings While printed wall and floor coverings make a room look busy, the reverse also holds true. For instance, floor coverings with huge diamonds create diagonal lines that create the illusion of width so the room looks much wider. 

Use slender furniture Choose lightweight stools, tables and chairs that are light in weight. Buy furniture with clean lines so that your eye is not distracted. Buy an open table so that the floor and walls are visible. 

Employ stripes This is a fashion trick that applies to home decor as well. Horizontal stripes make a person appear wider, and a room too. Pick broad striped flooring that runs horizontally to stretch the floor space. You can get the same effect with a huge striped rug or by painting wooden flooring the same way. 

Make more space Figure out a way to remove part of a wall that adjoins your kitchen to the next room. In terms of physical space, it won’t add more square feet but will enhance the openness and vastness of the room. 

Get high This is another optical illusion trick, to draw the eyes upward so it increases the apparent height of the ceiling. Put up framed prints and paintings or decorative plates above your cabinets. Again, use objects that work with the backdrop for a sense of harmony. 

Have sleek surfaces Ceramic tiles and stainless steel are just two examples of reflective surfaces which amplify the effects of natural light, thus making your kitchen appear larger. Remember that pendant lights add atmosphere while under-the-cabinet lights are convenient for cooking. 

Do away with clutter Never let your countertop overfull with utensils or cabinets crowded with collectibles. These will cramp your kitchen. Eliminate clutter by clearing counters and cabinet tops. 

Keep things angular Let geometry guide your kitchen decor. Look for clean lines and geometric angles to expand the space. A narrow kitchen with clean-font cabinets has a crisp look.

To organically colour your lips, just eat these

Give your lips a natural stain

To organically colour your lips, just eat these

    Before the advent of lipsticks, women would use foods that would colour their lips. Not only do they keep your lips healthy, but also keep the colour on for a long time. So, if you wish to ditch chemically-treated lipsticks, here are a few options for you.

BEETROOT Wish to sport that maroon or red pout? Opt for beetroot. Apart from increasing the supply of blood in your body, rubbing a little beetroot just before you step outside your house will give a nice stain on your lips and the colour will also stay on for a good amount of time. Further, if the colour subsides, it will still make your lips look pink.

ROSE PETALS Not just for the smell, rose petals are also known to colour your lips. Crush and grind a few petals and make a paste out of it. Keep the paste on your lips for approximately 10-15 minutes and wash it off. The colour will stay on for a long time.

BETEL LEAF Popularly known as ‘paan’ in Hindi, women a few decades ago used this to colour their lips on their wedding day! If you are running short of time and just realise that you haven’t applied a lipstick, don’t panic. Chew a betel leaf so that it gives you a nice pale colour that stays on for a good duration of time.

STRAWBERRIES If you wish to go in for that pink or nude lip colour, there’s nothing better than rubbing a little strawberry paste or juice on your lips. Not only will it give your lips a shine shade, but will also give it a natural shine that will keep your lips hydrated for a long time.

Paan Benaras has gotten a makeover. From helping you digest food to cooling you down, here’s how best to enjoy the betel leaf this summer...

KHAIKE PAAN ICE WALA!

The Paan Benaras has gotten a makeover. From helping you digest food to cooling you down, here’s how best to enjoy the betel leaf this summer...

    Who doesn’t love the explosion of tangy fennel, sharp cloves and sweet gulkand wrapped in a refreshing betel leaf in the mouth? But this time, there’s more than one reason to tuck into a paan. It comes with a dose of good health too. Once had as an after-dinner treat — in sada or meetha — the paan is now proposing remedies for everything from cures for a bad throat to digestive relief, in delicious new avatars. Kids are relishing the new icy paans in mango, strawberry and chocolate flavours. Check out what Mumbai has to offer… 

SUMMER COOLER 
This time, paans are the new coolants. At Ghantawala Pan Mandir in Borivali that was set up in 1933, you’re bound to ‘chill’ after a few bites of its specialty — the Ice Paan. This one is crushed ice in a betel leaf and as you chew on it, the ice shavings merge with ingredients like thandai, elaichi and gulab paani. “It’s not for those with a sensitive throat, though,” laughs owner Vinod Kumar Tiwari. Buying paan here also has a special quirky note. Tiwari has a collection of over 450 bells collected over the last 19 years and rings a bell every time he has made a paan for someone. He has made it to a book of world records for possessing the largest collection of bells. “Over 80% of the bells are gifts from customers,” he says proudly. 
    Another cooling paan doing brisk business is the Rose Paan from the 27-year-old Yash Prakash Paan shop at Chowpatty, that has a specially-made gulkand with real rose petals in meetha and saada. Supari can be added for taste. “The chilled flavoured paans are also very popular,” says owner Rahul Om Prakash Chaurasia. 

DIABETICS KE LIYE 
Here, they also do a customised ‘sugar-free paan’ with no chutney, or gulkand. It has katha, chuna, star (fragrant powder with mint and amla) and light supari, in special or saada,” adds Chaurasia. Another paan hotspot, Muchhad Paanwala at Breach Candy, has a solution. It’s the Disco Paan. It has just a slight amount of gulkand and won’t spike sugar levels . “This paan is smaller, it has khus-khus, sandal paste, chuna, katha, khopra, gulkand just for taste, and star mukhwas, for the zaika,” informs Lakhan Kumar Tiwari of the shop. A must-try is the meetha paan, infused with coconut, that’s best had chilled. 

THROAT-SOOTHING PAANS 
Head to Muchhad’s if you’re looking for some sore throat relief. His Khaasi Wala Paan with mulethi (said to alleviate throat ache), plus lavang, elaichi, thandak and hari patti can be just what the doctor ordered. “I tell people if they have it once a day they will feel better,” adds Tiwari. Another cure might lie at Mishra Pan Bhandar at Juhu, in their ‘Mooh se Chaala Nikalnewala Paan’, made with masala, mulethi, and thandak. We also do a Maghai Jodi with special chutney and 
multhi, which helps,” says Mishra. 

HELPS DIGESTION 
    Along with the above, there’s also a     hot demand for digestive relief     paans. At the old Volga Paan 
    House at Fountain, in addition to their Kimam (supari, katha chuna) Paan and Meetha (with rose petal powder) they have a ‘Khana Hazam Paan’, with meetha, gulkand, saunf, dhaniya dal and khajur. “It must be eaten chilled,” says stall manager Dinesh. 

SIZE MATTERS Throwing a party? Just go for Muchhad’s ¾ kilo Family Paan, that needs to be cut like a cake. “People order it for birthdays and other gatherings,” adds Lakhan. “It’s got 10-15 varieties of chutney so it’s very fragrant. Plus, it has khajur, gulkand, coconut, salli and chandi varq supari. You can smell it from the other room, when it’s cut,” he says. The other biggie is the Paratha Paan at Bangali Paan Shop, Linking Road Bandra. This paan — that looks like bhelpuri — gets its name from its size and has masala and chopped patta. 

PAANS FOR PARTIES Other favourites include fruity paans in pineapple, strawberry, raatrani, plus others in dryfruit. A big sellout is the Chocolate Paan with chips and khus syrup. Ghantawala has a ‘Samosa Meetha’ that actually resembles a samosa and comes in different flavours, plus a Chappan Bhog, made using 56 different ingredients! The sheer variety is sure to please the palate. Munch on! 

HEALTH BENEFITS The betel leaf, also commonly called as ‘paan ka patta’ in India is in use right from the ancient times for a number of health reasons. It is packed with multiple nutritional benefits, says clinical dietician Zainab Gulamhusein. She presents a few of them…. It is packed with fibre, vitamin C and A (Beta-carotene), minerals i.e. calcium, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, calcium and iron and helps detoxify and cleanse your system. It has been known to aid digestion, reduce bad breath, cure ulcers, give relief from cough as well as abdominal pain, cramps and indigestion. Betel leaf can also be pounded and juice can be mixed with haldi (turmeric)/honey/rose water, which serves as a coolant to the stomach and gives relief from flatulence. Paan can be chewed plainly, which helps one to get the maximum benefit out of it as while chewing it, the saliva which is produced aids in the process of quick digestion. Upon chewing, the betel leaf induces the secretion of saliva. It also stimulates the secretion of digestive juices, which bring about the process of digestion. It gives relief from acidity. 

HOW ABOUT PAAN ICE CREAM OR PAAN SHOTS? 
Paan shots (where you gulp down a betel leaf concoction from a small shot glass) to digest your meal that were introduced to the city by Jiggs Kalra, became a much talked-about après dinner bite. Says foodie Zamir Khan, “Now, you also have Paan Flavoured Candy Floss as well as Paan Puri, which is paan flavoured ice cream made in-house in a golgappa shell. Paan is intrinsically Indian and it is most consumed post a meal. Having it differently like this adds to the fun.” 

START CHEWING! Paan can be consumed as a mukhwas after meals, had as a mouth freshner or added to your chapati dough. It can also be added as a garnish to your soups and salads.

Paan on ice makes for a summer treat

Maghai Jodi

Chocolate paan

The Paratha Paan

Paan stalls like this one at Turner Road, Bandra are a quintessential part of the city’s street corners. The varieties delicious as they are eclectic

Want a Samosa Meetha Paan?

Paan freshens the breath and is said to have several curative properties

Ice cream with paan

Paan shots