Warm your way through Winter

Wintertime – a fantastic season for that extra hour curled up under your duvet and for eating warm, spicy and nourishing food and drinks.

We feel hungrier in winter because the cold weather brings a drop in your body temperature, which stimulates your appetite. Eating helps to generate heat and keeps your body warm. Your body works harder and spends more energy just trying to keep you warm during winter, so your desire to eat more comes from your body’s natural increase in energy use. While you definitely can enjoy a healthy appetite during winter, do monitor your calorie intake, or you could end up putting on unwanted weight at the end of the season.

Bring a little sunshine into your home during the cold winter months by enjoying the bounty of produce that's available this season. Fresh fruits like Lemons, oranges, kiwis, strawberries, etc are available this season. All green leafy vegetables like spinach, fenugreek leaves, spinach, kale and some flour like wheat flour, millet, barley, jowar and pulses are few of the foods that make us feel warm, supported and secured.

The ideal way to start a meal is with a Barley & Vegetable Medley soup. This is loaded with health and taste. Fiber-rich barley is a key ingredient in this soup while the use of vegetable stock and other veggies enhances its health profile. Red chili flakes spice up the soup, but always add it at the end lest the soup becomes over spicy. Adding cheese to hot soup causes it to melt and mix in well with soup thereby pepping up the flavor – what more can i say, taste it and you’ll believe me! Click here to view the recipe >>

Navratri: Nine Days Festival

The most characteristic dances of Gujarat during Navratri are the Rasa and Garba dances which are performed at all levels of society by men and women.
The origin of the Rasa is traced back to the legends connected with the life of Lord Krishna. It is essentially associated with the agricultural rites. The Rasa is performed in Gujarat India on Navaratri; and other important festivals associated with harvest and crops. The Rasa dances of Saurashtra are closely related to agricultural functions and are for the best part grain-ritual dances.


‘Garba’ is a dance performed only by men and are often complex circular formations to represent designs of lotus and other designs considered magical religious and auspicious. The choreograph pattern of the dance, the floor designs made by the dancers, is similar of the paintings seen on the walls of huts. Through these designs whether on the floor or walls, through paint and color or through dance, ritual is held and spirits are invoked.

The Garba is indeed a ceremony in which everyone can take part irrespective of caste or social position. The dances are accompanied by drums (dholak) and the vocal women. The songs of the Garba are often history and melodious and have been handed down through generations.
Navratri is a long festival, which is celebrated continuously for nine days. Therefore, a variety of dishes are made and served during this festival. Special Navratri cuisine is a part of the multitude of culinary delights of the country. Since, in most of the communities, people observe fast during Navratri and eat only one meal a day at sunset, the Navratri meal has special courses and is strictly vegetarian. The choice of vegetables may vary from region to region. Spices are restricted to red chillies, turmeric and cumin seeds and only rock salt can be used. However, one can eat milk, curd, fruits and nuts. Saboodana vadaa is one of the recipes prepared during the vrats. A special snack made on the occasion of Navratri, the vadaas are very crispy and crunchy and melt in your mouth. In fact, the mouth watering snack item is considered as an ideal food to eat during Navratri fasts. Click here for the recipe >>