AHCTS
NUTRITIONAL & DIETARY
Halal Food in North India
150568253 Siwen Wong
Contents
NUTRITIONAL & DIETARY
Introduction
A person’s nutritional and dietary intake could play a part in pubertal development (1), determine of height (2) and also to keep sickness at bay. Actually malnutrition or imbalanced of nutritional and dietary consumption could stunt growth (3) and even indirectly cause chronic illness, often these were caused not by insufficient nutritional and dietary food avail in an environment, instead these problems were caused by a person’s selective eating habit due to various psychological problems, religious reason or lack of basic nutritional and dietary knowledge thus overindulging on only selected food.
From ancient days to this modern era, religion always played as one of the most powerful propaganda tools to convince a mass population not to take certain food successfully and its religious laws were often implemented to rule a country when its ruler was a believer. Holy books also instructed their followers clearly and stated what were their food requirement, and thus after a thousand years, such taboos are still existed although the world has changed so much especially during this advanced technological age, and even after mankind already went to moon more than once, but Muslims all over the world still determined their first day of Islamic year (4) or their new year based on if only a faint curve of crescent could be detected by two pairs of reliable naked eyes, that’s when their biggest feast of the year would commence, but if there was bad weather, Muslims would have to wait in anticipation for the next evening’s miracle, and thus often their new year could be delayed for one or two days. To solve such problem, open-minded modern Muslims begin to use telescope or moon phase (5) information provided by Nasa to determine their new year.
Before Muslims celebrated their new year, they would fast for a month called Ramadan, which is the ninth month or the last month of Islamic calendar. During Ramadan, Muslims could only eat food and drink water after sunset, except babies, pregnant women, sick people and old people are exempted. There were of course cases that many Muslims would eat secretly, and I got such hungry western educated Muslim students ate next to me but with guilt, right before they learned piano. If they got caught by their religious teacher mullah, it would be considered as a serious offence.
To sustain a long day without eating, by the time after sun down, starved Muslims could experience mild headache, shaking due to low blood sugar or lethargy. Thus during Ramadan month, Muslims would eat dates first to break the fast (6). Dates not just provide essential nutrients and minerals; especially its magnesium works to balance blood sugar and lower insulin. Date also is highly alkaline and it has insoluble fiber that could prevent constipation caused by abrupt changing meals times. As date is also a low Glycemic Index (GI) food (7), it thus can help to sustain fasting Muslims’ hunger for longer time.
Dates is actually one of the best healthy options to prepare halal food, it is so versatile, it can be used to prepare entrée in meat loaf or terrine, it can be used to prepare dates puree, mixed with curry to turn into a hot and spicy sweet sauce for meat dishes, and dates also can used to prepare different desserts. Seemingly dates popularized with Islamic religion (8), but now almost entire world’s Muslims are eating dates due to Muslims’ founder Muhammad would eat dates to break his fast. This is just one of the evidences of how powerful a religion could influence their followers’ eating habit and choice of food.
1.1, North India’s History & Background
The Factors of Influences on Halal Nutritional and Dietary
Historically, Islam is not a religion originated from India; it was through eight centuries of occupation at the hands of Arab, Turkish Sultanate, Mughal (9) Empires and Afghan. During such chaos eras in North India, many Hindus were actually forced by life and dead to convert into Muslims; hence nowadays Muslim actually turns up as the largest religion (15) after Hinduism. When British first arrival at 18th century (10), they witnessed some horrendous accounts of how Hindu was tortured by their Muslim rulers and they also noticed that most Hindus were behaved more like Muslims instead, then British took over those Muslim rulers began to colonize India (11) for about 150 years during 19th century, and India only gained its own independence (12) at year 1947.
According to Muslim historian (13) Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah’s research, during medieval period’s Muslim invasions, bloodshed happened to India, Hindu was massacred from six hundred million to two hundred million at mid 16th century.
Picture (14): During Mughal invasion during 16 to 18th century, women and children were not exempted from torturing from the invaders.
From the historical points of views, under such a long period continuous foreigners’ invasions, mass foreigners’ migration into North India (16), and that included Muslim religion oppression and genocide, undeniably different foreign forced rulings and influences had played an integral part of what North India has metamorphosed and reflected in every aspect of their lives including their education, culture, arts, characteristic, behaviors and even food to this modern age.
Geography
Due to North India’s geographical position, historically it was not just a good refuge land for wars torn refugees but also an ideal land for religious oppressed refugees (17) to migrate, for an example after Islamic Sasanian Empire invaded Persia in the middle of fifth century, there were two major groups of Zoroastrian escaped to North India and China, and there were also some Judaism and Christian refugees settled in North India as well. Up to current date India is still a good land to refuge, these included refugees from Afghanistan, Burma and Tibet.
Picture (18): This map shows the location of North India with its states of Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Himachai Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Union Territories of Delhi and Chandigarh. Its immediate right neighboring countries are Nepal and China and its immediate left neighboring country is Pakistan. Northwestern India is actually located at one of the world most ancient civilization (19) sites, the Indus Valley (20), now it is a semi-arid land which is suitable for date palms cultivation (21).
Cultures
Culinary art is a part of cultural backbones of a region or a country, and usually the originality of cuisines in a region or a country could tell a story its past and current existing inhabitants or if there were any past and current existence of other foreigners.
Since ancients times (22), which could even date back to the earliest civilization in Indus Valley, initially it was a land inhabited with its original ethnic inhabitants who were mainly Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism followers, then gradually through invaders, refugees and traders from different regions and ethnicities, foreign religions like Muslim, Christians, Judaism, Zoroastrians, etc. one after another began to bring along to North India, a part of ancient Indus Valley and turned it into a very diversify melting pot with many foreigners originated from different cultures and religions.
However, although it was once a melting pot where its inhabitants were living together with different ethnic indigenous people of the land and foreigners from different cultures background but its assimilation pace was not as fast and its influence to each other was not much as compared to this modern time due to bad means of communication and also due to Hinduism caste system defined classes very clearly even amongst Hindu themselves and this made assimilation between poor and rich impossible, and this Hindu caste system persisted until Islamic religious reigned, Muslims religion didn’t have caste system, thus its ideology could sound very attracted to lowest caste Hindu. But once after majority Muslims reigned the land, such assimilation between different races from other religious background by then was restricted by strict religious control over their different believers’ interactions and food intake. It also began to initiate a long history of hatred (23) between Hindus and Muslims.
Picture (24): Social interaction in ancient India was segregated by caste system during ancient days, from these fundamental 5 major castes it would then subdivide into 2000 sub-castes. These days the caste system is abolished but unofficial discrimination between each caste still silently existed, that’s why most Indians from lower castes strongly encouraged their children to become doctors and lawyers in order to break through such barrier. India recognizes its different existing religions, yet as a melting pot since ancient days with almost all major racial groups (25) mostly through marriage, yet the national census of independent India does not recognize any racial groups (26) in its country.
Under such situation, culinary exchange between different cultures from different religious background would not be possible unless there was a common ground, for an example it would be impossible to share a beef dish between a Hindu and Muslim, as Hindu wouldn’t eat beef. In another word, unless there were two different races came together sharing ingredients or non prohibited ingredients with a common ground.
Picture (27): Vegetarian dish like Kadai Paneer (Indian cheese cooked on Indian style wok) is one of good examples of traditional North India vegetarian dish. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs and spices used to cook for vegetarian dishes found common ground - Both Hindus and Muslims can eat them, that’s why resulted so many varieties of vegetarian dishes could be found in North India.
Important Change Agents
The advancement in fine arts, science and technology of a country would often act as the catalyst of great changes in every aspects of life of a generation, however sharing in medieval was not like modern time that you could stay alone in a study while interact and share your ideas, methods, teaching or learn a skill through internet, thus physical presence was required during past eras. Also Muslim women who did cooking most of the time were mostly confined and segregated from men but also from other foreign women of other religious background.
Picture (28): Hindus would consider cows as sacred, but Muslims would slaughter and eat the “holy cows” of Hindus, such conflict is still existed up to this modern time, thus unless they both found common ground, only then sharing would be possible.
Due to the conflicting and controlling nature of two such biggest existing religions between Hinduism and Islam in the region, their merged culinary exchange were not influential enough to flourish a height like 20th century French’s culinary revolution (29). French during starving era would eat anything but could refine and even turn them into gourmet food that accepted and respected by other foreigners for their developed fine food and culinary skills, yet Muslims and Hindu, they were either prohibited to take any meat, have limited meat choices or only could use only certain animal parts but no offal, there were many wastage created to the animals they slaughtered, the main culprit was caused by religious control to hinder successful assimilation amongst different races.
But there was also conflict-conflict situation existed, as every individual ethnic race would think that their own traditional cuisines were the best, usually they would reluctantly try other ethnic race’s food but they would be more eager to show other races their traditional food whenever they got a chance, as this would be the only opportunity that they could proof that they were superior even under such suppressive and backwards eras. Under such situation, only the best cuisines from each culture could be assimilated through modification.
The limitation of sharing culinary arts between different cultures continued even when a foreign race began to believe or convert his or her religion due to marriage or other reason, so in the culinary sense the only passport that could be shared, exchanged or traded freely between the Hindu, Muslim and the rest of the religions in such a cultural diversified region was to continue developing or adapting certain plant based herbs and spices, either in fresh or dried form spice mixes, e.g. garam masala, chaat masala, goda masala, kanda lasun masala, upama masala, kaala masala, panch phoron or curry powder, so that everyone could pick up their own mixtures but modified individually through their own regional or local resources and produce. When there was a demand, there would be a supply, thus India’s spice trade could continue flourish even up to presence days and also spice and herbs formed the backbone of Indian cooking.
Pictures of Garam Masala (30): One of the most popular spice mixes in North India that could be used by everybody living in the region as long as they could accept the fragrance of the spices regardless of religion and background is Garam masala, its major spices used are nutmeg, cloves, mace, black peppercorns, brown and green cardamom, cinnamon then grounded into powder form. Then based on each individual ethnic race, they could add in additional spices and herbs or even nuts and then cook with vegetables, meats, fish or mixtures of both vegetables and meat or fish.
From the application of spice and herbal mixture with modification of a regional or local resources and produce, different regions’ cuisines thus could be clearly identified. For examples, there is a lamb dish called Roghan Josh of Persian origin, Hindu would use asafetida and dried ginger, and would use yogurt as souring and thickening agent, but North India Muslim Kashmiri would use garlic and fresh ginger, and tomato as souring and onions as thickening agent.
Picture: Hindu’s Rodgan Josh (31) (Left) with modified ingredients like asafetida, dried ginger and yogurt and North India Muslim Kashimiri’s Rodgan Josh (32) (Right) with modified ingredients like garlic, fresh ginger, tomato and onion.
Another dish Chole with chickpeas in gravy accompanied by Indian flat bread Kulche or Bhatoore, Hindu would use powdered masalas, but the modified version would use onion-tomato based gravy.
Biryani actually was originally a Muslim halal cuisines, but in Indian, it was adapted as a vegetarian dish in Tehri, Biryani modernized verison are served similar to Indian’s Pulav
Under such long and constant changing of political regimes, genocides and even famines happened in North India, for generations ethnic Indians were mainly captive slaves, and so called survival of fitness, only those most resilience or most submissive ethnic Indian clans could survive by their wits, perseverance and patience, and thus their best traditional cuisines could also be endured as the most authentic version that could continuously carry into the next generation and remain until these days.
In another perspective, Islam was not the original religion of Indian, it came to India through invasion and conquering, they tried to convert local ethnic Indian to become Muslims by coercing or violence, and through such religious conversion, their halal food were able to introduce to new Indian Muslim converts, resulted many North Indian’s halal cuisines are actually very much inclined to Arabic and Turkish halal food instead.
Strictly speaking, Muslim man is only allowed marry to another Muslim woman, and they are allow to marry four wives according to sharia law, consequently, throughout following generations, intermarriage between the Arabs, Turks, Mongols (All Mongols Emperors were Muslim) and Indian Muslim convert descendents would happen frequently, and through such intermarriage, actually Indian traditional food would be modified and adapted by Arabs, Turks or Mongols and even other foreign migrants and merchants staying in North India or vice versa, resulted to what as North India’s significance halal cuisines reserved to these days with elliptic meet of other nationalities’ Muslims cuisines.
Picture (37): Indian’s Samosa, a kind of deep fried dumpling with either potato or mixture of potato and meat filling sauté with curry powder was actually originated from Middle East known as Sambosa was introduced to India about 13th and 14th century by Arab merchants.
1.2, Contemporary Uses
Halal food’s nutritional and dietary actually can promote health much better than non Muslims Indian who usually won’t take beef or even other meat at all, as beef is one of the major sources of our diet that could provide high iron, an essential for metabolism and other minerals which vegetarians and vegan usually deprived (38).
Due to halal way of slaughtering animals, animal’s blood was drained; the animal thus could retain freshness for longer time, the meat smelt better as well when its blood was drained and also the meat would be much healthier and tastier to eat than those animals being killed by other non halal methods, thus halal meat actually has very high sellable market value if people are educated about the animal killing process and learned about the facts.
Also most of these halal North India’s dishes just like any other Indian cuisines are using lots of herbs and spices, these days the herbs and spices are not just used for cooking, but they are also used in clinical research for herbal drugs and to manufacture as beauty products, natural pesticides and medicinal supplements.
Picture (39): Tulsi is known as holy basil, basil with yellow flower which is commonly found in India, it is considered as the queen of the herbs in India. It has been used widely in India for more than thousand years, and it has so many health benefits (40).
Understand of Halal Food
So what is halal (41) means? Halal is an Arabic word, it means any permitted food prepared as prescribed by Muslim law, to make sure there is no haram (42) food contaminated or cross contaminated their daily food intake.
Picture (43): This PowerPoint slide told what is the halal food, however if certain halal food is being contaminated or cross contaminated by non-halal food under certain situation, it has to be discarded instantly, e.g. if a piece of halal beef was cut by a knife that was used to cut a piece of pork before or a board was used to cut pork first then the beef, however for serious Muslims, a knife or a chopping board that used to cut pork even after cleaning, washing and sterilizing is still not allowed to cut halal beef or else it will become a haram beef. Also if an apple or a carrot was accidentally touched by pork gravy, the apple or carrot instantly would become haram even if you wash it. Halal food is as strict as like how a chef separated a chicken to prevent cross contamination from using same knife and cutting board for other ingredients.
Picture (44): Haram foods mean prohibited foods for Muslim’s consumption. There is no way to “process” the haram food to become halal. However in this modern age, revolution of halal food has just reached its milestone when halal foie gras begins to emerge.
All animals consumed by Muslim must be certified as halal, and this included certified halal butchers to slaughter animals in required halal standard. Actually animals have been slaughtered in similar method since Antediluvian by all human races, and then they were allowed to eat more choice of foods after Postdiluvian to this contemporary age. But throughout the course of history, when migration happened some races ended up in harsh terrains where they learned to survive by eating anything they could find and eat up any animal offal including their blood, e.g. like Chinese and Japanese they would eat anything from poison snake to poison fish. To date back, based on religious research actually both Jews and Muslims were originated from a similar forefather (45), thus halal food is mostly similar (46) to kosher food’s production.
Muslims won’t eat any animals with cloven hooves like pigs, thus any product derived from pigs is considered as non-halal or haram. In such an extent, they won’t keep dogs as pets. Muslims are also very careful even taking pharmaceutical products including medicines made of soft gel, they would make sure that it is halal without using pig bones and cartilage to produce jelly, thus they won’t take gelatin but agar-agar instead. Haram food like fish without scales is also forbidden to eat, thus Muslims won’t eat cat fish, shark or eel. They also can’t take alcoholic drinks, but they are allowed to take fermented food or drink (47) as long as its low percentage alcohol content taken in large amount doesn’t cause intoxication.
Growing Nutritional and Dietary Awareness
One of the most popular food issue movements happened in this twenty first century is growing of awareness in nutritional and dietary intake and this is also extended to Muslims’ halal food’s nutritional and dietary awareness.
As contemporary India has become one of the fastest growing telecommunication industries globally, thus through its different social media accesses and links, ones could soundly and visually draw closer to other first world countries faster than all past generations. And also through such social media’s interaction, Muslims from North India began to open up themselves to learn the similarities and differences of what other ethnic and indigenous races and nationalities from different regions and countries ate, how other believers of different religions ate, how other people cooked their food through different cooking styles, tools and methods, what are the latest cooking appliances invented or how the food serving portion is being cut and served, and how latest trend of food is not served in traditional styles of plating etc.
Also in this new millennium due to political, social and economic openness and climate changes encouraged modernization of food science researching, food manufacturing and farming methods, thus there are more food products being created, processed and thus manufactured, and more variety of high yielding hybrid plants species cultivated to cater the growing population needs.
If abundance of foods are available to general growing wealthier populations, they began to over-indulgence in excessive unhealthy fattening food and processed food, if general population are not educated to control their dietary and nutritional calories consumption strictly, if they continue to eat their rich traditional food and also other factory processed food frequently, in addition jeopardized by layback life style and professions with little physical activities, as a matter of fact the increasingly emergence of obesity, high cholesterol and diabetic have become the main health concerns and issues in this contemporary time.
Usually this happens to regardless if it was a developed or third world countries, usually only when dietary and nutritional issues began to cost too much on government’s budget, then it would only emerge as a health issue. The awareness to let general population to eat healthy diets and show concern over nutritional intake must be raised to general population through the following ways:
(1) Students should be educated in school and general populations should be educated by medical and health professional to reduce eating some of their over-rich, over-salty and over-sweetened traditional food, either in a way to cut down the amount taken and thus lower the calories consumption, changing the cookery methods to reduce the use of saturated fat or try to replace it with unsaturated fat and using lean meat instead of skin and fatter part of meat.
(2) People should be encouraged to take more vegetables and fruits and eat less meat, less carbohydrate, less fat, less sugar and less salt if they engage in less strenuous professions.
(3) Impart ones with good nutritional knowledge and education, how to count calories, taking low GI food, know what are those low GI foods or taking natural food etc. in order to stay in health
(4) Another way to help food to retain nutritional essence is through modernization of cookery methods, cut down serving portion, adapted traditional recipes, developed new recipes according to the newly created food products compromise with the advanced cookery equipment and methods and created healthy avant garde recipes to suit social trend in both aesthetics sense, healthy issues and new dimension of taste buds excitements.
(5) Try to encourage people eating freshly harvested food instead of pickled food, convenience canned food and processed food.
(6) Encourage organic cultivation of crops with no pesticides and chemical fertilizers used.
(7) General public should be informed about healthy food, nutritional and dietary topics through magazines, newspapers, televisions and social media.
The contemporized of cooking methods by different means also indicated changing of old traditional cooking fuels and utensils, the following are the benefits of such changing:
1. Changing of coal fuel, Kerosene and open fire using wood or charcoal as fuel brought health hazard issues, as such traditional fuels combustion actually possessed high risk to cause lung cancer (48).
2. Using of gas to cook can heat up the food faster and it also could control the heat better during cooking and thus produced much more consistence food, nutritional value of food could be kept in its optimum state through good heat control.
3. Using high voltage blender or food processor to mince food can be done quickly and thus more hygiene and prevent oxidations.
4. Using of pressure cooker could speed up cooking time, due to such high pressure during cooking, and actually some food like rice or peas cooking could turn into better texture to please taste buds. Using microwave could heat up a required small portion of food in a short time to save time and energy; microwave could also help to defroze meat quickly and safely during urgent. The improvement of metals and materials used to create woks, frying pans and pots help to cook the food in relative short time due to better conduction, convection or radiation occurred within the cooking utensils and stove.
5. Using sou vide cooking also could produce a new dimensional texture that never happened in the past.
6. Also the combi oven could steam bake most meats without drying them, it also could bake the bread with great consistency through consistent injection of stem during baking that helped caramelize the bread crusts thus to produce beautiful golden color that conventional oven couldn’t achieve.
Food Trends, Nutritional and Dietary Consciousness
For examples, from YouTube and Face book, Muslims from North India could watch how some of the best chefs from different parts of the world began to share and exchange of their culinary knowledge. Hence fusion trend of food served with other countries’ influences started to introduce, interchange and integrate as well into contemporary younger generation’s Indians diet and nutritional intake, and this surely won’t be exempted from influencing the North India’s halal food trend towards modernization, as North India’s halal food is not being as stringently controlled like Malaysia, Brunei and most Middle East countries with fully implemented Islamic sharia laws (49), thus Muslims from North India actually have more freedom to express their halal food cookery methods and with the best of western culinary influence to display the most cutting edge halal food presentation to the world.
The following are some helpful informative web links that could educate Indian for their food’s nutritional and dietary awareness, and nowadays sharing different regional cuisines between North and South India has become so common, in fact there is not much differences in the base ingredients between North India’s Muslim halal food with other vegetarian or meat dishes commonly found in India, except Muslims have to use halal meat and food produces without contaminated or cross contaminated by haram food and haram utensils or equipments.
(1) Why Indians are Stressed and Unhealthy:
(2) Health and Nutritional Status of the Indian Tribes of Tripura and effects on Education:
(3) Indian Food: AAPI’s Guide to Nutritional, Health, and Diabetes:
(4) Food-based dietary guidelines – India:
(5) Dr. Veena Shatrugna: Politics of Indian Nutrition, Food and Meat:
(6) Calories in Indian Food, Calories in Indian Food Items:
(7) Changing Indian Lifestyles Fuel “Twin Epidemics” of Health Problems:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cf7y5cce9o
Picture (50): This is the map shows the world wide Islamic countries which used sharia either partially or fully.
In this modern age, actually any magazines, books, newspapers, YouTube cooking programs, recipes and healthy living websites, TV cooking shows and social media could influence and permeate into a culture gradually to moderate their daily food preparation methods and cooking styles to produce higher standard and much interesting fusion contemporary versions or to adapt their traditional food, recipes and cookery methods resulting healthier version of food which probably used up less energies, losing less nutritional values resulted better colors, achieve better texture, using less fat and retain more juice inside the prepared meat.
However, there is also some negative side that jeopardized young generation’s nutritional and dietary wiser choice that influenced profoundly by various means of advertisements. Young generation Muslim Indians would act just like any other youngsters of other countries, they began to prefer coca cola over their traditional healthy savory spiced lassi or choose McDonald’s fast food like McVeggie (51) burgers over their freshly cooked naan and chicken curry or lentil curry sauce, etc.
Picture (52): This was an advertisement of McDonald in North and East India, who could resist such offer? If I was in India, I surely would bring my kids to try at least once!
Traditionally, almost all conventional cuisines from different ethnic background were rich, fatty, flavorsome, and with high calories, but as in old days, food products were usually limited and scare to commoners, they needed high calories diets due to their working nature as mostly poor labors, farmers and even slaves, and usually abundance food was just limited to landlord, noble and royal households. And this is not exempted from North Indian’s traditional halal cuisines which either were developed and adapted but still could keep its traditional essence to endure the historical excruciation under brutal reigning of their foreigners conquerors, these North Indian’s halal cuisines could be considered as the most endurance and exquisite cuisines remained on earth with well balanced in flavor, diets, nutritional and dietary attributions, but often this kind of well-preserved traditional cuisines could be easily misinterpreted by modern era’s people if they are not well educated in nutritional and dietary awareness to understand the ancient wisdom applied to the culinary arts, and if such balanced nutritional and diet are ignored and misinterpreted by over indulging in both rich traditional cuisines and high calories fast food, one’s health surely would be jeopardized.
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Production Methods of Halal Food
According to scientific experiments (53) conducted, scientists found that halal ways of slaughtering animals are much more humane and caused no pain to the slaughtered animals, but captive bolt pistol (CBP) used in western countries actually gave animals severe pains during the course of slaughtering, the method also caused retention of more blood in the meat than the slaughtering method, as blood is considered as unhygienic for Muslims.
These days there are many researches done on whether the meat is unhealthy to eat (54) or taste bad (55) if the animals were stressed during killing.
Picture (56): The Pale Soft Exudative (PSE) pig of the left picture showed that the pigs were under fear and stress right before slaughtered, it was caused by broke down of glycogen to make the pork appeared pale, brittle and tasteless due to lack of lactic acid that could supposedly keep the pork pink, tender and flavorful. The center picture is a healthy meat to eat and the right picture is the Dark Firm Dry (DFD) red meat either by cattle or lamb, it was also caused by fear, stressed and even severe pain right before dying, this meat can’t kept long, its texture is tough, dry and acidic.
In United States, standard halal food must be certified by Muslim Consumer Group (MCG),(57) in New Zealand, standard halal food must be certified by Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ),(58) whereas in India, Halal Trust India (59) is one of leading halal food certified bodies. In all strictly governed Islamic countries, all Muslims must take halal food, if anyone of them got caught eating or drinking non-halal food, they will be penalized.
However there are some conditions in Quran said that Muslim can take non-halal food.(60) According to Quran’s chapter 2:173, it states that if one is forced because there is no other choice, neither craving nor transgressing, there is no sin on him. For an example, I have a few Muslim friends who worked as diplomats, when they were posted to some of those countries where halal food was not available, under such circumstances they would eat the non-halal beef and chicken available as long as not the pork, but there was another exceptional case when my Muslim special unit military friend who was selected to get trained and passed the stringent training as American Rangers in United States, he got no choice, he had to eat wild boar and hotdog, but he would tell nobody in his family except me.
Just like any other Muslims all over the world, North India halal food’s small scale production like wedding parties must be prepared by at least a Muslim presence during cooking; non-Muslims are allowed to assist as long as they don’t bring any haram cooking utensils and equipments or haram food to eat in the kitchen to contaminate or cross contaminate the halal food accidentally. If in large scales production, the catering companies and hotels must have halal certification especially if they are catering for airlines and international conventions Muslims’ meals. The halal certification could provide basic guidelines for the chefs to know how to order and prepare the halal food.
Strictly speaking, all halal food must be all prepared and served with only utensils, equipments, serving plates and cutlery sets that never been contaminated or cross contaminated by any haram food and items before.
Techniques in Herbal and Spice Concoction
As India was historically one of the crossroads of Northern Hemisphere intercontinental merchants’ spice trade (61) route, its geographical vantage helped India to become one of the jewels where foreign spice merchants could purchase abundance of different exotic spices and indirectly also created an opportunity for Indian traders to interchange foreign spices for own Indian people.
This successful trade exchange or barter trade happened actually made India a country well known as fully loaded with spices for trade since ancient days to presence, and thus during the course of history they could wisely concoct different kinds of milder or fierier curry mixtures all over different regions in India by using both local resources and foreign spices to produce all varieties of curry dishes in identifying specifically their individual origins.
For example, North India’s mild curry korma is less fiery than South India’s curry (62). This South India’s fierier curry is actually being mellowed, balanced and cool down by coconut cream that served along with mint chutney and coconut juice or mango lassi, but as mango, coconut and quite a few South India’s curry ingredients are not the native plants for colder temperate zone over the north, thus the korma’s ingredients is wisely concocted by using less chili and less herbs and thus milder, instead it is using yogurt and cream to balance and mellow the flavor and taste.
Picture (63): Lassi can be served plain either with just added salt or sugar syrup, or flavored by fruits like mangoes and berries or herbs like mint and dills, it is said to be originated from Punjab but many other parts of the world produced the same bubbly drink made from fermented curdled milk like Turkish’s Ayran or Persian’s Doogh. What would be more refreshing during summer time while eating a Chicken Korma and accompanied by a glass of savory mint lassi?
This is just a typical example of how local inhabitants’ wisdom to use local resources fully in preparing their daily food and this also help to identify a region’s cuisine specifically and uniquely from other regions. This is why there were so many curry varieties and dishes were wisely concocted, created, adapted and developed with balance through at least its 5000 thousand years Indian civilization,(64) and they are like heirloom endured, inherited and passed from one generation to another from their forefathers.
Health Benefits of Herbal and Spice
There are no other race in this world would use more herbs and spice to cook a dish than Indian, perhaps except Malaysian, Thai and Indonesian could par up with Indian due to their history and background. Herbs and spices used to season Indian cuisines as well as North India halal cuisines have now been scientifically proved that they can promote general health due to their individual’s rich vitamins and minerals and with medicinal benefits as well.
The following is the list of Indian herbs and spices with medicinal properties (65):
(1.) Turmeric: Turmeric has an element called curcumin, which is an antioxidant and can decrease mutation and suppress tumor formation.
(2.) Fenugreek: Fenugreek is known herbs either in form of seeds or seedlings; it is popular herbs to help diabetes.
(3.) Garlic, ginger, onion and mustard: These herbs can be used as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antithrombotic and to suppress carcinogenesis.
(4.) Cumin: Research has proved that cumin can prevent memory lost and damage caused by stress (66).
Picture (67): From this picture we can see that cumin is rated highly as one of the world’s healthiest foods rating. Cumin is not just rich in minerals; it also has very low GI (Glycaemic Index) which is suitable for diabetic patients.
(5) Pepper: South India, Vietnam and Brazil are three largest countries that produced peppercorns in the world, North India colder climate can’t plant pepper, thus it has to acquire from South India. Pepper is actually known as the king of spices, it is rich in antioxidant, can prevent cancer (68), promote respiratory relief and skin health etc.
Picture (69): This world’s healthiest food rating chart rated black pepper even higher than cumin,
pepper also has very low glyceamic Index (GI), thus safe for diabetes.
(6) Cardamom (70): It promotes gastrointestinal protection, controls cholesterol, helps to suppress cancer etc.
(7) Lemongrass(71): Its essential oil can be used to make medicine, it has so many medicinal benefits like suppress cancer, ward off insects, use to treat rheumatism, act as mild astringent etc.
The Resources
In order to prepare halal food, there must have enough local resources available to equally cater Muslim population’s special demand, if local resource of halal meat supply won’t be able to meet the overwhelming demand of Muslim population, in such case import of foreign halal meat is required.
Often during fasting month Muslims prefer to eat dates, North India has to import dates (72) from Middle East or North Africa due to its own dates’ plantation is not sufficient for its own domestic consumption.
So what are the differences between halal curry and non-halal curry of North India?
Strictly speaking, in order to produce a halal curry beef dish, the chefs must make sure any herbs, spices and vegetables used must not be contaminated or cross contaminated by any haram food. The beef used must be strictly certified halal to use for cooking. And any tools used to directly touching the halal food must never be contaminated by any haram items.
1.3, Future Trends –Applications
Technology
These days, most Muslims stay in North India, either mix or pure race are actually not all ethnic Indians, their ancestors were mostly foreigners, as one of the minority(73) in India now, they are not as strictly monitored in regarding marriage between same Muslims (Required by Sharia law, but is not enforced by Indian government) by their religious clergymen like other Muslim countries which official religion is Islam. This is mainly due to there is overwhelming of 80% Hindus reigning India but only 15% Muslims in India.
As historically Hindu Indians were coerce to become Muslim, also during the long reign of brutal Muslim invaders, uncountable millions of Hindu were murdered by Muslims, thus it would be hard for Hindu which religion advocates non-violence and non killing of human form to convert and become a Muslim. Also other less restricted believers from other religions would not be able to stand being controlled by too many restrictions as a Muslim convert, e.g. like women can’t drive, can’t work and can’t expose their face publicly. Also India is not as rich as Saudi Arabia who can afford sitting at home without working to help the family, but Indian women have to work in the field or office to help in sustaining and raising a family.
India has now become one of the global giants in technological industry mainly due to it is not being oppressed and restricted by a stern religion or politic. Compared to any Arabic countries monitored by very strict sharia laws, although they are much richer than India, but their advancement in technology and manufacturing intelligence technology parts can never beat India, and India is still under continuous development for bigger ambitious projects to expand including their internet service to every rural parts of India. Thus Indian Muslims especially their Muslim women (74) can in fact get more opportunities to be educated in public schools than other Muslim women living in stricter Muslim countries like Dubai or Oman, North Indian Muslim women are also less restricted in their costumes, they don’t need cover themselves with just their face or a pair of eyes remained like most Arab women, they are allowed to wear their own traditional costumes like lungi and sari and kurtha and salwaar, a style of loose shirt and pajama. However, generally Indian Muslim women are still much more conservative than women from any other kind of religions due to their activities are not just being controlled by their religion but also their male members of the family.
Picture (75): Educated modern Muslim Indian career women actually dressed up as fashionable as western career women as picture shown.
Food is always the first door opened to extend one’s friendship with other race, thus these North Indian Muslim women may be banned to watch American soup operas but they will not be likely barred from watching Nigella Lawson or Jamie Oliver’s YouTube cooking videos or other television cooking shows. Although Muslim women may be still being kept within their own Muslim women group, but behind the close door if they turn on internet individually, as long as one doesn’t reveal his or her true identity, cyberspace interaction will be possible through social media regardless of sex and religion, but this obviously won’t be possible before television and then internet got popularized for Muslim women to get a chance to watch visual demonstration of cooking directly from chefs.
Another important factor that helps India to become a technological giant is their huge population of 1.3 billion (76), with the work force consisted of both men and women and even children from poor families! It is predicted soon India’s population will exceed China to become the world largest population. From the population vantage, India may have a very high potential to become one of the world most advanced countries in the future.
Picture (77): Indian’s labor force included young boys and women, and this teenager had to work in a Delhi textile factory in India.
As historically, India’s wealth had been robbed by so many foreign invaders through the past 1000 years and it only got in dependence from Britain only for 65 years. It is just like a very resilience seed being unearthed after a thousand year and only begins to sprout and grow. India is like a group of suppressed lions enduring for so many generations under submission with their great ambition yoked and coerced by foreign invaders, their descendants’ genes could have been mutated to become ambitionless due to suffering through generations of desperation, I had even witnessed how ambitionless people lived in communist countries during 80s although they were under relatively short period of restricted communistic ruling regime when compared to Indian under foreigners’ invasion, and imagine that among the major civilizations, India was being invaded for a thousand year by at least eight different type of foreigners. Is it the matter of time, from my observation that some lions in India have just began to wake up, e.g. they also began wisely choose their less corrupted new prime minister, Narendra Modi
Picture (78): Narendra Modi is the most recent prime minister of India, after several corrupted Prime ministers; finally Indians wisely nominated a Prime minister that they hope could help to strengthen India’s economic. Modi is highly regarded by western observers due to his humble upbringing and styles.
Social Influences
If India continuously progresses like now, in the future general Indian’s per capital income will increase, this will enable them to travel widely and send their children to study abroad in first world countries. But usually the first generation Indian who studied abroad usually would choose to remain in western countries, but it may not likely happen in the future if India turns into a first world or industry country.
North India’s halal food trend although is moving relatively slow compared to general Indian food industry for at least a generation towards modernization, but I believe soon in the future that the best of current Indian and western fusion and modernized cuisines found in western countries and international five stars hotels will be commonly find in North India’s halal restaurants in the nearer future in this technological base modern era. As there are some overseas’ Indian chefs (Overseas Indians are those Indian who are born and raised in foreign countries, some of their ancestors could have left Indian since three generations ago) have worked in international hotels or attended western culinary school have already par-up with avant garde trend, they do in such a way to assimilate into a western culture by fusing and introducing Indian traditional cuisines or ingredients into western cookery methods.
Picture (79): This was a talented student from North India studying in Auckland Hotel Chef and Training School who won gold medal in New Zealand Chef Saloon 2016
The following are samples dishes and set menu of such fusion of Indian and western influenced cuisines found here in Auckland which I think can be easily converted as future halal cuisines in the exactly similar manner in North India as long as the ingredients are not contaminated or cross contaminated by haram food and by using the newly approved halal ingredients.
Picture (80): This is one of the best examples of Indian and western fusion entrée, Seared Scallop, foie gras, curry emulsion, apple, mooli by using Indian traditional spice and herbal mixture , i.e. curry and available common ingredient locally, i.e. mooli (daikon radish) then modified by integrating New Zealand local ingredients like scallop and apple and western (French) ingredients like foie gras that served in Cassia (81), a restaurant operated by an Fijian-Indian couple in Auckland, New Zealand. Although foie gras as offal was considered as haram for Muslim, but first revolution of halal food began to happen in 2010 when halal foie gras (82) was first introduced in France and there were some kind of halal alcohol-free wines and Champagne (83) being approved in Australia as well.
Picture (84): Tandoori Chicken is one of the prized main courses at the moment (Dated August 31st, 2016) in Cassia restaurant according to its chef. This Tandoori actually used very traditional Indian approach cookery method in an extent its chicken is cooked by Indian traditional oven, tandoori. Amongst the different cookery methods, tandoori oven is one of a very few cookery methods with all three heat transfer methods i.e. Conduction, convection and radiation all involved at the same time during cooking, that’s why the oven could produce as high as an almost 500 degree Celsius fiery inferno to enable quick and even cooking and this also produced aromatically and deliciously discernible flavor. To make Tandoori Chicken, the chicken is at first marinated by kadhai spices made up of Kashmiri Chili, cumin, clove and fennel mixed with yogurt, then enhanced its additional tangy flavor by using pickle masala. This dish is likely a traditional Tandoori Chicken, but its modern approach is revealed through its garnishing by using deep fried crispy kale to bring another dimension of contrasting texture to the dish, with the sliced fresh and pickled radish to provide layers of colors.
Picture (85): This is one of the Indian and western fusion desserts served in Cassia with ice cream made of passion fruit, sorbet made of mango, accompanied by crunchy pistachio and coconut and garnished by baby coriander. Ice cream and parfait are not traditional Indian desserts, this modern approach of preparing western culinary ice cream and parfait yet still retaining mainly Indian oriented ingredients base has become one of hits in Auckland food scene. (Actually mango is only South India, as cooler temperate North India won’t be able to produce mango but passion fruit can be cultivated in North India). Other than some traditional desserts used haram lard, most traditional desserts base ingredients across the world are using mainly fruits, vegetables, nut base ingredients or halal tallow as long as the ingredients are not contaminated and cross contaminated by haram food, most modernized Indian desserts with western influence can be introduced to halal food world any time.
Picture (86): This is the three different Lunch, dinner and business set menus of Auckland base modern Indian restaurant, Cassia.
The following similar approach of modernized Indian-Western influenced or modified halal dishes but with highly nutritional and dietary conscious, composed of a little twist of both common Indian and western herbs, spices, vegetables, fruits or even nuts, will be expected to be found and appeared in North India’s halal restaurants in the future.
Recipe Cards:
Halal Vegetarian Risotto with Potato Rosti
Ingredients – 1 portion (384g per portion)
50
|
grams
|
Vialone nano rice risotto
|
1
|
gram
|
Mushroom no.2 risotto
|
20
|
grams
|
Cucumber risotto
|
0.5
|
x 60g each (30g)
|
Nz tomato risotto
|
20
|
grams
|
Courgette risotto
|
45
|
grams
|
Potato Rosti, shredded and risotto brunoise
|
1
|
gram
|
Pumpkin risotto, brunoise
|
2
|
grams
|
Coriander risotto, chop
|
100
|
ml
|
Vegetable stock risotto
|
1
|
x 45g each (45g)
|
Shallots rosti, mince and risotto, brunoise
|
1
|
x 10g clove (10g)
|
Garlic usa risotto, mince
|
4
|
tbsps
|
Virgin olive oil Rosti and risotto
|
2
|
grams
|
White pepper powder TT
|
0.5
|
tsps
|
Fine salt TT
|
1
|
gram
|
Green chilli rosti, mince
|
1
|
gram
|
Leek risotto, brunoise
|
5
|
grams
|
Microgreen mizuna Garnishing
|
1. Shred the 30g of potato, season with coriander, salt and pepper and the mince of a pinky size shallot, a few sprigs of coriander and green chili.
2. In a frying pan, heat up a tablespoon of oil, place a greased ring mold into it, and add the shredded potato mixture into the ring mold, fry for a minute then release the ring mold, flip over and pan fry another side until golden brown. Set aside. Reheat it just before service in an oven.
To Cook Vegetarian Risotto:
1. Sweat the brunoise shallot in a heated up pot with two tablespoons of oil, then add leeks and finally garlic.
2. Add rice to toast for a minute, then gradually ladle in vegetable stock until the rice becomes starchy, then add more stock.
3. After 10 minutes, add potato and pumpkin.
4. Just before cooking add mushroom, cucumber, tomato, courgette.
5. Season with salt and pepper, then add chopped coriander.
Plating:
1. Place a ring mold on a heated bowl plate, add the risotto.
2. Release the ring mold and place the reheated rosti on top of risotto
3. Garnish the top with microgree
Halal Herbal Chicken with Vegetarian Risotto
Ingredients – 1 portion (605g per portion)
50
|
grams
|
Vialone nano rice risotto
|
10
|
grams
|
Mushroom no.2 risotto
|
10
|
grams
|
Cucumber risotto
|
0.5
|
x 60g each (30g)
|
Nz tomato risotto
|
10
|
grams
|
Courgette risotto
|
10
|
grams
|
Potato Rosti, shredded and risotto brunoise
|
10
|
grams
|
Pumpkin risotto, brunoise
|
100
|
ml
|
Vegetable stock risotto
|
2
|
x 45g each (90g)
|
Shallots Herbal chicken, mince and risotto, brunoise
|
4
|
x 10g cloves (40g)
|
Garlic usa 1 for risotto and 3 for herbal chicken, mince.
|
4
|
tbsps
|
Virgin olive oil risotto
|
2
|
grams
|
White pepper powder TT
|
0.5
|
tsps
|
Fine salt TT
|
1
|
gram
|
Leek risotto, brunoise
|
5
|
grams
|
Microgreen mizuna Garnishing
|
1
|
x 120g each (120g)
|
Chicken thigh Herbal Chicken. Deboned the whole thigh but don't cut the meat.
|
35
|
grams
|
Coriander herbal chicken, 30g mince into paste, 5 gram for risotto
|
20
|
grams
|
Parsley herbal chicken, mince into paste
|
20
|
grams
|
Ginger Herbal Chicken, Mince into paste
|
Method:
To make Rosti:
1. Shred the 30g of potato, season with coriander, salt and pepper and the mince of a pinky size shallot, a few sprigs of coriander and green chili.
2. In a frying pan, heat up a tablespoon of oil, place a greased ring mold into it, and add the shredded potato mixture into the ring mold, fry for a minute then release the ring mold, flip over and pan fry another side until golden brown. Set aside. Reheat it just before service in an oven.
To Cook Vegetarian Risotto:
1. Sweat the brunoise of 1 shallot in a heated up pot with two tablespoons of oil, then add leeks and finally garlic.
2. Add rice to toast for a minute, then gradually ladle in vegetable stock until the rice becomes starchy, then add more stock.
3. After 10 minutes, add potato and pumpkin.
4. Just before cooking add mushroom, cucumber, tomato, courgette.
5. Season with salt and pepper, then add chopped coriander.
To cook Herbal Chicken:
1. Debone a chicken thigh
2. Mince parsley, coriander, garlic, ginger, 1 shallot, a tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper for seasoning, marinate the chicken
3. Add oil to a frying pan, seal the chicken until light brown
4. Let it cooks until well done in an oven
Plating:
1. Place a ring mold on a heated bowl plate, add the risotto.
2. Release the ring mold and place the herbal chicken slices on top. Drizzle herbal glaze on the chicken slices.
3. Garnish the top with microgreen
1. Shred the 30g of potato, season with coriander, salt and pepper and the mince of a pinky size shallot, a few sprigs of coriander and green chili.
2. In a frying pan, heat up a tablespoon of oil, place a greased ring mold into it, and add the shredded potato mixture into the ring mold, fry for a minute then release the ring mold, flip over and pan fry another side until golden brown. Set aside. Reheat it just before service in an oven.
To Cook Vegetarian Risotto:
1. Sweat the brunoise of 1 shallot in a heated up pot with two tablespoons of oil, then add leeks and finally garlic.
2. Add rice to toast for a minute, then gradually ladle in vegetable stock until the rice becomes starchy, then add more stock.
3. After 10 minutes, add potato and pumpkin.
4. Just before cooking add mushroom, cucumber, tomato, courgette.
5. Season with salt and pepper, then add chopped coriander.
To cook Herbal Chicken:
1. Debone a chicken thigh
2. Mince parsley, coriander, garlic, ginger, 1 shallot, a tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper for seasoning, marinate the chicken
3. Add oil to a frying pan, seal the chicken until light brown
4. Let it cooks until well done in an oven
Plating:
1. Place a ring mold on a heated bowl plate, add the risotto.
2. Release the ring mold and place the herbal chicken slices on top. Drizzle herbal glaze on the chicken slices.
3. Garnish the top with microgreen
Halal Salmon Medallion, Lentil and Brown Rice Salsa with Coconut Mint Sauce
Ingredients – 4 portions (400.9g per portion)
640
|
grams
|
Salmon fillets skin-on bone-out Skin off and cut them into long strips, fry until crispy for garnishing. Two fillets tied into a medallion
|
20
|
grams
|
Chilli, green anaheim Gratin
|
50
|
grams
|
Ginger Gratin
|
0.5
|
tsps
|
Tumeric, powder Gratin
|
3
|
tsps
|
Garam masala Gratin
|
5
|
x 10g cloves (50g)
|
Garlic usa Gratin (4 cloves) and salsa (one clove)
|
50
|
grams
|
Coriander Salsa, chop and pick sprits for garnishing
|
5
|
tbsps
|
Virgin olive oil Salsa
|
0.5
|
tsps
|
Cumin powder Gratin
|
1
|
x 60g each (60g)
|
Lemon Juice for gratin and salsa, zest for gratin and sauce
|
80
|
grams
|
Leek Blanch as tying strings
|
200
|
ml
|
Cream coconut Sauce
|
30
|
grams
|
Mint Sauce, mince
|
50
|
grams
|
Lentils Salsa, boil and cool down
|
50
|
grams
|
Brown rice Salsa, boil and cool down
|
0.5
|
x 150g each (75g)
|
Fennel bulb Salsa, brunoise
|
2
|
x 60g each (120g)
|
Roma tomato Salsa, deseeded and brunoise
|
Method
Salmon Medallion:
Blanch the leek in salted water, tear four long strips. Pack dry.
Use two skinless equal lengths salmon fillets, season the fillet with salt and pepper, then overlapped each other to form a medallion, tie with blanched leek (Make a bow tie if the length is sufficient) Support the medallion‘s circumference with aluminum folder and tie with a kitchen string.
Gratin mixture:
In a food processor, grind green chilies, 1 tbsp olive oil, ginger, tumeric, garam masala, coriander, cumin, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp lemon zest and garlic into paste and check the seasoning. Spoon the paste and place on the top of salmon medallion. Place under salamander to gratinize until brown.
Coconut sauce:
Heat coconut cream submerged with a stainless strainer with a tbsp of lemon zest and mint mince, when the color and flavor have well infused, discard the sediments, season the sauce with salt.
Lentils and Brown Rice Salsa:
Soak and boil lentils and brown rice, cool down.
Combined lentils and brown brown with brunoise Roma tomato, fennel, garlic mince, lemon juice and chopped coriander.
Add a tablespoon lemon juice, one tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 tsp of zest
Season with salt and pepper
Garnishing:
Cut the salmon skin and pan fry with olive oil until crispy and coriander sprits (or micro herbs)
Halal Chicken Roulade and Mixed Vegetables with Spicy Tomato Sauce
Ingredients (1 portion)
Amount
|
Name
|
Cost
|
|
1 x 150g piece (150g)
|
$1.54
|
    |
|
5 grams
|
$0.00
|
  |
|
3 grams
|
$0.05
|
 |
|
1 x 60g each (60g)
|
$0.34
|
|
|
3 tbsps
|
$0.47
|
|
|
0.5 x 45g each (22.5g)
|
$0.15
|
|
|
2 grams
|
$0.02
|
|
|
1 tbsp
|
$0.11
|
|
|
1 gram
|
$0.01
|
|
|
50 ml
|
$0.14
|
|
|
1 tsp
|
$0.01
|
|
|
100 grams
|
$3.56
|
|
|
2 tbsps
|
$0.02
|
|
|
2 tbsps
|
$0.30
|
|
|
2 grams
|
$0.04
|
|
|
30 grams
|
$0.04
|
|
|
30 grams
|
$0.05
|
|
|
30 grams
|
$0.09
|
|
|
2 x 10g cloves (20g)
|
$0.22
|
|
|
2 tbsps
|
$0.31
|
|
|
Total cost:
|
$7.47
|
Method:
To prepare chicken breast:
Butterfly a skinless chicken breast.
Sprinkle a small amount of water on a large piece of glad wrap to keep chicken moist and place the butterfly in the center. Season with salt and pepper, then cover breast with glad wrap and use a large kitchen mallet to gently pound and flatten the breast. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator.
To prepare tomato sauce:
In a pot, heat olive oil until hot. Sweat shallot. Then add chopped tomatoes, garlic, a pinch of salt, vinegar, cayenne and cumin.
Reduce the stock. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until the tomato sauce with stick blender, Strain tomato sauce.
Return the tomato sauce to the pot with low heat, thicken with chickpea flour.
To prepare chicken mousse:
Chop Spinach and chicken tenderloin finely. Add ¼ tsp of salt to chopped spinach, then squeeze out juice.
Mix chicken mince, spinach, ricotta cheese, garam masala, bread crumb until well combined.
Set aside in a fridge
To prepare chicken roulade:
Lay the flattened breast out on the glad wrap.
Spread chicken mousse spread along the center
Roll up the breast and wrap securely with the glad wrap.
Steam the roulade in a steamer for 10 minutes under medium heat.
Mixed Vegetables:
Cut the pumpkins and potatoes into ½ inch cubes, and trim the French beans to equal length.
Blanch in chicken stock with added salt and pepper until cooked.
Brush with garlic infused olive oil
Plating:
Use a warm rectangular plate
Slice chicken roulade, use 5 slices for plating.
Draw a semicircle curve using a spoon using tomato sauce, arrange green bean, place the roulade and blanched mixed vegetables
Resources
As Indian population is huge, it will never run out of manpower and intelligence resources and it has higher chance to produce mutated geniuses for different arena.
Indians have begin to see the importance of self reliance in food produce, thus large scales agricultural projects are increasingly planned, as any of excess of farming products can be exported and also cut down importation of food produce from other countries.
Picture (87): Indian Prime minister Mr. Modi began to implement common electronic platform for farmers to sell their harvested products and also use the most advance agricultural plan to encourage Indian farmers to use modern equipments and technology to do their farming.
From its scientific researches, large scales farming to food processing plants, there will be more highly sophisticated machines and intelligence gadget integrated to assist producing agricultural products with high yielding, consistency and speedily.
With all the potential available resources of manpower, inventors, high yielding crops and selected breed of animals, all these can help North India in the future to produce and become one of the most halal food manufacturing plants in the world.
Team Menu Created for Halal Food of North India
Halal Menu
Enjoy our latest approach of modernized Indian-Western halal cuisines
Entrée
Deep Fried Assorted Pakora Balls with Chicken Curry Lentil Sauce
Chef’s handmade paneer pakora, potato pakora and coconut soufflé pakora flavored with chef’s special concocted flavorful sauce
$15.00
Fried Fresh Fish of the Day, Cucumber Relish and Chapatti
Fish marinated with Indian spices, Aromatic cucumber relish flavored by turmeric and dills and nigella seeds chapatti
$16.00
Minestrone with Naan
A meet of both east and west, assorted Italian vegetables soup spiced up by Indian herbs and spices accompanied by deep fried and toasted nigella seeds naans
$9.00
Soya Chunks Curry with Naan (For Vegan and Vegetarian)
Nutritious chunks made from soya bean flavored by curry and accompanied by coriander and Nigella seeds naan
$10.00
Main
Salmon Medallion, Lentil and Brown Rice Salsa with Coconut Mint Sauce
Exquisite perfect round salmon medallion tops up with Indian traditional spice and herbs accompanied with healthy choice of western style salsa composed of East and West common herbs, grains and vegetables and aromatic mint and coconut creamy sauce.
$22.00
Chicken Roulade and Mixed Vegetables with Tomato Sauce
Roulade filled with spinach and ricotta, healthy choice of blanched roots vegetables and French beans flavored by chef special formulated tomato sauce
$15.00
Vegetarian Risotto with Herbal Chicken
Risotto flavored by assorted vegetables and accompanied by roasted chicken marinated with Indians’ favorite herbs
$12.00
Vegetarian Risotto with Rosti (For Vegetarians and Vegans)
Crispy potato cake on top of risotto, flavored by assorted vegetables and vegetables stock.
$10.00
Dessert
Sandesh
Paneer cheese seasoned honey, khoya, saffron and green cardamom seeds, filled with flavored nuts, berries jelly and dried fruits
$12.00
Flavored Shrikhand & Mango with Mixed Nuts Praline
Seasoned yogurt curd and mango with Indian spices, garnish with mixed nuts praline
$15.00
Mango Kulfi and Praline Tuile
This is a popular traditional Indian ice cream with mango puree added as a twist, garnished with praline tuile
$10.00
Chickpeas Crepe with Caramelized Banana and Hazelnut Chocolate Sauce (For Vegetarians and Vegans)
Eggless chickpeas crepe, served with banana caramelized by vanilla honey, garnished with assorted nuts and flavored with hazelnut chocolate sauce.
$12.50
Conclusion
Balanced diet and nutrition with sufficient physical activities is the key factors to keep a person healthy. Usually a person’s metabolic rate decreased with age, but with disciplined routine daily exercises, active physical activities and controlled nutritional and dietary intake usually can overcome overweight problem other than genetic factors
Actually a healthy person’s PH levels should be slight alkaline, thus a person’s diet should not indulge too much refined sugar pastries, desserts, confection sweet treats and processed sweet drinks , all these could actually raise the acidic level in our body, but vegetables, bitter vegetables, sour citrus or even apple cider vinegar would raise our body’s alkaline level.
In India, most Hindus although don’t eat beef but they would drink milk, and Hindus population is highest, thus milk availability is easier, thus knowledge about milk is very important. I remember when my son was born, even a Britain trained dentist would “kindly advise me” to feed my son with fresh cow milk. His reason was cow milk is full of protein and minerals. But luckily I have family members who are doctors who always told me the cases how the lifeless babies ended up in their surgeries, and they would first ask the mothers if they fed their babies with cow milk, if the answer was yes, then the babies would be admitted to ICU immediately.
Actually there are many parents don’t know that under one year old baby should not drink cow milk (89), as milk protein can irritate baby’s digestive system lining to cause intestinal bleeding , the serious case would cause anemia, also baby’s kidney is still immature to digest cow milk’s high concentrations of protein and minerals.
Also there are many people also don’t know that milk is acidic, too much milk intake could actually cause calcium leach from our body to neutralize such acid, but yogurt is a much healthier choice, as its rich source of an iron-binding protein called lactoferrin (90) could promote strong bones by nourishing bone and cartilage cells.
The styles of food served in a culture can also trigger imbalance diet, like Chinese usually would balance their meal based on one soup, one fish, one meat, one leaf vegetable and one tofu, all on more or less the same size plates or bowls, usually such a portion of cooked vegetable that came with the same portion of meat served for the whole family is actually not sufficient, and thus many Chinese family members suffered constipation problem or even colon cancer if there was no additional fruits taken in daily basis. But in another word, Koreans’ meal is much healthier because of more vegetables served, yet the fermented vegetables caused high stomach cancer for general Koreans.
Actually Indian, Japanese and western way of diet are the healthiest due to they emphasized varieties or larger portioning on vegetables and kelps served. Actually kelps is one of the best diet to keep constipation at bay just like prune due to their rich minerals that could help to balance the intestinal osmosis even better than banana and any other vegetable or fruit fibers.
To take care of general public’s health is chefs’ duty, therefore it is so important for a chef to be well educated and informed broadly about nutritional and dietary topics, a chef should not just know how to cook yummy meals, but he should also know how to plan healthy menu for his customers.
References from Hyperlinks
4. First day of Islamic year: http://www.ogilvynoor.com/index.php/how-to-understand-the-islamic-new-year-the-crescent-moon-and-muslim-seasonality/#.V9Z1JPl97IU
7. Low Glycemic Index (GI) food: http://www.fromthegrapevine.com/israeli-kitchen/are-dates-new-low-glycemic-sugar-substitute
8. Dates popularized with Islamic religion: http://theindianvegan.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/all-about-dates-in-india.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/east_india_01.shtml
13. Muslim historian: https://themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/islamic-invasion-of-india-the-greatest-genocide-in-history/
14. Picture : http://sikhsangat.org/2015/brutality-of-isis-is-the-copy-of-what-mughals-did-with-sikhs-of-punjab/
http://www.iraqi-datepalms.net/Uploaded/file/MagazineDatePalms89.pdf
22. Since ancients times: http://www.realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Indus_Valley_India_1.htm
23. Long history of hatred : http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/why-cant-hindus-and-muslims-get-along-together-its-a-long-story-1162319.html
25. All major racial groups: http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/india-2/list-of-some-major-racial-groups-of-india/5485/
27. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_definitions_of_races_in_India
30. French’s culinary revolution: https://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Taste-French-Cuisine-1650-1800/dp/0521139961
35. Hindu Chole: http://justindianfood.com/chole-masala-and-baturas-chick-pea-curry-and-north-indian-fried-bread/
38. Picture: http://www.indiatimes.com/culture/food/the-heartbreaking-truth-about-indian-foods-that-are-not-indian-at-all-225103.html
39. Vegetarians and vegan usually deprived: http://www.everydayhealth.com/anemia/anemia-risk-for-vegans-and-vegetarians.aspx
41. Health benefits: http://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/18-benefits-of-tulsi-facts-you-must-know-about-holy-basil-1239318
58. Muslim Consumer Group (MCG): http://www.muslimconsumergroup.com/#&panel1-2
http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/halal-guide-for-new-zealand/
61. Muslim can take non-halal food: http://www.boycotthalal.com/important-quaran-says-muslims-are-allowed-to-eat-non-halal-food/
71. Cardamom: https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-cardamom.html
72. Lemongrass:http://www.top10homeremedies.com/kitchen-ingredients/top-10-health-benefits-lemongrass.html
76. Picture: http://www.halalexpoeurope.com/indian-muslim-women-take-to-islamic-fashions-fusion-of-tradition-and-modernity/
84. halal alcohol-free wines and Champagne: http://www.21food.com/products/royale-alcohol-free-halal-wines-and-sparkling-817608.html
85. Picture: http://www.thedenizen.co.nz/gastronomy/cassias-3-best-dishes-of-the-moment-according-to-the-chef/
88. Picture: http://www.thebetterindia.com/46958/union-government-digital-india-farmers-national-agriculture-market/
89. Under one year old baby should not drink cow milk: http://kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/milk-supplements/
90. Lactoferrin: https://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/surprising-news-on-how-lactoferrin-helps-athletes
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