In the recent trend towards fad diets there can often be a lot of misinformation surrounding what is healthy and unhealthy, what foods help lose weight and what food can cause chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. A traditional Indian food item that has often come under fire by such critics is the humble achaar or pickle. With the addition of a few natural ingredients that are available everywhere and a part of our traditional Indian diet one can greatly enhance the shelf life as well as flavor of seasonal produce!
“Our nanis and dadis would use everything around them : salt, spices and sunlight” Rujuta Diwekar explains in her post about the health benefits of adding pickles as an accompaniment to our regular diet. In this post she busts many of the common myths that surround pickles. As a nutritionist, Diwekar strongly argues that we must recognize our food heritage and avoid a trend towards Western fad diets. As part of a traditional Indian diet, Diwekar points out that pickles have numerous health benefits and are not the culprits behind the many lifestyle diseases that we see today.
Pickles are a great source of vital nutrients essential for the functioning of our bodies. They are rich in Vitamin K (which is essential for absorption of Vitamin D), Vitamin A (functioning of eyes) and Vitamin D (essential for skin and bones) as well as healthy probiotic bacteria which helps in the proper functioning of our digestive tract. See! Achaar don’t just add a chatpata twist to your meal, it is extremely helpful in proper digestion of your food as well. In fact, this is a treat you don’t have to hold back from. Eating pickles daily with your meal in moderation is good for proper digestive health, Diwekar tells us.
But what about the things we hear? “Pickles are loaded with sodium and can cause problems like blood pressure” often keeps us away from adding a spoon of achaar to our plate. Diwekar completely dispels this, however, calling it a myth. She argues that the cause for such problems isn’t found in the age-old tradition of home pickling, rather it is a result of our move towards packaged foods, our lack of exercise and bad eating habits. What about the excessive oil then? Diwekar addresses this concern as well. A certain amount of oil is necessary for proper functioning of the human gut, pickles provide this and thus aid in proper digestion. She points out however that we must be aware of buying mass produced pickles from the market. Such products often contain harmful chemicals and additives and may not be using the highest quality of oil.
Achar made with kachi ghani mustard seed oil is absolutely healthy for you! Is the good news that Rujuta gives us. She writes that we must understand our food heritage and try to use the ingredients that have been passed down to us by our forefathers. This means eating all types of different pickles such as mango, lemon, chili, gajar gobhi shalgam and the many other varieties available at our online store.
As a home cook and a mother of two kids, I never use any artificial ingredients of any kind in my food. When you buy from our store you become part of my family. All our products are free from any sort of chemical preservatives, flavoring agents, colours, or anything that ruins not just the taste but the nutritional value of food. When you buy from Ritu’s Patr you can be assured that you are getting the recipe straight from our family elders using the same ingredients that they have been using for generations. When you buy from Ritu’s Patr you can be assured that you’re getting something that not only tastes delicious, but something that will keep your family healthy!
