The worlds of culinary art and nutrition have come up with an incredible list of ‘Future 50 Ingredients’ to inspire a more sustainable food culture. Though extremely nutritious, these ingredients are mostly underrated and under used. Currently, people consume around five varieties of animal species or products and 12 - 15 varieties of grains. Scientists and the WWF have released a list of 50 ingredients that stand out for its high nutritional value. Most of these ingredients are easily available locally or could be grown in our backyards.
It is vital to encourage people to include these super foods in their regular diet and cut down on traditional grains like wheat and rice. This would ensure a balance in eating habits and ingredients and in turn would benefit the earth. Moreover, it reduces food wastage and ensures sustainability.
Here is the recipe of a gourmet dish made with pumpkin, beetroot leaves and chickpeas. This dish combines various elements made with some incredible ingredients that are easily available.
Pumpkin steak
Ingredients
400 - 500 gms pumpkin
1 cinnamon piece
2 - 4 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 tbsp mustard oil
½ tsp chilli powder
A pinch of turmeric powder
A pinch of garam masala
1 tsp fenugreek
½ tsp ginger – garlic paste
1 tbsp thick coconut milk
Preparation
First, cut the skin off the pumpkin
Using a cookie cutter, cut the pumpkin into neat round pieces
Boil the pumpkin disks with some chilli powder, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods and some salt in rapidly boiling water
Take out the pumpkin when they are half cooked
Prepare a marinade by mixing mustard oil, chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, fenugreek, ginger - garlic paste and thick coconut milk
When the half cooked pumpkins have cooled down, add them into this marinade
Mix well
Cook the marinated pumpkins over grill
Keep it aside to be used later.
Seasoned watercress and spinach oil
Ingredients
300 ml olive oil
500 gms spinach
500 gms watercress
Salt as required
Preparation
Mix spinach and watercress in olive oil
Grind them into fine paste in a mixer jar
Season this paste and cook on low flame
After some time, the residue would be deposited on the bottom of the vessel
Flavoursome and colourful oil floats on top
Collect it and keep aside.
Sprouted chickpea chaat
Ingredients
½ cup sprouted chickpeas
A pinch of chilli powder
½ tsp chaat masala
Lemon juice
A pinch of roast cumin powder
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 green chilli (finely chopped)
Preparation
Soak the chickpeas overnight
Drain them the next day
Wrap them in a tissue or a clean piece of cloth
Sprinkle some water on the wrap for the chickpeas to sprout
Mix the sprout chickpeas with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl
Dress the salad using lemon juice and season with salt.
Stir fried beetroot leaves
Ingredients
1 tbsp coconut oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
2 dried chilies
Curry leaves
1 finely chopped onion
1 medium sized beetroot
1 cup grated coconut
1 cup chopped beetroot leaves
Lemon juice
Salt as required
Preparation
Heat coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds
Roast some curry leaves and dried chilies
Now add finely chopped onion
Sauté well
Into it add beetroot leaves, grated coconut, green chilies/pepper powder
Cook well
This is a 100% vegan dish which combines both South and North Indian flavours.
Spicy pumpkin chutney
Ingredients
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 cardamom pods
200 gms pumpkin (cut into small pieces)
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp dried ginger powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
200 ml jaggery syrup
1 tsp agar agar powder
Salt as required
Preparation
Heat coconut oil in a pan
Roast some fennel seeds and cardamom pods
Into it add pumpkin and salt as required
Sauté well
Now add chilli powder, turmeric powder, dried ginger powder and jaggery syrup
Mix well
Stir and cook well until the liquid reduces and the dish turns dry
After it has cooled down, grind into fine, semi loose paste in a blender
Transfer this chutney into a squeezy bottle
Set it aside to be used later.
Puffed masala wild rice
Ingredients
2 tbsp wild rice
Oil to fry
Chilli powder
Chaat masala
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of pink salt
Fenugreek leaves
Preparation
Fry the wild rice in hot oil
Season them with chilli powder, chaat masala, pink salt, sugar and fenugreek leaves.
Assemble the dish using these elements as per your taste and imagination. However, make sure that the flavours match and create a harmony in your palette.