Mutton/ Chicken Roghanjosh

A delicious Kashmiri meat preparation. If you get this one right you will get addicted to this recipe!

500 grams mutton shoulder meat boned or 500 grams chicken bone in cut into pieces.

1 Tbsp Ginger Paste

1 Tbsp Garlic Paste

Whole Garam Masala

5 cardamom pods

2 cinnamon sticks

6-7 cloves

2 Bay leaves

10 Black peppercorns

Powder Masalas

1 tsp fennel seed powder( saunf powder)

1tsp coriander powder

1tsp cumin powder

1-2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder

1-2 tsp Red Chilli powder

1 Tbsp garam masala

Other Ingredients

4-5 tbsp vegetable oil

3 onions grated or pureed

2 Tbsp yoghurt

Salt to taste

Fresh Coriander for garnishing

Method:

*Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan or pressure cooker. Add the meat to the hot oil and fry the meat till brown. Take the meat out and keep it on a platter.

* In the same oil add the whole spices one by one sauteeing for 1 minute. Add the onion puree and fry till the onion is browned and oil starts oozing.

* Add the ginger and garlic pastes and fry till the rawness disappears.

* Now add the Cumin powder, Coriander Powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, Red chilli bowder, fennel powder and fry for half a minute.

*Add the meat in and fry for another minute. Add the yoghurt and salt to the meat and stir.

* Now add about 1 1/2 cups of water to the pan and cover the pan and simmer the meat till the water begins to dry out and the muttone becomes tender and starts falling away from the bone. Keep turning the meat at regular intervals to ensure the meat cooks slowly for a long period of time rendering the most delicious Curry.Once cooked sprinkle the garam masala powder and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve hot with Rotis, Chapatis, or Rice.

The obesity syndrome

A lot has been said about Obesity,but fat continues to baffle scientists even today.We have the following available options to lose fat.Every doctor will tell you that Obesity will lead you to diabetes and Hypertension,heart disease and many other untold horrors.In reality you will find this to be true.By the time you reach this stage you are desparate for a cure.So for those of you who have not yet reached the stage of developing co-morbidities mentioned above,now is the time to wake up.For those of us who already have these problems it is never too late.
So what are the options we have?

Diet, exercise, counseling, plus Weight loss drugs.
Conventional dietary and exercise therapy with lifestyle counseling.

We have all tried hitting the gym, and eating salad and soup.There is some weight loss to being with.After a while it slows down and then completely stops.At this point you are just about fedup of your healthy diet and heavy exercise programme.Somebody will point you towards weight loss drugs,which come with their own set of side effects.
Probably the only sensible thing that we hear of is a Lifestyle change.But that is easier said than done and takes a lot of courage,perseverance,and determination.
So where does that leave an Obese person.Does an Obese person have any other option,than resort to personality changes which require tremendous will power.
After going through every possible beaten path I came across what i consider the only long standing solution to the weight problem.
Bariatric Surgery which is now also known as Metabolic and Obesity Surgery.
Surgery conjures up images of being cut up and exposed to grave danger and it is only natural that it strikes terror in the heart when a supposedly normal individual imagines going under the scalpel.Before we understand more about Bariatric surgery we must know more about food habits and lifestyle changes.We will also look at whether Bariatric surgery is for everybody.You need to be motivated to have surgery too.So are you ready for that yet!More on this in my next post.Till then keep the faith.

Lapband Journey - The End of Obesity and Beginning of Tenacity

I got lapbanded on 17th May,2008.Well for those who know nothing about lapband this could be unfamiliar territory.Let me start at the beginning.Battling weight is something that can be compared to climbing the Everest.The odds are in favor of climbing the Everest though:) Just Kidding! When you go from childhood obesity to adult obesity and then middle-aged obesity you are going through various stages of problems.The common factor is that you never seem to get any thinner.You just keep getting heavier and heavier with every passing decade.In your teens its' more of a cosmetic thing.Later on in life you learn to live with the weight.You get a job,you have friends,you may even have boyfriends if you are fat and pretty.(by the way if you are fat and ugly,that is the worst thing to happen to you)Most Obese people have a good sense of humour.No prizes for guessing where it comes from.Of course from being laughed at and pitied all their lives.
Well it is not as though an obese person does not want to lose it or lacks the will to do so.It's just that the person is fighting a losing battle against appetite and the various temptations offered at every corner.From where do you get the will to stop eating and get in to shape.
Somewhere along the weighed down life,one does analyse why one is fat.And time and again you feel that you are no different from anyone else you know,who also eats the same or even more than you do but is thin.
So you join the gym and go on atkins diet,slim fast diet,general motors diet,or any possible diet that can work.Initially these diets do work.But after a while you hit a plateau and then you start regaining the lost weight.There are various factors that go into sustained weight loss and each individual is different.Understanding the way the human body works is the first step towards a healthier lifestyle.And through this blog we will try to find this understanding.I will appreciate healthy comments from avid readers and bloggers.More on this tommorrow.Keep the faith.