Cool summer food

As days turn hot, try these traditional recipes to beat the heat. Begin your day with pantabhat that cools the body. Before venturing out in the sun, have a sattu drink which contains a lot of water that the body can use slowly as the sun soaks up moisture from the skin. In lunch you can try guar ki phali, for the fact the veggie grows profusely in summers. Return home to cold shehtoot juice and then end the day with the natural sweetness of mahua flowers which also have an array of micronutrients that rejuvenate the body as you sleep.

Pantabhat - well slept rice Author:  Ena Desai Rice has been a staple food of West Bengal from antiquity and thus was grown in abundance all across the region. At one time, 60 varieties of rice were cultivated in Bengal. Pantabhat, which is basically cooked rice soaked overnight in water, was probably a way of preserving rice as 'smoking' was in Europe Read more

The desert delight Author:  Renu Dinakar Guar ki phalli is not only drought-resistant but also nutritious Read more

Deep purple health Author:  Madhu Bala Shehtut fruit juice is a good blood purifier Read more

More than intoxicating Author:  Nirmalendu Jyotishi Yet government policy has forced many people to give up mahua -- their nutritious staple food Read more

More than food Author:  Prabhanjan Verma Bihar’s healthy ‘sattu culture’. Make it yours Read more

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