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The Food and Agriculture Organization’s new book, Pulses, nutritious seeds for a sustainable future, features delicious recipes from international chefs passionate about cooking pulses.
Readers can leaf through the book’s 190 pages and take an amazing journey through kitchens and cultures across the world, exploring the taste and numerous benefits of the world’s most extensively-used foods. The book also features recipes from India's celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor.
Besides containing an overview of pulses and how they boost nutrition and promote biodiversity, the book explains what to look for when buying pulses, how to grow them at home and how to prepare these delicious edible seeds.
“It is a book filled with illustrations and beautiful photographs and shows the many ways in which pulses contribute to food security, sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation and overall health,” FAO Director General Jose Graziano da Silva said at the launch event in Rome on Thursday.
“Pulses provide an affordable alternative to animal protein and are increasingly becoming an important crop for small family farmers,” he added.
From falafel to dahl to chilli, the book shows how pulses are part of varied food culture across the planet and a key ingredient in many signature national and regional dishes.
Pulses are packed with proteins–double than that found in wheat and three times than that in rice. When consumed with cereals, pulses increase the protein quality of meals. They are also rich in micronutrients and b-vitamins, apart from being affordable.
Pulses are excellent for managing weight, cholesterol levels, digestive health and for combating anaemia in women and children.
The International Year of Pulses (2016) has been launched to raise awareness about the important contribution that pulses can make to a healthy diet.
Charts taken from the FAO book