Food that helps you boost your immunity

Chennai

CARROT AND BERRY SHAKE

Ingredients

Carrots: 200gms         

Berry: 100gms (as per availability)

Lime juice: 20ml

Ginger juice: 10ml

Yogurt: 50gms

Crushed black pepper: to taste

Method 

• Peel and wash the carrot and cut into small cubes. Put everything together in a blender and blend till smooth consistency is obtained. 
• Pour in a glass, sprinkle pepper on top and enjoy.

Recipe: Achal Aggarwal, Executive Chef, Hilton 

ROASTED MUSHROOM WITH CILANTRO AND BUTTER

Ingredients

Button Mushroom whole: 15 no

Salted butter : 15 gm

Garlic (chopped): 5 gm

Chilly flakes: 1 pinch

Fresh coriander leaves (chopped): 8 to 10 gm

Salt: to taste

Method 

• Mix chopped garlic, chilly flakes, salted butter, salt & fresh coriander leaves. 
• To this, add the button mushrooms and mix gently so that the mushrooms don’t break. 
• Preheat the oven at 190 degrees for 15 minutes. 
• Place the marinated mushrooms in a roasting tray and roast it in oven for 20 minutes at 190 degrees. 
• Once the size of the mushrooms are reduced to half it can be taken out of the tray and transferred to a serving dish. 
• This roasted mushroom can be served with slices of bread.

Recipe: Chef Aji Joseph, The Tapas Bar & Restaurant, T Nagar

BHARWAN KARELA (STUFFED BITTERGOURD)

Ingredients 

Bitter gourd: 5 nos (medium size)

Turmeric powder: 5 gm

Red chili powder: 10 gm

Garam masala: 3 gm

Jeera powder: 2 gm

Cumin seeds: 1 gm

Yogurt: 10 gm

Small onions (chopped): 2 no

Chopped garlic: 4 pearls

Chopped green chilli: 2 no

Oil: 100 ml

Capsicum: 1 each (all colours)

Tomato: 1 no

Small carrot: 1 no (grated)

Salt: as required

Coriander leaves for garnish: optional

Salt: as required

METHOD 

• Rinse and peel the bitter gourd, cut it to 1.5 inch size roundels, keeping the base intact. 
• Remove the seeds and pith with your hands or scrape it with a small knife. 
• In a sauce pan boil some water, blanch the bitter gourd and keep aside. In bowl mix together yogurt, garam masala, jeera powder, chilli powder, turmeric and salt. 
• Take a fry pan use low flame, put in oil, cumin seeds, onion, green chilli, garlic and saute. Once onion is slightly brown, add in chilli powder, turmeric, carrot and capsicum.Saute the mix well. 
• Stuff the sauteed vegetable mix into the bitter gourd. Coat the remaining yogurt mix around each roundel.
•  Heat the oil and shallow fry the bitter gourd in it till they are browned and cooked. While you shallow fry it, you need to be really gentle, while turning the bitter gourd. Serve with mint chutney.

Recipe: Chef Jacob Justine, The Raintree, Anna Salai

MUSHROOM

They are low in calories, high in vegetable proteins, chitin, iron, zinc, fibre, essential amino acids, vitamins & minerals.

Mushrooms are particularly high in one unique antioxidant called ergothioneine. As ergothioneine has a specific protein transporter in the blood it must very important to human health. 

Mushrooms have the power to kill viruses, bacteria, and yeast, destroy cancer cells, and even assist with nerve regeneration.

CITRUS FRUITS

• Due to their Vitamin C content, citrus fruits such as oranges, grapes and lemons have been touted as cure-alls for the cold and flu. 
• The vitamin C in citrus fruit strongly enhances the absorption of iron in food. Vitamin C binds to iron in the digestive tract and the iron-vitamin C complex is absorbed together. 
• Citrus flavonoids are also antioxidants that can neutralise free radicals and may protect against heart disease.

BITTER GOURD

• Bitter gourd is rich in antioxidants and it helps to increase the immune system. The antioxidant property acts like a proper defense system to fight against illness. 
• It is high in fibre and thus, prevents constipation and also cures many stomach disorders by helping in stimulating the secretion of gastric juices. 
• It purifies blood because of its blood-purifying properties and also cures many blood disorders like blood boils and itching due to blood poisoning.

YOGURT

• Yogurt has probiotics, the “friendly bacteria” that are naturally present in the digestive system. They help boost the immune system and promote a healthy digestive tract. 
• It is also a source of Vitamin D, that plays a role in regulating the body’s immune function and tissue function. Although milk and yogurt have similar mineral compositions, some minerals, eg, calcium, are more bioavailable from yogurt than from milk.

GINGER

• Ginger has been found to enhance the protective functions of the immune system. 
• It decreases inflammation, fights bacteria, fungi and improves circulation.  
• In herbal medicine, ginger is regarded as an excellent carminative (a substance which promotes the elimination of intestinal gas) and intestinal spasmolytic (a substance which relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract)

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