Small chops for your delight

Samosa:

SamosaFor the Pastry
1 1/2 cups all purpose Flour
1/4th cup oil
1/8th cup water
Salt 1 teaspoon 
Red Chili powder 1/4 th teaspoon

For the filling           
4 medium Potatoes, boiled and mashed coarsely
1/2 cup Green Peas, cooked 
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 tsp Pepper
Salt to taste or 1 teaspoon 
1/4 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Dry Mango Powder or Amchur
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
3 Tablespoons Oil
1/2 Cumin seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida
1 finely chopped Green Chili
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice

Oil for frying
1. First make the filling. Heat oil and season it with cumin seeds, Asafoetida or “Hing” and finely chopped green chilies. Then add the mashed potatoes and the peas.
2. Now put in all the masalas like the garam maslala,  pepper, red chili powder, dry mango powder and cumin powder. Mix well and let it cook for 5-6 minutes covered. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Then remove and keep aside. Let it cool. 
3. Now make the pastry. Mix the flour, water, oil, salt and red chili powder to make a stiff dough. Keep aside.

To put the Samosa together
1. Cut the pasrty dough into 4 equal parts. Take a piece of one of the 4 parts of the pastry dough. Roll it out into a round about 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
2. Cut it in two parts (like semi-circle). Moisten the straight edge with a finger dipped in water,  then take one semi circle and fold it in a shape of cone. 
3. Stuff about a tablespoon of the potatoes-peas mixture in that cone and seal the top edge with a drop of water on your finger and press the edges together. Make all the Samosas this way. Keep both the samosa and dough covered with a towel. 
4. Heat oil  and deep fry the Samosas. Fry 4 to 5 at a time for about 2 to 3 minutes turning once after 1 minute or Fry the samosa to a rich golden brown.  Makes 8 samosas.

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Healthy Living: Fruit for the week

Citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits are known to be a rich source of vitamin C but new evidence suggests they also contain compounds that fight cancer.

Researchers at Texas A&M University reported that freeze-dried grapefruit pulp, similar to whole grapefruit, reduced the incidence of early colon cancer lesions in an animal model of the disease.

Meanwhile, a researcher at Kanazawa Medical University in Japan showed that nobiletin, a compound found in tangerines, has also demon-strated possible action against colon cancer.

Cancer of the colon or rectum is the second deadliest form of cancer after lung cancer but is also considered one of the most preventable types of cancer, as there are several dietary factors that appear to play a protective role against the disease.

In another trial, presented at the symposium on health benefits of citrus fruits, which took place during the American Chemical Society’s national meeting, a team from the University of Hawaii reported that drinking grapefruit juice may help reduce the risk of cancer in smokers.

In a controlled study involving 49 smokers, the researchers found that those drinking three 6-ounce glasses of grapefruit juice a day reduced the activity of a liver enzyme called CYP1A2 that is thought to activate cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke.

The meeting underlines the nutraceutical potential of the fruit at a time when sales are being hit by the current trend for low-carbohydrate diets as well as warnings about the interaction between grapefruit and prescription drugs.

Grapefruit are a key component of the once fashionable ‘grapefruit diet’, now pushed to the sidelines by the low-carb mania. But a recent trial, reported earlier this year and presented at the meeting, suggests that grapefruit may indeed stop weight gain by lowering insulin levels.

Meanwhile, the fruit’s effects on drugs could be turned into a benefit for the pharmaceutical industry.

Scientists at Texas A&M Citrus Center have identified three compounds belonging to a class called furocoumarins that are responsible for inhibiting a key enzyme, CYP3A4, that metabolizes and regulates certain drugs involved in the grapefruit-drug interaction.

• Red grapefruit could lower heart disease risk
• Grapefruit juice may contain cancer-fighting compounds
• Grapefruit seed extract helps stomach ulcers
• Grapefruit may be easy weight loss remedy