What Your Sun Sign Reveals About Your Eating Habits

Love reading your horoscope and finding out what your sun sign reveals about your personality? As it turns out, your sun sign also has a lot to say about your food personality.

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Food Stories: The sun sign you were born under could have something to do with the eating habits you lean towards.

Ellaeenah, energy intuit, spiritual mentor and counsellor, decodes what each of the sun signs has to say about your eating habits and the ailments your sign could be prone to. With her happy place in the kitchen, the expert also recommends food swaps and diet changes you can make, based on your sun sign, for a healthier life.

Aries

  • Aries like spicy foods and alcohol however the expert reminds you to be careful as you are more prone to heartburn than the other signs. Balance this with foods that have cooling properties like cucumber.

Leo

  • You like to eat like the king you believe you are. You fancy expensive restaurants, extravagant tastes and plenty of good wine. You could overdo exercise and your self-indulgent and excessive habits could be your undoing.

Sagittarius

  • The easily bored Sagittarius is always in the search for exotic delicacies and a variety of cuisines to keep their interest in food alive. The thrill of discovering new cuisines is dearly chased by this sign.

Taurus

  • Whether it’s fine food accompanied by good liquor or something simple and hearty, Taurus enjoys both equally. What actually bothers them is a chipped plate or ugly tablecloth. Plating and presentation is everything for this sign!… know about your sun sign eating habits

10 After-School Snacks Recipes Every Kid Will Love

Just prepping for school tiffins in this back-to-school season isn’t enough.

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Food Recipes: The after lunch cravings are as real as they get and snacking on processed food is the last thing you want your family to be indulging in. Evenings call for more fun and light on the stomach recipes that’ll just set you in the right mood to follow it up with nutritious dinner. Here are some amazing after-school snacks recipes you’d love to make for your kids and they’d love to eat it too. So, bookmark them now.

1. Vegetable Quesadilla

  • This easy cheesy recipe by Megha Joshi can lighten up evenings in more ways than one. And, the best part is if you don’t have tortillas for the recipe, use leftover rotis!

2. Potato Patra

  • This Gujarati recipe video by Arina is an interesting take on a normal patra or colocasia leaves delicacy often made in the Gujarati household. And, the potato touch is just like a cherry on the cake.

3. Cheese Stuffed Bread Roll

  • Bread and cheese are children’s favourite things to eat and this Hindi recipe video by Archa Arte ensures you surprise your kid with this lip-smacking snack.

4. Egg Masala Toastie Sandwich

  • Veena Gidwani shows you how to make this delicious Mumbai street style snack right in your kitchen. If you’re not an egg eater, replace it with any other filling of your choice.

5. Rice Cheese Patty

  • Have leftover rice from lunch? No worries, transform them into these crispy cheese patties by Archana Arte, a Marathi video recipe… read full list

10 Times Google Doodle Celebrated Food

Considering India Food Network readers like to be fed all things food, we put together 10 of the best Google Doodles that celebrate food.

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Food Stories: At the beginning of every work day, one of our favourite things apart from coffee is the Google Doodle. Not only is it fun to find out what day Google chose to celebrate on its homepage but also engaging with the multi-media Doodle creatives that get better with time. Besides, it’s a great way to learn something new each day without the activity demanding too much of your time. By the end of this list, you’re sure to discover foods you didn’t know existed.

1. Kimchi

  • The search engine giant celebrated Korea’s Kimchi Day on November 22, 2017. “Today’s Doodle celebrates each ingredient that goes into making some seriously scrumptious kimchi

2. Pad Thai

  • Google shows you how to make Pad Thai in this interactive Google Doodle that celebrates the popular Thai street food, on November 7, the day it was announced as the national cuisine of Thailand in 1945.

3. Pie

  • To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pi Day, the Google Doodle on March 14, 2018, presented the pi formula in well, pie! The pie for the delectable Doodle was baked and built by award-winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel, informed the Google Doodles description.

4. Semla

  • On March 6, 2018, the Google Doodle introduced us to these cute Swedish buns which are flavoured with cardamom and filled with almond paste and whipped cream…. read full list

 

The Best Ever Instant Rajma Recipe

Often debated as the easiest or the hardest recipe to get right, Rajma is undoubtedly North India’s favorite comfort curry recipe.

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Indian Food Recipes: Devoured with rice or paratha again becomes a long argument but it tastes delicious with both, let’s just say that. This red kidney bean recipe varies from household to household but the basics are almost the same. The garam masala or the rajma masala then goes on to become the secret behind the distinctive taste of the curry. It’s a mixture of roasted spices ground to make a delectable masala powder or just a ready-made packet bought from the supermarket.

All is good because some of the store-bought packets can do magic too like the one I used for my recipe, Orika Rajma Masala.

The best part about it is the packaging of this masala. It doesn’t come in a paper box but a pouch which has a seal zip lock system attached. So, when you’re not using it, store it zip-locked in the fridge and it can be kept safe in an air-tight condition for 3 months.

The Instant formula: The best rajma recipe for me is personally using smaller kidney beans than the regular size. For one, it needs to be soaked for lesser time and therefore the cooking process decreases too.

I remember when I was young my mother would make Rajma and I was always fond of eating it with a phulka roti. Coming from a Gujarati family, my mother would add a touch of jaggery too. Many might frown upon the idea but it was a clever way to balance off the spiciness and tanginess of this hearty dish. So, here goes my recipe: Instant Rajma Recipe

50 World’s Best Restaurants 2019

Singapore was the lucky place where William Drew, group editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants announced the winners.

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Food Stories: A new ‘Best of the Best’ program was introduced where previous award winning restaurants were eligible, clearing the way for a new restaurant to top the chart in the 50 Best Restaurant category. There were a lot of good surprises where some restaurants climbed up the ladder (while some tipped down) for their path-breaking techniques and innovations in the food space.

While Clare Smyth was world’s best female chef in 2018, Daniela Soto-Innes became the youngest female chef to achieve this title with her Mexican restaurants, Cosme and Alta in 2019. It was a proud honour for women this year as Jessica Préalpato was named World’s Best Pastry Chef 2019.

Here is the list of World’s 50 best restaurants 2019 where from the 3rd position last year, Mirazur, a Mediterranean restaurant headed by Chef Mauro Colagreco, bagged the no.1 restaurant in the world. Noma, the ultimate buzzing restaurant made it second on the list followed by Asador Etxebarri at the 3rd position and Bangkok’s Gaggan at 4th, which was also named Asia’s best restaurant four times previously.

We are personally proud of no. 4, no. 60 and no. 95! (Although not in the top 50 list scroll down to find out which restaurant it is!)

List → 50 World’s Best Restaurants 2019

Virtual Water: All You Need To Know

As we grapple with water scarcity, lets flip our understanding of water.

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Video Stories: It takes 1800 litres of water to produce a kilo of wheat- on average globally. But do we think of water waste when we casually bin the bread?

As we grapple with water scarcity, lets flip our understanding of water. Lets talk about virtual water.

If you think you do not waste water, watch this video to understand how much water is used/ wasted to manufacture the food you eat, the clothes you wear and the things you buy.

Now think again, how much water do you waste everyday?

Watch Video → What is Virtual Water

Where Do People Living On The Street Access Water From?

This is the story of the water woes of a family that lives on the streets of Mumbai.

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Video Stories: Mumbai has a water shortfall of 655 million per day. This is the story of the water woes of a family that lives on the streets of Mumbai.

Meet the Chouhan family, who live near the Mahim Railway station. They are migrants from Rajasthan who weave and sell baskets for a living.

This story documents their everyday strife for water for his family. The story resonates across the 15 odd families that inhabit the same locality. They spend at least an hour and a half everyday on just collecting water.

Yet, it is not always they get access to safe drinking water. This results in severe health concerns for everyone.

Watch Video → Water for People Living on Street

India’s Job Market: What Does Being Employed Actually Mean?

Other states that recorded high levels of employment during the same period are Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

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Video Stories: Between 2010 and 2018, Chattisgarh registered the highest rate of employment. This was largely driven by the urban construction boom in the state between 2015-2018. In 2018, Chhattisgarh’s Labour Force Participation (LFPR) was 64.5%. However this employment is largely in the informal sector.

Other states that recorded high levels of employment during the same period are Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

On the other hand, Goa and Kerala had the lowest level of youth employment. In both states, women fared the worst when it comes to employment rate in rural and urban areas.

For instance, the difference is stark in rural Kerala where 62% of women are unemployed compared to 21% of men. It bucks the national trend where more rural men are unemployed than women. But there is something to cheer, Kerala and Goa have kept their informal sector in check.

Among all states, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of people in the unorganised sector. Overall, informal employment in India declined 4% in 2018. Even then, less than 15% of workers have a written job contract in most states.

Watch Video → India’s Job Market

Traffic Congestion: A Rising Concern For Cities Worldwide

On average, Mumbaikars spend more time stuck in traffic than driving. During peak hours, a person spends over an hour to complete a 30 minute trip.

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Video Stories: A recent report that entailed an analysis of traffic congestion in 403 cities in 56 countries in the world concluded that Mumbai has the most traffic in the world. At number 4, New Delhi also falls under the top 5 cities globally with highest traffic congestion.

Between 1971-2016, Maharashtra’s vehicle population increased a whopping 9077%. Mumbai alone had 3.03 million vehicles in 2017 according to the latest data available with the Mumbai transport department.

On average, Mumbaikars spend more time stuck in traffic than driving. During peak hours, a person spends over an hour to complete a 30 minute trip. Drivers  spend 102% more time in jams in evening peak hours.

It’s not just Mumbai – traffic congestion has increased globally in the past decade. Worldwide, Lima in Peru recorded the highest increase in congestion- an 8% spike in 2017.

Watch Video → Traffic Concern Worldwide

Why are suicides rising in India?

1/3rd of suicides committed by women around the world.

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Video Stories: In 2016, suicides accounted for 1.4% of deaths worldwide making it the 18th leading cause of death. 9% of all suicides occurred in low- and middle-income countries. India records over 16% of all suicides around the world.

1/3rd of suicides committed by women around the world. Top three reasons for suicides among women in 2015 was mental illness, love affairs and dowry. Most women committed suicide by hanging themselves.

Even among young adults, suicide was the top cause of death. 1/4th of all student suicides are due to failing in exams.

More the 2.3 lakh Indians committed suicide in 2016 alone. That’s an average of 631 people everyday. Among states, Maharashtra recorded the highest suicides in India.

In 2017, suicide was decriminalised in India in 2017 as part of the Mental Healthcare Act.

Watch Video → Suicides in India