Bengaluru’s Tryst With Zero-waste Cooking | Bengaluru News - The Times Of India

Odette Katrak

believes that thing that tin beryllium eaten should not beryllium discarded successful discarded aliases moreover composted.

An situation changemaker and resident of Purva Paradise successful Domlur, Odette experiments pinch nutrient scraps for illustration consequence and rootlike peels, stems and rind, and converts them into juice, jam, pickle, chutney, dosa, rasam, vitamin powder, rima freshener, and more. “Today I’m making orangish peel juice and citrus peel pickle,” she smiles.

One of her favourite nutrient scraps is pineapple peels. She crafts brew utilizing nan peels that typically extremity up successful nan rubbish bin. There is thing rather for illustration home-brewed pineapple beer, she says. It is flavourful, fizzy, and perfectly splendid for nan summer.
“All you person to do is harvester pineapple tegument pinch readily accessible ingredients specified arsenic brownish sugar, aromatic spices specified arsenic cinnamon, and immoderate water,” says Odette, adding that it is her favourite gift to beer-loving friends. The fermentation process completes wrong 3 days.
Pineapple beer, she says, serves besides arsenic a probiotic portion – it is tangy and bully for your health.
“If you fto it ferment into nan 5th day, it's converted into vinegar. This integrated earthy vinegar is measurement amended than nan synthetic vinegar,” says Odette.
Odette is connected a ngo to toggle shape nan run called ‘Treasures from Trash 2.0’ she launched successful 2023 into a nationwide movement. She has garnered recipes from cities beyond Bengaluru.
Bengalureans are progressively integrating sustainable practices successful their mundane routines. Many usage mango and jackfruit seeds, murphy and orangish peels and banana tegument for nutrient preparations, which successful move reduces discarded sent to landfills.

Don’t propulsion distant watermelon rind and methi stems

For 44-year-old Neelima Majumdar Kavuri from Sahakarnagar, inventing and rediscovering recipes that usage stems and peels gives a batch of joy. “I learnt to make immoderate

zero discarded foods

from my mother. Then I started reference up connected what parts of plants are edible and what are not, and started coming up pinch my ain recipes,” she says.

Her culinary achievements see chutneys prepared from fenugreek stems and cauliflower leaves, fryums crafted utilizing watermelon's outer greenish skin, and jam and dosa made utilizing watermelon rind (the ray coloured portion conscionable beneath nan extracurricular greenish layer), on pinch pomegranate peel tea. "I besides make spicy chutney powder utilizing seeds of pumpkin, ash gourd, watermelon, and muskmelon," she says.
Neelima antecedently had stints pinch Deloitte and Goldman Sachs. What does making zero-waste foods mean to her? “Consuming nan past spot of immoderate food, whether cooked aliases raw, ensures optimal utilisation of disposable resources. It besides provides you pinch nan basal nutrients your assemblage needs for maturation and repair,” she says. Neelima’s sons Saaket Ram and Sri Vansh person inherited her passion for zero-waste foods.

17-year-old successful emotion pinch zero-waste foods

Agastya who lives successful Suncity Apartments successful Ibbaluru loves watermelon. But being an eco-warrior, he feels blameworthy while disposing of its rind.

“With nan rinds, I decided to pickle them for illustration cucumbers and it gave astonishing results,” he says. Agastya shares his look and tells maine to effort it out. “Pour 1 cup each of vinegar and sweetener into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons each of brackish and sweetener to nan mixture. Place mustard seeds, capsicum flakes, dill and bay leaves successful a solid jar. Put nan chopped watermelon rind pieces into nan jar. Carefully move nan basking brine into nan jar, seal it tightly, and shop successful nan refrigerator. The pickle is now fresh to consume.”
Agastya who aspires to prosecute his higher studies successful zoology composts nan bitter outer peel of nan watermelon alternatively of throwing it successful his trash to trim nan discarded sent to landfill.

Dealing pinch pesticides

Always bargain fruits and vegetables from a trusted vendor. If that is not feasible, it becomes basal to neutralise nan pesticide-treated outer layers. Although thorough washing helps, location beryllium 3 effective neutralisation techniques. These see a one-hour soak successful vinegar h2o aliases brackish water, aliases successful h2o diluted pinch bio enzymes made from consequence peels. Seeds and pulp coming little risks compared to consequence and rootlike peels.
People from able families often mobility nan necessity of conservation and discarded management. Their financial capacity allows them to acquisition immoderate they need. For instance, they for illustration buying jam from shops alternatively than making it from watermelon rind.
Katrak faced important challenges while persuading her maid to usage rootlike peels and seeds successful cooking.
“When I told my maid to support broccoli stems, she humorously said I’m being stingy. I told her, “You deliberation I want to prevention money. That’s not nan point. I want to prevention nan planet. Our satellite cannot prolong nan excessive discarded we generate.”
Now she is much mindful and does not moreover discarded greenish peas pods, says Katrak. “The soul heavy movie gets discarded but nan outer fleshy portion of nan pea pod is edible. It’s tender and delicious,” she says.

IT SAVES MONEY, IT SAVES THE PLANET

I person been labelled stingy for this habit, and I proudly opportunity yes, it not only saves money, but besides saves nan satellite – little rotting mixed discarded successful landfills, little methane procreation – truthful if we each started doing this, we are collectively taking elemental actions that tin antagonistic ambiance alteration successful our mini way, and impacting nan discarded load of our cities. Even if we compost, why compost (or propulsion successful a bin) thing that tin beryllium eaten!

Odette Katrak, CO-FOUNDER, BEAUTIFUL BHARAT ENVIRONMENT GROUP, AND RESIDENT OF PURVA PARADISE, DOMLUR

I embarked connected my zero-waste travel successful 2015 aft engaging pinch volunteers from Kasa Mukta Bellandur, an organisation dedicated to establishing a waste-free Bellandur. My mum has consistently been my inspiration, school maine to maximise nan usage of ingredients. She was meticulous astir avoiding waste, utilising everything including bitter gourd peels. In our household, we guarantee thorough utilisation of each fruits and vegetables.

A important milestone successful my sustainable surviving way was clinching a triumph successful a Beautiful Bengaluru contest, wherever I developed a rima freshener utilizing mango seeds.

The mentation method is for illustration this: Sun-dry mango seeds. After drying, ace them and extract nan achromatic soul seed. Slice into bladed strips. Boil for 5 minutes. Drain and adhd acold water. The seed should beryllium breakable, but will support its structure. Leave to barren connected cloth for 5 hours. Sauté successful ghee. Season pinch brackish and stone salt. This mentation contains important Vitamin B6. For dental whitening, extract nan achromatic seed from an unripe mango. Split it and usage it to cleanable your teeth. This helps whiten teeth and destruct plaque. For mango butter, sun-dry mango seeds, extract nan achromatic soul seed and blend pinch coconut oil. This substance helps illuminate tegument and trim spots.

Rupal Ralph, PASSIONATE HOME COOK, LAWYER, ENTREPRENEUR AND RESIDENT OF RELIABLE LAKEDEW RESIDENCY, HARLUR ROAD

I joined Beautiful Bengaluru, which is now Beautiful Bharat, successful 2016 and gained valuable insights astir discarded simplification and management. I began incorporating gradual modifications successful my regular daily to minimise discarded generation. Having antecedently crafted jams from grapes, mangoes, apples and strawberries, I decided to research pinch watermelon rind, an edible information that typically ends up successful nan greenish discarded bin. I applied nan modular consequence jam look to this unconventional ingredient, and nan results proved successful.

The last merchandise was rather enjoyable. Due to constricted abstraction readiness successful my residence, I cannot instrumentality composting, contempt it being an effective solution for complete elimination of nutrient waste. So for me, making zero-waste nutrient is simply a amended option.

Purnima M Kulkarni, TEACHER, HOME COOK, AND RESIDENT OF BRIGADE GARDENIA

RECIPES

Watermelon rind and earthy mango jam

Begin by peeling disconnected nan reddish soma of nan watermelon, past usage a peeler to region nan acheronian greenish exterior. Dice nan remaining achromatic rind into mini portions. Take earthy mangoes (totapuri variety) and aft peeling, trim it into similar-sized pieces. Process some ingredients together successful a nutrient processor, aliases utilise a grinder if you for illustration a smoother consistency.

Place nan substance successful a cookware pinch a lid and navigator connected debased power for 15 minutes. Incorporate sweetener astatine a ratio of 2 cups for each 4 cups of consequence mixture. The sweetener amount tin beryllium adjusted based connected nan mango's tartness. For further flavouring, see cardamom, cloves and cinnamon according to your preference.

Continue cooking connected debased power pinch nan lid on, stirring occasionally. Once nan jam achieves a thick, translucent consistency, move disconnected nan heat.
The look useful good pinch a proportionality of 1 cup earthy mango to 3 cups of watermelon rind.

Purnima M Kulkarni

Potato crisps from discarded skins

Wash and scrub potatoes pinch a brush. Soak successful diluted vinegar aliases brackish h2o for half an hr to antagonistic immoderate pesticides. Boil potatoes, past peel skins. Lay discarded skins connected a baking tray. Sprinkle salt, capsicum and oliva oil. Bake for 10 minutes astatine 200°C. Your tasty snack is ready. Better skins person precocious nutrition.

Sanaya Katrak

Fenugreek (methi) stems chutney

Chop fenugreek stems into mini pieces. In a pan, adhd oil, stems, salt, a small h2o and navigator covered connected debased occurrence for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Separately, fry mustard, urad dal, haldi, reddish chilli, til, tamarind and hing. Cool masala and cooked stems. Grind together pinch a portion of jaggery. The chutney is ready. It goes really good pinch idli aliases dosa.

Neelima Majumdar Kavuri