Eating out has become a daily chore being a food blogger. With a burgeoning belly already on the way, it has become quite essential to eat a diet that is very nutritious to balance everything out. Recently, the Imperial Culinary Club at The Imperial New Delhi organized a master class along with Sangeeta Khanna and Executive Sous Chef Alok Verma which talked about Gluten allergy and some alternatives to it.
Gluten is a protein present in wheat which allows it to bind well. As with every protein, it presents as a form of exogenous allergen to the human body. Celiac disease and tropical sprue are two of the major allergic reactions associated with gluten. It usually manifests with diarrhea and malabsorption and is stopped by eliminating gluten from the diet. Secondly, the use of factory processed wheat has led to many chemical additives which have started manifesting with symptoms similar to gluten allergy. To combat these, Chef Verma made a plethora of dishes with grains which do not have gluten in it. I’ll be telling you about these grains, the benefits and the dishes you can make with these.
Buckwheat
Buckwheat has a ton of superfood due to its unique amino acid composition. It helps relieve blood pressure and lowers cholesterol along with relieving constipation. We tried out a Buckwheat Blini along with some feta cheese and Beetroot filling which made for quite a mouthful combination.
Amaranth
An unusually high source of protein, it helps in protection from infections and helps recuperate early. The Amaranth cookies made by Chef Alok Verma were quite flavourful and I enjoyed picking up quite a few of them.
Raagi (Millet)
One of the most attractive dishes out of the lot was the Raagi Samosas. Loaded with Calcium, Raagi is a very dense grain that has a slightly earthy taste to it. The dark-colored Samosas were filled with a cucumber and potato filling which gave it a refreshing burst of flavors on the palate.
The Imperial Culinary Club offers a plethora of recipes for you to try. Do sign up for the next one and discover some of Sangeeta Khanna’s recipes here.
