Describe in details any four cooking practices common in your region for( pulses/ Rice/
Wheat/Maize etc.) Predict the nutrients which are likely to be lost to a substantial
degree in each.
Answers
Most of the time, rice, pulses, wheat, maize etc, are cooked and eaten instead of having them raw.
Rice is cooked and made into different rice varieties like jeera rice, vegetable pulao, etc., apart from having it like plain cooked rice along with curries or dal. Wheat is usually used for making chapatis, puris, and parathas. Maize is used for making porridge, soups, rotis, etc. Pulses are cooked and used for making different varieties of dal by adding various vegetables, and spices to it. Sometimes, rice, along with certain pulses are soaked and then ground into a batter to make dishes like idly, dosa etc.
The advantages of cooking are that it makes food easily digestible and it improves the texture, taste, and appearance of the food. Also, cooking the food kills most of the harmful bacteria present in it.
The disadvantages of cooking are that - most nutrients may be lost while boiling rice and pulses. So, it is advised to use the boiled water while cooking soups, gravies, sambar etc, without wasting it. Although stewing slowly takes time, it conserves the nutrients in the food substances. Steaming is the best way to cook as cooks the food quickly and it also preserves the nutrients.
Most of the water-soluble vitamins and minerals are lost while cooking in open pans, pressure pans, etc.