The Health Benefits of a Halal Diet

Pre-packaged foodstuffs have a tendency to contain a large number of unnatural ingredients. In order to keep the food from expiring or the right colour, scientists rather than chefs seem to have more input in what we eat on a daily basis. When you really think about all the foreign bodies that you are allowing into your system and your family’s systems, is it really healthy?

The basic beauty of a Halal diet is the knowledge that the food is prepared in a controlled environment with special precautions having been taken to ensure its purity. Buying your food from a Halal supplier or dining at a Halal Restaurant can have significant positive impact upon your life. Made up with only the factors that nature has provided, Halal foods will not contaminate the body and mind.

Celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver are fighting the cause for greater transparency in regards to how the ingredients in our foods are presented. The health connotations of pre-packaged dinners and snacks are now more clearly demonstrated on the packaging. Using colour-coding systems, consumers are privy to the bare facts of their food.

Due to their Muslim faith, many Indian Restaurants will serve only Halal dishes. In regards to meat dishes, the animal will have lived a pure life and been treated well from the very beginning. As such, Indian Cuisine with its fresh ingredients and wholesome spices is often a very healthy and beneficial affair.

With foods that do not contain harmful pesticides, toxins or pollutants, Indian Cuisine in a Halal Restaurant is often one of the most healthy and beneficial meals that you could treat your family to. Islam encourages its followers to treat their bodies with great care and respect and that includes the food that we subject it to. 

Where Pakistani Cuisine meets Indian Dining

Indian Cuisine is readily available all over Britain. Almost every town and city in the country will be represented by an Indian Restaurant and Indian food. Alongside Italian dining, Indian food overshadows the cuisine of almost every culture outside of the UK in this country. The large population of Indian people who live in Britain is one of the main contributing factors as well as the use of flavours so foreign to tastes native to England. This makes it all the more surprising that Pakistani cuisine does not share the same coverage in the UK despite their similarities in flavour to Indian Cuisine and the high volume of Pakistani people living in the UK.

However, there is a large Pakistani representation in many Indian Restaurant menus. With similar usage of spices and flavours; these dishes fit seamlessly within the Indian Cuisine. Dishes from the two countries are often enjoyed simultaneously. The Pakistani provinces of Sindh and in particular Punjab share many similarities in taste to their Indian counterparts. Punjabi food is commonly found within the confines of an Indian Restaurant.

With similar temperatures and weather conditions in the two countries; India and Pakistan are able to harvest similar foodstuffs and spices. Mustard, black pepper, cardamom and turmeric are commonplace in the two countries, heavily influencing the flavours of the delicacies.

Masala is used very liberally throughout the cuisine of both India and Pakistan. It allows for a wide variety of flavours to be produced within their dishes. The masala can flavour rice and whole wheat depending upon the spices used.

Many of the curry dishes that are popular in Indian Restaurants have their histories deeply entwined with that of Pakistan. Rogan Josh, Biryani and Butter Chicken have long all been popular dishes in Pakistan. Restaurants in Pakistan use a great deal of decadent ingredients such as butter, ghee and cream to create incredibly rich dishes.

Unleavened breads such as Naan and Roti are just as popular in Pakistan as they are India.

There are such similarities between the two cuisines that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two.

Keep Warm this Winter with Asian Cuisine

One of the most warming feelings on a winter’s night is to settle down on the sofa under a blanket with a big bowl of rich, decadent food. The sensation of warm food hitting the palate and the smells absorbing the senses helps you forget the dreary, cold climes outside the window. There are few better types of food for this than Asian Cuisine. Asian Cuisine is based around big, bold flavours and simplicity of eating; a bowl for your favourite meat or vegetable dish and bread to dish it up. With a large Asian population in the UK it is not difficult to find an Asian Restaurant to deliver to your door. Here are a few of the best dishes to eat on a cold winter’s night.

Reputed to have been created as a mistake in Delhi when a chef had ran out of many ingredients but was required to prepare a dish for a VIP; Butter Chicken is a rich, creamy dish that is as versatile and it is enjoyable. Generous portions of butter, tomato and various spices are added to a chicken that has been slowly marinating overnight in a yoghurt and spice mixture. The succulent chicken is perfectly accompanied by a naan bread.

Not quite as spicy as Vindaloo or Phall curries but still packing a considerable punch; Beef Madras envelopes the consumer with an instantaneous tingling taste. More flavoursome than its spicier counterparts, Beef Madras concentrates on creating a taste sensation that is second to none. Beef Madras is best enjoyed atop a bed of rice to counter the heat of the curry.

In the winter there is a tendency for many to overeat and gain unwanted weight. For those worried about the calorific content of the intake but still want to enjoy warming Asian Cuisine; the Tarka Daal is the perfect dish. Gently spiced and filling split beans create an enjoyable and warming stew without the unwanted calories.