Chef whips ups healthy Indian dish

DUBAI: Canadian TV chef Bal Arneson demonstrated to guests at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival how to cook up a healthy Indian dish without missing out on the lavour.

An eager audience was shown how to rustle up a healthy Curried Chickpea meal in a matter of minutes.

“Traditional Indian food isn’t spicy but instead very lavourful. It has also been very healthy in the past but that has changed as people use more salt, sugar and white lour resulting in a huge increase in diabetes rates in India,” she said. Her healthy recipe is prepared in a pan with oil, garlic and ginger cooked on a medium to low heat until it is light golden brown. Tomatoes are then added along with coriander, cumin and mango powder together with green chilli, salt and pepper.

The ingredients are then mixed and cooked on a low heat for 10 seconds. Chickpeas and coconut milk are then added and cooked until the sauce thickens in about 5 to 10 minutes. The heat is then turned off and the dish is garnished with red onions and fresh mint leaves.

A variety of live cooking demonstrations are being held during the 10th edition of the festival, which runs until April 28 at Expo Centre Sharjah and is themed ‘Your Future… Just a Book Away’.

The festival’s events span several programmes, under the main themes of Kids Activities, Cultural Programmes, Cultural Café, Kids’ Creative Café, Social Media Café and Cookery Corner. SCRF 2018 also features a series of international theatrical performances like ‘Tuta and Monkey Cheetah’ and the ‘Island of Kids’ Area’ that combine education, fun and entertainment to highlight the values of honesty to young visitors.