04 July 2019
Here’s an interesting read from The New Indian Express, the journey of Jumana Huzefa, an accidental cook who switched from traditional samosas and haleem to finger millet brownie and granola bars.
When Jumana Huzefa and her husband joined a running group in 2013, they decided to switch over to nutritious eating options. The coach and their friends stressed on the importance of health supplements that can transform their fitness journey and make it easier. It’s been seven years and there’s no looking back. “My hometown is Kolkata and that means I have a sweet tooth. Secondly, I’m a Bohra Muslim. Growing up, my mother and grandmother doled out sumptuous traditional snacks like samosas and haleem every other day in the kitchen.
There was a phase of binge eating. When we joined the running group, we had to refrain from eating most of them. It was challenging in the beginning but now our palette has adapted to healthy options,” says Jumana who moved to Chennai after her marriage in 2003. She calls herself an accidental cook.
Granola bars, cookies, pies, tarts, muffins, bread and savouries — name it and she can make all of them without refined white sugar. Pastries with gluten-free flour are her specialty. “I started experimenting healthy baking options from 2016. I baked my first batch of brownies with finger millet in chocolate flavour. People often get sceptical of how baked products can be made out of healthy alternatives without trying. One might not get the perfect texture and taste in the first attempt. It requires patience and practice. After multiple efforts, you will develop a liking for it to the extent that it will become hard to differentiate from what you make with regular flours,” says Jumana who took six months to perfect healthy baking.
The home baker uses flour options such as millet, amaranth, ragi, maize, quinoa, water chestnut and bajra. Based on trial-and-error, she decides the combination of flavours that go with the type of flour.
Original post on The New Indian Express
