Honey is considered a divine food. Though its nutritional value is limited, it is a quick source of energy. It is a sweetener for many dishes such as juices, cakes, biscuits, tarts and curries and adds flavour and taste to the food and improves the shelf life.
Honey is also valued for its healing properties. The sugars present in honey are easily absorbed because they have been predigested by bees during its production. Honey is mainly used for the treatment of indigestion, cough, cold, insomnia, headache, general weakness and skin wounds. It is better to buy honey that has been produced by bee-keepers, who do not feed the bees with refined sugars and use harmful pesticides in their farms. Unpasteurised honey contains a type of bacteria that are harmless to children and adults but can be very dangerous to infants.
Honey sweet lassi
Ingredients
Yogurt—2 and a half
cups (low fat)
Ice water—1 cup
Honey—4 tbsp
Apple—1 cup (peeled
and chopped)
Crushed ice—to serve
Pistachios—2 tbsp
(finely chopped)
Method
Pour the yoghurt into a blender and whisk until frothy. Add water, apple and honey and blend for 2 minutes, pour it into a bowl and let it chill for 30 minutes in a refrigerator. To serve, add few crushed ice cubes into tall glasses, then pour in the chilled lassi, sprinkle with chopped pistachios and serve immediately.
Stir-fried chicken with honey
Ingredients
Tomato- chilli sauce – 2
tbsp
Honey – 3 tbsp
Juice of lime – 1
Chicken (boned and
skinned) – 675 gm (cut
into thin strips)
Oil – 6 tbsp
Ginger – 2’’ piece
Carrot – 200 gm
(peeled and cut into
thin strips)
Salt – to taste
Soy sauce – 2 tbsp
Lime thinly sliced —1
Method
Blend sauce, honey, lime juice and salt in a large bowl and add chicken pieces, stir well. Let it marinate for 2 hours. Heat oil in a tawa until very hot and almost smoking, then stir fry the carrot and ginger until crisp and golden. Transfer to a plate and keep aside. Pour away half the oil from the pan, then add the chicken and stir fry for 3-5 minutes until the chicken is cooked and browned. Add soy sauce and lime slices stir continuously. Serve hot with the shreds of fried ginger and carrot on top of the chicken.
