Instant Raw Mango Pickle (Achaar) Ready In Just 10 Min!

Instant Raw Mango Pickle (Achaar) Ready In Just 10 Min!

Aam ka achaar is all we need to perk up our meals or use it in the absence of any sabzi. If you are ever out of achaar at home, you can make this raw mango pickle instantly using Vilina Refined Sunflowerseed Oil, in all of 10 minutes!

If there’s something that all Indian kitchens are always well-stocked with, it is a variety of pickles. There are different kinds of pickles you can make with different foods, but mango pickle so far remains the most popular. Aam ka achaar is all we need to perk up our meals or use it in the absence of any sabzi to go with our roti or paratha or pulao. Kaccha aam gives us the tanginess and sourness plus a hint of sweetness we need in our pickles. So, mango is always the best contender for making the best Indian side dish.

  The only issue with making pickles is that it takes a lot of time to mature and get ready for consumption. So, if you are ever out of achaar at home, you can make this raw mango pickle instantly, in all of 10 minutes!
Get raw pickle mangoes from the market; you can easily get them when you’ll ask specifically for it. These are the mangoes with seed in it. Wash the raw mangoes thoroughly and cut them into cubes along with the peels. The peel adds a nice crunch to the pickle.
Procedure :

  • Heat 2 table spoon Vilina Refined Sunflowerseed Oil (in a Kadhai)
  • Add 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds (Rai)
  • 20-25 Black Pepper (Kali Mirch)*Cook for 30-45 seconds
  • 1/2  Teaspoon of Cumin Seeds (Jeera)*1/4 teaspoon of Asafoetida (Hing)
  • 2 1/2 Teaspoon of Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Turmeric Powder (Haldi)
  • Add all the mangoes pieces
  • Give Everything a good mix
  • Add 3/4 teaspoon of salt
  • Mix again nicely
  • Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes in low to medium flame
  • Do not add water as the water content of mango will cook the Mango
  • Add 1/2 cup of pre-crushed jaggery (gur) to it for sweetness. Cook it for 2-3 minutes until completely melted. (you can adjust the sweetness as per your preference)
  • And now the Pickle is ready
  • Allow it to come to room temperature
  • Store in air-tight container
  • You can refrigerate it for up to 10 days.

 

Vilina Oil Achar Recipe

 

Oil Fortification – Everything You Need To Know

Oil Fortification – Everything You Need To Know

Nearly one-third of the human population suffers from one or the other kind of micronutrient deficiencies. Especially women and children under age two suffer from various deficiencies including iron, calcium, folic acid, vitamins, and zinc. These nutrient deficiencies can lead to increased morbidity and mortality among mothers and children. Hence an adequate supply of micronutrient is crucial for the development of a child, especially in the first 1000 days of their life. Micronutrient deficiencies are associated with 10% of all children’s deaths.

 

What is Micronutrient Deficiency?

 

Micronutrient and dietary deficiency are not enough of one or more micronutrients required for optimal functioning of the human body. Micronutrient deficiencies affect nearly two billion people worldwide in both developed and developing countries. Important micronutrients include iodine, iron, zinc, calcium, selenium, fluorine, and vitamins A, B6, B12, B1, B2, B3, and C.

 

What is Oil Fortification?

 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), fortification refers to the “the practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient, ie. vitamins and minerals (including trace elements) in a food & oil, so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and to provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health”, whereas enrichment is defined as “synonymous with fortification and refers to the addition of micronutrients to a food which is lost during processing”.

 

Why Should You Consider Oil Fortification?

 

 

Among all the macro and micro-nutrients, oil is the most calorie dense. They are not only rich in energy but also the prime source of many micronutrients required in our body. They are rich in fatty acids and a carrier of fat-soluble vitamin such as Vitamin A, D, E & K. In the fats and oil category, vegetable oil is the most widely consumed. Unrefined oil, such as palm oil is rich in Beta-Carotene which is a precursor for vitamin A. When the oil is processed and refined (which is what the majority of us consume), the nutrients get lost in the process.

 

Today there is an increased consumption of refined oils throughout the world. This trend is evitable even in the lower economic groups of the population as well. Since the majority of the population falls under this category, oil fortification became a necessary task to combat deficiencies. Fortification will help combat health problems associated with deficiencies of vitamins found in Oil among vulnerable groups.

 

There are so many oil and fat products produced specifically keeping the lower economic group in mind. Oils which are manufactured to replace high-cost cooking oils. For example – Margarine was developed as an alternative to butter – the only difference being that margarine was manufactured by the hydrogenation of refined oils. As a result, margarine lack fat-soluble vitamins. Since margarine was developed to replace butter, which is a good source of fat-soluble vitamins A and D, it was fortified with those same vitamins at an equivalent level.

 

The fitness and low-fat trend have led to insufficient consumption of fat-soluble micronutrients. What’s more, the lack of exposure to the sun has decreased our ability to synthesize vitamin D. Hence oil fortification will ensure that we consume a sufficient amount of fat-soluble vitamins through our diet.

 

The public health benefits of fortification may either be demonstrable, or indicated as potential by generally accepted scientific research, and include:

 

  • Prevention or minimization of diseases occurring due to deficiency of essential micronutrients in a specific population
  • Correction of the demonstrated deficiency of essential micronutrients in a specific population
  • A potential to improve the health and nutritional status that may have become suboptimal due to some unfortunate reasons.
  • Plausible benefits include improving or maintaining the health condition of public

 

Clearly, food and oil fortification have serious public health implications. When deciding to implement a fortification programme you should consider to minimize the nutrient deficiency that has the worst adverse effect on the health and function of a society.

 

Application of Fortification in Foods and Oils

 

Technically most expensive food and beverages are often fortified to suit the nutrient requirement of the consumer. However, to reach all the income groups, the fortification is provided by supplying it in the form of staple foods. The staple foods must be locally available to the people of low-income group, so no behavioral or lifestyle change is required to access the improved nutrition. The three important staple food includes:

 

Flour Fortification:

 

Flour is obtained by grinding uncooked grains or cereals in mills. It is mainly obtained from wheat, although it can also be obtained from corn, maize, rice, nuts, legumes, etc. Depending on the amount of flour obtained from the grain and the quality of the flour obtained. All the flours are an excellent source of dietary fibers, magnesium, and selenium.

 

Fortifying flour is a very cost-effective and hence most widely used method of supplying micronutrients. It has effectively managed to prevent vitamin A deficiencies. Since flour is consumed by the mass number of people, it is commonsensical to add other essential micronutrients like iron, folic acid, thiamin, riboflavin in addition to vitamin A. Since Flour is accessible to a wide range of population, industries are strictly instructed to follow the nutritional content of the flour.

 

Oil Fortification:

 

Cooking oil is plant fat used in cooking and food preparation across many parts of the world. Since its widespread use, cooking oils are perfect for Vitamin A fortification.

 

Crude oil naturally contains Vitamin A and E in the form of natural anti-oxidants. But other characteristics of crude oil such as aroma, taste, and appearances are in a questionable state. Hence crude oil undergoes refining process, which makes it lose those essential nutrients. Oil fortification is a perfect process to compensate for those lost nutrients and also to additional micronutrients to give the oil an added value.

 

Oil fortification becomes easy due to the presence of vitamin A. As it is in its natural state and easily blends with vitamin E  and vitamin D. Vitamin E gives an additional benefit of increasing the shelf life of the product.  Although Vitamin A is only suitable when used in food production and should not be directly consumed.

 

Rice Fortification:

 

Rice is the most widely used staple food in the world. Fulfilling nearly 20% of the world’s dietary needs. Interestingly, it is also the most consumed staple food in countries which faces severe micronutrient deficiency. Hence rice fortification is a perfect opportunity to supply those nutrients to a wide range of the population and gives significant leverage to counter malnutrition.

 

Rice fortification is carried out by blending essential nutrients in the kernel itself. With the method of coating, macronutrients are added to the genuine kernel. The macronutrients are liquified in the form of waxes and gums and spread on the rice. Once blended with plain rice, the end product is packed with micronutrient which does not wash off.

 

The Technology Used In Oil Fortification

 

 

To understand oil fortification you need to understand how oil refining takes place. The extraction of oil from oilseeds is done by manually crushing the oilseeds. The resultant oil obtained is called crude oil. It is rich in vitamins but still unsuitable for consumption. The oil is then subjected to refining process to remove the undesirable components to increase the product’s shelf life and make it edible.

 

The oil is further subjected to caustic which cause Free fatty acids to turn into soap, which is then discarded using centrifugal force. Oil is then bleached to separate the pigments such as beta-carotene and chlorophyll. Bleaching is carried out by using carbon which also absorbs healthy components of tocopherols and carotenoids.

 

Next, the oil is deodorized by passing it to high-pressure steam under vacuum. The oil obtained is highly refined and can be used to make other oil-based products. But this intense refining process also discards the essential macronutrients and hence fortification is required.

 

The oil fortification is carried out by adding fat-soluble vitamins. They can be either added individually or as a blend of multivitamin liquid. The addition of these vitamins should be done after the deodourization stage to minimize vitamin loss. Along with vitamins, other nutritional elements are added according to the nutritional requirement of that geographical area. The addition of these micronutrients is done similarly to the dosing of antioxidants which is regularly carried out in oil refineries. To ensure uniform mixing of these micronutrients, first a small batch of vitamins are measured and added to a small portion of warm oil and later the portion is mixed with bulk quantity prior to homogenization.

 

Conclusion

 

By now, you must have realized the importance of fortification in human society. Various industries and regulatory bodies have a committee set up to look after these procedures serious;y. Food and oil fortification is always done keeping the public health in perspective. Since micronutrient deficiency that impairs human development on an individual level has consequences on a large economic level. Many studies have suggested that society growing with micronutrient deficiency performs worst in competitive economic condition and the overall productivity of the population is decreased.

 

Chopped Greek Salad

Chopped Greek Salad

Chopped Greek Salad

Commonly known as the “rainbow” salad, this is a refreshing bowl that can be served as a side dish or a main meal.

Commonly known as the “rainbow” salad, this is a refreshing bowl that can be served as a side dish or a main meal. It has the perfect balance of flavors and can be eaten at any time of the day. So if you are interested in making this bowl of salad with crunchy romaine lettuce and healthy sunflower oil, here is the recipe.

Prep Time:

15-20 minutes

Cook Time:

0-1 minutes

Serves:

8-side salad bowls

Ingredients

Greek Salad

  • 10 ounces (approximately 2 medium or 3 small heads) chopped romaine lettuce
  • 1 pint or handful of quartered cherry tomatoes
  • 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
  • 1 yellow or orange (as per your choice) bell pepper
  • ½ medium sized red onion, chopped finely
  • ½ a cup of freshly chopped parsley
  • ½ a cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives
  • 6 ounces of sliced feta cheese

Greek Vinaigrette

  • ½ cup sunflower oil or extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 medium sized garlic cloves, pressed and minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes

Method

  • To make the salad, use a large bowl to combine the romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, onion, fresh parsley, olives and the creamy feta. Toss these ingredients together and set it aside to prepare the Greek vinaigrette.
  • For the vinaigrette, combine the ingredients in the recipe list with the sunflower oil in a measuring cup. Whisk or stir until the ingredients are well blend. Add more vinegar or honey to tame the dressing, as per your taste.
  • If you are serving this bowl of salad immediately, drizzle the dressing generously to coat the salad and slowly toss to combine all the flavors.

Notes

You can always add elements to this salad recipe as you wish. Chickpeas transform this salad to a complete meal. All you have to do is add 1 ½ cups of either cooked or canned chickpeas at the first step of this recipe. The options are not limited to just chickpeas, and that’s the beauty of this recipe. This salad can be customized as per your choice of taste.

Veg Soya Seekh Kebab

Veg Soya Seekh Kebab

Veg Soya Seekh Kebab

Coming down from the Middle-eastern cultures, Seekh Kebabs were usually enjoyed by non-vegetarians.

Coming down from the Middle-eastern cultures, Seekh Kebabs were usually enjoyed by non-vegetarians. But don’t worry; here is a vegetarian Seekh kebab recipe that can be enjoyed by everyone. This dish can be served as a starter dish or a snack with a cup of tea. Get ready to indulge yourself in this invigorating Seekh Kebab recipe card.

Prep Time:

20 minutes

Cook Time:

8 minutes

Serves:

4 people

Ingredients

Seekh Kebab

  • ¾ cup of Bengal gram or Chana dal
  • ½ cup of soya nuggets
  • 1 tbsp. green chilies
  • 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro or coriander
  • 4 tbsp. bread crumbs
  • 2 ½ tbsp. corn flour
  • ½ tsp. chili powder
  • ½ tsp. mango powder
  • Pinch of salt to taste
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • ½ tsp. sunflower oil

Spices mix

  • 1 tsp. coriander seeds
  • ¾ tsp. cumin seeds
  • 10 almonds
  • 4 cloves
  • 8 peppercorns
  • 4 green cardamom
  • 1/3 piece of star anise
  • 6 dried rose petals (optional)

Method

  • Start by soaking the Bengal gram in water for about 15 minutes and simultaneously soak the soya nuggets in warm water for about 15-20 minutes as well.
  • Take all the ingredients mentioned in the spices mix and grind them together to make a fine powder.
  • Squeeze the water from the soya nuggets and bring them to a boil in ample amount of water for 5 minutes and drain. After this squeeze the excess water from the soya nuggets.
  • Use two separate pressure cookers to cook the Bengal gram and the soya nuggets, with ½ a cup of water.
  • After one whistle from the pressure cooker (kept on medium flame), drain the water and squeeze the soya nuggets.
  • Heat 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tsp. sunflower oil in a heavy bottom pan and to this add the boiled grams and soya nuggets.
  • Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes on high flame, this will evaporate the remaining moisture.
  • Leave this mixture to cool for a while.
  • Now, grind the Bengal gram, soya nuggets and the green chilies till it makes a coarse paste.
  • Transfer this mixture to a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, corn flour, spices mix, chili powder, mango powder and the fresh cilantro.
  • Mix this well till the elements are well blended.
  • Take satay sticks and apply this Seekh kebab mixture evenly along the stick.
  • Heat sunflower oil in a heavy pan and shallow fry the kebabs
  • Gently flip the Seekh kebab on the satay stick every 2 to 3 minutes to make sure you get a nice golden color on all the sides.
  • Once the oil is drained, sprinkle some chaat masala and lemon juice to enhance the Seekh kebab’s flavor
  • Serve the Seekh kebab hot with your choice of condiment.

Notes

You can step away from the traditional Seekh kebab style mentioned in this recipe and make round patties with the mixture to make Shami kebabs or cutlets. They are perfect for a vegetarian barbeque party as well. Serve with cool mint chutney and sliced onions and green chilies for an enhanced tasteful experience.

Recommended Practices to Store, Handle & Transport Cooking Oils

Recommended Practices to Store, Handle & Transport Cooking Oils

Recommended Practices to Store, Handle & Transport Cooking Oils

From the very mention of the term vegetable oil or cooking oil, all we think about is preparing food. From our simple homes to leading cafés and restaurants cannot imagine starting off their day without a bottle of cooking oil, because, without it, almost nothing is possible. But the truth is, even though vegetable oil such as olive oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil , peanut oil is used majorly as cooking oil; it has a variety of uses that are beyond the four walls of a kitchen. It is a key element in industrial production as it is an additive in fuels as well as in the making of pet food. Maybe a lot of you reading this article did not know that cooking oil is used for more than just cooking, but what’s more, to find out in this article is the care taken by major industry players while storing and transporting this cooking oil.

This article will shower light on some key elements with regards to the storage and transport of cooking oil, but to put it in perspective, this article will help you understand:

• The need for a good quality transport system
• Types of deterioration risks to be considered
– Oxidation
– Hydrolysis
– Contamination
• Designs for storage and transport
– Land Storage tankers
– Ship Tankers
– Rail and Road Tanks
• Elements to focus on for efficient storage
– Heating
– Cleaning
– Maintenance

What is the need for a good quality transport system?

To begin with, it is important to understand the need for a good quality transport system. There are many different types of vegetable oils and as much as it is required for cooking, it is an essential element in the production of other by-products as well. Hence there are two main reasons why there needs to be a quality transport service to deliver oil from one industry to another.

• Focus on flexibility: Since cooking oil has many varied uses, it needs to be delivered on time to produce various other products. This is one of the major reasons why when cooking oil is transported; it is transported in bulk almost at all times. Implementing a good quality transport service will help avoid any glitch related to delayed delivery, as this will even lead to spoilage of the commodity unless precise steps are taken.

Reduce the chances of delayed delivery: A delayed delivery will not only result in the spoilage of the commodity, but it will result in a chain of unfortunate events. Think of the delay as a reason to set off an economic disaster, where vegetable-cooking oil is not available to you at your fingertips. As important it is to deliver cooking oil for further production, it is also important to deliver it on time to reach end users on time. Being a vital ingredient in cooking, a restaurant establishment could run losses if there is a shortage of cooking oil. If you are thinking from an industrial point of view then a simple delay could result in a halt in the production of your favorite items such as soaps and cosmetics among other by-products.

These pointers depict how important it is to not only have a good quality transport system to deliver vegetable oil from one destination to another but also gives you an insight into how significant this oil is in maintaining a steady flow of the economy. The reason I mentioned the “steady flow of the economy” is because one-third of the business activities of industries within the production vertical involve transporting cooking oil from one place to another. The below chart depicts the usage of simple vegetable-cooking oil in the production industry.

This chart clearly shows the necessity of cooking oil, therefore now it is evident as to why there is a need for a quality transport service. So ultimately the next question is what are the right practices to follow for storing and transporting cooking oil.

What are the types of deterioration risks to be considered?

There are three types of deterioration risks that need to be taken into account while storing and transporting cooking oil. This risk depends on the type of oil or fat that is being stored. If not taken care, these risk factors could result in loss of the oil for the company as well as its clients.

• Oxidation: This is the risk that arises from the contact of the oil with the oxygen in the atmosphere. This may seem like a tiny problem while reading the article, but the impact of oxidation can lead to major problems. Oxidation causes chemical abnormalities in the commodity and thereby downgrades the quality of the oil produced. Although in certain cases some effects of oxidation can be rectified with extra processing, it runs heavy expenses for the company.

• Hydrolysis: In science class, we did learn the importance of storing oil in a very clean tank, but the reason was never told to us. Well if there are small microorganisms or the presence of water molecules in the tank it leads to hydrolysis. It breaks down the fats in oil to fatty acids and renders the oil useless for further production as well as basic cooking. Therefore care must be taken while drying the tank, which will be used for storage of the cooking oil.

• Contamination: If there are any remaining residues of the previously stored products or presence of any other element such as dirt is present in the tank, adding the oil for storage to this tank will lead to contamination. It may prove to be a hassle to ensure the complete cleanliness of pipelines and valves, but contamination can be overcome by installing an efficient system with adequate cleaning procedures and inspections.

These three risk factors must be kept in mind before designing storage and transportation plan, as these risk factors are difficult to rectify. Understanding these risk factors is a start to the process. Now we will develop on this understanding by looking into the types of storage and transportation techniques that are available.

What are the designs for storage and transport that can be adopted?

There are so many varieties of designs that can be adopted in order to be able to store and transport oil efficiently. Though the main type of container used to store vegetable-cooking oil is a tank, there are different types of tanks that can be used. Through this article, we will look at some of the most efficient models that will help you create an effective storage and transport system.

Land Storage Tanks:

The most commonly seen, vertical, circular cross-section tank that comes with a self-supporting roof that is slightly convex in shape is by far the best oil storage tank available in the industry.

These are the tanks that we commonly see and this is very effective in storing oil while minimizing the contact with dirt, oxygen as well as water, thereby reducing the risk of deterioration. These tanks need to have a sloped bottom in order to facilitate effective draining of the tank.

As a recommendation, if the tank is used to store oil that will be made available for end users, consider the use of small size storage tanks with a relatively low capacity. The reason for this recommendation lies in three key criteria to be followed while choosing a storage tank:
• Anticipated storage period
• Turnover rate
• Number of products to be handled

Taking these points into consideration, if you are producing cooking oil for the end user and not for further production, then maintaining small size tanks are better as the storage periods will be short and you will not be handling any other by-products.

Ship Tanks:

In order to be able to cater to the “bulk transport of oil” requirement, ship tanks have proven to be extremely efficient. With capacities varying from 200 to 2500 tonnes, a single vessel carries these tanks or cargoes from one place to another. Made out of mild steel, these tanks are coated to avoid corrosion and additionally needs to be approved for contact with cooking oil that is ultimately used to make food.

These tanks require heavy inspection in order to ensure that the coating is still in place, but with the move to stainless steel, the use of the coating is reducing. Ship tanks are often categorized into three types:

Bulk tankers: With a capacity of over 15000 to 40000 tonnes, these usually include inter-connected pipelines and most commonly used for the storage and transport of single oils.

• Parcel tankers: With a similar capacity range as the bulk tankers, these are more sophisticated and are designed to effectively carry different types of oils.

• Container vessel: A vessel that is designed to carry tanks of standardized dimensions which enhances the convenience in storage and transport.

Rail and Road Tanks:

These are tanks equipped to transport oil by and from one place to another. Most commonly used material for this tank is stainless steel or mild steel and if you are into production of end-user oils then this tanker will be perfect.

Similar to the others, this tank also helps in reducing the chances of deterioration if taken care of appropriately. The coating on this tank is also very essential to be well maintained as it can contaminate the oil stored inside.

What other elements must be focused for efficient storage?

What needs to be focused on during the implementation of an efficient storage system are as follows:

• Heating: it is essential to install appropriate heating facilities in the tanks in order to maintain the viscosity of the oils, that is the liquid and homogenous structure of the oil, during loading, transport, and unloading. Care must be taken to ensure that the heating coils are made of stainless steel and nor alloys consisting of copper as they could run risks of contaminating the commodity.

• Cleaning: As mentioned before, the cleanliness of the storage tank is very essential if you want to maintain the oil quality. It must be ensured that edible and non-edible oils are not mixed, as if not cleaned properly, they could prove to be hazardous for health. Regular inspections must be incorporated to ensure the cleanliness of the tanker. For instance, if water or steam is used to clean the tank it must be drained completely before storing the oil as it could lead to hydrolysis. Similarly, if any time of alkali is used to clean the pipelines and valves, they need to be washed out thoroughly to eradicate any remaining residues.

• Maintenance: A well-structured maintenance process needs to be incorporated along with the cleanliness inspection. This maintenance check should involve the check of steam pressure valves, steam supply pipelines, steam traps, weighing equipment, tank coatings, and gauge meters. These checks will help you measure the efficiency of their functioning and facilitate an overall check on the storage tank.

Storage and transport of cooking oil are very essential to ensure that there is a steady supply of the commodity across industries. Industries place ultimate importance on maintaining the quality of the storage and transport tank, as it is very essential as an industry standard. Many times oil gets rejected due to its incapability to meet the industry quality standards. Therefore key focus needs to be placed on the type of storage tanker you are choosing and the types of risk factors that you need to avoid in order to maintain the quality. Oil is like liquid treasure and especially in the case of vegetable-cooking oil, this holds true. With many varied uses and production of by-products, an efficient transport and storage system needs to be maintained.

Disclaimer – “Views expressed in the blogs, are exclusive thoughts of the author and are not necessarily
aligned to Vilina Refined Oil’s policies”.