ICMR-approved 10 common cooking methods for Indian households

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) states that cooking improves digestibility of most foods. Foods get softened on cooking and become easily chewable. Proper methods of cooking make foods palatable by improving their appearance, taste, flavour, and texture, thereby enhancing acceptability. Led by the apex health research body the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) in Hyderabad, the dietary guidelines released for Indians talks about the importance of adopting appropriate pre-cooking and cooking methods at home. The report stresses on pre-cooking, which involves washing , cutting, grinding, fermentation and germination. These steps are important because they help in the cooking of the dish and also helps maintain the nutritional values. But it should be done in a controlled manner to avoid the loss of nutrients. Take a look at the ICMR-approved common cooking methods that are apt for Indian households.

It is said that in open lid cooking, food takes a longer time to get cooked and exposure to air accelerates nutrient loss. While in closed-lid cooking food gets cooked quickly and nutrients are better retained because of the shorter cooking time.

As per ICMR, boiling or pressure cooking is the best way to improve the nutritional quality of pulses since anti-nutritional factors are destroyed during boiling and pressure cooking. Hence, these methods increase the digestibility and therefore protein availability.

In contrast to boiling, during the process of steaming, the food merely comes into contact with steam. Steaming is the best cooking method to increase the level of both antioxidants and polyphenols in vegetables and greens.

ICMR states that due to the high temperatures in the frying process, changes occur in nutrients such as proteins and vitamins. The main disadvantage of this method, if often used, is that it increases the consumption of fats and oils, which are linked with increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. ICMR says that repeated use of oils used for frying should also be avoided. Further, already used oils should not be mixed with fresh oils and reused.

It has higher nutrient loss. As per ICMR, compared to deep frying, there's a lot more exposure to ambient oxygen, this causes fats and oils to degrade significantly when combined with high temperature.

This method preserves nutrients when compared to cooking in liquid. The rapid cooking seals in nutrients but heat-labile vitamins will still begin to degrade.

The nutritional effects of microwaves on protein lipids, vitamins, and minerals are minimal. It is preferable to use glass or microwave safe ceramic vessels and to avoid plastic vessels.

The use of the constant oven temperature of 150-150 degree Celsius throughout the cooking period results in lower cooking loss when compared to a high starting temperature.

In this, cooking cell walls break down and there is a release of powerful antioxidants from vegetables making them more available to the body.

It stimulates deep frying without the excess use of oil. Also, air frying significantly decreases the amount of oil absorbed into foods compared to deep frying. Less oil leads to less calories, which can reduce the risk of weight gain and obesity.

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