This member of the cucumber family goes back thousands of years

The key lies in education. We should expose children more to food systems, says nutrition consultant Rujuta Diwekar.

This is the age of hard sell: everything that is or can be on sale, is being sold aggressively through promotions, advertisements, media campaigns, claims of how good the product is, what health benefits it supposedly has, etc... and that also goes for the food that we eat. 

The beautiful and healthy lotus stems—you can find these stems being sold by roadside vendors, especially along roads that run by a river or a pond. The light brown or white, sausage-like tubular vegetable has holes in it. These are lotus stems and they are used widely in Indian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. They are relished for their taste and nutritional value. Known in Hindi as bhe or kamal kakri, the lotus stem contains hollow air channels that run the length of the stem. It is crunchy, sweet and tastes like water chestnut. It has a delicate flavour and is suitable for eating raw or cooked...

The New Year has begun...The United Nations has declared 2016 as the “International Year of Pulses” to raise knowledge of the many nutritional benefits of pulses. What does this mean for India?