Bengaluru’s tryst with zero-waste cooking | Bengaluru News
Odette Katrak believes that anything that can be eaten should not be discarded in waste or even composted.
An environment changemaker and resident of Purva Paradise in Domlur, Odette experiments with food scraps like fruit and vegetable peels, stems and rind, and converts them into juice, jam, pickle, chutney, dosa, rasam, vitamin powder, mouth freshener, and more. “Today I’m making orange peel juice and lemon peel pickle,” she smiles.
One of her favourite food scraps is pineapple peels. She crafts beer using the peels that typically end up in the rubbish bin. There is nothing quite like home-brewed pineapple beer, she says. It is flavourful, fizzy, and absolutely splendid for the summer.
“All you have to do is combine pineapple skin with readily accessible ingredients such as brown sugar, aromatic spices such as cinnamon, and some water,” says Odette, adding that it is her favourite gift to beer-loving friends. The fermentation process completes within three days.
Pineapple beer, she says, serves also as a probiotic drink – it is tangy and good for your health.
“If you let it ferment into the fifth day, it’s converted into vinegar. This organic natural vinegar is way better than the synthetic vinegar,” says Odette.
Odette is on a mission to transform the campaign called ‘Treasures from Trash 2.0’ she launched in 2023 into a nationwide movement. She has garnered recipes from cities beyond Bengaluru.
Bengalureans are increasingly integrating sustainable practices in their everyday routines. Many use mango and jackfruit seeds, potato and orange peels and banana skin for food preparations, which in turn reduces waste sent to landfills.
Don’t throw away watermelon rind and methi stems
For 44-year-old Neelima Majumdar Kavuri from Sahakarnagar, inventing and rediscovering recipes that use stems and peels gives a lot of joy. “I learnt to make some zero waste foods from my mother. Then I started reading up on what parts of plants are edible and what are not, and started coming up with my own recipes,” she says.
Her culinary achievements include chutneys prepared from fenugreek stems and cauliflower leaves, fryums crafted using watermelon’s outer green skin, and jam and dosa made using watermelon rind (the light coloured part just below the outside green layer), along with pomegranate peel tea. “I also make spicy chutney powder using seeds of pumpkin, ash gourd, watermelon, and muskmelon,” she says.
Neelima previously had stints with Deloitte and Goldman Sachs. What does making zero-waste foods mean to her? “Consuming the last bit of any food, whether cooked or raw, ensures optimal utilisation of available resources. It also provides you with the essential nutrients your body needs for growth and repair,” she says. Neelima’s sons Saaket Ram and Sri Vansh have inherited her passion for zero-waste foods.
17-year-old in love with zero-waste foods
Agastya who lives in Suncity Apartments in Ibbaluru loves watermelon. But being an eco-warrior, he feels guilty while disposing of its rind.
“With the rinds, I decided to pickle them like cucumbers and it gave amazing results,” he says. Agastya shares his recipe and tells me to try it out. “Pour one cup each of vinegar and sugar into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add two tablespoons each of salt and sugar to the mixture. Place mustard seeds, pepper flakes, dill and bay leaves in a glass jar. Put the chopped watermelon rind pieces into the jar. Carefully pour the hot brine into the jar, seal it tightly, and store in the refrigerator. The pickle is now ready to consume.”
Agastya who aspires to pursue his higher studies in zoology composts the bitter outer peel of the watermelon instead of throwing it in his trash to reduce the waste sent to landfill.
Dealing with pesticides
Always buy fruits and vegetables from a trusted vendor. If that is not feasible, it becomes essential to neutralise the pesticide-treated outer layers. Although thorough washing helps, there exist three effective neutralisation techniques. These include a one-hour soak in vinegar water or salt water, or in water diluted with bio enzymes made from fruit peels. Seeds and pulp present lower risks compared to fruit and vegetable peels.
People from affluent families often question the necessity of conservation and waste management. Their financial capacity allows them to purchase whatever they need. For instance, they prefer buying jam from shops rather than making it from watermelon rind.
Katrak faced significant challenges while persuading her maid to use vegetable peels and seeds in cooking.
“When I told my maid to keep broccoli stems, she humorously said I’m being stingy. I told her, “You think I want to save money. That’s not the point. I want to save the planet. Our planet cannot sustain the excessive waste we generate.”
Now she is more mindful and does not even waste green peas pods, says Katrak. “The inner thick film gets discarded but the outer fleshy part of the pea pod is edible. It’s tender and delicious,” she says.
IT SAVES MONEY, IT SAVES THE PLANET
I have been labelled stingy for this habit, and I proudly say yes, it not only saves money, but also saves the planet – less rotting mixed waste in landfills, less methane generation – so if we all started doing this, we are collectively taking simple actions that can counter climate change in our small way, and impacting the waste burden of our cities. Even if we compost, why compost (or throw in a bin) anything that can be eaten!
I embarked on my zero-waste journey in 2015 after engaging with volunteers from Kasa Mukta Bellandur, an organisation dedicated to establishing a waste-free Bellandur. My mum has consistently been my inspiration, teaching me to maximise the use of ingredients. She was meticulous about avoiding waste, utilising everything including bitter gourd peels. In our household, we ensure thorough utilisation of all fruits and vegetables.
A significant milestone in my sustainable living path was clinching a victory in a Beautiful Bengaluru contest, where I developed a mouth freshener using mango seeds.
The preparation method is like this: Sun-dry mango seeds. After drying, crack them and extract the white inner seed. Slice into thin strips. Boil for five minutes. Drain and add cold water. The seed should be breakable, but will maintain its structure. Leave to dry on fabric for five hours. Sauté in ghee. Season with salt and rock salt. This preparation contains significant Vitamin B6. For dental whitening, extract the white seed from an unripe mango. Split it and use it to clean your teeth. This helps whiten teeth and eliminate plaque. For mango butter, sun-dry mango seeds, extract the white inner seed and blend with coconut oil. This mixture helps illuminate skin and reduce spots.
Rupal Ralph, PASSIONATE HOME COOK, LAWYER, ENTREPRENEUR AND RESIDENT OF RELIABLE LAKEDEW RESIDENCY, HARLUR ROAD
I joined Beautiful Bengaluru, which is now Beautiful Bharat, in 2016 and gained valuable insights about waste reduction and management. I began incorporating gradual modifications in my daily routine to minimise waste generation. Having previously crafted jams from grapes, mangoes, apples and strawberries, I decided to experiment with watermelon rind, an edible portion that typically ends up in the green waste bin. I applied the standard fruit jam recipe to this unconventional ingredient, and the results proved successful.
The final product was quite enjoyable. Due to limited space availability in my residence, I cannot implement composting, despite it being an effective solution for complete elimination of food waste. So for me, making zero-waste food is a better option.
Purnima M Kulkarni, TEACHER, HOME COOK, AND RESIDENT OF BRIGADE GARDENIA
RECIPES
Begin by peeling off the red flesh of the watermelon, then use a peeler to remove the dark green exterior. Dice the remaining white rind into small portions. Take raw mangoes (totapuri variety) and after peeling, cut it into similar-sized pieces. Process both ingredients together in a food processor, or utilise a grinder if you prefer a smoother consistency.
Place the mixture in a pan with a lid and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Incorporate sugar at a ratio of two cups for every four cups of fruit mixture. The sugar quantity can be adjusted based on the mango’s tartness. For additional flavouring, include cardamom, cloves and cinnamon according to your preference.
Continue cooking on low heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Once the jam achieves a thick, translucent consistency, turn off the heat.
The recipe works well with a proportion of one cup raw mango to three cups of watermelon rind.
Purnima M Kulkarni
Wash and scrub potatoes with a brush. Soak in diluted vinegar or salt water for half an hour to counter any pesticides. Boil potatoes, then peel skins. Lay discarded skins on a baking tray. Sprinkle salt, pepper and olive oil. Bake for ten minutes at 200°C. Your tasty snack is ready. Better skins have high nutrition.
Sanaya Katrak
Chop fenugreek stems into small pieces. In a pan, add oil, stems, salt, a little water and cook covered on low flame for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
Separately, fry mustard, urad dal, haldi, red chilli, til, tamarind and hing. Cool masala and cooked stems. Grind together with a piece of jaggery. The chutney is ready. It goes really well with idli or dosa.
Neelima Majumdar Kavuri
