There is a lot of buzz around probiotics these days. Probiotics in simple terms is good bacteria, which is pro-life (no, not the political term, but the real meaning of it). Probiotics are important for your gut health, digestion and improving immunity; to name a few. There are a lot of ways in which you can include probiotics in your food. Probiotics are used across the world by many traditional cultures. Most traditional foods from around the world had their probiotics, just that we might not have thought of them in that manner. Some of the most common foods include yogurt, sauerkraut/kimchi (both are fermented cabbage preparations used across Europe and East Asia), Kefir (used in Eastern Europe and South America), Miso (Fermented Soy used in Japan and east asia), Kombucha (fermented green tea) and a variety of pickles.
Being from India, I know that the Indian diet has a lot of probiotics as part of our daily diet. First and foremost would be yogurt, which has the good milk culture. From the part where I come from, we use yogurt in a variety of ways. Then there are all kinds of pickled vegetables that we have from different parts of India. I have been pickling all kinds of veggies to supplement our already good supply of pro-biotic from the daily consumption of yogurt. This one is inspired from the beets and dates pickle from the North Malabar area which is enjoyed with Biriyani. It will be a tasty addition to your meals along with providing you some much needed good bacteria :-). We have it 2-3 times a day as it goes well with all kinds of food.
Ingredients:
- Beets (root) - 1 medium
- Carrot - 2 medium
- Dates - 4-5
- Green Chilly (or any hot pepper of choice) - according to spice level
- Ginger - 2 Tbs
- EV Olive oil - 3 Tbs
- Unpasteurized organic apple cider vinegar - 2 Tbs
- Organic pro-biotic powder - 1 tsp (one that contains Lactobacillus acidophilus), Or use 2 tbs of whey from yogurt
- Sea salt - as per taste
Directions:
- Wash all veggies, peel and wipe dry with a clean kitchen towel.
- Grate all veggies, ginger, green chilly and dates into a clean dry bowl.
- Add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and probiotic powder (or whey). Mix well, taste, adjust salt.
- Pack this into a clear glass jar making sure the veggies are well covered under the brine.
- Keep this with a tight lid on, on your countertop and let it ferment for a couple of days.
- Keep refrigerated for up to a month.
- Enjoy your daily supply of pro-biotic :-)
