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Home | Get Ahead | Leisure | Cuisine
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June 16, 2006 |
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Nutrition nuggets
Despite popular belief, Lebanese food does not only cater to non-vegetarians. In fact, it has a lot to offer vegetarians too. Most of the starters or Mezzes, as they are called in Lebanon, are vegetarian.
Ingredients like tomatoes, chickpeas, beans and lentils are also used in Indian cuisine. So, unlike many foreign cuisines, you don't really have to 'develop a taste' for Lebanese food because it already suits the Indian palate. Traditionally, in Lebanon, people don't have a variety of vegetables. Hence a few vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes and beans are used in abundance.
Though easy to cook, Lebanese food requires a lot of vegetables and hence chopping and other prerequisites may take more time than the actual cooking.
The use of vegetables and herbs increases the nutritional value of the food. Though herb-based, it still has a very strong flavour.
The amount of oil consumed is little but the food is still very filling and a bit on the heavier side. Falafel (shown in image) is rich in calories because it is fried, but other dishes do not have a lot of oil and hence not very fattening.
Lebanese food involves the use of a variety of breads.
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