Healthy SAUCEry 1: From the Raw Food Centre

Welcome to a new week here on Daily Dose of Art!

To many who are trying to lose weight or be healthier, the mere mention of ‘dips’ and ‘sauces’ can cause a scare. Those delightful chip and veggie tray companions are often perceived as the weight gain culprit. This week on “Healthy SAUCEry” on DDoA, we have invited chefs and wellness practitioners to teach us a few ‘healthylicious’ sauce recipes that we can create right in our own kitchens, so we can have the yum without the glum.

Our first recipe contributor is Raw Food Centre‘s founder – Gourmet Raw Food Chef – Sunita Vira – who is currently based in Chicago.

The Raw Food Centre (RFC), founded in Singapore by Sunita Vira, endeavours to help spread awareness on healthy eating and incorporating raw foods into the diet. RFC offers a personalized approach to preparing delicious, stimulating, visually appealing uncooked foods. Read  more

Healthy Sauce #1  from the Raw Food Centre

CILANTRO & ARUGULA CHUTNEY
Serves 2-3
This chutney is spicy with peppery undertones from the Arugula.
Type of Sauce: dip
Vegetarian Diet Type: vegan
Taste: savory, peppery & spicy
Cuisine-inspiration: Indian
Nature of Sauce: raw
Recipe Credits:  Sunita Vira, The Raw Food Centre

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cilantro
• 1/2 cup arugula (also known as salad rocket)
• 1/4 cup red onion chopped
• 1t shredded ginger
• 1T lemon or lime juice
• 1/2t Himalayan pink salt
• 1 green chilli
• 1t brown sugar
• 1-2 T water to blend if needed (optional)

Procedure:
Blend all the ingredients till smooth consistency, add water only if needed to help with the blending.

Storage: Store in airtight glass jars in the fridge. Will keep for 1 week in the fridge.

Nutritional Note: Cilantro, also known as Chinese Parsley or Coriander is great for removing heavy metals from the body.

Healthy Sauce #1 from the Raw Food Centre
CILANTRO & ARUGULA CHUTNEY
Shown above with dehydrated sweet potato chips
Created by Gourmet Raw Food Chef Sunita Vira

Healthy Sauce #2  from the Raw Food Centre

CREAMY HOT LAVA SAUCE
Yields about 1 cup
This sauce is creamy & spicy!

Type of Sauce: dip & topping for rice & noodles
Vegetarian Diet Type: vegan
Taste: creamy, sweet & spicy
Cuisine-inspiration: Fusion
Nature of Sauce: raw
Recipe Credits: Sunita Vira, The Raw Food Centre

Ingredients:

• 1 red bell pepper or red tomato coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion chopped
• 1 1/2T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 Thai chilli with seeds coarsely chopped
• 1/4t cayenne
• 1/2 t Himalayan pink salt
• 1t brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1T soaked cashews

Procedure:
1. Blend all the ingredients till smooth consistency.
2. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of cayenne

Storage: Store in airtight glass jars in the fridge. Will keep for 5 days in the fridge.

Healthy Sauce #2 from the Raw Food Centre
CREAMY HOT LAVA SAUCE
Shown above with gluten-free flax crackers by the Raw Food Centre
Created by Gourmet Raw Food Chef Sunita Vira

What makes a good sauce?

It has to have the right consistency! Sauces need to have a good consistency, not too thick and not runny. A nice thick homogeneous mixture that does not separate but is pourable. No globs, a smooth even consistency. It needs to be saltier as it is not usually eaten alone. Then it comes down to taste, one that balances flavour and satisfies the pallet in terms of the 5 flavours: sweet, sour, savoury, spicy and bitter. I like to play with the complexity of flavours in sauces and have undertones of pepper, garlic or ginger. Lastly serve the sauces as room temperature to keep the flavours at their best. (Temperature hot sauces burn the tongue and deaden the pallet temporarily and we can’t taste the food) – Gourmet Raw Food Chef Sunita Vira

SUNITA VIRA & the Raw Food Centre

Sunita Vira is a certified Gourmet Raw Food Chef from the Living Light Culinary Institute in California and the founder of The Raw Food Centre, Singapore. With a background in art & design and an Indian heritage, Sunita merges creativity with ethnic flavors from different cultures.

Over the past few years, she has pioneered a new cuisine that is appealing, delicious and nutritious. Familiar flavors are created by enhancing the ingredient’s natural qualities with traditional spices and herbs.

Sunita’s passion is to experiment with Living foods and help people integrate these into their daily menu. She is currently writing an un-cook book and will be hosting exclusive classes from her home.

With her husband and her three children as her inspiration, she is dedicated to being a voice for raw living foods.

Learn more from the Raw Food Centre website or email them for more info on recipes, workshops and detox retreats, etc.

So do…as Sunita Vira does – experiment with living foods and integrate these into your daily menu.