Kuttu ka atta or buckwheat flour is popular among people who fast during Navratri. But why does food from buckwheat flour send hundreds to hospital every year? Is it just adulteration or something else?
To preserve the quality of kuttu atta, it should be kept away from direct sunlight and moisture.
By India Today News Desk: For 65-year-old Anita Thakur kuttu ka atta is the go-to ingredient during the Navratras when most members of her family fast. She lovingly prepares puris, tikkis and halwa from buckwheat flour.
Anita Thakur loves crispy puris and that is the reason she opts for kuttu ka atta and mixes it with singhare ka atta (water chestnut flour). Puris from just singhare ka atta aren't that crispy.
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Kuttu ka atta or buckwheat flour is one of the popular food ingredients of people fasting during the Navratras. It is especially popular in and around Delhi. In other places, the popular choice is singhare ka atta or water chestnut flour.
Though a good source of fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals, adulterated and old buckwheat flour is behind hospitalisation of hundreds of people every year.
At least 350 people fell sick in Haryana's Sonipat on Wednesday after eating food prepared with kuttu atta or buckwheat flour on the first day of Navratri. People were hospitalised in UP's Modinagar too.
Every year, around this time of the year, hundreds of people fall sick and have to be hospitalised due to consuming old or adulterated kuttu atta.
WHAT IS KUTTU KA ATTA?
Buckwheat flour is made from the seed of a flowering plant and the plant doesn't belong to the grass family. Most cereals belong to the grass family. Buckwheat isn't a popularly cultivated crop in India.
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The reason it is so popular as a fasting food among Hindus is that it isn't a cereal. People traditionally avoid cereals during fasts.
In 2020, world production was 1.8 million tonnes, led by Russia with 49% of the world total, followed by China with 28% and Ukraine with 5%, according to a report by UN agency FAO.
The hulled kernels, or groats, are cooked and served much like rice. Buckwheat flour is used, alone or mixed with wheat flour, to make griddle cakes called buckwheat cakes in the US and Canada, according to Britannica.
KUTTU KA ATTA AND FOOD POISONING
Around 350 people fell sick in Haryana's Sonipat after eating food prepared with buckwheat flour on Wednesday. People were hospitalised in UP's Modinagar too with symptoms of dehydration, abdominal pain and diarrhoea after eating kuttu atta food.
According to doctors, all of the patients suffered food poisoning. It is suspected that they had fallen sick after eating food made from adulterated kuttu ka atta.
"Eating old and adulterated buckwheat flour causes problems in the body," said Dr Anurag Sethi, who works at a hospital in Sonipat. "Today, 60 to 70 patients came to our hospital with complaints of food poisoning," said Dr Sethi.
Dr Sethi said the patients fell ill after eating food from kuttu atta or buckwheat flour.
Other than adulteration, problems are also caused due to old stocks of buckwheat flour. "The shelf life of kuttu atta is generally between two and three months," Lucky, a grocer from Delhi's CR Park told IndiaToday.in.
"Buckwheat flour is used only during the Navratras and is in high demand then. So, shopkeepers and dealers store it and the flour becomes old," said Dr Anurag Sethi. "There is absolutely no problem in consuming kuttu ka atta which is fresh and unadulterated," said Dr Anurag Sethi.
To preserve the quality of kuttu atta, it should be kept away from direct sunlight and moisture. The shelf life of buckwheat flour can be maintained by keeping it in the fridge.
Buckwheat flour is dark brown in colour. In the case of adulteration, it might have gray or a light green colour. It is also difficult to bind and knead adulterated kuttu atta into dough.
(With inputs from Pawan Rathi)
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Fast and spurious: Why kuttu atta sends so many to hospital every year - India Today
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