Beetroot Carrot Gooseberry Juice

Beetroot: 1

Carrots: 2

Goose berries/ Amla: 3

Peel the beetroot and carrots and chop them to small pieces.

Chop the gooseberries and discard the seeds.

Place all this in a ggrinder with quarter cup water and run your mixie till everything is crushed well.

Using a Strainer , extract the juice.

Enjoy your healthy drink.

Summer Salad (Fruits and veggies salad)

Fruits:

Mango: 1 fruit diced

Pomegranate: 1 fruit

Pineapple: 1 fruit diced

Apple: 1 fruit diced

Green Grapes: 1 cup sliced

Veggies:

Carrot: 1 carrot grated

Cabbage: 1 cup grated

Cucumber: 1 peeled and diced

Onion: 1 medium Diced

Tomato: 1 small seeded and diced

Salt: as required

Vinegar: 2 tbsp

Pepper: 2 tsp

Sugar: 1 tsp (optional)

Dump all this in a big mixing bowl and mix properly.

Keep in the refrigerator for half an hour and enjoy this super yummy healthy salad without guilt.

Recipe Courtesy: My aunt, Leelakochamma

King Fish Grilled with Indian Masala and Carrot Salad.

The taste of the fish masala brings back lot of happy memories of my childhood, of summer vacations at my moms place. Fresh catch of the day marinated in this delicious masala for an hour and fried in coconut oil. Well, over the years, I had forgotten this taste and then it was my cousin, Nischchechy who gave me the recipe a few days back. Wow, I made it and all I can say is....WOW!!!! 

Fish Masala

King Fish: 1/2 kg sliced

Kashmiri Chilly Powder: 3 tsp

Pepper Powder: 1/4 tsp

Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp

Fenugreek: a pinch

Pearl Onion/Shallots: 20

Garlic: 8

Ginger: 2 inch

Vinegar: 2 tsp

Salt: to taste

Curry leaves: a few.

Grind these in a mixie and apply it on the fish and keep aside for half an hour.

Take a grill pan, Add a tbsp coconut oil.

Place one fish and cook on medium flame, both sides.

Serve warm with salad.

Carrot Salad

Carrot: 1 grated

Onion: 1 medium sliced thin

Green Chilly: 1 sliced

Mint Leaves: 4

Salt and Pepper: to taste

Lime Juice: of half a lime

Mix the carrot, onion, green chilly and mint leaves with lime juice, salt and pepper.

Beef Kababs (Oven Baked), Mushrooms & Peppers Grilled on stove top, Steamed Broccoli &Cauliflower in White Sauce

Beef Kebabs:

Beef: 1 kg

Onion: 2 large

Ginger: 1 inch

Garlic: 6 cloves

Green Chillies: 2  (more if u like more spicy)

Chilly Powder: 1 tbsp

Corinader Powder: 2 tbsp

Garam Masala: 1 tsp

Salt: as needed

Pepper: 1 tsp

In a food processor mince all this together.

Whisk 2 eggs and mix with this.

Make patties, (any shape- oval, round, or even you can shape it onto skewers)

Preheat oven 220C

place these patties on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foiled and lightly greased.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Turn over half way through.

Serve with vegetables grilled and vegetables steamed and mixed with white sauce.

For the grilled veggies
Veggies of your choice: Capsicum, paneer, mushroom, onion, tomato.
Mix all this with readymade kebab masala (o yes, i use ready to buy kebab masala) curd, ginger garlic paste.
arrange on a skewer (mushroom followed by peppers, onions, paneer, tomato--- your choice)
Heat your stove top grill with a tbsp of olive oil.

Place the skewers and grill on low heat.
Turn over once and cook through.


Broccoli and Cauliflower: 1 each
Clean well and steam it for a few minutes till done.

White sauce:
Butter: 1 tbsp
Milk: 2 cups
Maida/All Purpose Flour: 2 tbsp
Pepper and salt: 1 tsp each

Heat the butter in a saucepan and saute the flour making sure it doesnt burn
Add a little milk and whisk so that no lumps are formed.
Add rest of the milk, pepper and salt.
Boil till it thickens and bubbles up.

Place the steamed veggies on a platter.
Pour the white sauce over it and serve warm.

Baked Medu Vada/Uzhunnu Vada/Urad Dal Vada

Ive soaked Urad dal today to make Medu Vadas  in the evening. Well, today I will be making the fried version and suddenly I remembered I have the baked version somewhere in my draft. The pics are not perfect coz I wasnt planning to blog it (psst psst, I took these pics on my mobile fone). Well, you cannot compare the baked version to the fried one. The fried one tastes better any time but this DOES come close plus the added benefit of guilt free snacking- coz u must be knowing that the fried medu vadas absorbs a LOT of oil. And in case, you want to take a look at the Fried version, here is the recipe. But still, I have to tell you when I baked it last time, it was over in 15 minutes..My kids absolutely loved it. So maybe they didnt realize it was baked...or maybe didnt mind the fact that it was baked.. :) whatever...!!!!

Urud Dal: 2 cups

Shallots Chopped: a handful (8-10)

Ginger: 1 tsp minced

Green Chillies: 2 chopped

Pepper: 5 crushed

Curry leaves: 1 sprig

Salt: as needed

Oil: 3 tbsp

Soda Bi carbonate: 1 tsp

Baking Powder: 1 tsp

Soak the Urud Dal in water for 5-6  hours.

Grind it without adding water.

Preheat oven to 300C or the maximum temp on your Oven

Pulse the shallots, ginger, curryleaves, pepper and green chillies just once and add to the urud dal batter.

Add required salt and mix well.

Add the oil, baking powder and soda Bi-Carbonate and mix it well, try beating it to get the dough aerated well.

Coat your baking tin with non stick spray

Wet your palms, scoop a ball from the batter, flatten it and make a hole in the centre.

Place it on the tray, 1 inch apart

Cook till done. (it took around 20 minutes in my oven but oven temperatures vary, so keep an eye

Serve warm.

Oven Roasted Chenna

This is one snack I associate with train journeys. In Tamil Nadu this is called "time pass" and we get this in every shop from the road side cigarette joint to the biggest supermarket. It is usually roasted in a skillet but here Ive Oven roasted it.

Chickpeas/Chenna: 1 cup

Garlic: 3 cloves sliced

Chilly Powder: 1 tsp or as required

Cumin Powder: 1/2 tsp

Oil: 1 tbsp

Salt: as required

1.Wash and soak the Chickpeas/chenna overnight.Drain.

2.Cook by adding two cups water in a pressure cooker on high flame for five whistles.

(the chenna should be immersed completely and then add a cup more of water)

3.When the pressure has been released completely, take the chenna out and drain in a colander.

4.Now mix the chenna with salt, oil, garlic and chilly powder.

5.Preheat your oven to 220 C

6.Line your baking tray with aluminium foil and transfer the chickpeas to it

7.Bake for 40 minutes stirring in between.

(oven temperatures vary, so keep an eye after 25 minutes)

8.Once done, leave it like that for sometime till it cools down a bit

Crunchy, guilt free, protein rich snack is ready!!!!!

Note: If you are using canned chickpeas, drain, wash and then continue from instruction 4. (no need to cook it)

You can follow the same recipe for green peas as well. I usually buy the frozen green peas and follow from instruction 4.

Banana Whole Wheat Bread

If your child refuses to eat those healthy bananas, you can sneak them in by making bread or muffins. I bought a kilo banana 3 days back and noone was interested in even looking at it...

Since kids hate any food that is good for them, the healthy stuff usually sit there and rot and finally goes into the trash. So today I was determined that I will not throw it away but make something fun and healthy too and this is what I did.

Whole Wheat flour: 2 cups

Nutmeg Powder: 3/4 tsp

Caraway seeds: 1 tsp

Baking Powder: 1.5 tsp

Vanilla essence: 1.5 tsp

Olive Oil: 1/4 cup

Salt: 1/4 tsp

Low Fat Milk: 1/2 cup

Very Ripe Bananas: 4 (2 cups mashed)

Preheat oven to 180C

Grease and flour a loaf pan

Sift the flour, nutmeg powder, salt and Baking powder.

Mix in the caraway seeds.

Add the Olive oil, milk, vanilla essence and the mashed banana and fold in with a spoon.

(it wont be a smooth batter- don't bother!!!)

Now pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake till the top is brown

(it took 40 mts in my oven..it will vary, so keep an eye)

Chicken Kidney Bean Salad

Another easy, healthy meal.. Okay , it needs some cooking but not difficult!!!! Just pressure cook Chicken and also the Rajma... Thats it!!!!

Shredded chicken- 1/2 cup
Boil the chicken in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles. Shred it and keep aside.

Cooked Rajma- 1 cup
Soak half cup Rajma for 6 hours and cook on high for 4 whistles

Onion diced: 1/2 cup
Tomato chopped: 1/4 cup
Salt and Pepper: to season

Mix the Chicken, Rajma, Onion and Tomato.
Add salt and pepper
Toss gently.

 

Tuna, Rajma and Corn Salad

Rajma: 1/2 cup
Sweet Corn: 1/2 cup
Tuna Shredded: 1 can (or you can substitute this with shredded chicken)
Red chilly: 2 (or green chilly)
Olive oil: 2 tbsp
Vinegar: 2 tbsp

Wash Rajma properly and soak it in water and let it stand overnight.
Drain the water and pressure cook the rajma with a cup of water ( 4 whistles on high)
Keep it aside.
Cook the corn by boiling it in water for a few minutes.
Make sure you add 1/4 spoon sugar while cooking corn but no salt.
Drain and keep aside.
Now in a bowl, place the Corn, Rajma,Red chilly and shredded Tuna and mix well.
Season with salt and pepper. Add oil and vinegar and toss gently.

Granola Bar

All my recent posts were really calorie laden recipes and I really indulged the whole of last week!!! My mom-in-law gave me a warning signal... saying cooks put on weight very fast.... I guess thats true!!! So I wanted to slow down. And yesterday I got two of my cousins online and when I told them to try out Orappam, both of them said they would love to but not now... Calorie conscious!!!! And when I spoke to my eldest sister-in-law last week, she told me to include some low calorie recipes like salads.... So all this was running in my mind......
.... and today happens to be my brother's birthday...Tho he is in Canada, I was planning to bake a cake so that my kids can cut it and sing Happy Birthday, Ammacha... but.... calories!!!! suddnely I changed my whole plan and thought will do a granola bar... healthy, tasty and guilt free....and this is what I did.. NO SUGAR, NO BUTTER, NO CHOCOLATE, NO EGGS!!!! wanted to add apple sauce instead of peanut butter but I didnt have stock and was in no mood to go out and buy...so I guess next time, I will chuck the peanut butter and make it with apple sauce!!!! hmmmm....


Instant Oats: 2 cups
Wheat flour: 1 cup
Honey: 1 cup
Peanuts: 1 cup
Almonds: 1/4 cup
Peanut butter: 4 tbsp (heaped)
Raisins: 1 cup

Crush the peanuts, chop the almonds and mix all the ingredients properly.
Make sure the honey and peanut butter is properly mixed with the dry ingredients so that u get a sticky mix.
(otherwise it will fall apart when you try to cut the bar)
Now on a greased baking tray, spread the mix and press hard so that it is compact.
Now bake at 170C for 30 minutes or till the edges are brown and the raisins balloon up.
Take it out and once it cools, cut your granola bars to desired shape.

Store it in an airtight container. Enjoy without guilt!!!!