Oats are 100% whole grain, and a natural source of carbohydrates and dietary fibre.They also contain beta glucan soluble fibre that helps reduce cholesterol.This is a very easy way of including these healthy oats in your daily diet...
Ingredients-
Quaker oats - 4cups
jaggery - 1cup
ghee - 1/2cup
cardamom/elaichi powder
cashew nuts,raisins (optional)
Method-
Grind the oats and jaggery to a fine powder.
Add cardamom powder to it.
Now add ghee and start preparing laddus.
Cashew nuts or raisins can be added to the ground mixture.I did not add as I like them plain.
Healthy and delicious laddus are ready in no time :-)
This is a delicious cake recipe with the orange flavour making it unique..
Ingredients -
all purpose flour/maida-4cups
caster/powdered sugar-3cups
baking powder-2tspns
eggs-4
butter/oil-1cup
vanilla essence-1tspn
orange juice-2/3rd cup
orange peel/zest-1tspn
almonds,cashew nuts
Method -
Mix the maida and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
Beat the eggs and mix in the sugar till fluffy.
Add butter and mix well.
Now add the flour to the above egg mixture slowly little by little.
Scrap out the white portion of the orange peel and then use.
Add in the essence,orange juice,peel and dry fruits.
Mix well so that no lumps are formed in the batter.
Preheat the oven to 220degC.
Grease the cake pan with butter or oil.
Pour in the batter and bake for around 30-35min till a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool and then de-mould it.
Orange cake is ready to serve :-)
This recipe is a nice variation to have pumpkin in the form of a sweet..So next time you have guests coming up,you can surprise them with these lovely home-made pumpkin barfis :)
Ingredients -
pumpkin/kaddu grated
sugar
freshly grated coconut(optional)
cardamom/elaichi powder
ghee for greasing
Method -
Wash the pumpkin and grate it.
Heat a non-stick pan.
Cook the grated pumpkin on the pan till all the moisture evaporates.
Once done remove the pumpkin in a bowl.
Take equal quantity of sugar as the pumpkin.
Now mix the sugar,pumpkin and coconut and cook it on the pan.
After 5min add cardamom powder.
Keep stirring constantly till the mix hardens.
For 1 big bowl/katori of pumpkin,sugar I added 2tbspn of coconut.This quantity will take around 15-20min to harden.
Grease a plate with ghee and take out the mixture onto it.
Spread it and let it cool to room temperature.
Cut the barfis into desired shapes.
Tasty pumpkin barfis are ready :)
Hummus is a middle eastern dish which is served as dip or spread with pita bread.It is an arabic word meaning chickpeas.It is very nutritious since chickpeas are a good source of protein and fiber.
Ingredients -
chickpeas/kabuli chana -1cup
lemon juice -2tbspn
salt
garlic -6cloves
olive oil/sunflower oil
tahini(sesame seeds/til paste) -1tspn(optional)
Method -
Soak the kabuli chana overnight or for 6-7hours.
Pressure cook till soft.
Blend together - mashed chana,oil,lemon juice,salt,garlic and tahini.
Tahini is a paste made out of sesame seeds or til.
Serve as a dip with any kind of bread.
Oatmeal also known as white oats is ground oat grains.It is very healthy because of its high fiber content and hence it is said a daily bowl of oatmeal can lower blood cholesterol.So needless to say these cookies are very healthy :)
Ingredients -
oatmeal - 2cups
all purpose flour/maida - 2cups
baking powder - 1tspn
salt - 1/2 tspn
cinnamon/dalchini powder - 1tspn
butter - 1cup
powdered sugar - 1.5cups
honey - 1tbspn
vanilla essence - 1tspn
eggs - 2
Method -
Take a bowl and mix the maida,baking powder,salt and cinnamon powder.
In another bowl mix the butter and sugar for a couple of minutes.
Add honey,essence and eggs and beat.
Add the flour mixture and oats and mix well.
Pre-heat the oven to 180degreeC.Grease the baking tray with oil.
Prepare small balls out of the cookie mixture and place on the tray with sufficient space in-between.
Keep the tray in the preheated oven and bake for around 20min.
Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container.
This quantity makes around 18-20 cookies.
Enjoy healthy oatmeal cookies during tea-time :-)
Baked beans despite the name are not baked but generally stewed in a sauce.This is a common dish you will find in an english breakfast.It is generally a sweeter version in the west, but this recipe posted here is an Indian style baked beans :)
Ingredients -
kidney beans/rajma(1 cup)
onion(1 medium)
green chillies(3-4)
tomato(1 medium)
tomato ketchup(2tbspn)
salt
olive oil
Method-
Soak the beans overnight or for 7-8hours.
Pressure cook them till soft with some salt.
Chop onion and chillies finely.
Blanch the tomato ie- cook it in boiling water for 5min.
Remove the outer peel and make a puree out of it.
Heat a non-stick pan with some olive oil.Substitute with sunflower oil if you do not have oilve oil.
Add the chopped onion and chillies.
Saute for 2min.
Add the tomato puree and ketchup.
Put in the cooked beans and let it cook in the tomato sauce.
Cook till its semi-dry.
Serve hot with toast or it tastes equally yummy as a healthy snack :-)
Sattu is basically a mixture of pulses and cereals that are roasted and ground.It includes p
ulses like chickpeas(gram/chana),pigeon peas(arhar/toor dal),green peas(matar),grass peas(khesari),horse gram(kurthi) and cereals like corn(makai) and barley(jo).Sattu is also known as chhatua or saat-anaaj(7 ingredients).It is basically originated in Bihar but is also popular in neighbouring states like WB,Orissa,Jharkand and UP.So here is one healthy and delicious savoury
Ingredients -
sattu(1cup)
garlic cloves(3-4)
green chillies(2-3)
ajwain/carom seeds(1/2 tspn)
kalonji/onion seeds(1/2 tspn)
salt to taste
lemon juice(2tspn)
pickle/achaar masala(optional)
water
wheat flour/atta(2cups)
Method-
Chop the garlic and green chillies finely.
Take sattu in a mixing bowl.
Add the chopped garlic,chillies,ajwain,kalonji,salt,lemon juice and achaar ka masala to it.
Sprinkle some water lightly.The stuffing should be a bit dry.
Add salt to the wheat flour and knead using water.
Make balls out of the flour.
Roll a ball into a small roti.
Place the sattu stuffing inside it,seal the edges and roll into a paratha.
Heat a non-stick tawa.
Cook the paratha on both sides applying ghee/oil.
Serve hot sattu parathas with baigan ka bharta or dum aloo :-)
This is a nice variation to the normal uttapam where you need to prepare the batter in advance.So this can be done without any preparation and in no time..
Ingredients -
chickpea flour/besan(1 cup)
onion(1 medium)
green chillies(2-3)
bell pepper/capsicum(1 small)
salt
turmeric powder
fresh coriander leaves
water
oil
Method-
Chop the onion,green chillies,capsicum and coriander finely.
Take besan in a mixing bowl.Add salt and turmeric powder.
Add water and get it to a pouring consistency.
Heat a non-stick pan.
Drizzle some oil.Pour a laddle full of batter on the pan.
Let it spread on its own.Sprinkle the chopped onion,chillies,capsicum and coriander leaves over it.
After sometime flip it the other side and cook.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup or with a dollop of ghee :)
Soya being an excellent source of protein,these tikkis are very nutritious.So this is yet another simple and healthy recipe which can be served as a starter with your favourite chutney :)
Ingredients -
nutrela soya nuggets/chunks(1cup)
potatoes(2 small)
onion(1 small)
green chillies(3-4)
fresh coriander leaves
salt
bread crumbs(2tspn)
oil
Method-
Pressure cook or microwave the potatoes with a pinch of salt.
Cook the soya nuggets in boiling water till they are soft(10min).
Cool the nuggets and then mince them or chop them finely to get a keema.
Chop the onion,green chillies and coriander leaves finely.
Mash the boiled potatoes and mix with soya keema.
Add the chopped onion,chillies,coriander leaves,salt and bread crumbs to the above mixture.
Make small tikkis.
Heat oil on a non-stick pan.
Shallow fry the tikkis till golden brown.
Serve hot with ketchup or chutney :-)
Cucumber pancake is also known as tavshyachi bhakri in konkani and kakdiche thalipeeth in marathi.Tavshe and kakdi standing for cucumber in konkani and marathi respectively.This is a nice variation to the typical thalipeeths/bhakris.This recipe is very simple and can be made within no time for breakfast or evening snacks.This is a savoury version, shall post the sweeter version sometime later.
Ingredients -
rice flour(2 cups)
cucumber grated(1/2 cup)
onion(1 medium)
green chillies(2-3)
salt
coriander leaves
oil
ghee(optional)
Method -
Wash the cucumber and grate it along with the skin.
Chop the onion and green chillies finely.
To the rice flour add the grated cucumber,onion,chillies,salt and freshly chopped coriander leaves.
Add water as required to get a desired thalipeeth consistency.
Heat a non-stick tawa.
Grease it with some oil.
Take a portion of the above mix and pat it with your hands gently to form a roti.
Apply some water to your hands so that it doesnt stick.
Sprinkle oil on the sides and let it cook.
Flip it on the other side and cook.
Serve hot thalipeeth with a dollop of home-made ghee over it or else it just goes well with a cup of hot tea :-)
Ragda pattice is a very famous Indian street food.It consists of 2 parts - ragda is the green or yellow peas gravy and pattice is fried potato cutlets.This can be an excellent dinner(when prepared at home) if you are a chaat fan..which am sure most of us are :)
Ingredients -
For ragda-
green peas
onion(1 big)
ginger-garlic paste(1tbspn)
green chillies(4-5)
tomato(1 medium)
turmeric powder
red chilly powder
coriander-cumin powder
garam masala powder
salt
oil
For pattice -
potatoes(2 medium)
red chilly powder
turmeric powder
salt
For garnish -
yogurt/curd
red chilly powder
fresh coriander leaves finely chopped
onions chopped
sev
Method -
Soak the green peas overnight in water or for 5-6 hours.
Cook peas in a pressure cooker.
Chop the onions,green chillies and tomato.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan.
Add the onions,green chillies.
After a min add the ginger-garlic paste.
Once ginger-garlic paste is sauted add the tomatoes.
Add salt,turmeric,chilly,coriander,cumin and garam masala powder.
Add water and cook till a desired consistent gravy.
Boil and mash the potatoes.
Add salt,turmeric and chilly powder.
Heat a pan and shallow fry the potato tikkis/cutlets/pattice.
Serve - 2pattice,pour some ragda over it.Garnish with curd,red chilly powder,chopped onions,coriander leaves and sev :-)
Mughlai paratha or Dim paratha as it is called in bengali -dim standing for eggs.This is a very famous bengali food which can be had at anytime maybe breakfast,lunch or dinner.It is basically parathas stuffed with egg.This is a very easy,filling and quick recipe which can be made even if you do not have much in your pantry :)
Ingredients -
all purpose flour/maida(1.5 cups)
salt(1/2 tspn)
oil(1tspn)
water to knead the dough
For the stuffing -
eggs(3)
onion(1big)
ginger(small piece)
green chillies(4-5)
tomato(1 small)
salt
oil/butter for frying
Method -
Add oil and salt to the flour and knead the dough using water.
To make the stuffing -
Beat the eggs in a bowl and add salt.
Chop the onion,ginger,tomato and green chillies finely.
Add this to the beaten eggs.
Make small balls out of the dough.
With the help of a rolling pin roll each ball into a roti.Try to make the roti as thin as possible.
Since maida is used you can stretch the roti to make it very thin.
Heat a non-stick tawa.
Cook the roti mildly on both sides.
Place the egg mixture in the center of the roti and spread it carefully.
Drizzle oil or butter or ghee on the sides of the roti.
Fold the 2 ends of the roti and close it.See pic below.
Flip it on the other side and drizzle oil and cook.
This paratha should be cooked slowly on a low flame or else the egg stuffing inside might remain uncooked.
Similarly make rest of the parathas.
Serve hot with ketchup or dum-aloo :-)
Wishing everyone a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi !!
Modak is a sweet dumpling which is common in Western India.It is called modak in konkani,marathi and gujarati.The sweet filling inside a modak is made up of jaggery and fresh coconut.When the filling consists of chana dal along with coconut and jaggery it is known as puran.Puran stuffed modaks are known as Puranache Modak.The dumpling can be fried or steamed.The steamed version is known as Ukdiche Modak.Modak has a special importance in the worship of Lord Ganesh as modak is believed to be his favourite food. Along with modak another preparaton which is common amongst konkanis is nevri.It is known as karanji in marathi and gujia in hindi.
Hence posting this on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi... :-)
Ingredients -
wheat flour(2 cups)
salt(1/2 tspn)
water to knead the dough
For the stuffing -
chana dal(1 cup)
freshly grated coconut(1/4 cup)
jaggery(1/2 cup)
cardamom powder(1 tspn)
Method -
Add salt to the flour and knead the dough using water(like that of chapati dough).
To make the stuffing -
Soak the chana dal for 5-6 hours in water(or overnight).Pressure cook the dal till soft.
Heat a non-stick pan.
Add jaggery to it.Mash the cooked dal and then add it to the pan.
After 2min add freshly grated coconut and then cardamom powder.
Keep stirring this mixture till all the moisture is lost.
The stuffing should be a little hard.This is known as 'puran' and its the same stuffing used in making puran-polis(use of coconut may be optional).
Once the puran is ready(around 5-7min later) let it cool down for sometime.
Make small balls out of the dough and roll them into small puris.
Place some stuffing in the center and seal the edges to give it the shape of a modak.
For the nevris- roll the dough into small rotis.
Place the stuffing in the center and fold one side of the roti to cover it in a d-shape.
The edge of the nevri can be given any shape you like.
Similarly make rest of the modaks and nevris.
Heat oil in a pan.
Deep fry the modaks and nevris on a medium heat till golden brown.
