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Showing posts with label easy breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label easy breakfast. Show all posts

Monday, June 13, 2016

Oats Chia Pudding

"Did you start taking Amla juice ?"

"Hey what about those yoga classes you were planning to join ?"

"Did you buy that wheat grass powder ? "

"You on started drinking Women's Horlicks . Do you find any difference in your energy levels ?"

"Are you using Olive oil for everyday cooking ?"

Women chatter. Having done with kids and husbands, the female conversation inadvertently steers towards the topic of eating and staying healthy. Most of us are fighting an everyday battle in terms of balancing taste with nutrition. And since we tends to relegate our own needs in favor of those of our spouse or the kids, the results are all too visible. Weight gain and dipping energy levels are some of the most common issues faced by women post their thirties. But ask anyone of them if they are doing anything about it, and the most common response would be " I do not find the time. "

While it is very much true that the household work load distribution ratio in India is very much skewered, there are some simple changes that can be brought about in one's lifestyle. Start with eating the right kind of breakfast. Usually I find women eating breakfast all too late or eating too much of carbs or fat and rarely any fruit. Hence, this is one area where we can definitely improve upon.

And an overnight Oats Chia seeds pudding with a serving  of fruit is definitely one step up the hierarchy of good health. Oats, Chia seeds, milk, yogurt, almonds and fruit make it the most complete and balanced kind of meal that can replenish the depleting sugar levels and keep one going for hours. Plus it is ridiculously easy to put together and can be have had out of jar even as you go about the house pulling out socks and books from the unlikeliest of places.

Read on for the super easy recipe -





























Preparation Time - 5 mins

Ingredients -


  • 3/4 cup oats 
  • 2 tsp chia seeds
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp yogurt
  • 2 pinch nutmeg (optional but recommended
  • 2-3 drops vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp chopped almonds
  • 1 serving of fruit ( apple/banana/strawberry/mango or anything one likes )
  • 1 tsp sugar or 1 tsp honey


Preparation - Take a jar or a small glass. Pour in 3/4 cup milk, yogurt, almonds, nutmeg and most of sugar/honey. Mix well and the add the oats. Let it sit for 10 mins.

Mix the remaining milk with vanilla extract, a few drops of honey and the chia seeds. Pout it over the soaked oats. Close it and pop it into the fridge. Leave overnight.

Let it stand at room temperature for about 30 mins to 1 hour in the morning before consumption. Top it with chopped fruits of your choice ( you would be having some left after adding them to the kid's cornflakes or making a fruit chaat for husband's lunchbox) and eat.































Note - Soak about 25-30 almonds overnight. Drain and wash them under running water. Peel and chop up into small pieces. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge and add 2 tsp to your Oats-Chia pudding everyday. The overnight soaking process stimulates the production of enzymes in the almonds and hence one gets the maximum benefit of consuming them.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Drumstick leaves Uttapam (Murungai Keerai Uttapa)

Uttapams are quite versatile when it comes to the flavours that one can infuse in them. They work great with everything ranging from Chinese (schezwan/manchurian) toppings to even Italian ones (cheese, peppers and herbs). But the recipe I am sharing today is a very simple one that takes the flavors from the nutrient loaded drumstick leaves. Apart from their medicinal/nutritional qualities, these leaves also happen to be quite aromatic.

Read on for the simple recipe -






Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -

  • 2 cups thick dosa batter ( I use the I.D. brand)
  • 1 medium sized onion (finely chopped)
  • 2/3 cup drumstick leaves
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 3-4 tsp oil
  • salt to taste

Preparation - Add salt and chili powder to the batter. Adjust water if required. This is a thick batter so take care not to dilute it too much.

Wash the leaves that you have already plucked from the stems. Be careful to discard leaves that have the tiny insects/eggs sticking to them. (You can do this by immersing them in  warm water to which salt has been added)

Cooking - Heat a non-stick pan. Drizzle some oil and then add a ladle of the batter. Do not spread too much. Top up with the drumstick leaves and chopped onions.

Cover with a lid for about a minute or two. Remove the lid and check if it has firmed up. If yes, flip it over.

Add a little oil from the sides if required. Again cover with a lid and cook for 1-2 mins. Remove from the wok.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients. 

Serve hot with chutney.



Monday, September 8, 2014

Garlic French Toast

Most of the times I am in a tearing hurry during the breakfast hours. Getting my son ready for school and packing his tiffin-box takes top priority closely followed by supervising all the cleaning stuff done by the maid. And in the midst of all this madness, I also try to get lunch ready, run the washing machine and finish writing my blog posts. Little wonder that a lazy breakfast while catching up on the morning news becomes a luxury. I blindly gobble up the stuff along my second cup of tea (without sugar hopefully) for the day. But on the days when the workload is less, I prefer to make something nice for myself. This recipe is one of those rare indulgences.

Read on -




















Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -


  • 2 slices of bread (cut diagonally)
  • 1 egg + 1 egg white
  • 4 tbsp milk
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • 2 pinch paprika (optional)
  • 2-3 tsp grated Amul cheese (optional)
  • 1 tsp fried oregano
  • salt to taste
  • butter for frying the bread



Preparation - Take the eggs in a mixing bowl along with the milk and salt. Grate the garlic into it. Whisk together.

Cooking - Heat the butter in a pan. Dip the bread triangles into the batter and place on the pan.

Flip over once the bottom side is cooked. Sprinkle some cheese over the top along with a bit of oregano (rub it between your palms first). The heat should be sufficient to melt the cheese. Remove from the pan once closed.

Repeat for the remaining slices. Enjoy with a cup of coffee.




















Note - Always use bread slices that are on the thicker side. This way it will absorb sufficient batter.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Mooli ka Parantha ( Radish Paratha )

This North Indian specialty hardly needs an introduction. Flavorsome mooli paranthas accompanied with an achar are mostly consumed in the winter months.

While most folks usually cook the grated mooli with a whole lot of masalas before using it as a filling, I prefer to incorporate it directly into the dough. It is healthier and definitely lower in calories. Adding a little yogurt in this case also helps to mellow down the pungency of the radish (but do remember to squeeze out all the water before you add yogurt else the dough will turn soggy). Read on for the easy recipe -





Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 cup grated mooli (radish)
  • a fistful od finely shredded radish leaves (optional)
  • 1 tbsp hung curd
  • 1/3 tsp chili powder (or finely chopped green chilis)
  • a pinch of turmeric
  • a pinch of roasted cumin powder
  • a pinch of garam masala
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
  • salt to taste
  • ghee/oil for cooking the paranthas



Preparation - Add salt to the grated radish and keep aside for 30 mins. Then squeeze out all the water from the radish.

Take in a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients except for the ghee. Mix everything into a dough. If it happens to be too sticky/wet , dust some more flour.

Divide the dough into 4-5 portions and shape each into a thick disc.

Dust a working surface with flour and roll out the disc into a thick circle.

Cooking - Heat a pan/tawa. Put the rolled out circle on it.

Wait for 20-30 seconds before flipping it over. Drizzle ghee from the sides and press down lightly with a spatula. Flip it over once again and add some more ghee on the sides.

Cook on both sides on a medium flame till small brown spots appear. Remove from pan/tawa and keep aside.

Repeat for the remaining discs.

Serve hot with pickle.


Thursday, July 3, 2014

Double ka Meetha

I tasted it for the first time when I had moved to Hyderabad sometime during 2006. 'It is just fried bread dipped in sugar syrup', I had exclaimed. But with passing time it slowly grew on me as did the city. While the sugar syrup version is quite common, most good restaurants soak the bread in a flavorsome 'rabdi' and garnish it generously with nuts. Very popular during iftar , it is a breeze to make unlike most of the Ramzan special dishes which require lots of time and effort

Read on for my version of this timeless Nizami dessert. Made it specially for Ramzan -


















Preparation Time - 10 mins ( plus extra time for soaking )

Ingredients -


  • 2 slices of white bread
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp butter
  • 1 green cardamom
  • a few strands of saffron
  • nuts for garnishing

Cooking - Take the bread and cut off the sides. (This is optional and i usually do not do it) Cut each bread slice into two triangles. 

Heat a pan. Place the bread slices on it and toast for 2 mins. Flip over and apply a little butter on the browned side. Toast the other side for another 2 mins and flip over. Apply a little butter on this side as well.

Remove and keep aside.

Meanwhile take and water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer for 3-4 mins. Add the crushed cardamom. Keep aside.

In another saucepan, add the milk and the condensed milk. Dissolve and bring to boil. Simmer for 3 mins. Add the saffron strands and keep aside.

Fry the nuts in a little ghee and keep aside.

Lay the bread slices side by side on a plate. Pour a little of the milk all over the slices and wait for 2-3 mins till completely absorbed. Next pour a little sugar syrup over the slices. Wait for 3-4 mins till it gets absorbed.

Repeat the process 2-3 times till you can see that the bread is no longer absorbing any liquid.

Keep it for 1-2 hours in the fridge before serving. 

Remove from the fridge and garnish with roasted nuts just before serving.

















Note - Keep aside some of the saffron flavored milk and drizzle a few teaspoons over the bread just before serving.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Oats Uttapam

Another oats recipe from my kitchen. While I have been constantly raving about how to incorporate oats in one's breakfast, I do not like the almost insipid oats porridge (what even flavor it may be) on an everyday basis. So I try and add to the regular breakfast items like dosa, upma, pongal or even khichdi. The latest victim of my experimentation has been the 'Uttapam'.

I have given it another twist my topping it with cherry tomatoes, cheese and some Italian seasoning. Read on for the recipe:
















Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients - 1 cup regular uttapam batter, 1 cup quick cooking oats, 1 medium sized onion, 6-8 cherry tomatoes, 6-8 pear tomatoes, grated cheese, chilli flakes, mixed herbs seasoning, 3 tsp oil, salt to taste.

Preparation - Mix the oats into the regular batter and keep aside for 5-6 mins.

Chop the onions into small pieces. Cut the tomatoes into two.

Cooking - Heat a non-stick frying pan. Season with a few drops of oil ( or use an oil spray instead ).

Pour 1/3 of the batter onto the pan and do not spread it too much. ( The batter does spread on its own. But if you think that its too thick, just spread it a bit more. )

Put the onions and tomatoes over it. Sprinkle chilli flakes, seasoning and a little bit of salt. Layer on the grated cheese.

Cover with a lid and let it cook through.

Flip over and cook on the other side for 1 minute. Remove from pan.

Serve hot with coconut chutney / ketchup.


Monday, January 27, 2014

Oats Pongal

My son's liking for this simple and wholesome rice dish has turned me into a faithful fan (read follower). Easy to make and quite comforting, I have been cooking it regularly in the last weeks. With my current obsession with oats, i felt tempted to add some to the regular pongal. Turned out to be quite nice. Also, adding oats greatly increases the soluble fiber content of this dish which helps reduce the bad cholesterol (LDL) and keeps one's heart healthy . Read on for the recipe:

















Preparation Time - 15 mins


Ingredients - 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup yellow moong dal, 1/2 cup quick oats, 8-9 cashews, 1 tsp peppercorn, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 pinch carom seeds, 1/2 inch ginger (cut into juliennes), 3-4 tsp ghee, salt to taste, 41/2 cups water.

Cooking - Heat 2 tsp ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the cashew and lightly fry them. remove and keep aside.

Add cumin, carom seeds, peppercorn and ginger. Wash and add the rice and moong dal. Fry for 2-3 minutes or till a fragrance comes.

Add the hot water, fried cashews (keep aside a few for the garnish) and salt. Close lid and cook for 2-3 whistles.

Allow steam to escape before opening. Put on the stove again. Add another 1/2 to 1 cup of hot water (only if required) and the quick cooking oats. Cook for 3 minutes.

Sprinkle the remaining ghee and stir in.

Garnish with a few cashews and serve hot.





Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Bread Upma

Sandwiched, toasted, dipped in egg/batter and fried, slathered with jam. Does that bring on a sense of 'deja vu'? Yeah we are talking about the very unpretentious bread. Available in varieties like sweet. milk, sandwich, fruit, whole wheat, multi-grain, it is the Holy Grail breakfast for most of us.

Today we will be adding to this repertoire with another easy-breezy bread recipe . And this is one great way of masking that stale bread lying unused in the fridge ( The bread has to be in edible condition....Crumbly is OK Fungus is a strict No-No ). Read on for the recipe:

















Preparation Time - 10 mins or less

Ingredients - 4 pieces bread, 1 small onion, 1 green chilli, 2 tsp oil, a pinch of mustard seeds, a pinch of cumin seeds, 1/5 tsp red chilli powder, pinch of turmeric, salt to taste.

For garnishing - 1 tbs chopped coriander leaves, 2 tbs freshly grated coconut(optional), 1 tsp lime juice.

Preparation - Cut the onion into thin long pieces. Cut the green chilli into small pieces.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the cumin and mustard seeds. Allow to splutter. Add the chopped onion and fry for 30-40 seconds. Add the green chilli .

Dip the bread slices in water for 1-2 seconds, take it out and squeeze out all the water.

Crumble the soaked bread and add it to the wok. Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped coriander, grated coconut and lime juice. Mix well.

Serve hot .




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