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Showing posts with label healthy snack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy snack. Show all posts

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Baked Dahi Vada

I am off for a month long vacation starting from Monday. In the excitement and craziness of planning the trip and doing the packing, I have not done much cooking for the last few days. Since I have a few things planned ( plus a few in the pipeline ) for the next year as well, it only makes sense to do some homework during the remaining year. One of the plans has been to push for a healthier lifestyle which starts with a healthier menu. I have been trying out low calorie versions of quite a few traditional recipes and will soon post them on my blog.

One of the first trials was my husband's favorite street food aka 'Dahi Vada'. Instead of deep frying the vadas, I have opted to cook them in a traditional appam pan using just an oil spray. The first 2-3 trails did not turn out good but then I found just the way to get them soft and spongy. Read on for the recipe -








Preparation Time : 20-25 mins

Ingredients:


  • 1 cup Urad dal 
  • 2 tbsp Semolina (suji)
  • 1 1/2 cup curd
  • 7-8 peppercorns (coarsely crushed)
  • 2-3 green chili
  • 1 red chili
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/3 tsp baking powder
  • black salt( kala namak )
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • oil spray
  • 1/2 tsp oil for tempering
  • salt


Preparation: Soak urad dal for 3-4 hours. Grind into a smooth paste ( when you touch the batter, it should not stick to your hands). Add semolina. Mix and allow to stand overnight.

Just before cooking, add the crushed peppercorn, finely chopped green chili, baking powder and salt. Mix well.

Cooking: Spray some oil onto an appam pan and put it on the flame. Make small balls out of the batter and put into the pan. Fry till the bottom part turns light brown ( cover with a lid for faster cooking). Flip it over and cook on the other side for another 2-3 mins.

Remove the balls and put them in water to which salt and very little curd has been added. Allow to soak for 2 hours.

Beat the rest of the curd in a mixing bowl with salt, water, cumin powder, black salt and chilli powder. Keep the consistency thin.

Remove the soaked vadas from the curd water and transfer to a plate. Add the beaten curd over it.

Heat the oil in a tempering pan. Add the cumin, broken red chili and curry leaves. Fry for 20-30 secs. Pour over the dahi vadas.

Serve immediately.

















Saturday, September 13, 2014

Hash Brown Sandwich

I am totally into sandwiches these days. Most of them are vegetarian and quite easy to prepare which works well given that I am feeling quite lazy to cook. Came up with this one last week when I prepared Hash Browns (Rosti) for my son. If your kids do not like potato, this is something that you should try.

While Hash Brown's/Rosti's are traditionally made from shredded raw potatoes, a few chef choose to boil the potato a bit before coarsely grating them. After trying both methods, I also prefer to make them this way as it becomes easier to work with. It gives that perfect crisp on the outside and moist on the inside texture. This method is preferable for the younger kids/toddlers.

Read on for the easy recipe -




















Preparation Time - 10-12 mins ( if you have boiled potatoes at hand else add 10 mins )

Ingredients -


  • Burger buns or any plain buns
  • 1-2 boiled potatoes ( about 3/4 cooked is preferable )
  • 1/2 cup coarsely mashed avocado
  • 1 tbsp mustard sauce
  • 1 1/2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
  • few slices of tomato
  • few lettuce leaves
  • freshly ground pepper
  • butter
  • salt to taste


Preparation - Take the avocado, honey, mustard sauce and a bit of salt in a bowl. Mix togather.

Grate the potato into a mixing bowl. Add some salt and pepper and lightly toss togather.
Using very little pressure shape into patties.

Cooking - Heat sufficient butter in a pan . Add the potato patties and fry for 4-5 minutes till it firms a bit. This side should be golden brown and crisp. Then flip it over and fry the other side till it develops a similar texture. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

To assemble the sandwich/burger -

Layer on some of the avocado-mustard-honey sauce on the bun. Place the Hash Brown over it. Layer it with tomato slices and lettuce. Spread some mayonnaise on the other bun and place it over the lettuce layer. Dig in.

Monday, March 31, 2014

Lettuce-Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Its Monday and time for yet another 'detox recipe'. The detox process puts a lot of emphasis of consuming lots of fruits and vegetables (preferably unprocessed) and any grains need to be consumed only in moderation. Meat and dairy are considered off-limits. Hence along with juices, salads are a very important part of any detox diet.

With Ugadi/Gudi Padwa falling on a Monday, most of you would be busy feasting for the extended weekend. Hence this week's detox recipe comes on a Monday. Quite simple and easy to assemble, it can also multitask as a quick snack.

So, here is an easy and yet filling salad recipe that consists of fruits and vegetables rated highly on the list of 'Detox foods'. Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

1 big ripened tomato (to be thinly sliced)
1 small cucumber (to be thinly sliced)
1 small head of iceberg lettuce (to be torn roughly)
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp pepper powder
salt to taste
1 tsp vegan mayonnaise (optional)

Preparation - Wash the vegetables carefully and wipe of excess water. Cut the tomato and cucumber into thin slices.
Tear the lettuce into small pieces.

Transfer everything into mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and mayonnaise. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Chill for an hour before serving.


















Note - You can also add some shredded red cabbage and blanched broccoli to make it more appealing.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Chana Jor Garam

Bengal Gram is a rich source of iron, sodium, selenium and small amounts of copper, zinc and manganese. It also provides a good amount of folic acid, antioxidants and fiber. While it is beneficial for diabetics ( improves sugar levels, glucose tolerance and urinary excretion of sugar ), it is also an boon for anemic patients. It has been in use as a cleanser for a long time as established by Ayurvedic texts.

'Chana Jor Garam' is one of the most popular street foods from the North. It can also be found in some pockets of Orissa and Bengal where is also called 'Chepta chana' or 'Chana choor'. It is a crispy and tangy chaat item that can either be consumed with loads of onions and tomatoes or by itself. It was one of my favorite snacks during my school days. Since it is time-consuming to prepare, we used to buy large packets of the ready to eat stuff. While i had given up and almost forgotten the stuff, a packet of the same caught my attention during my last visit to a cousin's place. When I asked her about it, she said that she got the stuff from Rourkela, our common native. No wonder it tasted so familiar and so good. ( You can find it in the Haldiram range, but its not just good enough )

Since I already knew the recipe, I decided to make a small batch at home. It turned out pretty well and got over within a day. Here is the recipe:



















Preparation Time : 40-50 mins

Ingredients - 1 cup bengal gram, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/3 tsp turmeric , amchur to taste, a pinch of garam masala, salt to taste, oil for frying.

Preparation - Wash and soak the bengal gram overnight. Cook for 1-2 whistles with salt and turmeric.

Allow to cool down and drain the water. Dry the boiled bengal gram under a fan for 1-2 hours.

Take a small grinding stone ( sila-pua) or a pestle and flatten each bengal gram.

Cooking: Heat the oil in a wok. Add small batches of the flattened bengal gram to the oil and fry till crisp. Remove from oil and put on a tissue paper to soak all the excess oil.

Repeat for the remaining flattened bengal gram.

Put the fried chana on a plate . Add salt, chili powder,  and garam masala. Mix togather.

Serve as it is or with a smattering of chopped onions, tomatoes and green chillis.


Note - If you plan to store the stuff for a few days, fry the flattened chana for 2-3 minutes initially, remove and keep in the open for 5 minutes. Put it again in the hot oil and fry till crisp. This way all the water in the chana gets evaporated and it does not become soggy when stored.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Soya Bhurji




















Preparation time: 15 mins

Ingredients: Soya chunks ( 1 cup ), onion ( 1 medium ), garlic pods ( 5-6 nos ), tomato puree ( 2-3 tsp ), cloves ( 2-3 nos ), green chilli ( 1 no ), chilli powder ( 1/3 tsp, optional ), garam masala ( 1/5 tsp ), salt to taste, turmeric ( a pinch ), oil ( 1-2 tbs ), chopped coriander for garnish.

Preparation: Wash and cook the soya chunks in a pressure cooker. Allow 1 whistle and then remove the cooker from the stove.
Once it cools down, squeeze all the water from the soya chunks. Repeat twice with fresh water.
Chop the soya chunks in a mixer for 3-4 mins into a rough mixture. DO NOT overdo it else the soya will turn into a smooth paste.
Roughly chop the onions and green chillis into small pieces. Crush the garlic pods into a paste using a mortar and pestle.

Cooking: Heat the oil in a pan. When it starts smoking, add the green chilli and cloves. Fry for 30 secs.
Add the onions and fry till it just starts turning golden. Add tomato puree and cook for 2-3 mins.
Add the soya along with salt, turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala. Cook the soya like an egg bhurji, spreading the
 mixture around the pan instead of heaping it in one place. Once the soya starts turning a little brown, it is done.
Garnish and serve hot with rice/chappati. Else use as an filling for paratha/sandwich.

Note: One can also use chopped tomatoes instead of puree.
This is an excellent and nutritious recipe for children. Reduce the amount of chilli and garam masala if preparing for children.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Sprouts chaat



















Cooking Time Required: 5-1o mins
Cost of preparation: 10-15 rupees

Ingredients:


  • Green moong( 50 gm)
  • bengal gram ( 30 gm)
  • lemon (1 nos)
  • cucumber (half, medium size)
  • onion (1 no., small)
  • tomato (1 no, large)
  • mint (pudina leaves)
  • green chilli ( 1 no.)
  • black salt ( to taste)
  • pepper powder ( 1/2 tsp)
  • cumin-chilli powder (1/4 tsp)
  • 1 tsp olive oil



Preparation: Soak the green moong and bengal gram overnite. Wash in the morning and keep in a germinator. If the germinator is not available, keep the pulses in a normal kitchen colander(used for draining excess water) or put in a muslin cloth and hang it( my mon still uses this method ) . Basically, the germinating vessel should be such that it allows free circulation of air.

Allow for 10-12 hours of germination time( this will vary according to the time of the year, i.e., germination is much faster during the hot summer months.


Cooking: Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the pulses, and stir fry for about 4-5 mins. Mince the tomato, cucumber, chilli, mint leaves and onion into very small pieces. Transfer all the ingredients to a mixing bowl, add the black salt, lemon juice, pepper powder, cumin-chilli powder. Mix well and you have a healthy snack time option.

Alternately, instead of stir-frying the pulses in olive oil, the oil can be directly added to the mixing bowl.

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