Raddish and its leaves

This is not a gourmet dish which one can find in any recipe book.  Most people don’t even serve to guests but this is one dish which has maximum health benefits. Radish leaves and radish helps in stomach disorders, piles, urinary disorders, lung diseases, jaundice, rheumatism, anemia and tuberculosis.  On the top of all this moong dal or yellow lentil in this dish adds to the health benefits.  Moong dal is a great source of complex carbohydrates, fiber and protein. It is an excellent source of molybdenum and folic acid. It provides a good nutrition if you are on diet since it is low in fat.

 

Ingredients:

Radish with leaves 1Kg (1lb.), garlic cloves 2 chopped finely, asafetida 1 pinch, salt to taste, coriander powder 1 tsp, garam massala or curry powder 1 tsp, Moong dal (yellow lentil) 1 cup, turmeric powder  ½ tsp, ½ tsp cumin seeds (zeera), ½ tsp caraway seeds (ajwain), 1tbsp mustard oil or any cooking oil

Method:

Wash and boil moong dal  with ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp turmeric powder and keep it aside.

Cut all the leaves of radish, chop them and wash them at least three times in order to get rid of dirt.

Peel of three radish and cut them into small cubes.

Heat the oil, put asafetida, cumin seeds, caraway seeds.  When they stop spluttering, add garlic, turmeric, salt and stir them for ten seconds.

Add chopped radish leaves and radish cubes and reduce flame to medium and cover the pan.  Stir it every five minutes.

When radish turns soft and leaves get cooked, add cooked moong dal.

At this stage add coriander powder and cook for another one minute by taking off the lid.

At the end add garam massala or curry powder.

Now enjoy with chapati or parantha or use as a stuffing for your sandwich.

Potato Peas Poha

Poha is a very light meal.  You can eat this as a breakfast or if you want to eat something light for the dinner,  make this yummy poha with flat rice.  So long you have the ingredients at home it cooks in a jiffy.  Always opt for thick poha instead of thin one as thick poha turns too soggy.

Ingredients:

Poha or flat rice 2 cups, 1 onion chopped finely, 2 big potatoes boiled, peeled and cut into small pieces, peas frozen 1 cup, peanuts ½ cup, 1 tbsp cooking oil, curry leaves 15 to 20, cumin seeds 1 tsp, brown mustard(rai) 1 tsp, salt to taste, 2 green chili chopped finely, 1 tsp of coriander powder, juice of one fresh lemon.

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin and mustard seeds.  When they stop spluttering add onion and sauté till onion turn light brown.

Add potatoes and peas and mix well.  If you are using fresh peas, make sure they are boiled first.

Add peanuts, salt, curry leaves, green chili and coriander powder and reduce the flame to low.

Take poha in a sieve and put running  water on it.  When it drains or press with your hands to drain the water immediately.

Add this to the cooking pan with other things. 

Stir well.  Cover for a few minutes on a slow flame.

Add lemon juice before serving or eating and toss it well.

Naiyer Style Dahi Bade(dumplings in yogurt sauce)

This recipe is very special to me.  Last week I lost a friend who cooked this dish and invited me every time to share it with her.  My friend was in a wheel chair but she was full of life and love for everyone who met her even once. She was a great cook and a big connoisseur of good food.  This is my tribute to her culinary skills by sharing the recipe with the world.

Ingredients:

For dumplings(Pakoras):

Chick pea flour(Besan) ½ cup, potato 1 small, onion 1 small, salt ¼ tsp, ½ tsp coriander powder, caraway seeds(ajwain) ¼ tsp, water, cooking oil 4 tbsp.

Method:

Peel off and chop potato and onion finely.

Sieve chick pea flour in a bowl, add chopped potato and onion, salt, coriander powder, caraway seeds and mix enough water to make it a thick batter. Mix it very well.  Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Heat cooking oil in a pan and drop a spoonful of batter into it and deep fry.  When the dumplings turn golden yellow from both the sides, take them out of oil and put them on a paper towel so that  excess oil is absorbed..

Ingredients:

For yogurt sauce:

Plain yogurt 2 ½ cups, black salt ½ tsp, roasted cumin seeds powder ½ tsp, coriander powder ¼ tsp, cumin seeds 1 tsp, brown mustard seeds (rai) 1 tsp, 2 dry whole red chilies, cooking oil 1 ½ tsp, 1 pinch of paprika or Kashmiri mirch.

Method:

Take 1 ½ cup of yogurt and cream it well with a whisk or fork.  Add black salt, roasted cumin powder, coriander powder and mix it well.

Now add already fried dumplings(pakoras) to the yogurt mixture.

Whisk one cup of yogurt in a small bowl and keep it aside.

Before eating or serving, heat cooking oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds, and red chillies.  When they stop spluttering, turn off the flame and add one cup yogurt to the hot oil mixture.  Pour this on the top of dumplings and yogurt mix.

Sprinkle paprika on the top for decoration.

Enjoy and serve as a starter or as a side dish.

Kiwi Strawberry low fat pie

I love desserts but that means adding to the daily quota of calories.  So I keep experimenting with low fat desserts and when I succeed there, I simply jump with joy or in this case share the recipe with the world.  Kiwi and Strawberry pie is also one of those desserts which you can eat without feeling too guilty as there is no cream or condensed milk in it.

Ingredients:

Marie light biscuits 15, 1 ½  tsp of olive oil or canola oil, 2 cups of low fat milk, 5 tsp of custard powder (vanilla), sugar 2 tbsp, hung yogurt 1 cup, milk powder 3 tsp, powdered sugar 1 ½ tsp (increase the quantity if you like it sweeter), kiwi 2, strawberry 3,

Method:

Break biscuits with your hand and then powder them in a mixer.

Take out this powder in a bowl, add oil and mix well.  Take a pie plate and put this mixture on the pie plate by pressing it with your hand. Bake it in 180C (300F) for ten minutes.

In the meanwhile, boil milk, reduce the flame to low.  In a cup of cold water add custard powder and mix it well with a spoon so that no lumps are left.  Add this to the already boiled milk and stir till it begins to thicken.  Turn off the flame, add sugar and mix well.

Pour this thick custard on the baked pie plate.  Let it cool off.  Put it in the freezer for  two hours or till it is set.

Take hung yogurt in a small bowl, add milk powder and powdered sugar and beat with a whisk till the mixture turns creamy like condensed milk consistency.

Pour this creamy yogurt on the top of set custard pie and put it back in the freezer for another hour or so.

Peel off the kiwi and cut into thin wheels.  Wash and cut strawberry into any shape you like.

Decorate the pie with cut kiwi and strawberry and put in the refrigerator till you are ready to serve or enjoy it yourself.

Note: 2 cups of plain yogurt makes one cup of hung yogurt.

 If you don't have Marie biscuits, any less sugary light biscuits will do.

Carrot, Turnip and Cauliflower combo dish

When I was a little girl, I did not like eating carrot or turnip or a combo.  My Mom always explained about the health benefits of these vegetables but I won’t let these touch my mouth.  As years passed I started making mother nature my ally.  I realized it is better to eat all the vegetables and fruits, full of essential vitamins and nutrients, instead of popping pills.

For example carrots and turnips contain significant amounts of vitamin C.  Carrots are a single source of  beta-carotene, which help to clean the blood and prevent high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.  Most root vegetables, like carrots and turnips are high in complex carbohydrates, which break down into sugar in our body to give us energy and the ability to function properly. They are also high in fiber, low in fat and in calories. Additionally, they contain essential minerals such as potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and small amounts of iron.

Since we are adding cauliflower to our casserole dish, let us look at the health benefits of cauliflower as well.  Cauliflower contains selenium and vitamin C which work together to strengthen the immune system and it is associated with the maintenance of a healthy cholesterol.  The high amount of fiber in cauliflower is known to help improve colon health and can even help prevent breast cancer and other female cancers.

 Ingredients:

1 large onion chopped finely, grated ginger ½ tsp,  4 carrots medium size washed, peeled and cut into small pieces, 3 turnips peeled and cut into small pieces, 1 small cauliflower, cut into small pieces,  ½ tsp mustard seeds(methi), ½ tsp cumin seeds(zeera), salt to taste,  ¼ tsp turmeric powder, a pinch of asafetida, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam massala or curry powder, 1 tsp of wine vinegar, 11/2 tbsp mustard oil, 1 clove of garlic.

 Method:

Heat mustard oil on a slow flame, put  a clove of garlic.  By putting this clove of garlic into the oil, the pungent smell of mustard oil disappears.

Now put asafetida, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once these seeds stop spluttering, add grated ginger and onion and cook on the slow flame.

Add turmeric and salt and cook till onion become light brown.

Add carrots, turnips and cauliflower to the pan.  Stir it well and cover the lid and keep cooking on the slow flame.

When all the vegetables turn tender, uncover the pan and cook for another two mintes so that water content evaporates.  Add coriander powder and curry powder and mix it well.

Now add a tsp of wine vinegar to give it a tangy taste.

Turn off the flame and enjoy hot with bread, parantha or chapati.

Mushroom and Peas Combo

Mushrooms have very less calories and low sodium, carbohydrate and fat content.  They have high fiber content and that’s why they are considered good for those who want to lose weight. They are very high in potassium which helps lower blood pressure and diminishes the risk of stroke.  Mushrooms are rich in copper, a mineral that has cardio protective properties.  A single serving of mushrooms is said to provide 20 to 40 percent of the daily needs of copper in our body.  Researchers have suggested that white button mushrooms can reduce the risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer.  In fact extract of white button mushrooms has been found to help in diminishing cell proliferation as well as tumor size.

Mushrooms are largely composed of water and shrink a lot during cooking. Always fry or sauté mushrooms in good cooking oil over a moderately high flame so that their water content evaporates as you cook them.

Mushroom and peas curry is considered a gourmet dish.  Here we shall try cooking it in a Punjabi style which means generous use of ginger, garlic, chili and spices.

 Ingredients:

1 packet (200 grams) mushrooms, 1 cup peas frozen or fresh- boiled,  1 big onion finely chopped, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 green chili, ¼ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp salt or salt to taste, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam massala or curry powder, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 3 medium tomatoes, 12 cashews( cut into half), 1 ½ tbsp cooking oil., 2 tsp plain yogurt.

Method:

Trim stalks of the mushroom, wash them well and cut them into four parts.  Heat oil and saute these mushroom till they become tender and light brown.  Take them out on a paper towel so excess oil gets soaked.

In the heated oil add cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, chili, onion and sauté them till golden brown.

Add turmeric powder and salt to it and cook for another one minute.

In the mixer grind three tomatoes to a paste. Add this paste to the mix and cook for another four minutes.

Add mushrooms and peas to the mix and cook on slow fire for seven minutes.

Add coriander powder and mix well. Add cashews and garam massala.  Cook for another minute or so.  At the end add yogurt, mix well and cook for 30 seconds.

Now enjoy with bread, chapatti or rice.