Soya Kebabs

Soya Kebabs are a very healthy and tasty appetizer.  Soya granules contain 54.2 grams of protein, which exceeds the amount of protein found in meats, eggs, milk and wheat. Soya protein contains all the amino acids needed by the body, and is an excellent replacement for meat-based proteins. Animal proteins are generally higher in saturated fats. Soya granules can be beneficial to the growth of strong bones and teeth in children.   Soya granules when added with potatoes and other vegetables make an excellent dish liked by adults and children as well.

Ingredients:

3 medium potatoes(boiled), 1 cup Soya granules, 1 carrot,  ½ green pepper(capsicum), 1 small onion, 1 garlic clove,  ½ tsp coriander powder,  ¼ tsp garam masala,  ½ tsp dry mango powder, salt to taste,  ½ cup bread crumbs, 1 green chili(optional), 1 tbsp sooji or semolina.

Method:

Boil Soya granules for 5-6 minutes.  Squeeze out all the water from the granules by pressing them between your hands.

Peel off and grate carrot, chop onion and green pepper into fine bits and crush garlic.

In a food processor, add Soya granules, carrot, green pepper, garlic, onion, green chili, bread crumbs, semolina, coriander powder, garam masala, dry mango powder and blend to a grainy consistency.

Now mash potatoes separately and add with the grainy mix to form a smooth and pliable dough.

Make small round kebabs of this dough and fry them in a non sick pan till they turn crispy and light brown.

Serve hot with ketchup or green chutney.

Note: Recipe of green chutney is in one of the previous blogs.

Raw papaya vegetable mix

Papaya is not just a delicious fruit; it contains abundant health benefits and medicinal values.  It is a refreshing diuretic with excellent antioxidant properties.  Papaya is unbeatable against almost all infections of the body whether internal or external.  It contains a very important active ingredient called Papain, which has the same effect on the digestive system that pepsin does for digestion.  Papaya also contains an active ingredient called fibrin that is rarely found outside animal body or human body. Fibrin is easily digestible and is particularly helpful in providing normal clotting of the blood in both internal and external wounds.

Papain enzyme present in green or unripe papaya is much more beneficial for our body than the ripened papaya fruit.  In fact,  green papaya juice helps in correction of bowel irregularities in a relatively short time including indigestion, constipation, acid reflux, heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome, stomach ulcers, and other more serious gastrointestinal disorders. Both papaya and its seeds contain anti-amoebic and antiparasitic activities.  When a crushed green papaya is applied as an adhesive substance to any laceration, wound, or cut on the skin, it helps in immediate cessation of blood and closes the wound so that it can heal quickly.
 It is advisable to eat a papaya after eating a fully loaded meal including meat, chicken, and fish for immediate elimination of fat.

Ingredients:

Raw or green papaya 1 medium size, 2 large onions, ½ inch piece of ginger, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 green chili (optional), 3 small tomatoes, 1½ tbsp of cooking oil, ½  tsp of yellow mustard seeds (methi dana),  ½  tsp of cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, 1 tsp turmeric powder, salt to taste, ½ tsp red chili powder(optional), 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam massala or curry powder, a few drops of wine vinegar, ¼ tsp of dry mango powder,  ¼ cup fresh green coriander leaves washed and chopped.

Method:

Peel off and cut raw papaya into small cubes.  Raw papaya has some kind of sticky stuff on the peel so make sure to wash it first before peeling it off.  It would be better to wear kitchen gloves while peeling off the skin.

Peel off onions, ginger and garlic and cut into small pieces. If you do not like ginger pieces coming in the mouth, grate the ginger.

Heat the oil, put asafoetida and after 10 seconds add mustard seeds and cumin seeds to the oil.  Once they turn light brown, add ginger, onion and garlic in that order and reduce flame to low.  When onion mix turns light brown, add turmeric and salt to it.  After 30 seconds, add cubes of papaya to this mix and cover the lid. Keep stirring from time to time till papaya pieces turn soft.

In the meanwhile puree the tomatoes into a mixer and add it to the papaya mix. Cover it again for a couple of minutes.  Add chili powder, coriander powder, dry mango powder and mix well.  Once all these spices blend well, add wine vinegar and garam massala or curry powder. Cover it for another minute or so.  Now add chopped green coriander leaves to garnish and turn off the flame. Keep the lid covered till you are ready to serve with chapatti or Nan.

Easy Taco Dip

Taco dip originated in Mexico and it is a meal in itself.   Those nibblers in your party will enjoy this as well.  .  When served with corn chips or tortilla chips taco dip makes a good appetizer for any get together.  This taco dip is less fattening as I haven’t used sour cream in it.  I have used hung yogurt which is a healthy alternative.  This dip is very easy to make. Since I use salsa to perk it up, guests don’t shy away from taking second and third helpings till all is gone.

Ingredients:

1 cup(8 oz) cream cheese,  1 cup hung yogurt or fat free sour cream, 2 cups salsa, 1 tsp chives, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp seasoned salt, 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce, 2 large tomatoes diced, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup black olives

Method:

Combine cream cheese, hung yogurt, salsa, spices and lemon juice and mix well with an egg beater.

Spread on the bottom of the large shallow glass dish.

Top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and black olives.

Serve with baked tortilla chips.

 Note: You can put taco seasoning instead of other spices and lemon juice.

Sooji Ladoo

Ladoo is a ball shaped sweet popular in every region and state of India.  It is made of flour, sugar and other ingredients like ghee, nuts and flavors.  It is often served at festivals and other occasions like birth and marriage etc.  Ladoo comes from the Sanskrit word “ladduka” meaning a small ball.  Common flours used for ladoo include besan(chickpea flour), rava or sooji(semolina) and nuts.

This Diwali we got lots of almonds as gifts.  I wanted to make use of those.  So I tried making the rava ladoo which was very easy to make.  it came out to be tasty as well as nutritious.

Ingredients:

1 cup sooji or rava or semolina, 1 cup powdered sugar,  ½ cup ghee,  ½ tsp cardamom powder, ½ cup roasted almonds, ½ cup milk

Method:

Roast sooji in a heavy pan and put it aside.

Now melt ghee in a pan, add roasted sooji and sugar and stir it well.

Add chopped roasted almonds and cardamom powder and turn off the flame.  Mix it well and take out the mixture in a deep flat dish.

Let it cool off...  Now take a small portion of the mixture, add one tsp of milk and make a ball.  Repeat the same process till all ladoos are made.

These ladoos can stay out of refrigerator for a week.

Sandesh : a healthy sweet

All over India, the gastronomic culture of Bengal is well known for its affinity towards sweets, especially rosgolla and sandesh. Most Bengali sweets are made of milk turned into Chenna, sugar, spices, fruits, nuts, coconut and now a days even chocolate.   Sweets are an essential component of Bengali hospitality.  Bengalis send sweets to friends and family on every meaningful occasion.

The word “sandesh” means a message.  In olden times when a message or invitation was sent in Bengal, this special sweet was always sent along.

Being a light sweet, Sandesh is healthy as it supplements a good source of protein, carbohydrate and sugar thereby providing energy.  Sandesh comes in more than a hundred varieties.

I made this Bengali sweet on the occasion of Diwali.  Once I successfully made it, I realized this was the easiest sweet I have ever made.  I feel it is worth sharing it with my blog readers.

Ingredients:

Milk 1 ½ liter, 1 tbsp white vinegar, 2 tbsp water, ¾ cup plus one tsp sugar, a few strands of saffron, 1 tbsp milk, a few drops of yellow color.

Method:

Boil milk in a heavy pan.  When it reaches a boiling point pour vinegar and water mixture on this boiling milk and stir it lightly with a big spoon.  Lower the flame.  When milk starts cuddling, turn off the flame.  Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Now drain it through the cheese cloth and hang it on your sink tap so that all water drains up in an hour.

Soak saffron in a tbsp of  milk and let it sit for a while.

When all water drains up, take out the cheese or chenna and mix it well in the food processor for eight minutes by adding sugar to it.  Add yellow color and saffron mix milk.

Cook on a very slow flame in a heavy pan stirring continuously with a wooden spatula.  Make sure not to overheat the chenna mix as it might turn grainy and leave fat.  It should be neither too dry nor too moist.  Should be like a soft dough.

Immediately make small balls or any other shape you like.  Garnish with crushed pistachio or any other way if you like.

Apple Crumble

Apple crumble is one of the old time favorite pies.  It originated in England during the Second World War due to the strict rations of foods.  During those hard times ingredients were not enough to come up with a traditional apple pie.  So what the people back then did was to create a crumble, since there were not much ingredients required. The only thing needed were sugar, butter and a little flour. Someone has rightly said necessity is the mother of invention.   During the hard times, the creativeness of the English people paved the way for apple crumble to become one of the popular desserts for times to come  In the fall or autumn when apples are in plenty, apple crumble became a favorite dish.  It is a very simple dish to make and that is one of the reasons of its popularity.

Ingredients:

3 Big Apples cored and sliced, ½ cup white sugar, 1 ½  tsp white flour, ½ tsp cinnamon powder,  ¼ cup water.

For Crumbs:

½ cup cooking oats, ½ cup corn flakes, ½ cup white flour, ½  cup brown sugar, 1/8 tsp baking powder, 1/8 tsp baking soda, ¼ cup melted butter or canola oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degree F or 180 degree C.

Place the sliced apples in a  medium size pie dish.

Mix the white sugar, 1 ½  tsp flour, cinnamon powder and sprinkle over apples. 

Pour ¼ cup water evenly over this.

Combine the oats, corn flakes(crush these a little with your hand), ½ cup white flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter or canola oil.

Crumble evenly over the apples.

Bake for 45 minutes or slightly golden in color.

Mexican Bean Salad

Beans are a healthy food that  play an important role in Mexican cuisine. Beans are naturally rich in soluble fiber, iron and dietary protein. Regularly consuming beans can lower bad LDL cholesterol and reduce overall heart disease risk, according to the U.S. Beans Council.  Healthy beans common in Mexican cooking include black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans and kidney beans.

Beans are loaded with nutrients like Vitamin B, Calcium and Potassium that our bodies need.  For example Vitamin B is necessary for healthy brain and nerve cells, for normal functioning of the skin, nerves and the digestive system.  Similarly Calcium is needed for strong bones and teeth and it helps us keep our body more alkaline rather than acidic.  Potassium helps reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.

I have used black beans, soya beans, corn and black eyed beans that day as they were readily available in my kitchen pantry.  Generally I use kidney beans, chick peas, corn, green beans and navy beans for the Mexican salad.  So it depends on your choice and availability of things.  Most important thing is to use different variety of beans to add to the nutritional value and the taste.

Ingredients:

2 cups black beans, boiled and drained, 2cups kidney beans, boiled and drained, 2 cups green beans chopped, boiled and drained,  1 green bell pepper(chopped), 1 red bell pepper(chopped), 1 ½ cup corn kernels boiled and drained,  1 medium red onion chopped finely,  ½ cup olive oil,  ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 2 tbsp white sugar(powdered), 1 tbsp salt, 1 clove crushed garlic, ¼ cup cleaned and chopped fresh cilantro, ½ tbsp ground cumin, ½ tbsp ground black pepper,  1 dash of hot pepper sauce, ¼ tsp red chili powder.

Method:

In a large bowl, combine beans, bell peppers, corn, and red onion.  In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and black pepper. Season to taste with hot sauce or chili powder.  Pour this olive oil dressing over the vegetables and mix well. Keep in the refrigerator before serving.  Serve cold.