Oats and Dry Fruits Laddoo 2

I made dry fruits laddoo for last year Diwali with Jaggery which is crispier. This is a different one, more juicy. My kids like the juicy one while we like the crispy ones also. Oats and dry fruits laddoo is a healthier sweet again with very less Ghee and no additional sugar. Dates and Fig have sugar but they are good ones. So guilt free enjoyment for this Deepavali.

What you need?

Rolled Oats-1 cup
Almonds-1 cup
Pecans-1 cup
walnuts-1 cup
Dates-1 cup
Fig-1 cup
Raisins-1 cup
Milk or just water-1/2 cup

Ghee-1 Tbsp
Cardomom powder-1/4 tsp

Prep work:

1. Coarsely blend all the dry fruits(almonds, pecans and walnuts) seperately

How to make?

1. Heat Ghee in kadai and fry oats. Set aside
2. Boil milk or water and add dates and fig till they becomes mushy.
3. Add the oats, coarsely ground dry fruits, raisins, cardomom powder into the mushy mixture. Mix throughly and shape them into balls or into semi circles as you like.

My kids love to help me in shaping this sweet. It will be a good job to just give them a measuring spoon and press into it. Like my idea?

Tip: You can add any other nuts of your choice too here.

Almond Chikki! (Squares)

I used lot of almonds this Deepavali! I like this nut. Good fat and it can blend with anything. We are fond of kadala urundai which is made with peanuts and jaggery. I thought of making them with Almonds for a change. This sweet requires no ghee.


What you need?

whole Almonds-7.5 cups
Jaggery-2.5 cups
(Ratio for Almonds to Jaggery is 3:1)
dry ginger powder-1/2 tsp (optional)
Cardomom powder-1/4 tsp
salt-1 pinch

How to make?

Prep work:
Coarsely grind almonds (it must be half), you will get different sizes and some powder too but that is fine.

Recipe:

1.Boil Jaggery in half cup water till it dissolves completely . Filter dirt.
2. In a clean kadai, add the filtered jaggery and boil it till it becomes thick. Consistency should be if you pour the jaggery with a laddle, it should form two strings.
3. Add the coarse almonds into the jaggery and mix them. Add dry ginger powder if using and cardomom powder. Mix well.
4. I poured into the thin baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press that with a flat laddle all over, let it rest for a while(2 hrs). Cut them into desired shapes.

Tip:

If the jaggery becomes too thick while boiling, add water and boil it again till the right consistency.

Rava Almond Laddoo

Rava laddoo has become a tradition into our Diwali sweets. I love this sweet but it has lot of sugar and ghee too. I made this with white sugar since i did not want to disturb the look too much.

Usually Rava laddoo takes lot of ghee and this one was better with half good fat from almonds and still the taste of rava comes out nicely.

Fine Sooji or Rava - 1/2 cup
Ground almonds-1/2cup
Fine sugar-1/2 cup
Cashews, sliced almonds-2 Tbsp
Cardomom powder-1/4 tsp
Cloves-2
Ghee-2 Tbsp + 1Tbsp


How to make?

Prep work:

Ground whole almonds or blanced ones and transfer to a plate. Be careful while grinding, it has to be powdered and not clumby. Almonds have lot of oil too. I used whipper and just on 1 and 2 speed in mixie. You can do it with blender too. Do not over grind.

Recipe:

1. Heat ghee(2Tbsp) in kadai and fry nuts and tranfer to the plate

2. Add elachi powder, powdered sugar to the plate and mix well.

2. Fry Sooji in the same kadai till nice aroma comes and transfer it to the plate. Add 1 Tbsp ghee over the hot sooji and mix well. It will be hot, so mix it with laddle.

3. In 2-3 mins, start forming the balls or just take the mixture and press it into the measuring spoons like me to get semi circles which is easy to make and eat too.

You could add a tsp of warm milk if you are unable to press it into shapes. This tasted very good.

Tip: You should form the balls when the sooji is still hot, otherwise, you cant shape them.

Fig and Nuts Cake

Happy Deepavali! It is time for sweets, snacks, fire crackers and lights(Diyas). We make variety of sweetes and snacks atleast once in a year and enjoy without any guilt. I make careful sweet choices with less white sugar and less Ghee. I made most of my sweets this year with just 2-3Tbsp of Ghee and Dates, Fig and jaggery as sweeteners. One of the sweet was Fig Almond Cake. It can be made as Halwa too but that requires lot more ghee.

Dried Figs-2 cups
whole Almond-1 cup
Ghee-2 Tbsp
Nuts of your choice-1 cup coarsely cut (almond/cashews/pistachiaos) - variety looks good
Milk-2 cups
cardomom/elachi powder-1/4 tsp

How to make?

Prep work:

1. Soak fig in hot milk for an hour and almonds in hot water for an hour
2. Blanch almonds to remove skin
3. Grind soaked fig with milk and almonds together in a blender or mixie.

1. Heat Ghee in kadai and fry the nuts of your choice and transfer the nuts alone to the plate
2. Add the ground mixture to the ghee and cook in low flame occasionally stirring it for about 30 mins.
3. Add one Tbsp of Ghee and the nuts. Mix well.
4. Add cardomom or elachi powder if using, mix well and transfer to a round or square dish. Let it cool completely. Pack them nicely in the plate. After cooling, you should be able to cut them into squares or just enjoy it as such.

Rocket Berry Popsicle

I am not a regular blogger. I cook in the morning and spend my time in the evening with kids and working full time! I would love to do a decent blogging with nice pictures and lot more healthy recipes. But it is just not my cup of tea. But I do add recipes whenever I could just as a repository with the main motto that atleast my kids can refer to when they need to know. I appreciate that they understand whenever I attempt to explain them what are color additives, sugars, preservatives and all the additional stuff that store bought food has!

Kids love popsicles and since last 2 summers, I have been making differnt kind of popsicles at home and they love it. I feel very proud when they go and tell their friends and even their parents that 'My mom makes home made popsicles and they love it'. What else do I need?

This recipe is coming up now since I just saw a picture taken a while ago to put this recipe in the blog. But I never got there until now. You can save it for next sunny day or perhaps next summer.



Here is the recipe,

Fruits! (you can use any berries here)

Strawberries (frozen or raw)-1 cup
blue berries or berry mix - 1 cup
Banana - 1 or 2 as per your wish
avocado - optional
water - 2 cups

Dates(fresh) - 15 (unpitted)
cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
salt-a pinch

Flax meal - 1 -2 Tbsp (optional)
chia seeds - 1 Tbsp (optional)

You can use hand blender or juicer. I use hand blender.
Blend all berries first for 4-5 mins until they are smooth. Add banana and other fruits if using, dates, cinnamon, pinch of salt and enough water. Blend it. At the end add, flax meal and give a swirl. Check if everything is combined. Add chia seeds and mix well.

Add honey or br sugar if you feel the sweetness is less.

Pour this in the popsicle molds or small cups and freeze it. If using small cups, insert the wooden stick in the middle.

How can a popsicle be more healthy!!

We slurp it as weekend breakfast since it gives so much of energy. Just one note, do not eat any high protein food before or after the berries since it hinders the vital nutrition absorption into the body.

Gr Apples Mint Chutney

I had pudina in my garden and wanted to use them for something. One of my colleage had got green apples from her garden. I made up a recipe combining them with walnuts. Walnuts have 18 gms protein per cup and also good fat. I served this chutney with Ragi Black gram Idlis. It can be used as a spread for chappathis or bread and it might even go with Rice.

Walnuts-1/2 cup
Pudina(Mint)-1 bunch
Gr. Apples-6 small
Gr chillies-2 (as per taste).
Ginger-1 inch
oil-3 tsp (divided use).

How to do?

1. Clean and wash mint leaves, let it drain.
2. Soak Walnuts in hot water for 15 mins
3. Heat 1 tsp oil in kadai, once hot, add gr chillies and ginger. Add mint leaves and fry it for 2 mins. Transfer to a plate
4. Cut gr apples into small pieces. Heat 1 tsp oil in the same kadai, add chopped apples. add salt and fry. Cover with lid. It will leave lot of water. Cook till it is soft
5. Cool everything. Once cold, grind everything together, adjust salt.
6. Add water to adjust consistency.

Tadka 1 tsp oil with mustard seeds and optional mustard methi seeds powder 1/4 tsp.

Notes:

1. You can replace Gr apples with Tomatoes.

Home made Multi Grain Chappathi flour

Multi grain flour mix is available in the store but I am not sure what % of other flours are mixed together. If it is home made, we have control over it and it is not much of effort. It is mostly mix and match. You can get all kinds of flour in indian and health stores. I buy some from Indian and some from health stores. If you do not have any flour then you can just ignore it, it does not hurt.

I have made non wheat grain mix like this with

Jowar flour - 2 lbs
Ragi flour - 2 lbs
Bajra flour - 2 lbs
spelt flour-2 lbs
Oats flour-2 lbs ( I did not add it with this but you can)
soy flour - 1/2 lb
black chickpea flour - 1/2 lb
moong flour - 1 lb
buckwheat flour- 1 lb
rye flour-1 lb
barley flour-1 lb


When I want to make chapathi flour, the follow this ratio

whole wheat flour-2 cups
multi grain mix - 1 cup
oats flour-1 cup
flax meal-4 tbsp


Tip is to add less quantity of sticky flours. I just want to add more oats into my rotis.

I mix my flour with pureed low fat cottage cheese with zero amount of oil and they are super soft. No oil applied while cooking too. We make phulkas out of it.

I am sending this post to Basics and Tips page
hosted by Champa.

Nutty Butter!

I never thought of making nut butter at home till I saw the post by Champa about Almond butter. She has a beautiful blog-versatile kitchen. Thanks Champa for inspiring me.

We love peanut butter which is like a staple food for all our breakfast with bread and it goes very well with apple on snack time too.

Anything home made has its own value! Store bought are definetely restricted.

So, first I tried making peanut butter, it was hit. Then, I tried making peanut, almond, sesame seeds butter. That is what is Nutty butter. Sesame seeds is very good, it has good fat, increases stamina and much more.

Usually I bake bread atleast once in a week and at the end of baking, I slip in the peanuts and almonds in the cookie sheet in the oven.

Here is how we can make it

Peanuts-3 cups
Almonds-1 cups
sesame seeds-1/4 cup-1/2cup
Flax meal-1/2 cup

cloves-3 (optional)
cinnamon-2 tsp (optional)
salt-3/4 tsp (adjust as per taste)

Olive oil/Flax oil -3 Tbsp (you can use in combination also)

How to make?

1. Roast peanuts, almonds seperately either in oven or in

kadai.

1. If using oven, at 350 F (bake) , 10-12 mins. Let it cool for a while, check if it is roasted. If not, bake again for 5 mins. Keep checking when you do first time.

2. Heat kadai, reduce heat, add sesame seeds, cover with lid. It will pop. Gently shake and make sure that it does not burn.

3. Transfer to a flat dish and let it cool.

4. Switch off the stove, in the same kadai, add flax meal, let it sit for 3-4 mins. keep aside.

5. Add peanuts to mixy jar, blend, first it will powder and then it will release oil and blend itself, when it gets hard, add oil, add extra nuts and all other ingredients keeping flax at the end.

Mixy/Electric blender will become very hot to touch. You can pause in between and then continue to grind after a while.

Tips:

1. Lot of flexibility since it is home made, add brown sugar upto 1 Tbsp if you want it to have the sweet and salt taste.

2. Try other nuts/seeds like pumpkin, sunflower seeds and walnuts or pecans starting with 1/4 cup

Notes:

If we add flax meal, if you just eat the butter, you will feel the flax meal. If it is used in the bread, we never notice it.

Drumstick Leaves Dal (Poricha kuzhambu)

All greens are good but some are super good like this drumstick leaves. Planning is the key of making any dish on a busy day. I usually pluck the leaves before hand, one tip is to do it while

watching tv or on phone. Otherwise, I feel very bored to do this chore. Usually we get drumstick leaves in bunches and we need to just have only the leaves, not any stick part. Just be cautious about it.

What you need?

plucked Drumstick leaves-1 cup
Yellow Moong dal soaked - 1/4 cup
Gorbanzo beans (or any beans of your choice) - 1/4 cup
Sambar powder - 1 tsp (optional). Increase for more spice
Coriander, chilli and Chana dal powder - 2 Tbsp (use just coriander powder if you dont have this mixed powder)
Asofoedita- 1/8 tsp
coconut 3 Tbsp or (carrot-1 and 10 almonds)


Tadka
Oil
mustard seeds
curry leaves powder

Optional additional masala powder

Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Red chillies-1
urad dal-2 tsp
whole balck pepper-2 tsp

Dry fry mustard, red chillies,pepper and urad dal till golden and set aside.


1. Boil water, add washed drumstick leaves, salt, turmeric powder and asofoedita, sambar powder, coriander masala powder if using and let it boil.

2. Pressure cook moong dal and beans seperately with turmeric powder and salt for 4 whistles (depending upon your cooker). Alternatively you can just cook moong dal in a pan with sufficient water.

I have never cooked beans in that way, So I dont know.

3. Grind the additional masala powder if using.

4. In the same jar, grind coconut or carrot, almond mixture. I soak almonds in hot water for 15-20 mins. It can be grinded as such also.

5. Add the masala pownder and the ground mixture. Let it boil for 10 mins. Add enough water but not too watery.

6. Add pressure cooked beans and moong dal, adjust salt and thickness by adding water if required. Let it cook for 10 mins. Keep stirring to avoid the skin formation in the kadai.

7. Do tadka and it is done.

There are also other preparations of drumstick leaves. I will add them soon. Few simple preparations include using it as topping for adai (lentil dosa), idli or just mix in chappathi flour. Chop

the leaves if required.

Whole wheat Apple/Pear sandwich

I consulted a nutritionist couple of years ago since my Dr. referred me to her. I got to know some basic information about the meal sizes and what quantity is appropriate. I have low HDL (Good cholesterol) and she gave me some useful tips. One of that was this fruit sandwich. Since then, it has been our staple breakfast. None of us skip our breakfast :-) Eating fruits at breakfast is also good since body will readily absorb all the nutrients.

This is a very simple recipe and healthy too!

What you need?

Whole wheat bread-1 or 2
Spread can be anything - Peanut butter (see notes)
Filling are slices of apples or pear (you can explore other fruits too)

How to do it?

1. Toast bread and spread peanut butter or any other spread of your choice
2. Arrange the sliced apples/pear (few) in single layer
3. You can cut in the middle diagonally to get two triangles or use any cookie cutter to get interesting shapes for kids.

It is ready, you can eat it on the go without missing your breakfast!

Note: I started making peanut butter, almond butter and now I make a nutty butter which has sesame seeds and flax meal in it. Ofcourse, it is our innovation (credit goes to my hubby). Stay tuned for that recipe.

Avocado silky spread/chutney

Avocado is full of nutrition and good fat. I have started using it often by making this simple spread/chutney, it looks silky smooth and tastes awesome.



What you need?

Ripe Avocado - 1
salt - 1/2 tsp
green chillies - 1 or as per taste
ginger - 1 inch
yogurt - 1/2 cup (preferably sourless yogurt)
Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
coriander leaves for dressing



How to make?

1. Cut avocado into half. Scoop out the pulp. Mash it gently with fork.
2. Add all the ingredients in the blender and run it for 2 mins. Alternatively, this can be prepared even without blending. Mash and mix all the other ingredients.

Tadka it with 2 tsp olive oil (optional)

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, asofoedita, cumin seeds and curry leaves.

This can be used as a sidedish for idli, dosa. It can be used as a spread in bread and chappathi.

Try this and let ME know. In India, this is called butterfruit.

Sprouts Pulao

I use sprouts in sambar, salad and thought of making this pulao yday. It was quick as well very tasty meal.

I used cracked wheat to make this pulao. It can be easily replaced with Quinoa/rice or any other grain.

Sprouts pulao

Mixed sprouts(Moong, Red and brown Moth beans, fenugreek/methi..) - 1 cup
Onion Big - 1 (cut fine)
Tomatoes - 2 (cut fine)
Ginger/Garlic paste - 2 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder-1/4 tsp
Mixed spices-1/2 tsp (elachi/cloves/pepper/Fennel(sounf)
Cinnamon-1/4 tsp
pepper powder-1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder-1 tsp (optional)
Oil-1 Tbsp
Lemon juice-2 tsp

How to make?

1. Head oil in kadai. Fry onion, ginger garlic paste with little salt, add spices and then add finely cut tomatoes. Let it cook for 5 mins.
2. Add sprouts, adjust salt and add lemon juice. Cook for 10 mins

I used cooked cracked wheat to mix with this. To do that

Pressure cook 1 cup of cr wheat with 2 cups of water for 3 whistles. Let it cool, seperate them with fork to avoid lumps. You can make this ahead of time if possible.

Now, add seperated cracked wheat/grain to the cooked mixture and let everything come together for 5 mins. Switch off the stove. Add coriander leaves and serve with the any raita.

If you want to know how to make sprouts at home, refer my other posting "Sprouts Sambar"

Mixed Veggie Raita

Raita is something very simple to make and would go with anything like pulao. I make this raita to go with sprouts pulao. It tasted very good. I make yogurt at home and like it to be less sour.

What you need?

Onion - 1 medium (cut fine)
Ginger/Chilli paste - 1 Tbsp
Spinach-2 cups
Carrots-2
Green bell pepper-1 full cut fine
Yogurt-3-4 cups
salt to taste
cumin powder-1/4 tsp (optional)
Fennel powder-1/4 tsp (optional)

Note: You can add Tomatoes, Broccoli also. I did not have them while preparing.

How to make?

I used food processor to cut spinach and carrot.

1. Heat oil in kadai, add onion and ginger chilli paste and saute for 2 mins. Add cut spinach and saute. Let it cook for 5 mins.

2. In another vessel, take shredded or cut carrots, bell pepper and any other veggies if using and keep it ready. Add cumin and fennel powder if using. Mix in the spinach mixture. Allow it to cool.

3. Add yogurt and mix well. Adjust salt. You can add coarse peanut powder, fried sesame seeds to enhance the flavour.

Dates Whole Wheat Bread

I try to avoid or reduce white sugar mostly. I use less of brown sugar too. I make sweet berry smoothies with figs/raisins and dates with no sugar in it.

Recently, I read about dates and wanted to explore more. Dates have the best nutrition for dieting. I give a simple snack to my kids by inserting an almond into dates. It has low fat, good amino acids, help us digest and assimilate carbohydrates easier and control blood sugar levels.

I have been religiously following the whole wheat bread recipe for few weeks but then I was unable to stop my experimentation. I was perhaps happy with the end result of making this bread. It was very soft and porous.

What you need?

Whole wheat flour-3.5 cups
vital wheat gluten-3 tbsp (optional)
salt-1.5 tsp
oil-1/4 cup
water-1 cup  + 1 Tbsp
yeast-2.5 tsp
Dried Dates-15
br sugar-1 tbsp
pepper powder-2 tsp
ajwain-2 tsp

How to make?

1. soak dates in warm water for 30 mins.remove pits if any and blend them with hand blender or food processor.
2. In 1/4 cup of warm water(it should not feel hot if you put your finger in it), add brown sugar and yeast. Whisk slightly and keep aside for 10 mins.
It should be frothy. If not, do not continue further. Redo this step fresh.
3. Measure flour accurately with leveling knife. If using vital wheat gluten, add it first in the cup and then add whole wheat flour for the first cup and then measure rest of the quantity.
4. Add salt , pepper and ajwain to the flour
5. In another cup measure oil, water, dates mixture and mix well. Add to frothy yeast
6. Add liquid to flour mixture slowly. Knead all togehter for 10 mins to active gluten. If using grinder with dough hook, put all the flour mixture in it, start the grinder and then add the liquid. Let it run for 5 mins. Check the liquid, add 1 Tbsp of warm water at a time and check for consistency. It should be soft and elastic and not very watery. The flour should leave the sides of the grinder and also the bottom of the grinder mostly. Let it run for 12-15 mins.
in grinder, let it run for 15 mins. Added 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp water in intervals. Soft dough, not too sticky. It came out of the sides
7. Take the dough and shape into a round ball. Coat with Oil and keep it in a big vessel leaving enough room for it to double. If the external temp is very low, switch on the oven light and let it become warm (10 MIINS). Switch off the oven and put the vessel covered with oiled wax paper. Leave it there for an hour or two. If it has doubled in an hr, you can go to next step. Otherwise wait.
8. Once it is double, deflate. Made into round ball and shaped into loaf. Place it in a greased bread pan 9*5
9. Let it rest for 45 mins to an hour. The dough should have reached above the top edges. Then it is ready to bake.
10. preheat oven. Baked for 20 mins. Then covered with aluminium foil and baked for 20 mins.


Coated with Olive oil all around once it was out. The bread was Very soft inside and crust was also soft. Not very sweet. So healthy dates whole wheat bread ready for breakfast or any time.

Quick Notes:

Baking Temp - 350 F
Baking Time - 20 mins, cover with aluminium foil and bake for 20 mins.

This bread does not taste sweet. If you want it sweeter, add more dates and reduce liquid little bit accordingly.

Tastes just like Cream of Broccoli Soup

Broccoli is one of the super veggies that helps to reduce fat, it has antioxidant properties and so many nutrients. We loved this recipe since we made it first time. I tweeked in the oats broth instead of all milk. The nutty aroma of oats with milk made it thicken and tasted awesome. Kids also love it.

Broccoli finely shredded- 1cup
Onion-1/2 medium finely cut
Garlic-2 pods finely cut(optional)
Olive oil/coconut oil/butter - 1 Tbsp
salt and pepper as per taste
milk-1/2 cup
Oats broth-2 cups
or
Roasted oats powder-2 Tbsp

How to make?

1. Heat oil in kadai, fry onion, garlic if using with little salt till translucent.
2. Add broccoli and fry in high heat for 3-4 mins. It should still be dark green. Do not over fry.
3. Add Oats broth and milk. Adjust salt. Let it boil for 5 mins. Add water to adjust consistency.
4. If using oats powder, blend that with cold milk and then add it to kadai. Let it boil for 5 mins. Add water to adjust consistency.
5. Add pepper as per taste and server with bread crackers.

Is it not another simple one!

Quick Whole Wheat pizza with Flax

My kids love to eat pizza and a good reason for me to try out one more new item. I made whole wheat pizza waiting for the yeast to get activated for an hour so last time. I found this super quick recipe and really thought if it would work? I tried it some suspicion slightly modifying the recipe to make it whole wheat and it worked. I could make it very quick(around 30 mins) and yet a very tasty thin crust pizza. Kids were overjoyed and it made dinner for all 4 of us. Here you go for the healthier version of the pizza.

What you need?

whole wheat flour 2 cups
instant yeast 2 tsps
Sugar - 1 tsp
salt - 3/4 tsp
warm water (or a bit more)- 75 ml
ground flax seeds(Flax meal) - 2 Tbsp



How to make?

1 Preheat oven to 425.
2 In a large bowl, stir together first 4 ingredients.
3 Pour warm water into first 4 ingredients, mixing strongly.
4 Add flaxseed first, then add additional flour and stir until dough forms a ball, noting that not all the flour will likely be picked up by the dough ball.
5 gently knead dough on floured surface until smooth. Adjust by adding a tsp of flour if required.
6 Cover and let rise for 5 minutes.
7 grease two 9inch pie plates, divide the dough into two equal portion. Flour the surface and make a ball. Dust it and press them gently as circle just with hand. After making a small disc, place them on the greased plate and increase the size of the disc till they reach the wall of the pie plate.
8 Put on tomato sauce, toppings(I used onion, garlic, potato, peas, olives), then cheese, and put in oven for 15-20 minutes. Place the pie plate at the center rack of the oven initially.

Use a metal spoon or knife and lift them slightly to check if it has browned at the bottom after 16 mins. Move the pie plate closer to the top rack for the rest of 4 mins so that the cheese would brown up little bit.

Mine was ready in just 20 mins, It had thin crust and the taste was awesome.

Next time,I will add some spices into the flour to make it more interesting.

Eggless Whole wheat choco chip Blue berry muffins:

Blue berry is a power house of lot of nutrition. I was searching for a whole grain recipe to make muffins and this one was a perfect one. I have read and heard in nutrition talks that blueberry should not be taken with milk.
One such reference is here

http://www.naturalnews.com/025516_blueberries_antioxidant_cancer.html

From that day, we stopped using blueberries in our cereal bowls. This recipe calls for buttermilk. Do not replace buttermilk with milk and lemon in this recipe.


Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp Flax meal in 3 Tbsp of water, mix and rest for 5 minutes
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup choco chips.


How to make?

1 Preheat oven to 350.
2 Mix Flax meal in 3 Tbsp of water and let it rest for 5 minutes
3 Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
4 Sift together the flour and baking soda.
5 In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, flax meal mixture, oil, and honey until creamy, then stir in the blueberries and choco chips.
6 Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.
7 Fold together with a rubber spatula until the batter is moist yet remains slightly lumpy.
8 Pour into muffin cups and bake 30 to 35 minutes.


Note: These muffins are very spongy, could not even say that is made from whole wheat. They are not very sweet. If you need this to be sweet, increase the honey by 1/4 cup and adjust flour accordingly. I felt very happy to serve them as morning breakfast or a evening snack time.

My daughter helped me to arrange the muffin cups. You can use different size muffin cups. With the above quantity, I made 10 medium sized muffins and 12 mini muffins. You need to reduce the time if you are going to use smaller size muffin cups. You can remove if the top is browned.

Original recipe called for 2 egg whites but I replaced it with Flax meal. If you are find using egg, you can use them in this recipe.

Whole wheat Bread

I tried coupld of recipes and always had dense bread. This works best to me. Yo
Everything is slated so clearly here. The bread rises very well and taste is very good.

This is a recipe from King Arthur slightly modified to add more protein.

Ingredients
3/4 - 1* cup warm water
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup
3 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt


How to make?

1. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it
begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or
in a bread machine programmed for "dough" or "manual.") Note: This dough should be soft, yet still firm enough to knead. Adjust its consistency with additional water or flour, if necessary.

2) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup, cover it, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

3) Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8" log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 to 2 hours, or till the center has crowned about 1" above the rim of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

4) Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. The finished loaf will register 190°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center.


5) Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. If desired, rub the crust with a stick of butter; this will yield a soft, flavorful crust. Cool completely before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.


*Use the greater amount in winter or in a dry climate; the lesser amount in summer or a humid climate.

Green Papaya rolls

This is just similar to Mooli. Just replace mooli with grated green papaya. Another nutritious variation!!!

All you need is a green papaya of medium size for 4 people. It gets done. Once grated it will look like huge quantity. Once you fry it, it becomes so little. So, dont worry about the quantity before cooking. You can eat as much vegetable as you want even when you are cautious about your main food like rice/chappathi.

Sometimes, I spread avocado mixture/Tomato thokku in the chappathi and put the vegetable mixture to provide variation. All tastees very good. If you want to sustain eating healthy, make variations to keep them different. In our family, we dont look forward of eating out in any restaurant.

Mooli Rolls

This is a wholesome food, one dish made for all family members in the rush morning hours. I feel very comfortable when i make one dish for all of us and if it is easy to eat then I dont need to worry if kids would have completed them. All lunch boxes come back empty with a big smiley.

What you need?

Mooli-4
Ginger-1/2 inch
g chillies-few as per taste
oil-2 tsp
salt
lemon juice-1 tsp

How to make?

1. Grate mooli, ginger and g chillies

2. Tadka-Heat oil, add mustard, cumin seeds and grated mooli with ginger and g chillies. Add salt. Fry till all the water is absorbed. Add 1 tsp of Lemon juice and mix well, cook for 2 mins. The mixture should not be watery.

Let it cool.

3. Make chappathi as described in "Protein rich Whole grain Chappathi with omega fats"

4. put 2 tablespoon full of mooli mixture and roll it. Cut the roll into two.


Tips:

I usually keep toasted sesame seeds which can be tossed on top of the mixture before rolling it. You can be innovative and it is all our hand which makes the creation each day. Just change one simple thing each time and enjoy the variation.

Protein rich Whole grain Chappathi with omega fats

This chappathi is very soft with no additional oil. Gone are those days when I used to make chappathi with just whole wheat flour and water. Since the time I learnt to use cottage cheese in making chappathi flour, it has been mostly this recipe. It is very healthy and would like to share it with others.



whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Oats flour-1 cups
flax meal-1/2 cup (optional)

cottage cheese-1 cup blended into puree
(you can use blended soft tofu/yogurt as well)

salt -1/2 tsp

Just add little hot water to cottage cheese if it was in fridge and blend it. Add it to the flour and mix it thoroughly and make the dough like normal chappathi. You can add more cottage cheese or water if required to make the dough soft. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

To make roti,

make 6 inch circles with rolling pin by dusting as required.

Heat Tava, cook one side for 30 secs on high heat and turn it other side and let it cook for 30 secs

To make phulka, Transfer the grill to the hot stove, Take half cooked roti and put it in grill. Chappathi would puff, quickly turn it to the other side either with a laddle/chuta or carefully with hand. the other side would puff too.


Tip:
1. 1I make the dough in double quantity and keep it in fridge
2. flax seed is linseed in India. You can grind it at home too. I have never tried since we get flax meal here.
3. If you dont have phulka making grill, make it as normal rotis too.
4. If cottage cheese is not available, try tofu or yogurt.

Quinoa Mix Veg Pulao

Quiona slightly roasted - 1 cup

vegetables

Onion - 1 cut 1 inch length
garlic - 2 pods (optional)
carrots-2 cut 1 inch length
beans-10 cut 1 inch length
chow chow (chayote)-1/2 - cut 1 inch length
cauliflower-6 heads - cut 1 inch
broccoli-top shredded, stem sliced lengthwise

Spices

cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
cloves-2
cardomom 2 crushed (remove skin) I use powder

cumin seeds - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil- 1 Tbsp

How to do?

1. I usually cook Quinoa in rice cooker little earlier. Once it is done, I fluff it with fork and keep aside. It gets seperated nicely. Do not add hot quinoa into the dish. It might become mushy although it is ok.
2. Heat oil in Kadai. Add cumin and all the spices. Add onion, garlic and turmeric, fry for 3-4 mins till translucent.
3. Add all the vegetables and turmeric powder and Fry. Cover and cook for few mins.
4. Once vegetables are cooked nicely, do not over cook, add the cooled quinoa. Mix well and keep it for few mins. Adjust salt if required. Switch off the stove and keep the kadai covered. All flavours will mix thoroughly.

Serve simply with Yogurt.

Oats Dosai

Oats Dosai

Oats has gained so much of presence due to its highest health benefits. We use them often in many ways except the most popular way of having it as porridge. Myself and my hubby just do not like it as porridge since it becomes mushy. It is good in that way as well but except for the sugar that you might have been adding into it. Plain porridges will be very hard to have. Or you can try porridges with salt and buttermilk. Cook oats and once it is cooled, add salt and buttermilk. Try this one if you generally eat it with Sugar.

Now, we go for Oats dosai recipe:

Oats - 5 ounces
Rava/rice flour - 2 ounces
whole wheat flour - 1 ounce
Flax meal - 1 ounce
Ginger garlic paste (garlic is optional) - 1 tsp
Green chillies-few cut thinly or ground paste-1/4 tsp
Curry leaves-few tared into pieces
raw cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Buttermilk-1 cup

Mix all the dry ingredients with buttermilk slowly and add water to get batter consistency. The batter should not be too thin or too thick. If mixing is a problem, just whip them with blender/mixie. Easy ?!?

Adding Tadka gives it a unique taste. Take 2 tsp oil and when it is hot add mustard seeds-1 tsp, curry leaves and Asofoedita.

Let it rest for 30 mins or so. You can even make it right away like I do sometimes.

Heat Tava and make round crepes, dont try to make it very thin till you are used to it.

add little oil and turn it other side, cook for a minute. It is done.


Notes:

1. You can even use a laddle to measure the ingredients, no need to search for ounce measurement if you dont have any. You need to increase the quantity based on the number of serving.
2. I replace cumin seeds with Ajwain seeds during winter. It gives special flavour.


I hope you try this and let me know your comments.

Kambu(Jowar) Dosai

Kambu Dosai

This is very simple and nutritious dinner which I found while exploring grains. We do not get Kambu here in US. I got it from India. People who live in India can try with the grain since that flavour is very good while others can try this with Kambu/Jowar flour.

What you need?

Kambu(Jowar) grain - 1 cup

How to make?

Soak Kambu for 6-8 hrs

Grind smooth, add salt to the batter.

Heat Tava and make round crepes

Add little oil and turn it other side, cook for a minute. It is done.


This is very simple to make and yet very healthy one. I supplement this with some vegetable chutney or even fruit chutney. Dont think I am crazy, I am talking about Avocado chutney. I will add that simple recipe very soon.