BROKEN WHEAT (DALIA) UPMA

Broken wheat or cracked wheat is highly nutritious and specially used as a dietary supplement. It has a rich, nutty flavour, slightly chewy and also requires minimal cooking as it is already partially cooked. Broken wheat upma is a popular breakfast item in Southern India. This savoury dish is very similar to rava upma with veggies. This recipe is perfect and healthy in every aspect, filling and also tastes great!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Cup Broken Wheat (Dalia)
1 Cup Small Carrot Cubes
1 Cup Fresh Green Peas
1 Cup Finely Chopped Onions
2-3 Green Chillies (Finely Chopped)
1 tsp Grated Ginger
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder (Optional)
2 Sprigs Curry Leaves
2 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
A Pinch of Asafoetida
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Cups Warm Water
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Soak broken wheat in water for 2 hours. Stain and keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai or wok. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida. Let seeds to crackle. Add Onion, grated ginger, chopped Green chillies and curry leaves in it. Fry till onion gets translucent. Add Turmeric powder in it.

At this time add carrot cubes, peas and salt in it. Fry for another 3-4 minutes.

Mix broken wheat into it. Stir nicely and keep frying for another 2 minutes.

Transfer this broken wheat mixture into a pressure pan along with 2 cups of warm water.

Give a nice stir. Close the lid and pressure cook upto 2 whistles. Switch off the heat now.

Wait till pressure releases completely.

Open the lid now, Sprinkle coriander leaves and lemon juice on the top. Give a nice stir.

Serve this delicious broken wheat upma warm with any chutney and enjoy your healthy breakfast!

A B PARATHA

'A B Paratha' means Aloo (potato) Stuffed Beetroot Paratha, very bright colour, an eye appealing, filling paratha. This recipe is specially for those, who don't like to have beetroot. It is so delicious that everyone will surely ready to grab those parathas. Very well goes with any spicy pickle, chutney or simply with curd. A healthy paratha, which is just incredible.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR MAKING DOUGH:

1 Cup Wheat Flour (Atta)
1 Beetroot
1/2 tsp Carom Seeds (Ajwain)
1/2 tsp Finely Chopped Green Chillies
1 tsp Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Oil

STUFFING:

1 Large Boiled Potato (Peeled & Grated)
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Onion
1/2 tsp Dried Mango Powder (Amchur)
2 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves / Cilantro
1/2 tsp Finely Chopped Green Chillies
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder (Optional)
Salt to taste

3-4 tbsp Oil To Fry The Parathas

METHOD:

First of all, wash, peel and boil beetroot in water with little salt and vinegar till beet is tender. (Vinegar retains the colour of beetroot after boiling also)

Make puree from this tendered beetroot or grate beetroot nicely and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine wheat flour, beet puree, carom seeds, green chillies and 2 tsp Oil. Knead it very well to make a soft smooth dough. Keep it aside for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare stuffing for the parathas. In a large plate, combine grated potato, onion, mango powder, green chillies, coriander leaves / cilantro, red chilli powder and salt. Mix nicely, so that everything incorporated well. Keep it aside.

Divide the flour dough into 6 equal portions. Shape into flatten round balls. Divide the stuffing mixture into 6 equal portions.

Place a flatten ball on a plain surface, dust with 1/2 tsp wheat flour. Make a round shape roti approximately 4"-5" diameter. Pour one part of stuffing mixture on the centre of the roti, cover all the edges to make a small pattie. Coat with dry flour and roll again into a thick round paratha.

Heat a tawa (preferably non-stick) till very hot, lower the heat now and place a paratha over it.

When you notice, tiny bubbles rising on the surface, flip on the other side.

Add 1/2 tsp oil on each side of the paratha and fry till paratha becomes crisp and brown spots come on the both sides.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot parathas with any pickle, chutney or curd.

SAVOURY VEGETABLE CAKE

Now I am a part of Shhhh.....Cooking Secretly Challenge, brain-child of Priya Suresh akka from Priya's versatile recipes. My secret ingredients for this month were any orange colour vegetable (I choosen Carrot) and any green vegetable (I choosen French Beans) given by Yashodhas Kitchen. Both the ingredients were used in my dish and made this yummilicious and super tasty savoury cake. A great dish for breakfast or evening tea time snack, a delicious appetizer, very less oil is used here, so it is very healthy too. If you are very much calorie consious, may omit cheese, but definitely cheese added some extra flavour to it, if you tryout this simple yet filling dish, you and your family will surely enjoyed it whole heartedly.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour (maida)
4 Eggs
1/3 tsp Freshly Pounded Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/3 Cup Finely Chopped Carrot
1/3 Cup Finely Chopped French Beans
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Onions
2 Green Chillies (chopped)
2 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves / Cilantro
1/3 Cup Plain Yogurt / Curd
1/2 Green Bell Pepper (chopped)
2 Processed Cheese Cubes (grated)
1 tbsp + Few Drops of Olive Oil (may use any white oil too)
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease the baking tray with few drops of olive oil and flour it nicely.
In a large bowl, break eggs, add salt and black pepper in it and whisk well.
Add flour, baking powder and blend well.
At this time add all vegetables, 1 tbsp olive oil and yogurt. Mix thoroughly.
Pour this mixture to baking tray. 
Sprinkle grated cheese on the top and bake it for 40 minutes.
Take out the tray from the oven and let it cool down completely on a cooling rack.
Garnish with grated cheese on the top.

Cut into desired shapes, serve and enjoy this yummy savoury cake.

PIZZA PARATHA

It's really a huge problem to each and every mom to innovate new recipes on daily basis for our kid's lunch box. Not only for kids, when we are also getting bored with regular chapatis or parathas, may tryout this cheese filling easy to make, healthy 'Pizza Paratha', came to know about it from a TV show, made little twist in our regular plain or stuffed parathas. This paratha itself is a fulfilling meal, no need of any side.

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 tbsp Oil for frying parathas

FOR DOUGH:

1&1/2 Cup Wheat Flour (Atta)
1/2 tsp Carom Seeds (Ajwain)
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
1 tsp Dried Mango Powder (Amchur)
2 tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
Cold Water To Knead The Dough

FOR FILLING:

4 Cheese Cubes (Grated)
1 Medium Tomato (Deseeded & Chopped)
1 tsp Finely Chopped Green Chilies
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Finely chopped Cilantro / Coriander Leaves
1 tsp Dried Basil

FOR TOPPING:

2 Cheese Cubes (Grated)
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Tomato
1 tsp Dried Basil

METHOD:

In a large bowl, combine wheat flour, carom seeds, cumin seeds, dried mango powder, salt and oil. Add cold water little by little and knead it in a smooth soft dough (like chapati dough).
Cover and set it aside for 15-20 minutes. After that, divide it into 8 nos. equal flatten balls and keep those aside.
In another bowl, combine all ingredients for filling. Mix well by using a light hand. Divide this filling into 4 equal portions.
Take out two flatten balls from the kneaded dough, roll out into two rotis. Spread the filling on one.
Place the other roti on the top of the first one and seal the edges. Roll out again with a soft hand.
Heat tawa or griddle, roast each paratha in usual way, till both sides are done. Add little bit oil on the both sides of the parathas.

Remove it on a serving plate, sprinkle 1 tbsp grated cheese, 1/2 tbsp chopped tomato and 1/4 tsp basil on the top of each paratha. Serve immediately with spicy chilli garlic tomato sauce.

MOOLI KA (STUFFED RADISH) PARATHA

Today I am here with an essence of the great state 'Punjab' and which is also very popular in Gujarat, a traditional variety of Indian flatbread, 'mooli ka paratha'. A very yummy parathas where shredded radish is mixed with several Indian spices and stuffed inside the Indian flatbread. This paratha is a perfect, easy to carry dish for picnics or for long journey. It has a shelf life of about 4-5 days even in room temperature. Mooli parathas are usually served as breakfast in Punjabi homes and those are always very filling and delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR DOUGH:

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (atta)
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour (maida)
1/2 tsp Carom Seeds
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Oil

FOR STUFFING:

2 Medium Sized Radishes
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Mango Powder (amchur)
2 Finely Chopped Green Chilies
1/2 tsp Grated Ginger
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Cilantro / Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste
Oil / Ghee To Fry The Parathas

METHOD:

First of all, wash, peel and grate radish. Add little salt to this grated radish, mix wel and leave it for 15-20 minutes. At this time, you can see radish releases water. Squeeze it very hard/tight and set it aside. Don't discard water.
For stuffing, take squeezed mooli, add grated ginger, cumin powder, dried mango powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, chopped coriander leaves, little salt in it and fold very nicely.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, green chilies and radish mixture. Cook on medium heat for 4 minutes. Switch off the heat now. Let it cool down a little.

Now knead dough with whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, carom seeds and radish juice (which is kept side by in the previous process). Knead it nicely to make a smooth dough. Spread few drops of oil on the dough and set it aside.
Break the flour dough into 7 equal portions. Shape into flatten round balls.
Place a flatten ball in a plain surface and make a round shape roti approximately 4"-5" diameter. Pour one part of stuffing mixture on the centre of the roti and cover all the edges. Make a small pattie. Coat with dry flour and roll again into a thick round paratha.
Heat a tawa (preferably non-stick) till very hot, lower the heat and place a paratha over it.
When you notice, tiny bubbles rising on the surface, flip on the other side.
Add 1/2 tsp oil on each side of the paratha and fry till paratha becomes crisp and brown spots come on the both sides.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot parathas with chili pickle and sour curd; enjoy this filling and super tasty paratha!

MEDITERRANEAN VEG PASTA

Today, I am here with a healthy pasta dish, which is very perfect for weekdays meal. Pasta cooked with healthy vegetables, herbs, tomato based gravy and olive oil, which is a staple in the mediterranean diet. I added onion, green bell pepper, aubergine and zucchini and it came out really light, refreshing and delicious, a perfect dinner for two!

INGREDIENTS (for making 2 persons):

130 gm Penne Pasta
1 Large Onion (roughly chopped)
1 Green Bell Pepper (cubed)
1 Zucchini (roughly chopped)
1 Cup Aubergines / Eggplant (cubed)
2&1/2 Tomatoes (pureed)
1 tbsp Mixed Herbs
70 ml Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Garlic Pepper Powder
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Put the pan on high heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil. Fry the onions and green bell pepper. Fry together for 3-4 minutes, reserve these to a large bowl.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil on high flame and add zucchini and fry until become a nice golden colour, which will take approximately 4 minutes. Then reserve it in the same bowl with onion and pepper.

Place a bit more oil in the frying pan, add the aubergines and again fry for 4 minutes. Now reserve aubergine also with the other ingredients. Turn off the heat now.

Place a sauce pan with half full of water on high heat. Cover and bring it to boil. Add penne, little salt and 2 tsp olive oil. So that penne will not stick to each other. Cook for 12 minutes. Place your colander in sink and drain penne well.

Return the frying pan to low heat and all all previously fried ingredients from the bowl.
Add tomato puree, mixed herbs. Simmer and cook about 15-20 minutes.

Add stained penne to frying pan and mix with other ingredients very well. Season with salt and garlic pepper, fold again.

Switch off the heat at this time. Keep penne aside for 3 minutes.

Your mediterranean pasta is now ready to serve. Spoon the pasta into a serving bowl and add a lightly drizzle of olive oil. Serve & Enjoy!!!

VEGETABLE UTTAPAM & WINNER'S GIVEAWAY FROM CUISINE DELIGHTS

'Uttapam' is a great snack or breakfast recipe from South India, very delicious, tasty and very easy to make. Uttapam is a variety of dosa, slightly thicker dosa, easilly called it 'No-Cheese Indian Pizza', my favourite South Indian dish. I don't need any sambar with it, it goes very well with any chutney. So here is the recipe of yummy flavourful uttapam with loads of veggies....

INGREDIENTS:

FOR MAKING BATTER:

2&1/4 Cups Parboiled (ukra) Rice
1 Cup Skinless Black Gram (urad dal)
1/4 Cup Short-grained Raw Rice
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds

FOR TOPPING:

3/4 Cup Shredded Carrot
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves / Cilantro
1 Green Bell Pepper (finely chopped)
1 Large Onion (finely chopped)
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Green Chilies
1 tsp Sambar Powder
Salt to taste
Oil for Frying

METHOD:

Soak parboiled rice, black gram, raw rice and fenugreek seeds in water seperately for 6 hours.
Combine parboiled rice, black gram, raw rice and fenugreek rice in a grinder jar.
Grind well into a smooth and thick batter using water as required, little by little.
Transfer batter into a bowl and set it aside for 8-10 hours, a well fermented batter gives very nice, soft and tasty dosa, idli or uttapam.
Add salt mix well. Add water as required. Dosa batter will be thinner and for uttapam, batter would be little thicker.
Heat a non-stick pan or tawa or griddle on medium heat and drizzle few drops of oil.
Pour 1&1/2 ladle full of the batter in the hot greased pan.
Sprinkle generously the chopped onion, shredded carrot, chopped green bell pepper, little green chilies, few chopped coriander leaves, a pinch of sambar powder fully covering the top and also add few drops of oil on it.
Cover the lid and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes. Open the lid and flip the uttapam and cook on low heat for another 2 minutes or till onion turns golden and crisp.

Serve hot uttapam with podi or chutney, its always yummilicious and filling!

Hi Friends, now it is award time!!!

I was choosen winner in the event "Holiday Recipes" conducted by my dear co-blogger friend Chandrani Banerjee of Cuisine Delights. It was really a very successful event. When Chandrani announced its round up, I surprised to see myself as a winner of that event. I am really very glad and feeling too much happiness.

My heartfelt thanks to you Chandrani Banerjee and loved your giveaway very much. Yes, it is "Party Cooking" by Sanjeev Kapoor, a wonderful book indeed. A special thanks to all of my co-blogger friends, readers and visitor for inspiring and motivating me to explore new recipes in my kitchen....Thanks each and everyone for supporting me......

GREEN MOONG DAL DOSA

This highly nutritious dosa is a very popular breakfast recipe of Andhra Pradesh, also known as 'Pesarattu Dosa'. This dosa can be made with whole green gram or split green gram lentils. This dosa can be served with coconut chutney, onion chutney, tomato chutney or any other chutney. A very crisp and really thin dosa has an unique taste and flavor, which is filling, protein pack and has a soothing texture. Serve warn with any spicy chutney and enjoy it in your breakfast or dinner table.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Cup Green Moong Dal
2 tbsp Rice Flour (instead of that may use gram flour)
2 Green Chilies (finely chopped)
1 Small Onion (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves / Cilantro
1 tsp + Oil for Roasting
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Soak the moong dal for 6 hrs, after that drain water and wash it very nicely, so that you can easily remove the maximum green peels at the time of washing dal.

For preparing dosa batter, grind moong dal, green chilies, onions, coriander leaves together. Add little bit water and make a coarse paste.

In a large bowl, combine moong dal paste, rice flour, salt and 1 tsp oil. Mix the batter. Add 1/2 cup water and stir well to get the right spreading consistancy of the dosa batter.

Heat a non-stick pan or tawa or griddle. Now going to get it off the flame. Pour some batter with a spoon and spread it round with the back of the spoon (in a circular motion).

Let it cook on medium heat. First dried out a bit, brush with little oil. After 2 minutes, flip on the other side and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove dosa from the griddle. Set it aside.

After every dosa that you made, just remove the excess batter from the pan. To sprinkle little bit water to bring down the temperature of the griddle. After the water dries out, spread the other dosa.

Serve moong dal dosa warm with any chutney. Anyone will surely enjoy this delicious, filling and protein pack breakfast; a great way to start the day.

OATS MOONG TIKKI

Once when I surfed net, these beautiful healthy tikkis attracted my attention at tarladalal.com. I got impressed and jotted down the recipe, little changes I made, but these flavoursome diabetic friendly tikkis are really awesome! These days, I am always fond of healthy food with very less oil and I prefer to use olive oil in my daily cooking. So, here is the fiber rich, protein pack toothsome tikkis, hope you will like it.

INGREDIENTS (FOR MAKING 12 TIKKIS):

1/2 Cup Quaker Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Split Yellow Gram (yellow moong dal)
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Onions
2 tbsp Plain Yogurt (fresh curd)
1 tsp Finely Chopped Green Chilies
1/2 tsp Ginger Paste
1/2 tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Chaat Masala
1&1/2 tsp Dried Mango Powder (amchur)
1/4 tsp Garam Masala Powder
2 tbsp Finely Chopped Cilantro / Coriander Leaves
2 tsp Olive Oil (for greasing tawa and brushing tikkis)
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Wash moong dal nicely. Boil it in a sauce pan with 1 Cup of water, till dal is soft, tendered and all the water has evaporated.
Let it cool, drain and blend the dal in a mixer to make a coarse paste.

Transfer the paste to a bowl, add all the remaining ingredients (except oil) and mix everything very well.
Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions and shape each portion into 2&1/2" round flat tikki.
Lightly grease a non-stick tawa and brush it with 1/2 tsp oil.
Place 2-3 tikkis on a tawa at a time. Cook each tikki on medium flame using 1/8 tsp of olive oil, till it is evenly cooked and got golden from both sides.

Serve hot with any sauce or chutney, it is filling, fiber rich, protein pack yet delicious.

VEGETABLE OATS MUFFIN - A VERY LOW CALORIE DIABETIC SNACK

'Oats' have numerous uses in foods, most commonly, they are rolled or crushed into oatmeal or ground into fine oat flour. Oatmeal is mainly eaten as porridge. But may also be used in a variety of baked good, such as oatcakes, bread, cookies and muffins. Oats are a coomon breakfast dish and are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin; also contain antioxidants, that protect the circulatory system from diseases i.e. arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessels. This muffins contain very low calorie and a delicious food for diabetics. I made this healthier snack, savory oven baked treats of vegetables and oats muffins - a delicious and tasty low calorie treat.

INGREDIENTS:

¾ Cup Whole Wheat Flour (atta)

¾ Cup Oats (I used Quaker oats)

1&1/2 Cup Vegetables (1/3 Cup C Tiny Cubes  of Carrot, 1/3 Cup Finely Chopped Green Beans, 1/3 Cup Finely Chopped Cauliflower, ¼ Cup Frozen Corn Kernels,  ¼ Cup Frozen Green Peas)

½ Cup Tomato Puree

3 tbsp Plain Yogurt (curd)

1&1/2 tsp Garlic Pepper Powder

1 tbsp Roasted Fennel Seeds

1 tbsp Mixed Herbs (I used basil, parsley, thyme, oregano and rosemary)

2 tbsps Finely Chopped Cilantro (coriander leaves)

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add all the chopped vegetables and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add little salt and ½ tsp garlic pepper as seasonings. Mix well and sauté for a minute. Remove the pan from heat now and set it aside.

In a large bowl, take whole wheat flour, oats, yogurt, tomato puree, fennel seeds, mixed herbs, cilantro, baking powder, baking soda, remaining garlic pepper, fried vegetables, salt and 2 tbsp water. Mix very nicely so that all ingredients incorporated very well.

Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C. Grease 12 muffin moulds. Fill each of the prepared muffin mould with a scoop of batter. Bake muffins in preheated oven about 22 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Insert a toothpick comes out clean means your muffins are ready.

Enjoy these savory muffins fresh as a healthy snack. Though I don’t like to store it for near future, If you wish may store 3-4 muffins in a Ziploc bag, suck all the air out and seal the bag. Refrigerate up to a week, then pulling them out one by one and heat slightly for a snack.

Sending to:  Holiday Recipes ~ 3rd Blog Anniversary Event

METHI NA THEPLA (GUJARATI FLAT BREAD WITH FRESH FENUGREEK LEAVES)

'Methi Na Thepla' is a staple flat bread from Gujarati cuisine and very famous in Western India. I am really fond of Gujarati dishes such as dhoklas and theplas. I have already posted Methi Paratha recipe here, but I make methi theplas oftenly in my kitchen, as it is soft, moist, thin and this theplas stay good for long. This is an ideal dish for travelling, you can eat them simply with pickle or chutney. Whole jeera (cumin seeds) or sesame seeds can be added to enhance the taste of theplas. This theplas are easy to prepare when compared to stuffed parathas. I prefer to make them when I am in no mood to cook elaborate meals.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Cups Washed & Finely Chopped Fresh Fenugreek Leaves (Methi Greens)
4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour (atta)
2/3 Cup Curd / Yogurt (dahi)
1 tsp Minced Ginger (adrak)
1 tsp Minced Green Chillies (hara mirch)
1/4 tsp Carom Seeds (ajwain)
1/4 tsp Asafoetida (Hing)
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder (haldi)
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder (lal mirch)
1 tsp Cumin Powder (jeera)
2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt (namak)
3 tbsp Clarified Butter (ghee)
1/4 Cup Refined oil (for frying theplas)

METHOD:

Take a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients including fenugreek leaves in it.
Add 3 tbsp clarified butter and yogurt, knead into a firm smooth dough, if water is required, add very little.
Cover with a wet cloth and set it aside for 20-30 minutes.
Divide dough into 30 equal sized balls.
Heat non-stick tawa on high flame and start preparing theplas one by one.
Lightly flour a rolling board or clean counter surface, take one ball and flatten it with your palms and start rolling it on the rolling board into round shaped circle of 7"-8" diameter. (It must be thin like chapati only)
Place rolled thepla on the heated tawa. Do the first flip when you see tiny bubbles rise on the top surface.
As soon as the first flip is done, drizzle few drops of refined oil and spread all over the surface of thepla. Flip again after 30-40 seconds and drizzle few drops of oil on this side too and spread evenly with a flat spatula and press gently.

Take off from tawa. Theplas should be soft and moist. Serve warm theplas with pickle, chutney or simply with yogurt.

Do give your feedback in the comments below....
Sending to: Cook with Comfort ~Blog Anniversary Event, Holiday Recipes ~ 3rd Blog Anniversary Event