Ragi Vermicelli Upma

 It some times takes many years for us to understand what is good and what is bad for our health. Simple healthy choices in our day to day cooking like swapping rice with wheat or barley, white bread with brown bread, using whole grains and pulses can create wonders to our overall health and well being.

I was very fond of vermicelli, used to have vermicelli upma atleast twice in a week. But vermicelli is made up of white flour, which we all know is really bad for our health so now my normal vermicelli has been swapped with Ragi vermicelli which is made up of wheat and ragi flour. I have used Anil Ragi Vermicelli, because this is the only Indian brand which I know is available here in Dubai. Also I always use equal quantity of vegetables and vermicelli to make this upma, making this super healthy to start the day. 

Ingredients: ( Serves generous 2 plates )

Ragi Vermicelli - 1 Cup

Mustard Seeds - 1 Tsp

Split Black Gram - 1 Tbsp

Onions - 2 Medium sized chopped

Ginger - 1 Inch piece grated

Green Chilies - 3 chopped

Mixed Vegetables Like Carrot and Peas- 1 Cup ( Boiled )

Peanuts- 2 Tbsp

Curry Leaves - 2 Sprigs

Salt- To Taste

Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp

Oil - 1 1/2 Tbsp

Procedure:

• Soak vermicelli in 5 cups of room temperature salted water for 2 or 3 minutes. Drain the vermicelli.
• Steam the vermicelli in greased idli plates for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove vermicelli from the plates and keep aside.
• In a pan add oil and once the oil heats up add in mustard seeds. As soon as mustard starts cracking add split black gram and peanuts. Fry them till peanuts start cracking.
• Now add onions, ginger, green chilies and curry leaves. Fry till onions turns translucent.
• Add in boiled vegetables and salt to taste, mix everything together.
• Now tip in the steamed vermicelli and combine everything. Close the pan's lid and let the upma cook for 3 or 4 minutes.
• Take off the pan from heat and pour lemon juice in the upma and mix. 

Serve hot. 

Barley Grits Upma/ Barley Grits Savory Porridge

Upma is one of the most popular breakfast in any Indian household. Semolina or vermicelli upma used to feature regularly in my kitchen and once a while cracked wheat upma was made and enjoyed. But now a days barley has become my family's favorite grain and we enjoy it in many forms, be it the rotis made with added barley flour, barley dosa, barley soup or this barley upma. Rice can be easily substituted with barley in most of the dishes like pulao and khichdis too.

This recipe was given by Sangeeta Khanna whose diet plan I follow. She told me to make barley dalia upma but bless my ignorance those days, I combined cracked wheat and pearl barley to make the most unappetizing upma. That was then she introduced me to cracked barley or barley grits. And now there is no slipping back to semolina or vermicelli. 

Ingredients: ( Serves 2 )

Barley Grits - 1/2 Cup

Water- 1 1/2 Cups

Onion- 1 Large ( finely chopped )

Ginger- 1/2 Inch Piece ( grated )

Green Chilies - 2 ( finely chopped )

Carrot - 1 Medium Sized ( cut in small pieces )

French Beans - 10-12 ( finely chopped ) 

Green Peas - 1/4 Cup

Tomato - 1 Small chopped

Peanuts - 2 Tbsp

Oil - 1 or  1 1/2 Tbsp

Mustard Seeds- 1 Tsp

Urad Dal ( Split black gram ) - 1 Tbsp

Salt- To taste

Juice of 1 small lemon

Coriander Leaves - To Garnish

Procedure :

• Switch on the gas and take a pressure cooker and keep it on heat. Add oil and once it heats up add in mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds crackle add split black gram and peanuts. 
• When peanuts start cracking add chopped onions, ginger, green chilies and saute till onion turns translucent. 
• Add carrots, beans, peas and let it all cook for a minute or two stirring in between.
• Now add barley grits mix well and let it cook for few minutes. Keep stirring else barley may stick to the cookers bottom.
• Pour water and add salt and tomatoes. Mix well. 
• Put back the lid of the pressure cooker and let the upma cook in medium flame till 2 whistles come. Take the pressure cooker off the heat and let the cooker cool for some time before opening the lid.
• Open the lid and add in lemon juice and coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot.

Barley grits is available in Dubai at  Down To Earth Organic Store.

Spinach Dhokla ~ Healthy & Savory Steamed Indian Cake

Having a good homemade breakfast made with fresh ingredients is a key to achieve healthy body. Before I used to rely on cereals and white breads smothered with nutella for my quick breakfasts but now no more of that junk to start my day. Instead I prefer healthy breakfast with does take some time and effort to prepare,  but my body is loving this change. I am mostly full till lunch so no more mid morning binge eating, my digestive system is back on track, I feel energetic and the most important thing...I am loosing weight :) 

Including green vegetables in the breakfast is the best way to add fiber in the diet. And weekly three to four times I include greens in some form or the other... green chutney...or a simple stir fry with rotis is the easiest way to sneak some greens into the body. But occasionally I make this Spinach Dhokla for a change. Dhoklas being steamed are very healthy and light on the stomach. And as gram flour ( besan ) is the main ingredient it makes a wonderful gluten free option as well. Have it with a spicy coconut chutney to kick start the day. 

Ingredients:

Gram Flour (Besan) - 1 Cup

Spinach Puree - 1 Cup

Curd - 1/4 Cup ( Well Beaten )

Water - 1/4 Cup or Less

Ginger - 1 Inch Piece

Green Chillies - 2 or 3

Oil - 2 Tbsp

Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp

Sugar - 1 Tbsp

Salt - To Taste

Fruit Salt - 1 Tsp

For Tempering:

Oil - 2 Tbsp

Mustard - 1 Tsp

Sesame Seeds - 2 Tsp

Curry Leaves - 2 Sprigs ( Optional )

Asafoetida - A Generous Pinch

Water - 3 Tbsp

Procedure :

• Make puree of spinach by blanching the leaves along with stalks and grind it fine in a mixer along with ginger and green chilies . Puree should be around 1 cup. I used a medium sized spinach bunch. Do not throw away the stalks as they add more fiber.
• In a wide bowl take gram flour and add spinach puree, curd and oil. Mix well. Add water according to requirement. The batter should be of dropping consistency, neither too thin nor too thick.
• Now add in salt, sugar and lemon juice and mix well so that there are no lumps in the batter.
• Let the batter sit for around 15 minutes. Meanwhile grease a steamer plate and keep ready. 
• I steam the batter in my rice cooker. But any kind of steamer will work fine. Even a pressure cooker without putting whistle can be used.
• Now add fruit salt ( Eno ) in the batter and mix well once without much beating. Immediately pour the batter in the greased plate and keep it for steaming. 
• Steam on high in the steamer for around 15-20 minutes, check by inserting a knife in the middle of the cake. If the knife comes out clean the dhokla is ready...else steam further for 5 minutes.
• Take out the plate from the steamer and let it cool for 10 minutes before inverting the dhokla onto another plate.
• Prepare tempering by heating oil in a frying pan. Add asafoetida and mustard, once mustard starts crackling add in sesame seeds and curry leaves. Take out pan from the fire and carefully add water in the tempering. The oil will start spluttering so being careful is important. Adding water is necessary as it helps in keeping the dhokla soft and moist.
• Spread this tempering on top of the dhokla and cut the dhokla into square pieces.

Vegetable Barley Soup

I have grown up with a love hate relationship with soups. My mother never made soups for us at home...basically the whole concept of soups was very alien to her. Being a Tamilian and growing up in Kerala she never had exposure to any international cuisines. The only soup made at her house was good old rasam. So we were denied the pleasure of sipping warm soups.

 I grew up in a small town in M.P and had only North Indian friends who used to boast about tomato and sweet corn soups made by their mothers. And so my tastebuds so much more wanted to be soaked in the sourness of tomato soups and sweetness of sweet corn soups. Then finally that day came when my mom did make soup...the first ever soup of my life..tomato soup. I liked that but did not love it. Felt that something is missing, but never complained.

Then one day we went to a newly opened restaurant, I ordered sweet and sour soup. When I tasted it I got the shock of my life, it was bad...really BAD. Wasted the whole bowl and my soup tastebuds went dormant for a while.

After coming to Dubai I dined in finest of restaurants and loved the variety of soups in the menu. But it's only very recently that I started to make soups at home and am loving it. With the winters slowly creeping in a bowl of warm soups with some roasted papad is all what I need for my dinner.

Ingredients:

Pearl Barley - 1/4 Cup ( Soaked for 7-8 hours )

Tomato - 1 ( Blanch, peel the skin and chop finely )

Carrots - 3 tbsp finely chopped

Green Peas - 2 tbsp

Onion- 1 medium sized 

Ginger- 1/2 inch piece 

Garlic- 2 cloves 

Green Chilies- 2

Coriander- Chopped for garnishing

Salt- As required

Pav Bhaji Masala- 1 tsp (Optional )

White Pepper Powder- 1/4 tsp 

Olive Oil- 1tbsp

Procedure:

• Clean the soaked barley two,three times in fresh water. 
• Boil the barley in around 3 cups of water till it gets cooked well. Strain the barley but do not discard the water. We will use it as stock for the soup.
• I used my chopper to chop onion, ginger, garlic and green chilies together. Heat oil in a wok and add these chopped veggies. Slightly fry these till raw aroma fades, no need to brown the veggies.
• Now add in chopped tomatoes, carrots, green peas and fry these till all the vegetables get tender. 
• Add salt and pav bhaji masala. Mix everything and add in the boiled barley. 
• Add the barley stock and required amount of water. Boil the soup for 3-4 minutes. Add in white pepper powder. Take out the soup from the heat..
• Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve the soup warm. 

Sending this to Priya's Fast & Quick Healthy Dishes Event hosted by Life With Spices. 

Barley Dosa And Flax seed Garlic Chutney ( Thin Barley Crepes With Flax Seed Garlic Dry Chutney )

After enjoying all the Diwali treats I am sure everyone would be craving simple meal. This is one such recipe, the dosa does not require long fermentation time and tastes really fantastic. I have recently started using barley and am loving it. Now I use barley to make my dosas, khichdis, rotis etc. 

This flax seed chutney is perfect accompaniment with any kind of idli, dosa even parathas. I find it difficult to control myself and am always digging the chutney with a spoon..it's that addictive. 

The chutney recipe is from Sangeeta Khanna's blog healthfood desivideshi . Try this for once and you will always end up in making this. My love for gun powder chutney (molha podi) has vanished and this flax chutney has taken its place.Thank you Sangeeta for making me eat and most importantly like these new flavors which I never dared before to try. 

Barley Dosa ( Barley Crepes )

Ingredients :

Pearl Barley - 2 Cups

Brown Rice - 1/4 Cup

Urad Dal ( Whole Black Gram ) - 1/2 Cup

Fenugreek Seeds - 1 1/2 tsp

Salt- To Taste

Procedure : 

Soak pearl barley and brown rice in water together for minimum 7-8 hours. I normally soak them in the early morning. Also in another bowl soak urad dal and fenugreek seeds together in water. I soak the dal and fenugreek at the same time when I soak barley but I keep the soaked dal in refrigerator. 

Before grinding wash the soaked ingredients well for 2-3 times. In mixer or grinder add the washed urad dal, fenugreek first. Add cold water little by little and grind into smooth paste. Then transfer this paste into a bowl. Now add the washed barley and brown rice in the mixer and grind into smooth paste with the help of water. If the barley has not been soaked for enough time, it will not grind smooth. So always remember to soak barely for atleast 7-8 hours.

Now transfer this ground barley and rice paste into the same bowl as the urad dal paste. The batter should of medium flowing consistency, neither too thin nor thick. Add in required amount of salt mix well and close the lid of the bowl and keep it for fermentation for around 3-4 hours. 

After this the batter is ready to be made into thin crepes. Heat an iron or non stick skillet. Pour a ladle full of batter and spread it in circular motion to the desired thickness. And add in few drops of oil if required and let the dosa turn light brown before flipping it over. Cook it for a minute and remove from the skillet. Store the remaining batter in a closed bowl in the refrigerator. Use whenever required. The batter stays good for 3-4 days. 

If the batter remains out for long time then it turns sour quickly so always remember not to ferment it for long.

Serve this with any chutney or sambaar. 

Another close look at the crispy dosa.

Flax Seed Garlic Dry Chutney 

Ingredients:

Flax seed - 1/2 Cup

Grated Dry Coconut or Dessicated Coconut - 1/2 Cup

Sesame Seeds ( Toasted ) - 1/2 Cup

Garlic Pods Peeled - Around 20 or 1/2 Cup ( Chopped )

Tamarind - Lemon Sized Ball ( Chop into small pieces )

Dry Red Chilli - 10 ( Break into small pieces )

Sesame Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - To Tate

Procedure :

In a heavy bottomed pan or kadhai heat the oil and add in garlic, chillies and tamarind . Fry these on a low heat till the garlic gets browned and mixture gets dehydrated. Switch off the gas and let the mixture cool. 

Now powder this mixture with other things in a coffee grinder or mixie. 

Keep this chutney in an airtight container and use as and when required. Normally I keep this in my refrigerator. My whole family loves this chutney and so it vanishes quickly. 

Sending this to Cooking With Seeds - Barley event started by Priya and hosted by Roshni

Low Fat Chocolate And Banana Bread ~ Vegan And Refined Sugar Free

Call it a bread or a cake, but this is the ultimate healthy thing I have ever baked. All purpose flour has been replaced with whole wheat flour and refined sugar with jaggery. Indians and Sri Lankans widely use jaggery in many of their desserts, jaggery is wholesome unrefined sugar, it is made from concentrated sugarcane juice and processed in a natural way and no chemicals are added at any stage of its processing. It has got high protein, vitamin, iron and it has 50 times the mineral content of refined sugar.

Jaggery has got lot of health and healing benefits and moreover it tastes great. It's rich caramel kind of aroma is heavenly. There are many varieties of jaggery and all have distinct tastes, some are more salty and lighter in colour while some are darker with less salt and more sweetness. Jaggery is great for nibbling too, I have seen many people eat chana and gur together to kill boredom. 

My dad used to go on his official tours to these small villages where they made this jaggery, and while returning he used to bring big blocks of dark coloured disc shaped jaggery. Mom used all her strength and might and with a hammer she used to break the disc and we nibbled on the small pieces.

For another interesting jaggery recipe, check this previous guest post by my dear friend Farwin of Love And Other Spices where she shared her famous Sril Lankan "Aggala" recipe.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flour- 1 Cup
Banana- 1 Large
Jaggery- 1/3 Cup ( Adjust little more or less depending on the sweetness of the jaggery)
Chocolate Chips- 1/4 Cup
Canola Oil- 2 Tbsp
Cinnamon Powder- 1/2 Tsp
Baking Powder- 1/2 Tsp
Baking Soda- 1/4 Tsp
Almond Milk- 3/4 Cup
Walnuts (Roughly Chopped)- 2 Tbsp
Salt- 1/4 Tsp ( if the jaggery has got salt then omit this)


Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven at 180 Degrees C.

2. Take a banana, peel and cut it in small discs.

3. With the help of a fork mash the bananas and add cinnamon powder, oil and chocolate chips in that, mix and keep aside.

4. In another bowl take whole wheat flour and add salt, baking powder, baking soda and chopped walnuts.

5. Powder the jaggery in a mixer and add it in the flour. Now add the banana mixture in the flour and with the help of almond milk, fold everything together gently.

6. Grease a loaf pan or a small cake tin...choose a tin so that the mixture is atleast 3/4th of the tin. Now pour the bread batter in the prepared tin and keep it for baking in the pre heated oven for 35-40 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the centre of the bread comes out clean.

7. Take out the bread from the oven and let it cool completely before inverting it out of the tin.

8. Now invert the bread in a plate and cut in wedges or slices.

My kiddo enjoyed this bread with a glass of juice. 

Methi Pulao ( Fenugreek Leaves Pulao )

The Sun god is most generous to us in this part of the world. He shines on us brightly for almost 8-9 months in a year giving us no respite from the heat and humidity. Few moments turn off the A/C and the sweat will come rushing. In this kind of climate I hate to spend lots of time in the kitchen, so I prefer to make one pot meals on weekends which is satisfying and filling. We South Indian's can't stay away from our staple food rice, so rice has to be dressed up in the form of pulao or biryani for our quick lunch. I find that biryani's are more complicated and require lot of preparation so I make pulao in a jiffy. 

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1 1/4 Cup ( Soak the rice in water for about half and hour)

Methi Leaves ( Fenugreek Leaves)- 1 small bunch (leaves chopped finely without the stem)

Onions- 2 Medium sized sliced thinly

Green Chillies- 2 chopped

Tomato- 1 Large chopped roughly

Ginger- 1 Inch piece cut in juliennes 

Green Cardamom- 2

Bay Leaf- 1

Cinnamon- 1/2 Inch piece

Black Peppercorns- 5 or 6

Cloves- 2

Oil- 2 Tbsp

Water- 2 1/4 Cup

Salt- To Taste

Lemon Juice- 1 Tbsp

Fried Cashew nuts for garnishing

Procedure:

• In a pressure cooker add oil and keep it on gas for heating, once the oil is hot add in cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon, peppercorn and cloves.
• Just stir the whole spices little and then add in onions, green chillies and ginger.
• Sauté till the onions turn translucent. No need to brown the onions.
• Now add in chopped tomatoes and fenugreek leaves. Cook for about a minute.
• Drain the soaked rice and add it in the pressure cooker. Mix everything together and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes.
• Add in the water and salt and mix. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook till 1 whistle comes. Immediately off the gas and open the lid as soon as pressure drops. Add lemon juice and mix in gently.

Garnish with fried cashew nuts and serve with curd and banana chips.

Since I learned this from my mother, I am linking this to Gayathri's Walk Through The Memory Lane Event which is guest hosted by Pradanya at Pumpkin Farm

Sweet Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas

I am so much hooked to Pinterest these days, its a great place to pin and categorize all things which we like. There are great resources out there ranging from photography to yum recipes, and I am loving it. I came across this recipe in Pinterest which is from The Pastry Affair and I knew that this is one of the recipe which is easy to make, healthy and quite addictive. Apart from the baking time, this requires just a few minutes of assembling. 

Ingredients:

Chickpeas/ Garbanzo Beans- 2 Cups cooked or one 15 ounce can

Cinnamon Powder- 1 Teaspoon

Granulated Sugar- 1.5 Tablespoon

Canola Oil- 3 Teaspoons

Maple Syrup/ Honey- 1 Tablespoon

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 190 Degrees C. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and keep aside. In a small bowl mix together oil, cinnamon and sugar. Now mix this paste with chickpeas so that beans is evenly coated. Spread the chickpeas on  baking sheet and bake for 45-50 minutes, shake the tray in between for one or two times. After 45 minutes check for the crispiness. If more crispiness is required then bake for few more minutes.

After the beans are baked take them out of the oven and pour maple syrup/ honey on it while it is still hot. Evenly coat the beans with the syrup and let dry for sometime. Store in an airtight container, but mine never made it to the container, the beans were devoured within the first hour of baking :)

Sending this to Priya's CWS event held at Saffron Streaks.
Also linking this to Priya Mahadevan's Fast Food Not Fat Food event hosted at Priya Sreeram's Bon Appetit.

Lauki Muthia / Bottle Gourd Steamed And Seasoned Cake

Bottle gourd is not a favourite vegetable of many but as it has got mild flavour, it can be disguised in many forms. One such form is muthia or steamed cake. This is a Gujarati dish which is very healthy and at the same time too delicious. My mother used to make this and this was the tastiest and healthiest recipe of bottle gourd.

My mother is very fond of gardening and she grows a number of veggies like sponge gourd, bottle gourd, okras, potatoes and even cauliflower in her kitchen garden. Bottle gourd used to grow in abundance and even after distributing some to curious neighbours we were left with plenty so much that we were almost forced to consume it every day in some form or the other. I have to admit that I was quite not happy with it at that time, but now after so many years when organic is the choice for healthy living and it being so heavily priced I miss my mummy's home grown organic bottle gourd. 

This time when I went to India for vacations I enjoyed eating home grown veggies and now appreciate its goodness. The below picture is from my mom's kitchen garden..look at the fresh bottle gourd and sponge gourd.

Ingredients:

For the Steamed Cake-

Bottle Gourd- 2 Cups grated
Gram Flour (Besan)- 1/2 Cup
Whole Wheat Flour- 1/2 Cup
Semolina- 2 Tbsps
Pearl Millet Flour (Bajra Aata)- 2 Tbsps
Corn Meal ( Makkai Aata)- 2 Tbsps
Rice Flour- 1 Tbsp
Ginger- 1 Inch Piece
Green Chillies- 2 or 3
Coriander Leaves- 2 Tbsp chopped
Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tsp
Dry Mango Powder( Amchoor)- 1/4 Tsp or Juice of 1 lemon
Sugar- 2 Tsp
Soda- Bi- Carbonate- 1/4 Tsp
Oil- 1 Tbsp
Salt- To Taste

For Tempering-

Canola Oil- 2 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds- 1 Tsp
Cumin Seeds- 1 Tsp
Sesame- 2 Tsps
Curry Leaves- 10
Asafoetida- 2 Pinches
Lemon Juice- 1 Tsp

Coriander leaves- For Garnishing

Procedure-

• Make a paste of ginger, green chillies and coriander leaves and keep aside.
• Squeeze water from the bottle gourd and then add in all the flours, paste as made above and other ingredients as mentioned in the ingredients list for the steamed cake.
• Mix everything together nicely so that a soft dough is formed. The dough will be little sticky, but if the dough is too sticky or wet then more gram flour can be added.
• Keep the dough aside for 10-15 minutes.
• Apply little oil in your hands and take out small portions of the dough and roll them into thick cylinder shapes. Similarly make all the cylinders. For this quantity you will get atleast 7 cylinders of about 1 1/2 inch thickness.
• Place these cylinders in a steamer and steam them for about half an hour or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Let the muthias cool for sometime and then cut them into round discs of about 1/2 inch thickness.
• Prepare the tempering by adding oil in a wok and once oil gets hot add in asafoetida, mustard, cumin and once they splutter add in sesame and curry leaves. 
• Now put in the muthias and fry them in medium flame for 4-5 minutes taking care not to over stir the muthias as they may break. Switch off the gas and garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with coriander chutney.

I had some muthias left over after snacking. To know what I did with them stay tuned for my next post.

Sending this to my own event Veggie/Fruit A Month- Bottle Gourd which was started by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan.

Fast Food Not Fat Food Event of Priya Mahadevan hosted currently at my dear friend Priya Sreeram's space.

Walk through Memory Lane at Gayathri's space.

Vardhini's New U event.

Vegan Carrot And Cranberry Breakfast Muffins

Muffins for breakfast...mmm...who would not love them and they are great for lazy and cool weekend mornings when I wake up late and drag myself to the kitchen to make my cuppa and then again curl on the couch trying to steal some more minutes of sleep. On the other hand my DH wakes up at 6 even on weekends and is already finished with his gym and tea even before I get out of my dreams, then he looks at me with a smile expecting to get breakfast soon and I set off to the kitchen to whip up something quick for him. To save my husband from the misery of waiting for his breakfast on weekend,  I made these muffins a day before and refrigerated them to be used for next mornings breakfast.

So the result...a happy husband and a happy me.

When I was clicking the pictures my daughter came back from school and wanted to lend her hands for the shot resulting in this picture.

These muffins stay good for 2-3 days when stored in refrigerator. Just microwave them for a minute and they will be ready for tasty breakfast.

I was inspired by Sukaina of Sips And Spoonfuls to create recipe card.

Click on the recipe card to print the recipe

Cornmeal Dumplings Stir Fry/ Cornmeal Kozhukattai

Giving something healthy and at the same time nothing very heavy to my kiddo as evening snacks is a daily challenge for me. Store bought chips and other snacks are a big no no and I like to make something quick for her.

I usually make dumplings with rice ( ammini kozhukkatai) but this time I tried with cornmeal after seeing the recipe here. Instead of stir frying, these dumplings can be steamed and then seasoned for a more healthier version. 

Ingredients:

For Dumplings-

Water- 1 Cup
Oil- 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder- A pinch
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Fine Cornmeal- 1/2 Cup

For Seasoning-

Oil- 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds- 1/2 tsp
Split Black Gram- 1/2 tsp
Green Chilly- 1 (chopped)
 Dried Red Chilli- 1 (broken)
Curry Leaves- 6-8
Fresh Coconut Grated- 1tbsp

Procedure:

• In a pan heat water and and add oil, turmeric powder and salt. Let the water boil.
• Reduce the heat and add cornmeal into the water. Stir the mixture so that there are no lumps. 
• Cook until all the water is absorbed. Switch off the gas and remove the mixture onto a plate.
• Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, pinch out small portions out of the dough and make marble sized balls. Keep the balls aside in a plate.
• Now heat oil in a wide frying pan and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter add in split black gram. When the gram turns little golden brown add in both green and red chilli and curry leaves. 
• Now gently add in the cornmeal dumplings and cook in medium heat. Do not turn or toss the dumplings at this stage as they may break.
• After 3-4 minutes gently toss the pan and let the dumplings cook again for 2-3 minutes.
• Switch off the gas and season with fresh grated coconut.

Steamed Semolina and Carrot Cake

This is the time of the year when I pack my bags and anxiously count the days to go to India and meet my family.  Though I visit India every year but still each time its the same experience...nostalgic. And it's the same for them also...my parents, brother and my in- laws all anxiously wait for us to arrive and spend some days with their beloved grand child. My daughter will be spoilt with all the love, affection and how to forget..so many gifts as well. After coming back it becomes a great task for me to arrange her cupboard with the goodies she gets from her thathas, paatis and maama.

And before going  I have to do multitude of tasks...shopping, packing and cleaning my pantry, cupboards etc, and again I am finding myself short of time. I am also not able to feed my blog baby regularly and the cooking is also minimal in my kitchen, just using up what all is left in my pantry and still trying to eat healthy.

I had some semolina left and I was looking for some different way to use it up...just a bit fed up of eating upma....have to say~sorry dear upma but I need a change. I came across this recipe in Anjali's blog and was instantly hooked on it. I made very few changes to the original recipe and within 30 minutes I had  delicious slices of healthy and sweet steamed semolina and carrot cake...absolutely ~ guilt free.

Ingredients:

Semolina- 1/2 Cup
Carrot - 1 medium ( Grated)
Yoghurt- 1/2 Cup
Milk- 2 Tbsp
Sugar- 1/3 Cup or little more
Baking Powder- 1/2 Tsp
Cardamom Powder- 1/2 Tsp
Almonds- Chopped 7-8
Ghee- 1 Tsp to grease the dish

Procedure:

• Grease a round dish with 1 tsp ghee to steam the cake and keep aside.
• Dry roast semolina in low heat till slight golden brown in colour. Set aside to cool.
• In another big bowl combine all the ingredients and whisk till the sugar dissolves.
• Transfer the batter to the greased dish and steam on high in a pressure cooker ( without the whistle) for 20-25 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• Once cool invert the cake onto a plate, and serve by cutting in slices.

Linking this to Ayeesha's Any One Can Cook Series- 23
Priya and Aipi's Every Tuesday- Bookmark event

Grilled Sprouts Sandwich

Sprouts feature regularly in my breakfast now a days, I usually eat the sprouts raw but these sandwiches have become my favourite. Even my fussy kiddo likes to have this sandwich, so in the end I am a happy mom as I can disguise the sprouts in her favourite sandwich. I was so glad to see her lunchbox fully polished off :)

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Large Bread Slices- 4

Potato- 1 medium (boiled and mashed)

Onion- 1 small chopped finely

Moong Sprouts- 1/2 Cup

Tomato- 2 tbsp chopped finely

Salt, Chaat Masala, Black Pepper Powder- To Taste

Green Chutney

Cheese Grated- Optional

Ghee or Butter Softened - To Spread ( Optional)

Procedure:

Mix potato, onions, sprouts, salt, chaat masala and black pepper powder together and keep aside. Apply ghee or butter on one side of a bread slice and keep the buttered side facing down on the grill or sandwich maker. Apply a thin layer of green chutney on the unbuttered side, spread the potato and sprout mixture above the chutney layer. Now place the chopped tomatoes on top of the mixture. At this stage grated cheese can be sprinkled on top. Close the sandwich with another bread slice and apply butter on the side of the bread facing up. Grill till done. Serve with tomato ketchup.

   ( The little one anxiously waiting to eat her favourite sandwich)

Sending this sandwich to Srivalli's Sandwich Mela

Sobha's Proteinicious Event

Radhika's Let's Cook : Break Time Snacks Event

MLLA#36 brainchild of Susan and hosted at Served With Love
Also sending this to Quick and Easy Recipe Mela at Spicy Tasty