Cracked Wheat n Sprouts Upma

A Protien and Fibre packed breakfast!

Ingredients:
1 cup of cracked wheat
1/2 cup of mung sprouts
1 tbsp of boiled black chick peas
1 tsp of grated ginger
1/2 tsp of curry leaves
1 tbsp of Olive oil
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 green chilly finely chopped
2 1/2 cups of water
Salt to taste

Method:
Take a pan, add the olive oil and throw in the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add the cracked wheat, salt, chopped green chilly, grated ginger and saute for three to four minutes. Now add the mung sprouts n black chick peas and mix well. Set this in an electric rice cooker and add the water and set to cook.
Once done serve warm with a chutney of your choice.

Brown rice with veggies

Oct 1st...World Vegetarian Day
A great day for my veggielicious den n here is a healthy one pot meal
All are aware of the innumerable health benefits of "Brown Rice"

Ingredients:
1 cup of brown rice washed and soaked in water for three hours
2 cups of chopped veggies of your choice
1 tsp of ginger juliennes
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 cup of youghurt
3 cups of water
Salt to taste

Method:
Take a pan, add the olive oil and throw in the cumin seeds. Once the cumin starts to crackle add the chopped veggies, salt to taste, ginger juliennes and mix nicely n saute for three to four minutes. Drain the rice and add the sauteed veggies into an electric rice cooker dish and set the cooker. Once done serve hot with yoghurt.
A great dish on this special day...World Veg Day!!

Baked Mango Yoghurt

Have been wanting to bake a mango fruit since long and this dish tasted great  and the best part is, it did not take much time.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of mango puree

3 tbsp of low fat fresh cream

2 tbsp of low fat yoghurt

2 tbsp of fat free sweetened condensed milk

A few strands of saffron

Method:

Take a baking dish and all the ingredients and mix well.

Set the dish in a preheated oven at 150degC and bake for 20 minutes

Cool it to room temp and set it in the fridge for two hours.

Serve chilled. 

The saffron gave it a rich colour while enhancing it's taste.

Sauteed Spinach

"Spinach" is rich in iron and fibre! Thought of making a warm n healthy salad in a jiffy and it turned out yummy n had a nutty flavour ... thanx to my all time favourite sesame seeds. 

Ingredients:
2 cups of washed, blanched and finely chopped Spinach
3 cloves of finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp of roasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp of sesame oil
salt to taste

Method:
Take a pan and add the sesame oil and once the oil is hot, add the chopped garlic and saute for a minute and immediately add the spinach and saute for three to four minutes.(we want to retain the color of the spinach) Add salt to taste and sprinkle the sesame seeds and toss the pan. Dish out the sauteed spinach...have it warm with brown rice or as a salad. I had it as a salad with a hot bowl of pea soup.

Baked Apple and Pomegranate Juice

Sep 29th World Heart Day.. a healthy breakfast!

"Stuffed Baked Apple"

Ingredients:

1 big red apple
1 tbsp of mixed nuts, seeds and black raisins
1 tbsp of quick cooking oats
1 tsp of raw brown sugar
1 cup of water
1 tsp of cinnamon powder
1 tbsp of hot water

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180degC
Cut the top of the apple (about an inch or so) and remove the seeds with an apple corer gently..do not go to the bottom of the apple
Take a bowl and add the coarsely chopped walnuts and almonds, raisins, oats and sunflower seeds. cinnamon powder and add the hot water and set it aside for five minutes. Now the filling for the apple is ready.
Set the apple in a baking dish and fill it with the prepared filling and spread the remaining mix on top of the apple. Pour water in the dish so that the apple is covered with 3/4 of water. Set the apple to bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes depending on how soft you want it .
Have this warm...a hearty healthy breakfast is ready and yes the juice is on it's way...

"Pomegranate Juice"

Deseed two pomegranates and throw the seeds in a blender jar along with five fresh mint leaves, a tbsp of fresh lemon juice, a pinch of salt and 2 tbsp of water. Blend to a nice juice and strain it.
Enjoy the warm stuffed baked apple with fresh pomegranate juice!!

Baked Veggies in Chickpea flour

I can never, ever get bored of baking and here I am again with yet another healthy onepot meal loaded with veggies baked in chickpea flour!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of chopped mixed veggies
1/2 cup of chickpea flour
1tbsp of fresh lemon juice
1/2 a cup of finely chopped cilantro
1 tsp of finely grated ginger
1tsp of sugar
1 tbsp of sesame seeds for garnishing
1/2 a tsp of finely chopped green chillies
A pinch of baking soda
1 tsp of oil for greasing the baking dish
Salt to taste

Method:
Preheat the oven at 180deg C.
Take a bowl and add all the above ingredients (excepting the baking soda n sesame seeds) and mix well. Add the baking soda and give a gentle mix and pour the batter into the greased baking dish and garnish with sesame seeds.
Set the dish to bake in the oven for 40 minutes or till the knife comes out clean from the centre.
Serve hot with cilantro dip/chutney
Note: you can add a tbsp of water if you feel the batter is too thick, I didn't add though!

Eggless Banana Cake

When I started putting in  all the ingredients together for this Banana Cake I never thought that the final outcome would be so good!   Yes, this is an eggless and butterless cake.

Ingredients: 
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 a cup of yoghurt
1/2 a cup of Olive oil
4 tbsp of raw brown sugar (you can adjust the sugar according  to your tastebuds)
Puree of 6 small ripe bananas (you could use 3 big ones)
1 tsp each of baking powder and baking soda
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of Vanilla essence
1 tbsp of quick cooking oats for the topping on the cake

Method:
Take a bowl and throw in all the ingredients (not the oats) and mix well to a thick batter. Preheat the oven to 180deg C. Take a greased baking dish and pour the batter and top it with the oats. Set the baking dish in the oven to bake for 35 minutes or till the knife comes out clean from the centre. Once done remove the cake and cool it on a wired rack. Cut the cake into thick slices and enjoy! I had mine with my all time favourite..."hot mug of green tea". The cake was moist and tasted so good.