Wheaty Oat Salad Tarts

Veggies, Sprouts n  Cheese all in one healthy homemade tart? Yes, these homemade tarts are baked with whole wheat n oat flour. The best part of these homememade tarts is that they are baked in a jiffy!!

Ingredients for the Tarts:
1 cup whole wheat flour
Little less than half  a cup of oat flour
Water for kneading the flour
5tbsp of raw Kidney beans (to fill the tart mould while baking)

Ingredients for the filling:
1/2 a cup of slightly steamed  veggies of your choice
1 tbsp of mung sprouts
2 tsbp of paneer/cheese cubes (low fat)
1 tbsp of Olive oil
A few sprigs of fresh cilantro for garnishing

Dressing:
1 tbsp of Mustard oil
1/2 tbsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Mix well and keep it aside.

Method:
Make the tarts first....knead the wheat and oat flour to a medium soft dough. Preheat the oven to 180deg C. Take the tart moulds (preferably non stick) and grease them slightly. Roll out the dough into small roundels and carefully place each of them into the tart moulds. Take a fork and prick lightly on the base of the tart so that it does not fluff while baking. Fill each tart with a few kidney beans and set them in the preheated oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the tarts cool down to room temperature. Remove the kidney beans and gently pull out the tart from the mould. Set them aside
Now let us the make the filling ready....take a pan, add a tbsp of Olive oil and throw in all the veggies and sprouts. Saute for five minutes and add the cheese/paneer cubes and salt and switch of the gas.
Por the dressing over the sauteed mix and mix well.
Take the tarts and fill each of them with the dressed filling, garnish with fresh cilantro and serve immediately or else the tarts would become soggy!

Healthy Dhoklas

Yes, yet another healthy dish..Spinach dhoklas with the goodness of Oats in them apart from the other ingredients.These are healthy for many reasons..they are steamed, they have Oats n Spinach!! Let me be honest, though the procedure is a little time consuming, the result is really satisfying and I personally felt way too happy!!

Ingredients:
1/2 a cup of Semolina (suji)
1/2 a cup of quick cooking Oats
1/2 a cup of Chickpea flour (Besan)
1/2 a cup of blanched Spinach puree
1 cup of Yoghurt (dahi)
2 tsp of fresh lemon juice
2 tsp of ginger n green chilli paste
2 tsp of fruit salt/ENO
Salt to taste
1 tsp of Olive oil for greasing the plates

Seasoning:
1 tbsp of Olive oil
2 tsp of mustard seeds (rai)
1 tbsp of sesame seeds
5 Curry leaves roughly chopped
1 Dry red chilli

Method:
Set a steamer with required amount of water on the gas, while preparing for the Dhokla batter.
Take a bowl, pour the spinach puree, semolina, oats, half a cup of yoghurt, green chilli n one tsp of ginger paste, one tsp of lemon juice, salt to taste and mix well and set aside.
Take another bowl, add the Chickpea flour/ besan, half a cup of yoghurt, one tsp of green chilli n ginger paste, remaining lemon juice , salt to taste and mix well and set aside.
Now the water in the steamer must be boiling. Take a deep dish/thali  which can accomodate  the above batters and grease it well, Add a tsp of ENO to each of the batter and pour the Spinach batter first. Then gradually pour the Chickpea batter on top of it. Close the lid of the steamer and steam for 20 to 25 minutes.
Take a pan, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and throw in the mustard seeds, sesame seeds, curry leaves and the red chilli. The seasoning is ready.
Once the dhokla is  slightly cooled, remove the dish and pour the seasoning on it. Cut it into pieces and serve either warm or at room temperature.
The two tier colourful dhokla looks so tempting and yeah it is healthy as well!!

Baked Oaty Tomatoes

Oats n Oats..I can use oats in any dish , so here I am..baked tomatoes with  oats filling. Offlate, whenever I go to a supermarket I see more and more people buying Oats and people are becoming really health conscious. Oats are rich in dietary fibre and are said to reduce the level of bad cholestrol or LDL . Tomatoes are loaded with lycopene which are said to protect one against cardiovascular diseases.

Ingredients:
2 large firm red tomatoes
2 tbsp of quick cooking Oats soaked in warm water
1/2 finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tbsp of fresh Basil leaves finely chopped (u can use dry basil also)
1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp of low fat finely grated Cheddar/Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste

Method:
Cut the tomatoes into halves and scoop out the seeds.
Take a pan, add olive oil and throw the garlic and onions n saute till slightly cooked.Now add the soaked oats (drain water if any), salt, basil and saute for a minute. Off the gas and add the black pepper powder.
Preheat the oven at 180deg C. Set the tomato halves in a baking tray and fill them with the oat mix and sprinkle the grated cheese on the top.
Bake for 25 minutes or till the cheese starts melting. Serve warm!

Healthy Savoury Muffins

Was wanting to bake healthy savoury muffins for a long time and wanted to use cornmeal and barley flour for the muffins. I wanted them to be loaded with veggies, so that they could be a mini meal on their own. Yes, they did come out very well and were filling too!

Ingredients:
1 cup of cornmeal
1 cup of barley flour
1 cup of finely chopped Red Capsicum, corn nibblets n green peas
1 tbsp of finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 tbsp flax seed powder dissolved in 3 tbsp of water (u can use 1 egg instead)
1/2 a tsp of finely chopped green chillies
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of Baking Soda
1/2 tsp of Baking Powder
1 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp of Olive oil
Water as needed

Method:
Take a bowl and add all the dry ingredients and mix well
Take a smaller bowl and add the flax seed mix (or a beaten egg if using) buttermilk, olive oil and mix nicely.
Now add the above mix to the dry ingredients and add little water. The batter should not be too runny.
Pour the batter into muffin moulds and set in a pre heated oven at 200 deg C and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Insert a knife at the centre of the muffin to check if it is done and if it comes out clean, remove the muffin tray and set to cool.
You can serve the rugged muffins warm with a hot cuppa soup.

Green Pea Dip

It was always Chilli Mayonnaise for my hubby n me as a dip  with veggie crudities, till we became a bit sensible about our eating habits! From then on  I have been experimenting on different kinds of dips to replace mayo.

Green Peas contain a unique assortment of health protective phytonutrients. They are low in fat as well. So I thought why not make a dip using the delicate green peas adding a couple of healthy nuts.. " Almonds".

Ingredients:

1 cup of frozen green peas. (u can use fresh ones as well)

6 Almonds soaked in hot water for half an hou

2 tbsp of fresh lime juice

1 tbsp of roasted sesame seeds

A fistful of finely chopped cilantro leaves 

1 tbsp of Olive oil

Salt to taste

Two green chillies

A tsp of Cayenne pepper for garnishing

Method:

Grind all the above ingredients (excepting the Cayenne pepper) 

I like to keep the dip slightly coarse. Garnish the dip with cayenne pepper. The almonds give the dip a a nice creamy texture and enhance the taste as well.

Serve it with veggie crudities.

Cheesy Wheat Potato Scones

I had a Potato Scone for the first time way back in 1999 in Nigeria! It was loaded with cheese, butter and plain flour. I thought why not try making a healthier version of the same? Trust me it was worth the try. 

Ingredients:

1 large boiled Potato

1 cup of wheat flour

A third cup of shredded low fat Cheddar or Cottage Cheese

2 tsp of baking powder

1 tbsp of low fat milk

2 tsp of Olive oil

1/2 a cup of finely chopped cilantro leaves (kothmeer)

Salt to taste

Method:

Take a bowl and grate the boiled potato. Add the shredded cheese, baking powder, milk, chopped cilantro, olive oil and salt and knead with light fingers. The dough should be soft. Set the dough aside for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 200 deg C.

 Roll out the dough into a slightly thick disk and with the help of a cookie cutter, cut into medium sized roundels. Take a baking tray and line it with parchment paper.Place the roundels on the baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or till light brown.

Serve warm with a dip of your choice and enjoy with a hot cuppa!!

Baked Sweet Potato

After a gap of one month, am back to my blog!
Baking is my weakness and here I am with another baked delight! Sweet Potatoes have been on my mind for a long time and they turned out great after baking.
Sweet potatoes are loaded with Vitamin C and A
The best part of this receipe is, that after baking they can be stored in the fridge upto a week. Just reheat them in the oven before use.

Ingredients:
1 big sweet potato washed and peeled
1 tbsp of Oilive oil
1/2 a tbsp of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 a tsp of Cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Method:
Preheat the oven at 190 deg C.
Chop the sweet potato into big chunks
Spray the olive oil on the chunks and coat them evenly.  Now toss them up with the black pepper and Cayenne pepper and salt.
You can either place the pieces on  a parchement paper on the baking tray or wrap them in a foil.
Bake them at 190 deg C for 30 minutes or until soft. They should not be too mushy.
Have them warm  with a bowl of hot soup for dinner.