Healthy Multigrain Masala Poori

Kids school is all set to begin in the next week and they are still up with their demands. My younger one wanted to have a fried snack. Fried's at my place are surely a delicacy as I rarely indulge myself into deep frying.This time I obliged him as he is still set to enjoy his last few days of freedom and I am also happy watching the light showers which has made the neighbourhood appear green again. Rains and fries do gel well.

It's a normal scene here in India to watch people eating garam pakoras in the monsoon.Though we are still experiencing preshowers but one can still smell pakoras getting fried in the neighbourhood and the mouth starts watering. Who can hate a plate of hot Pakoras?

Today in this calorie conscious world we try to balance all the essential nutrients with minimum fats, though it's not that fats are not important, infact they are the most important source of energy for satisfactory growth and physical activity. They are a problem, when our body is not able to metabolise it properly and start storing it in the form of adipose tissue, thats why Doctor's recommend to use a mix of oils or to keep changing the oil ( I call this fooling our body). It's not a problem with the children as their body metabolic rate is much higher than ours; but I still stick to the slogan 'nothing in excess is good for the body'.

Coming back to my son's demand, I wanted him to have his fried snack in a healthy way, so the thought of adding multigrain flour to the Pooris came in. The end result was a thumbs up from all the three men in my life and I was happy that I provided a nutritious breakfast. The Pooris go well with the morning newspaper and a cup of tea ( I should not say this as I am a teetotaller but holds good for S).

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup multigrain flour

2 tbsp gram flour (besan)

2 tbsp rice flour

1 tbsp white sesame seeds

3 small spoon red chilli pwd

1 small spoon turmeric

3 small spoon coriander pwd

1/2 small spoon garam masala

salt to taste

a little chopped cilantro

oil for deep frying +2tbsp

Method

• Mix all the ingredients and using water knead a tight dough. Cover it with a damp cloth and keep aside for 15-20 mins.
• Divide the dough and make small lemon sized balls .
• Apply oil on the rolling pin and the dough ball so that they do not stick to each other and then roll them into 4-5 inch circle.
• Ensure that they are rolled evenly and are a little thick. Thin pooris become chewy and hard to eat after frying. Meanwhile cover the remaining dough balls with a damp cloth to avoid drying.
• Deep fry the poori in hot oil and let it puff then turn the side and fry till they are golden brown in colour.
• Serve it with curds or a pickle of your choice.

Tip

• The rice flour makes the poori more crispier.

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Healthy Wheat Chocolate

The word chocolate brings water to every ones mouth. I believe there are very few people who do not like eating chocolate.My kids too are very fond of chocolate. My elder one was unable to to eat this divine thing for the last one year because of his braces. Recently he has come out of it and I thought of treating him with loads of home made chocolate.

Adding wheat to the chocolate not only adds to the nutritive value but it gives a different texture to the chocolate.Wheat flour is a rich source of carbohydrates, dietery fibre, Vit.B , folic acid and Calcium.

Growing kids need Calcium for their bones and teeth. Calcium is important in attaining peak bone mass,which is achieved in adolescence. Low peak bone mass increases the chances of Osteoporosis later in life. Children aged 4-11 years need 800-900 mg of Calcium every day and adolescents need 800-1200mg of Calcium. I found this a good way of introducing Calcium in their diet in a very tasty way. Even bottle gourd is a rich source of Calcium but try giving that to kids .....what say?

I would like to mention that unlike the normal molten chocolate this chocolate is not that easy flowing as it's cooked , so putting it in small moulds is a bit tedious and does not yield perfect shape. Spreading it in a flat dish and then cutting it like a burfi is much simpler ( which I did in the last when I got bored pouring in the moulds ).

Ingredients

2 small cups whole wheat flour

3 small cups sugar

1 small cup unsalted butter

1 small cup cocoa

1 small cup milk powder

2 small cups mixed dry fruits(chopped into small pieces)

Method

• Dry roast the wheat flour on low flame /microwave till it's light brown in colour and produces the roasted fragrance.
• Let the flour cool then sift it 3 times along with the milk powder and cocoa pwd so that it gets mixed thoroughly.
• In a non stick pan take sugar and pour water enough to immerse it.
• Put in on fire and when the sugar dissolves add the butter.Now add the wheat flour mix gradually to the sugar syrup and mix continuosly so that no lumps are formed.
• When the entire flour has been added and mixed and it starts thickening and leaving the edges mix the dry fruits (I used raisin,walnut and cashewnut), remove it from the flame and immediately pour it in a greased plate or moulds.Do it fast as the mix hardens quickly.(Removing the chocolate from the mould is a little tedious).
• Chill it in the refrigerator for an hour or till it sets.
• Makes amout 35-40 chocolates.

Tips

• Be careful about the moisture content in the atmosphere as milk powder absorbs that quickly.
• Take the room temperature also into consideration while making the chocolate as it deforms easily in hot climate.
• In case of using moulds use large ones.

I wish to share the sweetness of the chocolate with all the Americans who celebrate their Independance Day today.

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Aloo Gobhi Matar Ki Subzi and Simple Masoor Dal

Last few days have been kind of busy. I was busy unpacking and cleaning the house. Kids are also back from granny's place, so the house is chirping and is feeling kind of full. Kids are waiting for the school to reopen but before that they want to enjoy the last few days of their holidays to the fullest.

My younger one would watch all cookery shows with me and would stand next to me in the kitchen observing how I cut the veggies, what all spices I add and in what quantities. He recently watched a video on knife skills and was showing me the rolling technique and then added his superlative "see how quickly I learnt it". I let him use it strictly in front of me and without the veggies :). I am happy he being around as my elder one is again busy with his studies and is only seen on the lunch and dinner table and S is only available to say good morning and good night, so he is my saviour.

Today I made Aloo Gobhi Matar and Masoor Dal for the lunch. The vegetable is every one's favorite but the Dal is particularly my favorite. The veggie is very simple to make and requires very basic ingredients available easily in every one's kitchen. It's the way it is cooked and how well it gets coated with the spices that yields it the taste.

The Dal I can eat bowls of it without asking for anything else. I adore this Dal for it's simplicity not only in cooking but also in taste, especially as it has the nice aroma of asafoetida(heeng)and the best part is it's easy to digest.It's frequently made in my kitchen.

Aloo Gobhi Matar Ki Subzi (Potato,Cauliflower,Peas)

Ingredients

2 small cauliflowers (cut into flowerets)

3 potatoes(cut into pieces)

3 onions chopped

1 large tomato chopped

1 cup peas (I used frozen)

Spices

2tsp red chilli pwd

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

2 -3tbsp coriander pwd

salt to taste

Oil for cooking

1 tsp cumin seeds

Method

• Heat oil and add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add onions and saute till light brown in colour.
• Add all spices and salt followed by potatoes, peas and cauliflower. Mix them properly cover and cook for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes , mix , cover and cook till done.
• Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and ginger juliennes

Simple Masoor Dal (Red Lentil Dal)

Ingredients

3/4 cup Masoor

1tsp asafoetida pwd

1tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric

4-5 green chillies

a tbsp of lemon juice

2-3 tsp oil/ghee for tempering

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Method

• Pressure cook the lentil with 1 tsp turmeric, a pinch of asafoetida and green chillies.
• Mash the lentils with the chillies, add enough water and mix . Add salt to taste.
• Bring the lentils to a boil.
• In a small kadhai heat oil/ghee and add cumin seeds, remaining asafoetida and cilantro and put the 'baghar' on the boiling dal. Boil it for a minute and then remove it from heat wait for a minute and then squeeze in some lime juice ( about 1 tbsp).
• The dal's ready . Serve it with plain rice or just have it like a soup.

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Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake

It's been just ten days that I was away from this world of blogging but I get a feeling I have so much to catch up with . But before everything I am rushing for a last minute entry to Sweet and simple Bakes whose monthly challenge for the month of June was Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake.
I encountered a few problems while making this cake...the first being , this is not the season of oranges here , then the second problem was self raising flour.. as it is not easily available here and what is available is too costly.

I have modified the recipe with the things that were readily available and some substitutes.

The end result was quite satisfactory. My kids loved it and looking forward to bake it again when I get fresh oranges as I am very sure nothing can substitute the taste that orange zest will give.

Here is my version of the cake.

Ingredients

Self raising flour - 175g

White butter-175g

Caster sugar-175g

eggs-3

orange essence-2tsp

milk-2tbsp
Orange Syrup:

orange juice-3/4cup (I used the tetrapak version)

sugar-6-7tsp

For the topping:

Dark Chocolate-50g

Silver sprinkles
Method

• In a mixing bowl add the butter and sugar and beat till light and fluffy.
• Add eggs one by one and beat.
• Add orange essence .
• Add flour and milk and fold.
• Bake for 35-45 mins.
• Cool and make holes on the top of the cake.
• Mix the orange juice and sugar ,heat and bring it to a boil.
• Put this juice on the top of the cake.
• Melt the chocolate on a double boiler and spread it on the top of the cake , spread some sprinkles.

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Cheesy Bread Rolls

On 13th June my younger one turned 9. He is an energetic fellow, full of life. A moody at times and very possessive about me( I guess it's the age). He had been counting days remaining for his birthday past 15-20 days and was very excited about it. He had told me long time back that he wanted me to bake for him a Chocolate fudge cake.

Now it's been more than 2 months that I am having a low grade fever which shoots up at times. In spite of all medical check ups and all the medications it's not subsiding. On his birthday as the destiny had planned my fever shot up and I was in distress. I wanted to bake the cake for him. The poor thing realised seeing me, that I was in no position to stand for a long time . Nevertheless, we ordered a cake for him but I still wanted to make something special for him.. feeling guilty of not being able to please him and fulfill his wish .


He is very fond of cheese, so I thought of treating him with a cheesy day. Morning I made his favorite cheese bread rolls, afternoon was Paneer butter masala, Dal makhani and Garlic Naan for him and evening were pizzas. Most of the things I ordered out but promised him that I will bake the cake for him in near future.


Ingredients

Bread slices (fresh)
250 gms grated processed cheese ( I used Amul)
1 tsp freshly crushed pepper
2 green chillies chopped
4 tbsp boiled macroni
1 small onion finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
rice flour
salt to taste
oil for frying





Method

• 
  
  Remove the edges of the bread and make it flat by rolling it with a rolling pin.
• 
  
  Mix all the remaining ingredients and divide it into 8-10 equal portions and make small balls.
• 
  
  In a bowl take water . Keep the flattened bread on the palm and make it moist on either side with water , else gently dip it in water and squeeze out the water.( I prefer the first way)
• 
  
  Keep the cheese ball in the centre and cover it with bread from all the four sides properly without leaving any gaps and give it a proper shape.
• 
  
  Roll it gently in rice flour, this will help remove extra moisture from the bread and will not absorb excess oil while frying. This method I read at Aayi's recipes . Thanks Shilpa.
• 
  
  Heat oil and deep fry the rolls on medium heat.
• 
  
  Serve hot with tomato sauce or green chutney.

I am sending this post to Creator of Monthly mingle - meeta.

Also sending this to EFM June - Breakfast series

also sending this to show me your breakfast hosted by divya of dilse

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Rajma Rasmisa (Red Kidney Bean Curry)

This is my all time favorite . In my childhood whenever my mom made this dish she used to make it in surplus and refrigerate it so that I could eat it for 3-4 days . Now S and both the kids have become huge fans of Rajma. Here ,in North India ,we get very good quality Rajma as it gets produced largely in this part of the country. But out of the various varieties available I like the Kashmiri variety the most. It's small and bright red in colour and looks elegantly beautiful.

Though in my childhood I was a huge fan of my mom's Rajma , over a period of time I have tried making it in different ways . This particular way makes the preparation in very less oil and using minimum spices. Now a days it's my conscious effort of reducing the oil content in the preparations . This dish I had cooked recently when another cousin P had come down with his wife A for lunch, and like all of us he also likes the Rajma.

Ingredients

4 large handsful of Rajma

3-4 large onions

1 pack tomato puree

5-6 large pods of garlic

1 potato (cut into cubes)-optional

an inch of ginger

2 bay leaves

3 cardamoms

1 small spoon garam masala(optional)

1 spoon red chilli powder

2 tbsp coriander powder

Method

• 
  
  Wash the Rajma with water and then soak it overnight or for 6-8 hrs.
• 
  
  Cook it in pressure cooker with salt . Bring 5 whistles, simmer and cook further for 10 mins or till it is well cooked .
• 
  
  While boiling Rajma , in a separate bowl keep the peeled onions.
• 
  
  Once the beans are cooked remove the onions, cool it and grind.
• 
  
  Grind or crush together ginger and garlic ( I used my stone pestle and mortar )
• 
  
  Heat very little oil and throw in the bay leaves and cardamom , followed by boiled onion paste and saute for few seconds as the onions are already cooked.
• 
  
  Put crushed ginger & garlic and saute till the raw smell disappears.
• 
  
  Now add tomato puree (I used Kissan) and saute till oil separates.
• 
  
  Add chilli pwd, coriander pwd and a little salt (it is also added while cooking beans).
• 
  
  'Bhuno' the masala and then add the potato and the Rajma. Bring it to a boil and then adjust water based on your liking. I personally like it with more water (thinner gravy) but be careful not to make it too watery.(I put the entire thing in the cooker once again and give one more whistle)
• 
  
  Once the Rajma is cooked and boiled properly add the garam masala and mix
• 
  
  Garnish it with ginger juliennes and freshly chopped cilantro.

This is my entry to Spill the Beans- Sunday Snacks Hosted by Priya of Akshayapatram

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Dhaba Style Palak Paneer ( Spinach and Cottage cheese)

When I had visited my Mom recently, my cousin P had come down for lunch. She is in her final term of pregnancy and loves to eat Paneer. I remember an incident, it was  when I was visiting her place in my college days and we all had gone for dinner to a restaurant and had ordered this dish . She ate all the Palak and had kept the Paneer pieces aside. I asked her why are you not eating it ? She said, I will eat all of them together at the end. To her disappointment, while she was talking to us,  the waiter cleared her plate with all her favorite Paneer.

So, this time when she came home for lunch, I decided to cook her favorite dish. To my satisfaction she liked the preparation and also helped me click the pictures.

I dedicate this recipe to all the Paneer lovers (which also includes me).

Ingredients

A large bunch of Palak (spinach)

150 gms Paneer

2 onions (chopped finely)

2-3 green chillies (chopped finely)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 -2 tsp lemon juice (as per your liking)

3-4 garlic pods (crushed)

1 -1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

butter+oil for cooking

1 tsp ghee

Method

• Pluck the leaves of Palak( do not use stem).Wash them properly.
• Boil water in a vessel, add a pinch of salt a baking soda, this helps keep the colour green .When the water start boiling put the leaves for 20seconds, remove and immediately put it in cold water. (This stops the process of cooking).
• Puree the blanched leaves.
• Heat a mix of butter and oil and add chopped onions and cook till light brown in colour, now add garlic .
• Add chilli powder, coriander powder and salt, mix properly. (Add a little less of salt as Spinach has natural salts in it). Take oil to the corner of the pan, tilt the pan and sprinkle some water,  the pan will catch fire for a few seconds, this produces the 'Smoky Flavor' that one gets in Dhaba cooking.
• Add the Paneer and gently mix and coat it with all the spices. Cook for a min.
• Now add the pureed Spinach and bring it to a boil and switch off the flame. Do not overcook as the gravy loses it's natural green colour. Add lemon juice and mix.
• Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds, let it splutter and then add green chillies, immediately pour it on the Palak Paneer.
• Serve with Naan/Paratha/Jeera Rice

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