norwegian cooking

Pink Beet Fit Paratha

Hi All!

Joining my list of healthy and tasty snack items, is this Pink colored Paratha which I had made for the kid's lunch box. This is a nutrient 'BLOCKBUSTER' PARATHA. My regular readers would know that all my innovation goes in making food item for the kid in a tasty and nutritional way. The kid is in his pre-teens and definitely needs a good dosage of proteins along with other important nutrients.

Like the chickpeas, the kid is also quite fond of tofu and that helps me, as tofu or (soybean paneer) is an excellent source of proteins. One half cup serving of raw firm tofu contains 10.1 grams of protein. The recommended daily intake is 56 grams for most men and 46grams for most women. I also added beetroot, which not only provides the attractive pink color to the bread but is an excellent source of Iron also. The unique crimson color of the beet is due to Betalin pigments such Betanin and Betacyanin. Raw beet are excellent source of Folate and Vit. C and are quite low in calories. Along with the beet, also went veggies and greens..

I used very little oil to lightly smear the Parathas. Overall, the Paratha is very rich nutritionally, looks very beautiful and is quite tasty too. My kid who hates eating Beetroot is a fan of this Paratha and my niece who was visiting us recently, also loved eating this. This paratha has become quite popular amongst the kid's school friends too. The kid also loves to roll this and eat as a snack after playing.

Pink Beet Fit Paratha

Makes: about10

PreparationTime: 20mins
Cooking Time: 20mins
Serves:3

Ingredients

about 2cups whole wheat flour
half medium size beetroot (grated)
100gms Tofu grated
1/4cup cabbage finely chopped
a small handful mint leaves, finely chopped
a small handful coriander leaves, finely chopped
5green chilies finely chopped (decide based on the spiciness of chilies)
2tsp ginger grated
salt to taste
oil for smearing

Spices

1tsp red chili powder
2tsp coriander powder
1tsp cumin powder

Method

Take all ingredients (except flour and oil) in a kneading plate (paraat).

Mix properly.

Once the veggies starts to release water, add the flour and mix. You will get a crumbly texture. Leave for a minute or two.

Using minimum water knead a tight dough. Keep the dough tight as the veggies release water and the dough becomes softer after some time.

Take gooseberry size ball and roll it thin (5”disc) using dry wheat flour to make a Paratha.

Heat a griddle and roast the Paratha lightly on either side. Apply a few drops oil on either side and roast again till cooked.

Serve hot with curds and pickle, or roll them up eat.
These make excellent lunch box item and an afterschool snack as they are healthy, filling and very tasty too.

Sending this to my event ‘Only’ Snacks & Starters hosted by Raji at Vegetarian Tastebuds and reposting Stuffed Dahi Vada and Corn on Wheat Canapes-A Fusion Chaat for the event . Also to Sangeetha's event me your HITS-Soy recipes, guest hosted by Prabha.

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Methi Masoor Briyani (Fenugreek Leaves & Split Orange Lentils Rice)

Briyanis are very popular in India, it is basically rice cooked with very aromatic spices and vegetables and traditionally cooked in a lot of ghee, but I have kept away from the ghee and used just oil. You can make a variety of briyanis by changing the combination of vegetables or by adding different beans or lentils. I have already given a recipe for the Spinach And Kidney Beans Briyani, today it is a very flavorful briyani with masoor dal (split orange lentils) and fresh methi leaves (Fenugreek Leaves). Both of them lend a distinctive flavor to this briyani, again an one pot meal..

Need To Have

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Masoor Dal - 3/4 cup
Fresh Fenugreek Leaves - 1 cup chopped
Onions - 2 medium chopped
Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cashews - 1 tablespoon for garnish

Make A Paste

Cashews - 1 tablespoon broken
Shallots - 6 chopped
Ginger - 1 tablespoon chopped
Garlic - 4 cloves
Green Chillies - 3
Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon
White Poppy Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon Stick - 1"
Javentri - 1" small piece

For Seasoning

Peppercorns - 1 teaspoon
Cardamoms - 2
Cloves - 2
Bay Leaf - 1

Method
Soak the rice and dal for half an hour, roast the cashews for garnishing and make the paste with the given ingredients. Heat oil, add the seasonings, once the pepper starts spluttering add the onions, saute it till transparent. Then add the paste and saute till the raw smell goes away (for about 5 mins), add the turmeric and chilli powder, the fresh methi leaves, mix for 2 more mins, add the drained rice and dal, water around 5 and a 1/2 cups and salt. Cover and cook, once the water starts boiling reduce to medium heat and cook till almost all the water is gone but it is still a little wet. Now switch off the heat and leave it covered for at least 1/2 an hour without disturbing. Garnish it with the cashews and serve it warm with some curd or raitha.

Sending it to Divya's Culinary Journey for her Showcase - What's In Your Lunch Box? event and
to Srav's Cooking Concepts for the CC - Spring Seasonal Food event,

Note
Javentri is an orange flower like spice, use just a quarter of it.
While adding salt to the briyani, taste the water, it should be a little salty, the rice absorbs the extra saltiness when it gets cooked, you don't want to mix salt later after the rice is cooked, you'll end up making it mushy.

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Chocolate Cake With Stawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

For a long time now, I had wanted to do a frosting with strawberries and cream cheese. Everytime I got a box of strawberries, I would want to do this and finally end up doing something else with it. My first thought was to do cupcakes with this frosting, but later changed it and baked a square cake. What would go much better with strawberries than chocolate, so decided to make a chocolate cake with a fruit filling..

Need To Have

All Purpose Unbleached Flour Or Maida - 1 cup
Cocoa Powder - 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup
Oil - 1/4 cup
Flax Seeds Powder - 2 tablespoons
Milk - 1 cup + 6 tablespoons
Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon
Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon
Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon

For The Frosting

Cream Cheese - 3 oz.
Greek Yogurt - 2 oz.
Confectioners' Sugar - 8 tablespoons
Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
Corn Starch Powder - 5 teaspoons
Strawberry Puree - 4 tablespoons
Sliced Fresh Strawberries - for filling inside the cake and on top

Method
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. Soak the flaxseeds powder in the 6 tablespoons warm milk for about 10 mins. Then beat it well, add the oil, beat once again, add the salt, sugar, vanilla extract and milk and blend everything well. To this slowly mix in the sifted dry ingredients, mix everything well and pour in a greased pan and bake at 350F for 25 mins till a toothpick stuck inside the cake comes out clean. Cool for 5 mins, remove the cake from the pan and cool it well for atleast 2 to 3 hrs before doing the frosting.
For the frosting, first beat the cream cheese and yogurt, then add the sugar, beat well, add the strawberry puree and the corn starch and blend everything well. The cornstarch is added to thicken the frosting. Now take the cooled cake, tort it (slice it into half), take the top half, place the it top side down. Apply the frosting and arrange the fresh strawberries, apply some more frosting if you want, place the other half, bottom side up, so now the top of the cake will be the smooth side, press it down slightly, placing a parchment paper on top so that it does not stick to your hand. Now apply the frosting all over the cake, leave it in the fridge for an hour, slice it and serve it decorated with the strawberries.

Sending it to Tickling Palates for the I Love Baking and for the Let's Cook: Chilled Delights events,
to Srav's Cooking Concepts for the CC - Spring Seasonal Food event,
to UK Rasoi for Srivalli's Kid's Delight - Fruits event,
to Tomato Blues for the Summer Spirits event and
to Sumee's Culinary Bites for Vardhini's Bake Fest event.

Note
I used low fat cream cheese and fat free greek yogurt, the frosting was rich enough, if you want a very rich frosting use full fat versions.
The quantity of frosting is enough for a thin layer on top of the cake, if you want a lush thick layer increase the amount of frosting.
If you don't have greek yogurt use very thick curds drained off all the water.
This cake has to be refrigerated because it has fresh fruits and cream cheese in it.

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Hariyali Chana Masala

Hi All!

Like my previous post of Lentil & Spinach Sandwich, I’m posting yet again a combination of protein and greens in a very tasty ‘Avatar’. My family loves the chickpeas and that makes it easy for me to give the kid an additional dose of protein in an easy and many ways.

I was once again greedy while picking the greens from the vegetable mart. The fresh green leaves attract me so much that I’m tempted to buy them at once. And once I’ve bought them, I’m in a hurry to finish them before they perish. This curry was concocted in a hurry in order to finish a lot of greens.

Once I had finished cooking this curry and tasted a bite, I told myself of making the mistake of buying excessive greens more frequently as the curry was finger licking tasty. I gave the curry to S in his lunch box along with Phulka and fresh salad. He called me especially to tell that whatever ‘new’ I had made was extremely tasty. I was beaming with joy and was mentally saying ‘tell me something new’ as I already knew how tasty it was… Smile with tongue out

Do not relate this curry to the Chana Palak served in restaurants, as this curry not only uses spinach but many more greens, making it more flavorful. Plus unlike restaurants, I've made this very low in oil and have not used any potent spices or garam masala. So the curry retains all natural flavors of the greens..

This curry is extremely versatile, I had made it dry, as I wanted to give this in the lunch box, but it can be made in a gravy fashion and eaten with rice. The dry version itself can be eaten as a 'Chaat' garnished with chopped onions and 'Sev' as the curry itself is tangy and ‘chatpati’. The curry, when stuffed in bread, makes an excellent sandwich. I had made the sandwich for the kid’s snack box and he had loved it.