27 April 2013

Chayote (Chow Chow) Kootu

Chayote (Chow Chow) belongs to the cucumber family and is a very healthy vegetable (but it is actually a fruit), it is well known as vegetable pear. There are enormous health benefits to this green vegetable. When eaten raw it gives a crunchy taste. Generally this vegetable skin is peeled and prepared in our Indian cuisine. But do you know that the skin of this vegetable is also edible?

Chow Chow kootu is made with this vegetable cooked in coconut gravy. This is an ideal side dish for rice and sambar in our south-indian cuisine. Include this water-content rich vegetable in your diet and get benefitted.

Health benefits of Chayote (Chow-Chow):

1. Low in calories (16kcal/100gms) hence can be consumed in large quantities.
2. High source of dietary fiber hence prevents constipation.
3. This is relatively good source of folates, which is important for pregnant ladies consumption, to prevent neural defects in the newborn.
4. Provides moderate levels of potassium.
5. Very good source of Vitamin C, which potentially prevents cancer.
6. Helps iodine in keeping thyroid healthy, by providing copper, a mineral which is required in thyroid metabolism.
7. Helps prevents acne, as it has good source of zinc, a mineral which controls the hormones that produce oil in the skin.
8. It lowers blood pressure levels.
9. Good for the brain as it contains Vitamin B6, which is important for the brain functioning.

Now, let us look at how this vegetable can be prepared like kootu.

Ingredients:

1. Chow Chow (Chayote) – Skin peeled and chopped to cubes – 1 Cup
2. Moong Dhal – ½ Cup
3. For seasoning : Oil – 1 tsp, mustard seeds – 1 tsp, broken urud dhal – 1 tsp, channa dhal – 1 tsp, curry leaves – 8 leaves

Pre-requisite:

1. Pressure cook – Chayote and moong dhal adding only required water (not excess water). Allow 2 whistles, switch off and cool.



2. Grind to paste: Coconut – ½ cup, cumin seeds – 1 tsp, green chillies -  2, small onions – 3 (peeled), garlic pods – 2 (peeled) : grind raw into a paste adding adequate water.



Note: Small onions and garlic are optional ingredients while grinding. You can avoid if you wish.

Method:

1. Season as given.



2. Open the pressure cooker, pour the season ingredients into the cooked chayote-moong dhal mixture and mix well.



3. Add the ground paste to the above and give a stir and add required salt.



4. Switch on the stove, keep the cooker with the stirred ingredients for about a minute or two, just enough for the coconut raw smell to disappear and immediately switch off. Transfer the contents to a bowl.


Purslane (Parupu Keerai) Kootu

Parupu Keerai Kootu (Purslane Leaves Kootu) is a very healthy green leafy vegetable, which has immense health benefits. There are many ways this parupu keerai can be cooked – like masiyal, kozhambu or kootu etc. This version of this recipe is a kootu version. This kootu can be both a side dish and a main dish in your cuisine.


 Health Benefits of Purslane Leaves:

1. Rich source of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals.
2. Very low in calorie (just 16kcal/100g), hence can be consumed in large quantities.
3. Contains omega-3 fatty acids, which is very good for brain functioning, which prevents the development of ADHD (Attention defecit hyperactivity disorder).
4. Rich source of Vitamin A and C, and B complex vitamins. Consumption of vegetables rich in Vitamin A protects you from lung and oral cavity cancer.

For cooking purpose, pluck the leaves from the steam and wash it well before use to remove any dust or dirt from the leaves.

English Name : Purslane Leaves / Tamil Name : Parupu Keerai / Hindi Name : Chaurai

Bes Accompaniment for : Sambar / Kozhambu / Rasam / Curd Rice

Ingredients:

1. Purslane Leaves – 1 Bunch, leaves plucked
2. Tomato (small) – 1, chopped to small pieces
3. Garlic – 4 pods peeled
4. Small onion – 4 , peeled
5. Green Chillies – 2
6. Seasoning: Oil – 1 tsp, mustard seeds – 1 tsp, broken urud dhal – 1 tsp
 



Grind to gether :
Coconut – ½ cup, small onion – 2, cumin seeds – 1 tsp : grind together adding required water and keep the ground paste ready.



Method:
1. In a Kadai, add purslane leaves, chopped tomato, garlic pods, small onion, green chillies and add ¼ tumbler of water and cook uncovered adding very little salt until the purslane leaves are well cooked.



2. Cool the above and take it into a mixer and blend into a coarse paste, without adding water. Run the mixer for about 5-15 seconds, not more. No need to make the mixture mushy.


3. In a Kadai, season as given, add the green ground paste (from step 2) and mix well. Add required salt.


4. Add the coconut ground paste and stir to mix the contents well. Just allow one or two boil, to eliminate the coconut raw smell and then remove.


Note:
Cooking the leafy vegetables uncovered prevents discoloration of the leaf. This helps to retain the green color of the leaf.



19 April 2013

Cut Banana Stem

Know-how : Cut Banana Stem

1. You can see two layers surrounding the main banana stem. 


2. With a sharp knife cut the outer covering of the banana stem and remove it.


3. Slice the inner stem it into thin circles. While cutting, collect the fibrous thread by hand. 


 

Remove the fibers by twisting it with your fore finger. Remove the fiber from the slice also if it is stuck to the slice. Cut the banana stem into roundels after removing all the fiber.


4. Then cut the roundels into small cubes. 

5. In a bowl take water and add a ladle full of butter milk and mix together making buttermilk water. Drop the cut stem into it. This helps to avoid blackening of the stem.




Sprout Green Gram

Know-how : Sprout Green Gram 

1. Take a cup of green gram into a broad vessel and soak it in excess water for atleast 8 - 10 hours.


2. Strain all the water from the green gram using a colander/strainer.

3. Pour strained green gram into a broad base vessel and cover with seive plate (plate with holes) / wired mesh (to allow germination to happen ) for 12 hours and keep in a warm room.When you open, you will see the green gram sprouted.
                                                                   (or)
 3. Pour strained green gram into a casserole/hotpack and keep covered for 12 hours and open. You will see the green gram sprouted.

Healthy sprouted green gram is ready.




17 April 2013

Vegetable Kurma - II

Vegetable Kurma is a very healthy side dish which can be relished for any Indian bread items or any variety rice like pulav, biryani etc. It is healthy due to its vast vegetable content which is very good for our health. There are many ways vegetable kurma can be prepared and with many mixture of vegetables. Everytime you can make your kurma taste different by inclusion of different vegetables.

Some most common vegetables used for vegetable kurma are: Potato, Carrot, Beans, Cauli flower, Capsicum, Peas, Corn, Paneer, Turnip, Chow Chow, bottle gourd etc.

In this version of kurma, I have used only Potato, Carrot, Peas and Corn. This Kurma is prepared in Pressure cooker, hence will not take much time for cooking. This kurma can be prepared in about 10-15 minutes time.

Ingredients:

Vegetables (Chopped to 1 cm pieces): Aloo - 1, carrot - 1, Peas - 1, Corn - 1
Onion (chopped to medium size) – 1
Tomato (chopped to medium size) – 1
Haldi – 1 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp



To grind to fine paste:

Onion – 1
Tomato – 1
Ginger (cut to small pieces) – 1 tsp
Garlic – 4 pods
Coriander Leaves – a handful
Coconut – ½ Cup



Add the grinding ingredients into a mixer and grind to a fine paste adding required water and keep ready.

Method:

1. In a Pressure cooker, add 2 teaspoon of oil, add one teaspoon of cumin seeds and fry for few seconds.


2. Add chopped onion and sauté till it is translucent.



3. Add chopped tomato and fry till it becomes mushy.



4. Add the ground paste, salt and haldi and mix well.



5. Add the chopped vegetables and mix well.



6. Close the Pressure cooker, cook for 2 whistles. Cool and Open.
 

7. Garnish with coriander leaves (optional).


Onion Chapathi

Onion Chapathi is a very easy to make chapathi and sure is a different change from our routine chapathi’s. Onions are most commonly used in all our Indian cuisine. This is an indispensable ingredient in our kitchen. There are lots of benefits which this wonder vegetable gives. So using it regularly is sure to give way for a healthier life.
Any vegetable gravy can be a good accompaniment for this chapathi.

Health Benefits of Onion:

1. Onions are very rich in Quercitin, an antioxidant which is found on its skin, which helps to raise the HDL (Good) cholesterol.
2. It has properties that ward off blood clots.
3. It ‘s used in Asthma treatment.
4. It is also anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and antiviral.
5. It is rich in organ sulfur compounds which help to prevent cancer.
6. It has significant blood sugar-lowering action.
7. Good source of Vitamin C.


Ingredients:

Onion (Medium) – 1, Chopped
Atta – 2 Cups
Red Chilly Powder – ½ tsp
Coriander Powder – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Salt – 1 tsp


Method:

1. In a Kadai, add a teaspoon of oil and sauté the onions until translucent. Remove and cool.
2. In a broad vessel, add the atta, fried onion, red chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds and salt and mix well. Add water little by little and make a soft dough.
3. Make small medium size balls from the dough and take each ball and roll it into a normal chappathi using a roller pin on the chapathi press. Sprinkle little atta on both sides while rolling.
4. Heat the tava, when it becomes hot, add the rolled chapathi, wait for the brown spots to appear at the bottom, then turn it over and cook. Drizzle some oil on both the sides of the chapathi, and cook till both the sides become brown & cooked.


Note:

After making the dough, roll it into chapathi’s immediately. Onion has a tendency to leave water. If kept for too long, while making chapathi it will become sticky & little difficult to roll.

Photos: Coming soon..

Sprouts Paratha

Green gram sprouts are a very healthy legume highly rich in protein. Many particularly children may not enjoy sprouts much as it doesn’t have a great taste by itself. This sprouts paratha is a best way to make everyone especially children enjoy sprouts. The Paratha has a nice flavor and it can be consumed even without any side-dish if it is eaten hot. This paratha uses semi-cooked sprouts; hence it retains most of the nutritive values of the legume, which otherwise gets lost, if it is cooked completely. This paratha is very simple to make, doesn’t require any pre-cooking of vegetables, hence the stuffing can be made in just 5 minutes. The preparation time for this paratha is less than any other parathas. It can be made in about 15-20 minutes time. Enjoy making and eating this healthy protein-rich paratha. This would definitely be a good change from your normal paratha.
Any gravy side dish would be a good combination for this paratha, also yoghurt and pickle makes up a great combo for this paratha.

Ingredients:


For sprouts stuffing:
Green Gram Sprouts – 2 Cups
Onion (small) – 1, Chopped fine (Optional)
Red Chilly powder – ½ tsp
Cumin powder – ½ tsp
Coriander Powder – ½ tsp
Salt – ½ tsp


For Chapathi dough:
Atta – 3 Cups
Salt – 1 tsp
Haldi – ½ tsp
Kasoori Methi leaves – ½ tsp (Optional)


Sprouts Filling Preparation:

1. In a kadai, add a teaspoon of oil, add the onion, green gram sprouts and sauté for a minute or two.

2. Add the red chilly powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt and mix well.


3. Sprinkle little water and close with lid and cook for 5 minutes on low flame and remove (Let the sprouts be semi cooked and not fully cooked).


4. Cool and take the ingredients into a mixer and grind coarsely without adding any water.


5. Make equal medium size balls from the grounded sprouts and keep ready.



Chapathi dough preparation:

1. Take the ingredients for the Chapathi dough into a broad vessel and add water little by little and prepare soft dough. Towards the end, add a teaspoon of oil and knead the dough. You can start making paratha immediately or set aside the dough for 10-15 minutes and then start making paratha, it is your choice.


2. Divide the chapathi dough into equal size balls and keep ready.

 Sprouts Paratha Preparation:

1. Take one chapathi ball into the chapathi press and roll it flat with rolling pin to your palm size. In the middle of the rolled chapathi, place one sprout ball and press it flat.


2. Close the sprout ball with chapathi dough, taking the chapathi from the corners and closing it on the centre on top of the sprout ball, layering the dough from the corners one on the other.


 
 
3. Sprinkle atta on it, turn is around and roll like normal chapathi. After rolling few times, turn the chapathi to the other side and continue rolling to a big circle & transfer to a plate. Roll as many sprout paratha like this and keep ready for cooking.



4. Heat the tava, spread little oil and keep the paratha on it and wait till brown spotting appear from below.


5. Turn the paratha around and spread little oil on it. Wait for the brown spotting to appear from below again. Turn the paratha again and spread little oil on the other side.

6. Keep pressing the paratha using the ladle and turn in around after every few seconds. The paratha will start puffing up (like poori) on both the side. Once brown spots appear on the paratha both sides & it is cooked, remove from the tava.


7. Optionally, after removing the paratha from tava, you can spread 1/2 tsp of oil/ghee on it.
 

 

16 April 2013

Wheat Dosa

Wheat Dosa (Godumai Dosa) is a healthy, jiffy and tasty dosa made out of wheat flour. It doesn’t require rice for its preparation and hence it is a diabetic-friendly dosa too, this dosa is preferrable for those who want to cut down rice and switch over to other energetic alternatives.

Even though this dosa can be prepared with only Atta, I use 2 additional optional ingredients with it. One is rava, this is to give little crunchiness to the dosa, and the other is Ragi flour which is very nutritive to health.  For little spicy taste, even green chillies are used, however this is optional.

Ingredients:


Atta (Wheat flour) – 1 Cup
Rava (Semolina) – 1 tsp (Optional)
Ragi Flour (Millet) – 1 tsp (Optional)
Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
G.Chillies – 1, chopped fine (Optional)
Onion – 1 Chopped fine (Optional)
Salt – 2 tsp
Water – 1 to 1 ¾ Cups

Method:

1. In a broad bowl, take atta, rava, ragi flour, cumin seeds, g.chillies, onion and salt and mix well.



2. To the above, add water and mix into a dosa batter consistency. The batter should not be thick.


3. Keep the non-stick tava on stove, when it becomes hot, drizzle some water and once it dries, rub the tava with little oil (using oil soaked cloth or onion piece), then take a ladle of this wheat dosa batter and spread it into the tava in a clockwise circular motion as we do for normal dosa.


4. Spread oil on its sides and wait till brown spots appear on the corners. Then toss the dosa and cook the other side. Add some more oil if needed on either sides.


5. Remove the dosa once both the sides are cooked.

6. Goes well with any chutney and also with idly milagai podi (Gun powder).