A healthy start to the new year with Upma

At the very outset, a very happy new year to all of you! Wish you a gr8 year ahead!

After indulging so much this Christmas and New Year on rich and delicious food, its time to share some healthy yet delicious food. This upma is a regular item on my breakfast table. It is a South Indian dish. It is my hubby's favourite and he can have it almost everyday! Well, I donot make it every day but it certainly find its way once or twice a week.

I have realised that some food items are common in every house hold, yet everyone has their own way of cooking it. Upma is another such item. Like, my MIL doesnot add tomatoes which I do and  I have friends who like to add carrots, cucumber and peas. So, its all up to ones personal preference. Lets have a look at how I make our staple breakfast item -'Upma'.



Upma:

½ cup semolina.
1 tsp mustard seeds.
1 tbsp oil.
1 green chili slit.
4-5 curry leaves.
½ tsp urid dal.
2 tbsp cashews, chopped into chunks
2 tbsp raisins, soaked in water for 15 minutes
¼ cup chopped onion.
¼ cup chopped tomato without seeds.
1 tbsp lemon juice or to taste.
½ tsp sugar (optional)
Salt to taste.
2-3 tbsp chopped coriander and extra to garnish.
1 ¼ cup water.

Process:

1. Dry roast the semolina in a pan till it is a shade darker and gives out a distinct aroma. Take it off gas.

2. Heat another pan and add oil. When heated add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, urid dal and green chili. Saute for a minute.
3. Now add the cashew nuts and chopped onions and heat for 2-3 minutes till the onions are translucent and cashew are light brown.
4. Add the raisins and saute for a few seconds. Now add the roasted semolina and give a good stir.

5.Add the lemon juice, salt sugar and water. Keep stirring it and the mixture will thicken.

6. Cook for another 3-4 minutes and turn off the gas.

7. You can add the chopped coriander leaves to the upma or can just garnish it with them or both.

Serve warm. Enjoy!

Spiced Whole Wheat Oats Pancakes

I have tried these pancakes from Tarla Dalal's Book, I mentioned here. I loved them immensely. They can be prepared in no time and are perfect for breakfast. And the icing on th cake is- they are very healthy too!

Spiced Wholemeal and Oats Pancakes:


Makes 8:

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup quick rolled oats.
a good pinch of nutmeg powder.
a good pinch of cardamom powder
¼ tsp cinnamon powder.
2 tbsp powdered sugar.
1 tsp oil.
½ cup low fat milk.
½ tsp Eno’s fruit salt.
a pinch of salt.
3 tbsp oil for cooking.
Honey for serving.
8 orange slices.

Process:

1. Combine all the ingredients except fruit salt in a bowl with enough water to form a smooth batter.
2. Heat  the pan and grease it with a little oil. Add the fruit salt in the batter and whisk it to mix well.
3. Pour spoonful of the batter on the pan to make 3 inch diameter pancake. Cook it till bubbles appears on the surface. Flip it and cook on the other side till light golden.
4. Repeat the process to make total 8 pancakes.
5. Serve hot with honey and orange segments.

Sending this off to Priya's Event- Cooking with whole food-Oats. This event is the brain child of Kiran.

One last peek before you go!

Enjoy! Have a lovely weekend!

Banana & Almond Smoothie

Ever since I have developed an interest for cooking, I always check for recipes in cookbooks, magazines and if I like any of them, I just keep the page or jot the recipe in my dairy. I found this recipe in a Tupperware booklet and liked it. Most of the time, I have one or two very ripe bananas that need to be used immediately. Well, baking a cake out of it is a good option but having a lot of it is surely not good for my waistline! So, I find making a smoothie a safe bet. This smoothie is perfect for breakfast and is very nutritious too. Almonds add a very rich flavour to it!

Ingredients:

250 ml low fat milk

2 tbsp yoghurt.

1 tbsp Almond powder.

1 very ripe banana.

1 tbsp honey.

Makes 1 large glass or 2 small ones.

Process:

Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend it till smooth. Pour into two glass. Decorate with a whole almond. Serve.

Enjoy! Sending it off to Veggie/Fruit a month -Banana guest hosted by US Masala. This event is the brain child of Priya

Couscous Upma

After an indulgent Diwali, its time to shed off those extra calories by eating some healthy food. I am here with a healthy Upma. But before that, I have to announce a product review from CSN Stores. I am sure no one needs an introduction about them. CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from stylish briefcases to cute cookware to chic lighting pieces! So, stay tuned for the review!

Now coming back to the recipe, I had brought a few cook books from India one being 'Healthy Breakfast' Tarla Dalal. There was one recipe whish uses broken bulgar wheat to make this upma. I replaced it with couscous and here is what I made!

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 Cup Couscous.
1 small onion finely chopped.
1 green chill, slit.
Few strands of ginger.
¼ cup green peas.
¼ cup carrots diced.
½ tsp mustard seeds.
3-4 curry leaves.
1 tbsp oil.
Salt to taste.
2 tbsp chopped coriander.
1 tbsp lemon juice.

Process:

Clean and wash the couscous thoroughly. Boil cups of water and add a pinch of salt. Add
the washed couscous to it. Let it come to boil and take it off gas and cover the pan with
a lid. Keep it for 3-4 minutes. Couscous will be cooked and soft, each grain separated.
Drain off any excess water.

In a pan, heat oil. Add the curry leaves, grated ginger, green chilli and mustard seeds.
When they crackle add the chopped onions and sauté for a minute. Add the diced carrots
and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add peas and cooked couscous and give a good stir. Add salt
to taste and lemon juice. Take it off gas and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with
chopped coriander leaves.

Sending this off to Priya Mitharwal's Event- Bookmarked Recipes-Every Tuesday-9th Nov 2010.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

Finally, I have managed to squeeze some time for my blog. Actually, there are so many things in our 'To-Do' list on our India visit that my blogging has taken a back seat. I think it happens with everybody. I am having a lovely time here socialising, relaxing, catching up with friends and having good food prepared by my Mom.  

Before flying to India, I had prepared and taken pictures of a few dishes intending to post it soon. But, it seems like I had been postponing it a little too long. Today, I am sharing the recipe of 'Blueberry Muffins' which I tried from the book -101 Cakes and Bakes from BBC Books. The recipe was named 'Buttermilk Berry Muffins' in the book but I prefer to call it simply 'Blueberry Muffins'. I have baked these muffins twice and was happy with the results both times. My husband loved it. It was the first time I used an Egg-replacer powder of the brand name Orgran. I have followed rest of the recipe as given in the book. I hope to experiment with the egg replacer powder more often.

Needless to say sending this off to Baking from a book 4 event guest hosted by Sowjanya. This event is the brain child of Champa. Also sending it off to Champa's Weekly Event Bake Off and Sri's EFM-Cakes and Bakes Series.

 Ingredients:

400 g AP flour.

175 g caster sugar.

1 tbsp baking powder.

Finely grated rind of one lemon.

284 ml buttermilk.

Egg replacer powder in place of 2 eggs.

85 g butter, melted.

250 g fresh blueberries.

Makes 12.

Process:

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Line a 12 cup muffin tray. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, lemon rind, sugar and salt. Prepare the egg replacer powder as per the instructions given in the box. In a separate bowl mix butter, buttermilk and the prepared egg replacer. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Mix it lightly so that it is well combined. Do not over do. Fold in the blueberries and spoon it into the prepared tin.

Bake it for 25 mins until risen and pale golden on top. Leave to cool on wire rack for 5 mins. Place them on the wire rack to cool further.  

These muffins are very delicate when hot. I have tried it second time substituting the butter with 1/4 cup + 2tbsp oil. They came out good too.

Enjoy!

Chilli Cheese Toast

Baking from Book#4 is here! It is being hosted by Sowjanya. When Champa had started this event, I borrowed many books from the library and had tried and bookmarked quite many recipes from books. This 'Chilli Cheese Toast' recipe was bookmarked form Anjum Anand's Book','Indian Food Made Easy'. I had also tried 'Savoury Semolina Cake' from there and it has become a very regular item in my household. Similarly, I have made these toast many times but had not blogged about it.
I had made them last week and clicked a few pics. So, here it is- 'Chilli Cheese Toast'. I had made a few changes it it. I have reduced the quantity of cheese by half and have added ketchup. I love ketchup so much that my friends often call me the ketchup girl! I like to call it my quickfix bread pizza. Its perfect for a breakfast or as a snack with afternoon or a light meal.

Makes 2.

50 gm grated cheddar cheese or the cheese of your choice.
1 small onion, finely chopped.
1/2 small tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped.
¼ tsp finely sliced green chillies.
1 tsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
2 slices of bread.
2 tbsp tomato ketchup, extra for serving.

Process:

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Spread the ketchup on the two slices of bread and evenly spread the grated cheese. Mix rest of the ingredients. Pile the mixture evenly on top of the bread and bake it in the oven for a 8-10 mins until crisp and browning on sides. Cut it into bite size with a pizza cutter. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Needlass to say, sending this off to 'Baking from a Book' event, brain child of Champa and this month being hosted by Ruchikacooks.

Potato Sandwich

Once upon a time this sandwich was often our 'Sunday Breakfast'. For quite a time now I have been avoiding white bread and my hubby was complaining about not having this sandwich for a long time. It tastes best when made with white bread but if you wish to make a healthier one go for brown bread. But, I went ahead and made this with white bread. Indulging self into these simple treats once a while is okay.. What do you say?

Coming back to the recipe:

Makes 6 Sandwiches.

Ingredients:

12 Slices of White Bread, sides removed.
Butter to brush the breads.

For the filling you will need:

2 large potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed.
1 cup grated carrots.
1/4 cup chopped onions.
1/4 cup green peas.
Handful of coriander leaves chopped.
1 green chilli.
Few strands of grated ginger.
1 tbsp oil.
1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
1/2 tsp red chilli powder.
Salt to taste.
1/2 tsp mango powder(amchur).

Process:

Heat a pan and add oil. Add the chopped chilies, grated ginger and saute for a few seconds. Add the chopped onions and grated carrots and saute till the onions are translucent and carrots are tender. Add the green peas and all the spices and salt. Mix well. Heat for a minute and add the mashed potatoes and chopped coriander leaves and stir well so that the mixture is even. Heat for 2 minutes and take it off gas. Let the mixture cool down.

Brush butter on one side of every bread and keep aside.
Take the cooled mixture and spread it on the non buttered side of the bread. Sandwich it with another bread buttered on the other side. Toast it in a sandwich toaster or grill till crisp golden on both side. Serve hot with ketchup and a cup of hot tea.

Enjoy!!

Bread Pulao

 If you are tired of having bread, butter/jam, sandwiches and you have some peices of bread lying around to be eaten, what do you do? I can suggest you something. Turn them into a spicy- tasy pulao :). Try it I bet you will like the change. I do it often and it is a nice way to use up stale breads.

You will need:

Whole Wheat Fruit Scones

After I made scones for the first time, it has become a regular item for breakfast at least once or twice a week. So, I decided to make them a bit healthier by using whole wheat flour rather than AP flour and using less butter (will try them will oil someday soon). I have used the christmas mixed fruit mix which had been lying unused for long. It came out good and I enjoyed the guilt free pleasure of having them.

Sending this off to Piya's WWF-CFK Event. This event is the brain child of Sharmi.

Blueberry Scones

At the outset, a big thanks to all my blogger friends for their warm wishes. I am elated. You guys made my day!!! :)...
Now, coming back to the recipe I want to share today.. 'Blueberry Scones'
My hubby was delighted when I baked raisans scones for him. He loved the taste and this boosted my confidence and I went ahead to make them again. This time, I tried to use fresh blueberries instead of raisans and... hooray! they came out excellent. I have used the same recipe from book I mentioned in my post here. One thing I noticed this time was when making the dough was I needed less yoghurt as the some of the fresh berries ruptured and the juice helped in kneading. Hence, I have reduced the amount of yoghurt here.

Needless to say, sending this to Champa's Baking from Book- Breakfast and Bake-Off.

Savoury Semolina Cake

I tried this recipe from Anjum Anand's Book, Indian Food Made Easy. I had picked this book from my local library and had bookmarked this recipe. This savoury cake is a baked version of Gujarati Handvo. A very healthy option for breakfast - I just love it! I have made a few variation in the recipe.

Sending this to Champa's Event, Baking from Book- Breakfast and Bake-Off.

Savory Semolina Cake:
Ingredients:
2 tsp vegetable oil, plus extra for oiling.
1 cup semolina.
1 cup plain low fat yoghurt.
3 tbsp water.
¼ cup frozen peas.
¼ cup chopped onions.
¼ thinly sliced carrot.
¼ chopped bell pepper.
1 tsp grated.
1 green chilli chopped finely.
Few curry leaves.
1 tsp red chilli powder.
¼ tsp turmeric powder.
1 tsp mustard seeds.
½ tsp cumin seeds.
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda.
1 tsp sesame seeds.

Serves 8.

Process:

1.Preheat the oven at 180 C and oil a medium loaf tin.

2. Mix together the semolina, yoghurt, water, salt to make a batter of a medium thick consistency. Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilies and cumin seeds and cook for about 20 seconds until the mustard seeds have popped and the cumin is aromatic. Add the veggies and spices and cook for 2-3 minutes Stir into batter.

3. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and immediately pour the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle over sesame seeds. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

4. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and when the edges are crisp. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.

5.When cooled take it out of the tin, slice them. Serve them with the chutney of your choice.

Enjoy!

Raisan Scones

I love baking. Till now my baking ventures had been confined to baking cakes. I am still to try my hands on breads and other baked goodies. When Champa announced the event - Baking from Book. I was delighted, coz I tend to bring cookbooks from the library but, donot use them to the fullest.

This time I have tried scones. My husband had been asking me to make some. So, this one is for him.

I have mentioned about this book in my post here. It has a huge collection of low fat baking recipes.

The original recipe was of Orange Raisan Scones. I omitted the orange and made 'Raisan Scones'. I have made some changes to the recipe. However, I have written down both the recipes here. According to the recipe in the book baking time was 12-15 mins at 220 C. However, after baking at that temperature, I could see my scones turning brown in 9 mins. So, better keep a watch when baking them. I would suggest baking them at 200 C.

Needless to say I am sending this to Champa's Baking from Book - Breakfast

Toasted Paneer Sandwich

Paneer is an all time favourite for most vegetarians. I have some preparation of paneer in some form or other every week. This 'Paneer Sandwich' are mostly made for breakfast but recently, I made them for our dinner. We had it with a bowl full of 'Tomato Black Eyed Beans Soup' (recipe in next post!). It was a hearty meal.

Poha

'Poha' is one of the most frequently made breakfast in my house because its quick and easy. It is recieved  without any frowns (read with delight) and there is never any left over when this is served as the breakfast.
Without much introduction as to what is 'Poha', I come straight to the recipe.