Tag: healthy

Cabbage k Raw Mango Salad

Red Cabbage or purple cabbage as it is called has a distinct peppery flavour and is best eaten raw or braised.

Once sautéed or braised it gets a sweetish taste.

Tried this salad today and was quite glad that I made it. The flavour of the salad was tangy due to the raw mangoes and sweet due to the shredded cabbage . The toasted sunflower seeds gave the crunch. Overall we loved it.

Ingredients:

Purple cabbage shreds – 1/4 cup

White cabbage shreds – 1/4 cup

Raw Mango – thinly sliced into bits

black salt – As per one’s taste.

Lemon juice – 1/4 spoon.

Green chillies – slices finely.

Hot boiling water – 2 cups.

Sun flower seeds -2 table spoon

Cumin powder -1/2 t spoon.

Coriander leaves – 1 spoon finely sliced.

Method:

Boil 2 cups of water and drop in the white and purple cabbage . Let it blanch for a minute.

Remove them within a minuets and transfer it to a colander.

Now put them in cold water so that they are not overcooked but crunchy.

In a mixing bowl add black salt, lemon drops, finely chopped green chillies and cumin powder.

Mix well and then mix in blanched red and white cabbage along with the mango bits.

Add half an onion finely sliced and mix well.

Garnish with coriander leaves and toasted sunflower seeds.

Enjoy them cold or as is.

namithaskitchen

Coconut and rose flavoured milk rolls.

This year during Deepavali , a Festival of Lights, I tried this new recipe which turned out delicious. The roasted desiccated coconut gave a lovely flavour to the roll.The rose syrup and the glazed cherry bits gave the love polish hue to the roll.

Ingredients:

Desiccated Coconut roasted – 1 cup

Milk powder – 1.5 cups

Glazed cherries -5-6 pieces.

Cashew powder – 2 table spoons.

Milk – 1/2 cup

Ghee – 3 table spoons

Rose syrup – 1 spoon.

Method:

I’m a bowl add the milk powder and a spoon of melted ghee and rub the mixture lightly with your finger tips. Add about 2 to 3 table spoons of milk and rub them all together with light finger movements.

Now add the rest of the milk, roasted desiccated coconut and cashew powder and prepare the dough kneading lightly.

Heat a non stick pan and add a spoon of ghee and the dough. Keep moving your hands quickly for 5-6 minutes until the dough begins to form a ball.

Now add in the cherry bits and the rose syrup and mix well.

Take an aluminium foil and apply some ghee to it.

Put the mixture on rhe aluminium foil and try to make a thin roll along with the foil. Tuck the edges and refrigerate it for 40 minutes.

Open the foil and slice the roll into thin slices. The knife may get sticky so wife it every time you slice it in order to get perfect slices. Now lightly press the pistachio slivers over each slice lightly and enjoy them.

Since both the dessicated coconut, milk powder and rose flavour are sweet in nature., I have not used any sugar or sweetener .

If you wish it to be sweeter then you may add in a table spoon of icing sugar.

namithaskitchen

Rajgira(Amaranth)Laddoo

Rajgira also known as Amaranth can be consumed in our daily diet in different forms.

The flour can be used to make roti, puri, porridge or talipeet.

It’s normally used during fasting.

Puffed rajgira is used to make laddoos or chikki which is a delicacy made using jaggery or sugar.

It’s a super food having enormous benefits and also gluten free which makes it suitable to all.

It’s rich in protein,iron, vitamin C ,

calcium,magnesium, phosphate and phosphorous.

It’s fibre content aids weight loss as it keeps one satiated for a long time.

The Festival of Lights, Deepavali has just begun and I prepared some delectable and wholesome laddoos for the occasion.

Ingredients:

Rajgira flour – 1.5 cups

Jaggery powder -3/4 cup

Ghee(liquid) – 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/2 spoon

Milk – 3-4 table spoons

Slivered Almonds. – 1 spoon

Slivered Pistachio – 1 spoon

Cashew nut bits – 1 spoon

Raisins – 10-12

Take a deep pan and heat the ghee.

Method:

Add in the rajgira flour and keep roasting the flour for about twelve to fifteen minutes on low flame till you get an aroma.

Now take a tablespoon of milk and sprinkle it over the mixture.

This procedure is helpful to make the flour grainy in texture and makes it more tasty.

Mix well and repeat this process thrice.

Now add in the cardamom powder, nuts and raisins to the mixture.

Allow the mixture to cool.

Now mix the powdered sugar into the mixture and mix well.

Allow to rest for a few minutes.

Bind them into laddoos and garnish them with few nuts and lightly press them.

Makes eighteen to twenty medium sized laddoos. Enjoy these delicious laddoos.

namithaskitchen

Brined Baby Beets Raita

Bought some baby beets which looked tender and could be pickled or brined.

So prepared them for brining and stored the jar in the refrigerator for a month.

Today made some raita from the grated brined beet.Loved the raita and enjoyed it with hot steaming rice and rasam.

Simple and appetising meal….

Ingredients:

Brined Beet Raita

Brined Beet- 2 small grated.

Hung curds-1 bowl

Salt if needed as the beet is brined.

Oil-1 t spoon

Asafoetida-2-3 pinches.

Mustard -1/4 spoon

Green chillies- 2 finely chopped.

Method:

In a bowl add the hung curds and the grated beet. Check if salt is needed.

Heat a small pan and add the mustard, Hing and chopped green chillies and pour it over the beet and curd mixture.

Mix well and enjoy as it or refrigerated.

Continue reading “Brined Baby Beets Raita” →

namithaskitchen

Suran Kootu

This is a no heat or cook dish.

Ingredients

Yam – 1 piece

Bedgi chillies-4 to 5

Guntur chilli – 2

Mustard-1/4 spoon

Methi – 6 to 8 seeds

Coriander seeds -1 t spoon

Hing -2-3 pinches

Tamarind – size of a chana.

Coconut -3 table spoons.

Coconut oil -1 small Vati (for frying the suran pieces)

Salt as per taste.

For tempering

Mustard -1/2 spoon

Coconut oil 1 table spoon

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Method:

Clean the yam and remove the peels.

Now slice it into very thin and small bits

Apply a little salt and keep aside for about 10-15 minutes.

Squeeze out the excess water from the yam and keep aside.

In a small pan heat the oil and fry the suran pieces till golden and crisp.

Drain them on a paper towel.

Now in a spoon of oil roast the mustard, coriander, chillies, methi and Hing until you get a nice aroma.

Now grind all the above roasted ingredients with the grated coconut and tamarind adding about 1/4 glass of water.

Add the ground mixture to the suran and mix well.

You may add salt if needed as the suran has salt.

Mix well and give the tempering of mustard and curry leaves in coconut oil.

namithaskitchen

White & Black Sesame Laddoos

Makara Sankranti also known as Maaghi is a festive celebrated on the 14th or at times on the 15th of January when the Sun transits into Capricorn or Makara Rashi.

It is dedicated to the Sun god who never fails to rise.

The sun rises with hope, kites fly in the sky with vigour, and the crops are ready to be harvested – all signifying hope, joy and abundance.

Happy Makar Sankranti to all of you!! May the Sun God bring abundance and fill your lives and home with sunshine and happiness.

Each day is a new beginning…

On this day all over our country, people from different regions celebrate it by revering the Sun god and thanking him for the good harvest and granting each of them good health

The days now start to seem longer and is the beginning of the auspicious month of Uttarayan.

In the Konkan belt we call it Sankranti where women adorn themselves and exchange til or sweets made from Sesame and jaggery and offer salutations to lord Surya and then offer Haldi Kumkum to ladies around the neighbourhood .Children fly kites with the family. Every home Khichidi is cooked which is enjoyed by the whole family. People also donate food and clothing to the needy.

namithaskitchen