Tomato Soup

There are certain vegetables which can be had with out worrying too much about the carb count. Tomato is one of them, technically a fruit but used in cooking as a vegetable. Tomato is a very good blood purifier. It contains a host of Vitamins A, C and K and other minerals and is also rich in Lycopene a defense sytem needed to fight against free radical damage. The presence of antioxidants in tomatoes is said to be helpful in cleansing toxic compounds from the body. So there is no reason not to include this wonder vegetable(fruit) in the every day diet.



Cooking Time : 15-20min



Preparation Time : 5-10 min

Serves - 4





Ingredients



Tomato - 4 big (chopped)

Celery - 1 Stick (finely chopped)

Onion or Scallion - 1 or 2 Stalks (finely chopped)

Onion powder - 1/2 tsp

Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Pepper - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Salt to taste

Coconut Oil/Ghee/Butter - 2 tsp

Water



Method



1) Heat 1 tsp of oil and add the chopped celery and  tomato pieces. Cover and cook till the vegetables are softened, stirring in between.

2) Switch of the stove and let the cooked vegetables cool down.



3) Once the vegetables are cooled completely, transfer them to a blender and blend thoroughly till you get a nice smooth puree. (I have a vitamix so, I get a perfect puree and there is no need to strain and discard the fiber)



4) Heat the rest of the oil and sauté the scallion  and transfer the pureed contents to the pan and add water to the desired consistency.



5) Add the onion powder, garlic, salt and stir, simmer till the soup starts bubbling and then switch off.



6)  Now add pepper powder and  a dash of Ghee(clarified butter) or Coconut oil to the soup and serve.



Event Participation



1) This soup goes to My Culinary Creations: Soup Recipes Event.

Read more »

Ragi Urundai(Steamed Finger Millet Dumplings)

Do you know Ragi(Finger Millet) is the perfect food if you are looking for an alternate to Rice, Wheat, Corn etc as a staple. Easy to digest, gluten free, perfect for kids as well as adults. The best food for weight watchers, for people looking for low carb diet. The black chick pea (kala channa) and green mung bean are the best source of protein. A combination of all these three make the perfect breakfast along with some coconut chutney(coconut has fatty acids that provide both energy (nutrients) and raw material for antimicrobial fatty acids and monoglycerides (functional components)) and a glass of vegetable juice. Keeps you charged and full for hours.



Preparation Time - 5 Minutes

Cooking Time - 30 Minutes

Serves - 2



Ingredients

Ragi (Finger Millet) Flour - 12 oz

Whole Black Chick Pea Flour(Kala Channa Besan) - 4 oz

Whole Green  Gram Flour(Green Mung Flour) - 4 oz

Water - 2 1/2 cups (Around 2 times the flour)

Finely chopped coconut pieces - 2 Tbsp

Salt - 1 Tsp or more to taste



Tempering



Coconut Oil - 1 Tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Green or Red Chili - 1 or more to taste



Method



1) Heat a pan and add coconut oil, once the oil is hot add mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds stop spluttering add the asafoetida powder, chili, curry leaves and then the water.

2) Combine all the three flours and keep them ready.

3) Once the water starts boiling add the salt and the coconut pieces. Quickly but little by little add the flour to this boiling water while combining using a heavy spoon without forming any lumps.

4) Keep combining and let this sit in the stove till all the water evaporates and then switch off the stove.

5) Now transfer the cooked dough to a wide plate and let this cool completely.

6) After the dough is completely cooled, grease your palm with oil and make small balls using the center of your palm.

7) Place these balls in a greased bowl and steam it covered for 15 Minutes.

8) Serve these balls hot with chutney and enjoy.



Notes - You can buy ragi, green mung, kala channa. Wash, rinse and drain and sprout it. Once sprouted sun dry and till they become crisp and get them ground in bulk. Normally ragi alone is made into dumplings in some of the southern parts of India. But these dumplings have to be eaten when it is steaming hot and with a side dish sambhar(spiced lentil stew). The addition of the bean flours, softens the whole thing and the steamed dumplings don't get hard and stays the same way even for hours.

Read more »

Home Made Cashew Butter

Do you buy pricey nut butters in the store, try this recipe and you will not only enjoy the fresh home made taste, but will find out how easy it is to make these nut butters at home. You can make cashew, almond, peanut butter, of course any kind of nut butter of your choice. Very few ingredients and few quick and easy steps and you have a bottle of protein packed power butter in few minutes, good to use for breakfast or for a high energy snack. I tried almond, cashew and peanut butter using this recipe and cashew butter is the winner of the three. While making nut butters, try to go for unflavored oil to for a better taste and flavor. You can add little bit of salt to make salted butter, add some honey and dark chocolate for sweeter version or just enjoy unsalted, unsweetened version. The choice is all yours.



Preparation Time - 5 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes

Serves - 4 Ingredients



Unsalted Toasted Cashew(Peanuts, Almonds, Macadamia) - 1 Cup

Sunflower Oil - 2 Tbsp

 Salt - 1/4 tsp or to taste or  Honey - 1 Tsp or to taste.



Method



1) In a food processor run the cashew for a minute or two, until it is coarse and grainy.

 2) At this stage add the oil and salt or honey etc and run the blender for 1 to 2 minutes to get a smooth butter.

 3) Store in a dry glass jar and enjoy. When making peanut butter, add a Tsp of oil and try running the blender if required add more oil.

Read more »

Mung Bean/Moong Daal Dosai-Crepe

Mung (moong) beans are small, cylindrical beans with a bright green skin. In ayurvedic cooking, they are

used whole or, more commonly, split and hulled. Split and hulled mung beans are small and yellow and

called mung (moong) dhal. You can find Mung Bean in the Asian Indian Store or in International food

section in your grocery store. Mung beans offer 14 gms of protein per cooked cup and a good source

of dietary fiber. They also contain thiamin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and

copper, and are a good source of folate.

This is a very easy to prepare and very nutritious breakfast dish. Good for vegetarians looking for a high

protein food, growing children, pregnant women and people looking for low glycemic diet.



Prepartion Time – 20 minutes

Cooking Time – 25 minutes

Makes – 8 Dosas



Ingredients



Mung Bean(hulled yellow one) – 1 cup

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Green chili – 2 or to taste

Asafoetida – a pinch

Salt – 1 tsp or to taste

Onion – 1 chopped to fine pieces

Water

Oil – 4 tsp



Method



1) Soak mung bean for 3-4 hours.

2) Rinse, drain and add ginger, green chili, asafoetida, salt and just enough water and

grind to a fine paste.

3) To this paste add enough water and chopped onions, this should be slightly thinner

than a pancake batter.

4) Heat a iron griddle and once it is hot go to step 5

5) Take a ladle full of batter and make a circle and pour 1/2 tsp of oil around it, you

can increase the quantity of oil if you want a greasy dosai.

6) Cook on medium heat and once it is well cooked, flip it and cook the other side.

7) Serve hot with sambhar or chutney of our choice.

Read more »

Kollu Sundal (Horse Gram Snack)

Sundal is a typical South Indian Snack which is made of legumes. The legumes are soaked, cooked and sauteed with spices and onions or spices and coconut. They not only taste great but are a guilt free, protein rich and very satisfying snack or meal i would say. This is good for people with diabetes, for growing children, people with celiac and for all who are looking for a high protein snack. Very simple and easy to make. Include a pressure cooker in your cooking gadgets and these kind of meals are very easy to make without any hassles
Try to include this in your daily meal to get a sense of fullness and this will also bring down your carb intake.

Preparation Time - 2 Minutes
Cooking Time - 30 Minutes
Serves - 4

Ingredients

Kollu(Horse Gram) - 1 Cup
Onion - 1
Coconut Oil - 2 Tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry powder - 1 Tsp
Salt - 1 Tsp + 1/4 tsp for onion or as per your taste
Curry leaves - 1 Tsp chopped
Asafoetida pinch(avoid this if you are sensitive to gluten)

Garnishing

Cilantro - 1 Tbsp for garnishing
Lemon juice - 1/4 Tsp or as per taste

Method

1) Soak the horse gram over night.

2) Rinse, drain add salt and enough water to cover just the surface and pressure cook for three whistles.

3) Drain the excess water, heat a pan add coconut oil, asafoetida, mustard seeds.

4) Once the mustard seeds stop spluttering, add the curry leaves, onions, salt and saute till the onions become translucent.

5) Now add the cooked kollu(horse gram) and saute for 5 minutes till the kollu becomes little dry and now add the curry powder saute for a minute and switch off.

6) Garnish with lemon juice and cilantro and enjoy.

Read more »

Brussels Sprout Curry

Brussels sprouts belong to the same species as cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi. They

contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fibre. Moreover, they are believed to

protect against colon cancer, due to their containing sinigrin. Collard green falls under green leafy

vegetable and is very ideal to include in diet generously even if you watching your carb intake.

Very good vegetable for people with diabetes.

If you are person who doesn’t like this vegetable try this curry out and i am sure you will fall in love with it,

Very simple to make just steam them spice it up with and enjoy.

Preparation Time – 5 minutes

Cooking Time – 15-20 Minutes

Serves – 4

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts – 1 pound

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Curry powder – 1 1/2 tsp

Coconut Oil – 2 Tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Urad Dal – 1 Tsp

Asafoetida pinch

Salt – 1 Tsp or more to your taste

Grated Coconut – 1 Tbsp

Curry leaves – 5 to 6

Method

1) Wash, rinse and dry the Brussels sprouts and slice them into half (This was harvested in

our backyard they were very small and tender, so i did not slice them, but i normally slice

the store bought ones).

2) Add 1/2 tsp of salt and in a steamer, stem it for 10 minutes.

3) Heat a tsp of oil, add the mustard seeds and once they stop spluttering add the urad

dal and asafoetida.

4) To this add the steamed Brussels sprouts, salt, turmeric powder, curry leaves and

stir fry on high heat for 5 minutes.

5) Add the curry powder and saute for 2 minutes switch off the stove, now add the

grated coconut and serve hot.

Read more »

Tomato Onion Jalapeno Uthappam(Spicy Pancake)

Uthappam is a savory veggie stuffed pancake made with Parboiled rice and White lentil(De husked Urad

Dal). This is one of the popular breakfast item in Southern parts of India. Made with a perfect balance

of complex carbohydrate and protein and served with spicy vegetable chutneys, they not only fill you

up but also give you enough energy to kick start a nice day. This White lentil is a very good source of

cholesterol-lowering fiber and are of special benefit in managing blood-sugar disorders since their high

fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal. They are a good source of protein

without any fat in them. Parboiled rice is a nutritious type of rice, as it is partially cooked while still in the

husk. This form of cleaning and processing rice brings out multiple nutritional benefits that may make it

a good fit for your diet.

Even though the procedure looks little longer, it is very simple as simple as making a pancake but

a much healthier breakfast choice than having a sweet pancake drenched in maple syrup or honey.

Cooking Time - 20 mins

Preparation Time - 10 mins(Excluding the batter)

Serves – 4 (Makes around 12)

Ingredients

White Urad Dal(White Lentil) - 1 cup

Boiled Rice(Idli rice - This is not polished white rice and will be slightly brown in color) - 2 cups

Salt – 3 Tsp

Batter – 3 cups

Tomato – 2

Onion – 2

Jalapeno Pepper - 2

Oil - 12 tsp

Method

1) Rinse and drain Urad dal till you get a clear water. Now soak in enough water for 2-3 hours.

2) Rinse and drain Idli rice and soak in enough water for 6 hours.

3) Using a stone grinder/blender grind the urad dal adding the soaked water little by little till

you get a smooth fluffy batter.

4) Now grind the rice into a fine paste adding water little by little.

5) Mix the Urad dal batter, Rice batter and Salt and mix them thoroughly.

6) Leave it over night for the batter to ferment nicely, on cold winter days switch on the oven

light and leave the batter inside the oven overnight. The heat from the light will make the

batter to ferment.

7) For the first 2-3 days after fermentation the batter can be used for making soft Idlis, after 2-3

days, the idli’s kind of turn hard. At this stage instead of making Idli use the batter to make a

nice tasting Uthappam. You can also use fresh batter, but since i use the same batter for making

Idli, Uthappam and Dosai i am sharing the same with you.

8) For making Uthappam, heat a iron griddle once hot take a ladle of batter and on the top spread

a place the tomato, onion and Jalapeno pieces and pour a tsp of oil around the batter.

9) Cover it and cook for 2-3 mins in medium heat and once once side is well cooked and the batter

on the top has changed color flip and now cook the other side without covering for a minute.

10) Once well cooked remove and serve with chutney of your choice. I served it with Tomato

Pickle/Thokku for which i will post the recipe later.

Read more »

Ragi Sweet Appam

Finger millet is actually a seed which is much more superior to rice or wheat in
nutritional terms, providing highest levels of calcium,antioxidants, phytochemicals and high
levels of dietary fiber which makes it easy and slowly digestible. This slow digestion is very useful for
people with diabetes as it does not cause any sugar highs. The bulkiness of the fiber and the slower
digestion rate makes us feel fuller for a longer time. Black Chick Pea & Green Mung bean are very
good source of protein, iron and dietary fiber. This is very ideal for carb watchers, kids and people
on gluten free diet.

Preparation Time – 10 minutes

Cooking Time – 10 to 15 Minutes

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Finger Millet(Ragi Flour) – 6 oz

Whole Green Mung Bean Flour – 2 oz

Whole Black Chick Pea Flour – 2 oz

Jaggery powder - 1/3 cup or to taste

Banana – 1

Elaichi powder – pinch

Coconut(Small Chopped pieces not grated) - 1 heaped Table spoon

Salt – pinch

Water

Oil/Ghee(Clarified butter) - 2 tsps

Powdered Chia/Rice Flour – 1 Tbsp (This addition is to prevent the batter from sticking to

your cook ware, Chia and rice flour both will do its job perfectly)

Method

1) Add little bit of water to the jaggery and heat it till all the jaggery dissolves. Switch off and let this

cool for few minutes.

2) Meanwhile slice the banana and make a puree and add it to the jaggery.

3) Add elaichi powder, salt and the coconut pieces to the dissolved jaggery.

4) Now combine all the three flours and add the jaggery mixture to this and add enough water to make

Idli batter consistency and add the powdered chia.

5) Heat the appam pan and add drops of oil in each of them and then pour the batter. Cover it and

let it cook till one side is completely cooked.

6) Now turn it and leave till the other side is cooked.

7) Serve it hot and enjoy.

Read more »