Black Chick Pea Snack(Kala Channa Chat)

Black chick peas are a good source of protein and Iron and of course complex carbohydrates.  They are nutritionally superior than the light colored garbanzo beans. As a quick snack I prepare sundal a traditional South Indian seasoned and stir fried snack with grated coconut. When I was half way making this dish, my elder one said asked me if, I can make something else instead of sundal.  After a little thinking I changed the supposed to be Sundal in to a much healthier snack by adding veggies and coconut and spiced it up with the sweet and spicy chutney.

If you are looking for a low carb snack you should definitely try this, the veggies like cucumber, tomato, onion are safe for people who count carbs in their diet. Coconut is good source of protein and apart from a good taste it gives a sense of fullness. So try this and let me know, how you liked it.

Preparation Time – 10 to 15 Minutes

Cooking Time – 10 – 15 Minutes (If you have pre cooked chick peas – nil)

Serves – 2

Ingredients

Cooked black chick peas – 1 Cup

Cucumber and Tomato – 1 1/2 Cups(Chopped)

Chopped or grated coconut pieces – 1/2 Cup

Onion – 1/2 medium sized onion finely chopped

Salt – 1/2 tsp or to taste

lime juice – 1 Tsp or taste

chat masala – 1/2 Tsp

chopped cilantro – handful

Green chutney – 1 Tsp

Roasted cumin powder – 1/2 Tsp(optional)

Sweet chutney – 1/2 Tsp(omit this if you are looking for a low carb version)

Sev – 1 Tbsp(this is once again optional)

Method

1) Combine the cooked chick peas, cucumber, tomato, onion, coconut, chopped cilantro, salt, lime juice, roasted cumin powder, green chutney and toss well.

2) Top it with sweet chutney and sev and serve, this is very much optional and you can even drizzle some yogurt on top and serve it.

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Dahi Bhalla/Bhalle (White Lentil dumplings in yogurt sauce – not deep fried)

Which do you think is the challenging meal of the day? I think it is snacks that too when you have to make a different snack every day for hungry kids back from school and at the same time not to indulge on sinful ones. In my quest to make not so sinful snacks, I modify some of the recipes and try to make it little guilt free and this is one such one. If you are familiar with Indian cuisine, this bhalla/bhalle is a slightly jazzed up version of the South Indian Thayir vadai. If you are not familiar with Indian cuisine Soaked and ground white lentil dumplings are deep fried and soaked in yogurt pepped up with red chili powder, tangy and sweet chutneys. Even though I seriously don’t have anything against fried snacks, I normally stay away from fried food because I either use coconut oil or organic clarified butter(for sweets) for deep frying. These are slightly calorie dense and are also pretty expensive, so I try to find alternate methods like pan frying or baking. I used the Aebleskiver pan/ appam pam/ appe pan the magic utensil I love the most to pan fry this instead of deep frying. Very easy to put together if you have the basic ingredients in hand and serves as a quick snack or even as a gluten free party appetizer. If you haven’t tried this out before do try it and let me know how you liked it.

Preparation Time – 20 to 30 Minutes

Cooking Time – 20 to 30 Minutes

Serves – Makes around 24

Ingredients

Urad Dal – 1 Cups

Salt – 1 Tsp or to taste

Raisins – 48

Cashews – 24(Toasted and split into half)

Oil – 2 Tbsp

Water – 3 to 4 Cups

For the yogurt sauce

Yogurt – Around 3 to 4 Cups

Black salt  - 1/2 Tsp or to taste

Mint chutney  - 2 Tbsp or to taste

Sweet date and tamarind chutney – 2 Tbsp or to taste

Kashmiri chili powder – 2 Tsp or to taste

Roasted cumin powder - 2 teaspoons

Chat masala powder – 1/2 Tsp

Fresh coriander leaves,chopped - 2 tablespoons

Ginger,cut into thin strips 1 inch piece – 1 Tbsp

Method

1) Rinse and drain urad dal and soak it in water just covering an inch over  the surface for 2-3 hours. Now drain the water and reserve the excess water. Add little by little of the reserved water and grind into a smooth paste adding salt and keep it aside.

2) Heat the appam pan and once it is hot add few drops of oil in each of the groove and pour batter till 3/4 of the groove and insert two raisins and  the half piece cashew and cover and cook on one side.

3) Now flip and cook the other side. Take this out of the pan and repeat the steps for the rest of the batter. Once all the vadas/appam/bhallas what ever you call is done. Heat another wide mouthed pan and boil the water. Once the water comes to rolling boil. Put the bhallas in hot water and leave it for 2 minutes.

4) Remove the bhallas and set it aside to cool as they will be little hot to touch. Once they are cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water and set the bhallas aside.

5) Now add the salt, chat masala to the yogurt and whisk it without any lumps. Place the bhallas in individual serving bowls or in a place and pour the yogurt mixture over it. Top it with red chili powder, roasted cumin powder, ginger pieces, chopped cilantro and the sweet & spicy chutney and serve.

Note – You can also substitute half of the urad dal with mung dal as mung is a superior lentil than urad as far as nutrition is concerned.

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Vegan Granola Bars with maple syrup as sweetener – A guest post for Kitchen Swathi

When Swathi asked me to do a Guest Post for her blog, I surely was super excited. I totally love her recipes and especially her step by step photo graphs.  It took me a while to decide which one  to share and then finally decided on this Granola Bars. Because I know for sure she loves baking from all those yummy bakes in her collection. The bake should be sweet to celebrate the Swathi’s new born. So let’s get on to this simple and easy to make recipe.

If you buy store brought granola bars then this recipe is for you. If you include Oats and Wheat in your diet, this recipe is a sure keeper.

Check out the recipe here in Swathi’s space.

So Swathi thanks once again for giving me an opportunity for doing the Guest post.

Events

This goes to Cook Eat Delicious Desserts – Refined Sugar & flour free whole some desserts an event hosted by me and started by Raven

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Low fat Split Chick Pea & Cabbage Fritters(Purple Cabbage vadai in paniyaram pan)

Which your most frequently used kitchen gadget/utensil?  I use my vitamix, pressure cooker and third in the order is Aebleskiver Pan or Danish Cake Pan or the Payiram Pan. I absolutely love fried food, anybody doesn’t here? But when frying lot of nutrients gets lost and also I use coconut oil for all frying and I don't reuse the fried oil. Because of all the wastage involved, some how, don’t get the motivation to fry at all.
When you don’t want to fry, this Aebleskiver pan comes really handy as a substitute for pan frying and you can almost match the taste to some extent. I used Channa Dal(Split Chick Pea) which is very high in protein and very low in glycemic index.  No frying involved, quick to make, high in protein and low in glycemic index, to top it all tastes great. This is a perfect snack for any one to try. If you do, let me know how you liked it.
Preparation Time – 15 Minutes
Cooking Time – 20 to 25 Minutes
Makes around 16-18
Ingredients
Split Chick Peas(Channa Dal) – 1 Cup
Asafoetida – Small piece
Salt – 1 Tsp
Red dry chili – 2 or to taste
Finely chopped purple cabbage – 1 Cup
Coconut Oil – 2 Tbsp
Method
1) Soak the split chick peas for 2-3 hours. Drain and reserve 1 Tbsp of the soaked dal and grind the rest into smooth paste after adding salt, asafoetida, red chili and little bit of water. The batter should be thick and you should be able to spoon it, without pouring it.
2) To the ground paste, add the chopped purple cabbage, reserved split chick peas and mix thoroughly.
3) Heat the paniyaram pan in medium heat and once it is hold, add little bit of coconut oil in each one of the groove and then spoon t Tbsp of batter into each one of the groove and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4) Once one side is cooked and slightly browned,  flip it and cook on the other side. At this time if you want it little bit more crispier add few drops of oil in each one of the groove.
5) After both the sides are cooked, remove and serve hot with chutney.

Events
Sending this to Zesty Palette’s New You Series 3 hosted by Vardhini.

 

Going to Fast food no Fat food hosted by Priya Sreeram an event started by Priya Mahadevan .

 

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Mixed Bean & Raw Banana Cutlet

How often do you do pantry audits? I do once in couple of weeks and when I did, I had small amounts of four different varieties of beans lying around and also had few raw bananas, onion, little bit of mixed vegetables lying in my refrigerator. In my attempt to clean up my refrigerator and my pantry and  before I stock up on fresh new produce. I wanted to use up  all these little bit of everything and  make something out of it.  Finally ended up in making these healthy and delicious cutlets, you can make them more tasty and sinful by adding some boiled and mashed potatoes and powdered bread crumbs and of course deep frying them and making it more interesting and delicious. But I decided to stick on to the high protein, low carb and baked version and enjoyed them with some spicy cilantro and sweet date chutney. Do try this out and of course do let me know, how you liked it.



Preparation Time – 20 Minutes

Cooking Time – 30 Minutes

Serves – Around 10 Cutlets depending on the size



Ingredients



Black eyed beans – 1/4 Cup

Black beans – 1/4 Cup

Roman beans – 1/4 Cup

Split channa dal – 1/4 Cup

Raw banana – 1

Powdered Chia seeds – 1 Tbsp(or flax seed powder)

Besan(Split chick pea flour) – 1 Tbsp

Onion – 1 Medium sized

Chopped mixed veggies – 1 1/2 Cups(Bell peppers, cabbage, broccoli)

Coconut oil – 1 Tbsp(for brushing melted)



Seasonings ( I used Indian spices, but feel free to use the spice of your choice)



Red chili powder – 1 Tsp or adjust to your taste

Salt – 1 Tsp or to taste

Turmeric powder – 1/2 Tsp

Garam Masala powder – 1/2 Tsp

Chopped cilantro - handful

Amchoor powder(dry mango powder) –1 Tsp

Coconut Oil – 1 Tsp



Method



1) Soak the black beans, black eyed beans and roman beans over night. Add the split chick peas and cook in a pressure cooker for three whistles.  Cut the raw banana into two pieces and cook that also along with the beans.



2) Drain the water from the beans, peel and slice the raw banana and keep this aside.



3) Heat the oil, add the onions and saute till translucent. Now add the veggies and the seasonings and saute for 5 minutes and switch off.



4) Preheat a baking oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit and like baking sheets with parchment paper.



5) Place the beans, raw banana pieces, veggies with the spices, chia powder and split chick pea flour in a food processor and process till well combined into a coarse mixture.



6) Take equal sized balls and press them into patties and brush with oil on one side and bake for around 10 minutes on one side. Turn it brush oil on the other side and bake for 10 more minutes. Now change the oven to broil and broil the patties for 10 more minutes.



7) Serve hot with spicy cilantro chutney and sweet date jaggery chutney.

Events



1) Sending this to Serve - It Savory Baked hosted by Krithi's Kitchen and Denny's.

 



2) Sending this to Veggie/Fruit a month- Raw banana hosted by Archana an event started by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan recipes.



3) Sending this to Fast food not Fat food an event by Priya of Now Serving.

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Mango Mania - Mango & Banana Gluten, Grain free low fat, stove top Munchkins(Sweet Paniyaram)

A pretty long name for such a small dish, eh? Every one has a favorite gadget in their kitchen which they love and use it often. For me Aebleskiver Pan or Danish Cake Pan or the Payiram Pan with which ever name you know is one such gadget and use it quite often in making a variety of dishes. Bitten by the mango bug and trying out various dishes using mango, I wouldn't do justice to my favorite kitchen gadget if I didn't try anything using it. So came up with this easy, delicious and high protein snack. My elder one's friend who had come to play with him thought that these cuties looked like the munchkins and preferred to call them the same. Now getting on to the recipe



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 15 Minutes

Serves - Makes approximately 10





Ingredients



Mung & Urad batter - 1 Cup (See note below)

Grated coconut - 2 Tbsp

Mango pieces - 2 Tbsp

Banana (1/3 banana) - Mashed with a thick spoon into a nice puree

Cardamom powder - pinch

Grated Coconut - 2 Tbsp

Powdered Palm Sugar or Powdered Xylitol or Powdered Jaggery - 2 Heaped Tbsp (Jaggery tastes the best and next comes palm sugar and third comes xylitol in terms of the authentic taste)

Clarified butter - 1 Tbsp or more to your preference



Method



1) Add the grated coconut, mango pieces, cardamom powder, powdered sweetener of your choice, mashed banana to the ground bean batter and combine thoroughly.

2) Heat the Appam pan on medium heat and pour a drop of ghee in each one of the hole.

3) Once the pan is hot enough pour the batter, cover and cook little crispy on one side.

4) Now turn the appam and cook the other side. You can add little bit of more ghee to get a brown color on the other side too.

5) Remove the appam, when both the sides are well cooked.



Note - I soaked 1/2 Cup of Mung Bean and 1/2 Cup of Urad Dal for 3 hours and then washed, rinsed and ground them into a fluffy smooth batter. Used 1 cup of batter for these and used the rest to make dry fruits and nuts paniyaram which I will post later.



The idli batter also works out fine for this, but I prefer the one without grains.

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Instant Khaman Dhokla (Vegan Gluten free Savory steamed Cake with Split Chick Pea flour)

Looking for a gluten free, high protein, low carb savory snack. Then this one will perfectly fit the bill. Made with split chick pea flour and seasoned with spices, these are steamed snacks. Easy to make, tastes great and good for you. What more is needed to curb those cravings. If you haven't tried this out do try it now and let me know.

Dhokla is a gujarati(Western Indian Dish). My introduction to Gujarati cuisine happened few years back, when I was working full time and I used to have Nanny(nannies I had 3 of them) to look after my kids and do cooking at home. This went on for few years but the time lines, dead lines demanded more time away from my kids. I quit my full time job and switched to part time one. One of them was a very versatile cook and she used to do catering in the weekends, when she wasn't baby sitting. I learnt a lot of new recipes from her and this is one of hers.

Preparation Time - 5 Minutes

Cooking Time - 12 - 15 Minutes

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Split Chick Pea flour(Besan) - 1 Cup

Water - 3/4 Cup

Green Chilies - 1 to 2 or to taste(grate them)

Salt - 1/2 Tsp or to taste

Ginger - 1 Inch piece( peeled and grated)

Oil - 1 Tbsp 

Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp

Eno - 1 Tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsp

Asafoetida - pinch (exclude this for gluten free dishes)

Tempering

Coconut Oil - 2 Tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp

Asafoetida powder - pinch

Sesame seeds - 1 Tbsp

Curry leaves - few

Chopped green chilies or jalapeno - 1 to 2 per taste

Grated coconut - 2 Tbsp

Method

1) Heat a pressure pan or a steamer with enough water and place a stand at the bottom and let the water boil while we prepare the batter.

2) In a wide mouthed vessel take the split chick pea flour, salt, asafoetida powder, turmeric powder, grated ginger, grated chili.

3) Grease a wide plate with enough oil and keep it aside.

4) To the flour mixture add the water, oil, lemon juice and using a hand blender blend thoroughly to make a batter without any lumps.  Now add the eno salt and blend once again and pour into the greased plate and steam for 12-15 minutes. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.

5) Heat a pan, add coconut oil. Once the oil is warm add the mustard seeds, asafoetida powder, white sesame seeds, curry leaves and chopped green chilies or jalapeno peppers. Saute for few minutes till the sesame seeds and chilies change color add 2 Tbsp water and let this boil.

6) Now the steamed dhokla would have cooled. Poke holes using a fork and pour the seasoning along with the water on top of the dhokla so that water will make it even more softer. Cut them into diamonds, garnish with grated coconut and serve with some cilantro chutney.

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Peanut Sundal(Boiled Peanut Snack)

Peanuts contrary to their names are not nuts but belong to the legume family peas, lentils, chickpeas etc. Peanuts are a very good source of protein and ideal for growing children, weight and diet watchers. Boiled peanuts also contain resveratrol(the one found in red wine), which is a type of polyphenol. Resveratrol is extremely beneficial for maintaining healthy cell growth and preventing malignant growth of cells that leads to various types of cancer.  Protein rich, gluten free, grain free, tasty and easy to make, these are perfectly  healthy snack.



Preparation Time - None

Cooking Time - Around 20 - 30 Minutes

Serves - 2





Ingredients



Peanuts - 1 Cup (Raw peanuts with skin, soaked Over night)

Salt - 1/2 Tsp or to taste

Coconut Oil - 1 Tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp

Grated Coconut - 2 Tbsp

Chopped cilantro - 1 Tbsp

Lemon Juice - 1/2 Tsp or to taste

Curry powder - 1 Tsp or to taste



Method



1) Soak Peanuts overnight. Rinse, drain and add fresh water to just cover the surface. Add the salt and cook in pressure cooker for 3 Whistles.



2) Switch off and wait for 10-15 minutes and remove the cooked peanuts from the pressure cooker. Drain the excess water and keep it aside.



3) Heat a pan, add the coconut oil. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds stop spluttering add the coconut peanuts. Saute for few minutes (1-2) till the water is all gone and you get a dry curry.



4) Now add the curry powder and the grated coconut saute for a second and switch off. Add lemon juice mix evenly and enjoy!!!



Note - You can also add grated mango, but cut down the lemon juice.

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Mixed Nut Energy Ball

 Craving for something sweet but easy to make and not loaded with empty calories. These mixed nut power balls are just right for you. Made with Almonds, Cashews, Pumpkin Seeds, Chia and Coconut they are rich in protein and perfect for little tummies for an after school snack. But the only thing you have to make note in this snack is this uses dates as the sweetener and dates are not good for people with diabetes. People with diabetes and weight issue have to watch the amount of fructose content in their food. Even if the fructose comes from whole fruits or dates or raisins, anything more than 15gm of fructose might cause problems in such cases.  And just 2 dates alone have 15 gms of fructose.

Try this out and let me know how you like it.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - Nil

Serves - 12 - 14 Balls





Ingredients



Dates - 1 Cup

Almonds - 1/4 Cup

Cashews - 1/4 Cup

Coconut - 1/4 Cup (grated)

Chia seeds - 1/4 Cup

Pumpkin Seeds - 1/4 Cup



Method



1) Grind the Chia into a coarse powder and add the almonds, cashews, coconut and pumpkin seeds and make a coarse meal out of it.



2) Now add the chopped dates and process in the food processor to get a sticky dough.



3) Take out the dough and roll them into small balls and refrigerate for an hour and enjoy.

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Peanut Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers

While stuffed Jalapenos are made for adults and you want to make a similar stuffed pepper for your kids who can't tolerate spicy food. Try this cubanelle pepper which is not at all spicy, but kind of sweet and succulent. If you want a slightly spicier version then go for poblano or anaheim. I personally prefer the stuffed jalapeno for this recipe, but my elder one loves this one. So I make this quite often. So depending on the spice level you can tolerate pick the peppers which will suit your taste and this stuffing will work for any type of peppers. This snack is very low in carb but high in protein , gluten free and sure tastes good.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes

Serves - 2



Ingredients



Cubanelle Peppers - 2 (Washed, stem chopped and split)

Onion - 1 small to medium

De skinned peanuts - 3/4 Cup

Coconut - 1 Tbsp

Red Chili powder - 1 Tsp or per your taste

Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Amchoor powder - 1/2 Tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 Tsp

Coconut Oil - 1 Tbsp

Method



1) Take the peanuts and make a coarse powder in your food processor and to this add

the salt, garam masala powder, amchoor powder, red chili powder, grated coconut and chopped onions and mix and set this aside.



2) Meanwhile heat a flat bottomed pan big enough to accommodate 4 peppers or you can do one by one or two and two depending on the size. Add the oil and once it warm go to the next step.



3) Take the filling and fill the peppers and place them in the pan one by one sideways with their filling side facing upwards.



4)  Cover and cook for 5 minutes and then uncover and cook for 5 more minutes till the peppers are slightly tender.



5) Remove from the pan and let this cool for few minutes and serve immediately.



Notes  - I still had some stuffing left out and used it for stuffed eggplant curry. For more details on what kind of pepper to choose based on the spice level check this website out.

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Mung Bean Sundal(Snack)

Sundal is a cooked bean snack garnished with some spices and coconut or onion and veggies. If you are from South India this is one of the most common dish. I have lot of such common dishes  in my house hold cooked every day lying in my drafts and wasn't sure whether to post it or not. One of my reader after going through my recipes gave a feed back to post common and easy recipes, so that people like him "new bes " to cooking can start learning from them. So you will start seeing lot of easy to make and nutritious dishes in my every day cooking more.



Now coming back to this recipe, if you are weight watcher or a carb watcher or a if you want to feed a protein rich dish for your growing child. Then this is "The Snack" for that. Rich in protein, iron and dietary fiber and low in carbohydrates, they are super delicious too. With a cup of yogurt these make a perfect snack or with some salad and yogurt they make a light and nutritious dinner too. If this recipe is new for you, try it out and let me know how you liked it.



Preparation Time - 0

Cooking Time - 20 Minutes

Serves - 2





Ingredients



Green Mung Bean - 1 Cup

Salt - 1/2 Tsp or to taste

Grated Coconut - 2 Tbsp

Curry powder - 2 Tsp or to  your taste

Lemon juice - 1/2 Tsp or to taste





Tempering



Coconut Oil - 2 Tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few



Method



1) Soak mung bean over night and in the morning drain the water completely, add the salt with 1 Tsp of water and pressure cook for 2 Whistles (3 whistles if you are cooking along with some thing else).



2) Let this cool  completely before you saute them in the tempering or you will end up with a mashed paste.



3) Heat a pan and add the coconut oil. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds. After the seeds stop spluttering add the asafoetida powder, curry leaves and cooked Green Mung Bean.



4) Add more salt if required now or just add the curry powder and saute for few seconds and switch off.



5) Now add the grated coconut and combine well. To this add the lemon juice and mix well. Enjoy..



Note - I had lot of sprouted mung bean left, so used it for this sundal. But it is better to use the bean soaked over night instead of the sprouted one. The reason is the sprouted one's loose lot of their nutrition when cooked and also turn slightly bitter after sprouting. Sprouts are best if eaten raw then cooking them.

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Lentil Dumplings in Coconut & Yogurt Sauce(No Fry Thayir Vadai)

Thayir Vadai is a South Indian (Asian) delicacy which is normally prepared by deep frying lentil donuts and then soaking them in yogurt and ground coconut sauce. I am not a big fan of deep fried dishes and normally go for pan frying or baking instead. Because deep fried stuff normally loses its nutrition value and that's the reason I am not into deep frying. So don't think I am trying to avoid fat here, because I believe that low fat and no fat diets are a myth and fat is a key component that the body needs. Fats normally keep you feeling full reduce food cravings, but the source should be from Nuts, Avocados, Coconut Oil, Raw Unprocessed dairy etc. 

So coming back to the recipe have you seen the Aebleskiver Pan or Danish Cake Pan or the payiram pan. If not please do check it out. Lot of deep fried dishes can be made by pan frying using this cute little gadget. These dumplings are a good source of protein and calcium and are gluten free and grain free.

Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 20 Minutes

Serves  - Makes around 18 Appams

Ingredients

Mung Dal - 3/4 Cup (You can make this 1/2 Cup and Urad Dal 1/2 Cup too)

Urad Dal - 1/4 Cup

Green Chili - 2 or to taste

Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Curry leaves few - optional

Asafoetida a small piece

Yogurt - 2 Cups

Grated coconut - 1 Cup

Green Chili - 2 to 4 or to taste

Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Water - 1/4 Cup or more according to the thickness desired

Method

Making the Dumpling

1) Rinse and Soak Mung Dal and Urad Dal for at least an hour.

2) Drain the water and grind this into a fine batter after adding Green Chili, Salt, Ginger, Curry leaves, Asafoetida and little bit of water.

3) The batter should not be runny, but should be the same thickness of pancake batter.

4) Heat the Appam pan on medium heat and pour a drop of oil in each one of the hole.

5) Once the pan is hot enough pour the batter, cover and cook little crispy on one side.

6) Now turn the appam and cook the other side. You can add little bit of more oil to get a brown color on the other side too.

8) Remove the appam, when both the sides are well cooked

For the Sauce

1) Grind the coconut, green chili, ginger and salt by adding 1/4 cup of water into a fine paste.

2) To this add the yogurt and mix it thoroughly and keep it aside. (Add more water or salt depending on the consistency and taste you like)

The final step

1) Heat 4 Cups of water in a wide mouthed pan and once the water starts to boil, add the cooked 

appam/paniyaram/dumpling into them and leave them for a few seconds and remove them and keep them in a plate.

2) Repeat the same thing with all the dumplings and once they are cool enough to handle, slightly press them to squeeze out the excess water and to create  a flat shape.

3) Add this to the yogurt & coconut gravy and chill.

4) Garnish with grated carrots, chopped cilantro, raisins or boondi and serve.



Note - Traditional Thayir Vadai is made only with Urad Dal. Because of this pan fried version, the smell and taste of Urad Dal was very prominent which I didn't like and then made this combination of Mung Bean and urad dal. Mung bean is protein rich when compared to Urad dal. So nothing to loose.

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Green Mung(Green Bean), Paneer and Veggie Cutlets/Burgers

Have you ever checked out the ingredient list in store made veggie burgers? Either they are made out of Soy or some kind of beans with binders like potatoes or eggs. But if you have to make one with a no soy, no egg, no potato and no grain,  how do you make these cutlets. I wasn't too sure until I made cutlets. So far I have baked them at least 3 to 4 times in batches of dozens. They taste good, good for you and freezes well and can be had straight as cutlets with some tomato ketchup or chutney or can also be  had as a burger in bun with some cheese and veggies. Green Mung Bean is a very good source of protein and dietary fiber and low in glycemic index. Paneer or Cottage cheese is a good source of calcium and protein. I added powdered chia which is a good source of omega 3 and 6 and spiced up with some garam masala and red chili pepper for the extra kick. They tasted awesome. Who said healthy food doesn't taste good!!! Now getting on to the recipe.



Preparation Time - 15 Minutes

Cooking Time - 30 to 40 Minutes

Serves - 10 to 12 depending on the size





Ingredients



Sprouted Green Mung Beans - 2 Cups

Grated paneer(Cottage Cheese) - 1 Cup

Chopped mixed Veggies - 1 1/2 Cups(Onions, green, yellow, orange, red bell pepper)

Powdered Chia - 2 Tbsp

Garam Masala - 1 Tsp

Red Chili powder - 1 Tsp or to taste

Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste

Amchoor (Dried Mango powder) - 1 Tbsp or to taste

Coconut Oil - 1 Tbsp

Split Chick Pea Flour(Besan) - 1 to 2 Tbsp





Method



1) Heat a pan and add a tsp of oil. Once the oil is warm add the chopped vegetables and saute for few minutes till tender.



2) To the vegetables add the sprouted mung bean salt, red chili powder, garam masala powder and saute for 2 minutes and switch off the stove.



3) Once this is cooled down, transfer the mung bean and vegetable mixture to a food processor and blend without adding any water into a coarse mixture.



4) Preheat a baking oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie tray with parchment paper.



5) To the mung bean and veggie mixture add the grated paneer, amchoor powder, chia powder and the rest of the coconut oil and mix thoroughly to form  a dough.



6) Try to roll into a ball and flatten it with your hands and place it in the baking tray. Repeat the same thing for the rest of the dough and leave enough space between the patties.  If the dough is too sticky add a Tbsp or two of besan(split chick pea flour) to the dough.



7) Now bake for 15 to 20 minutes on each side, by flipping them in between depending on your oven.



8) Remove enjoy with some chutney, ketchup or as a burger with toasted bun, veggies, mustard and cheese or after cooling completely freeze well.

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Vegan Banana Oat, Nuts & Cranberry Bar

Do you love to snack on granola bars and do you buy then often at the stores? Then this recipe is for you. Very easy to make and tastes so delicious without any additives of any kind. A very forgiving recipe and you can come up with any number of combinations. Combine all the ingredients, bake them, wrap them and take them.  I have this recipe for a long time with me and don't even remember where I came across it. But I have baked these bars lot of times and this sure is a no fail recipe.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 30-40 Minutes

Serves - 18 Bars (Makes 12 to 18 Depending on the bar size)



Ingredients



Old Fashioned Oats - 1 1/2 Cups

Bananas - 2 (Ripe & Medium sized)

Powdered Chia - 2 Tbsp

Maple Syrup - 1/2 Cup

Almond Milk - 1/4 Cup

Oil - 1/4 Cup

Chopped Nuts & Cranberries - 3/4 Cup ( Cashews, Pistachio & dried Cranberry)

Grated Coconut - 1/2 Cup

Baking Powder - 1/2 Tsp

Salt - 1/4 Tsp

Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 Tsp or Vanilla Extract - 1 Tsp



Method



1) Combine Oats, Oat Flour, Baking Powder, Salt & Cinnamon powder, chia powder, grated coconut, nuts and cranberries in a widemouthed bowl.



2) Preheat an oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit and like a 8 inch baking tray with parchment paper.



3) Mash the banana with a potato masher and to this add Oil, Maple Syrup and almond milk and combine well.



4) Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients to it. Combine thoroughly and transfer the content to the baking tray, take a handful of sliced almonds and spread evenly on the top and bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.



5) Cool in a wire rack and then slice & enjoy.

These bars were baked quite often in my kitchen a year back. We have kind of moved out of grains like Wheat, Oats and Barley with Gluten. So even though they are quite delicious, I no longer bake them. Instead of these I go for Nut based bars. But you will still continue to see lot of recipes with Wheat and Oats because I have quite a few of them sitting in my drafts for more than a year. 

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Baked Spiced Almonds

Thinking of ways to include more protein in your diet. Think Almonds. Almonds are concentrated in protein. A quarter-cup contains 7.62 grams-more protein than is provided by the typical egg, which contains 5.54 grams. This is an easy breezy snack, good to eat, great for health, low in sugar and high in protein. 

This is another very interesting recipe I found in the Eating well Magazine. If you are craving for a spicy, crunchy snack, try this quick and easy snack.

Preparation Time - None

Cooking Time - 30 Minutes

Serves - 4

Ingredients

Whole Almonds - 2 Cups

Coconut Oil - 2 Teaspoon

Curry powder - 2 Tsp

Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Red Chili Powder/Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 Tsp or to taste

Method

1) Preheat Oven to 300 Degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

3) Combine Almonds, Oil, Curry powder, Salt and Red Chili powder and toss to coat well.

4) Bake for 25 Minutes until lightly toasted.

5) Transfer to a wide mouthed bowl and cool.

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No Bake Cashew Bar(Grain Free & Sugar Free)

I love all kinds of bars, baked, no bake. The best thing about these bars are you can put in any number of things, without any rules, bake them or refrigerate them. Cut them into bite size pieces and have one whenever you crave for anything sweet. This is a very easy to do recipe and very healthy too, with protein rich cashew and omega-3 and omega-6 rich chia and sweetened with the no cavity causing xylitol.



This bar recipe, I saw in a book in Barnes and Noble long time back. I don't even remember the book name and I modified it a lot based on what I had in hand. This is a very versatile recipe and you can substitute this with any nuts or nut butter you have in hand.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 2 Minutes

Serves - Makes around 2 dozen bars



Ingredients



Raw Cashews - 2 Cups



Powdered Chia - (1/2 Cup -2 Tbsp)



Grated Coconut - 1/2 Cup



Cashew Butter - 1/2 Cup



Coconut Oil or Clarified Butter(Ghee) - 1/4 Cup (Either one of them will work, if you don't like the flavor of coconut oil, substitute with Clarified butter)



Xylitol - 2 Tbsp or to taste



Toasted Sesame seeds - 2 Tbsp



Toasted Chia Seed - 2 Tbsp



Salt - 1/4 Tsp



Vanilla extract - 1/2 Tsp



Method



1) Take the cashews and make a coarse meal by placing that in a food processor.



2) To this add the powdered chia, grated coconut, cashew butter, xylitol,, salt and process for a few seconds.



3) Melt the oil/ghee(clarified butter - cassein free) till it is all liquid and switch off.



4) Grease a baking pan with few drops of oil/ghee and transfer the remaining ghee transfer it to the proccessed cashew, xylitol mixture. Add the toasted chia seeds, sesame seeds and you should be able to able to make a dough out of this mixture.



5) Using your hands take this dough and press evenly and firmly in the pan and refrigerate for 2  to 3 hours.



6) Once the bars harden, slice them and serve and remaining store them in the refrigerator. Keeps good in a refrigerator for atleast a week.

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No Bake Multigrain Power Bar

 Do you love Granola Bars/Energy Bar and often buy them in the store? If you do, then try out this recipe once.  I doubt if you will ever go for the store bought one's again. This bar is very easy to make and tastes so good. Without any additives or preservatives, a good option for after school snack along with a glass of raw milk instead of store bought cookies or bars.



I saw this recipe in the Livingwell Magazine, but slightly modified it based on my taste. The original recipe calls for chopped nuts, dried fruits etc but after the bar is chilled and then cut, the addition of nuts makes it difficult to get bars with even size/shape. So I reduced the amount of dry fruits & nuts in the second photo and instead replaced with grated coconut & finely chopped nuts. This is a very versatile and forgiving recipe, so let loose your creativity and you can come up numerous combinations.



Even though this recipe has all nutritious ingredients, if you are on a diabetic diet or on a no sugar diet this will not work for you. Raw Sugar, Honey all these things even though they are natural contribute to sugar spikes, so it is better to stick on with Stevia or Xylitol to avoid sugar highs.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 5 Minutes

Serves - Makes around 10 to 12 bars based on the size you cut



Ingredients



Old Fashioned rolled Oats - 1 cup



Kashi Unsweetened Organic 7 grain puffs - 1 Cup



Creamy Almond Butter - 1/2 Cup



Raw Honey - 1/4 Cup



Raw Sugar - 1/4 Cup



Coconut Oil - 1 Tbsp



Chia seeds - 1 Tbsp



Sesame Seeds - 1 Tbsp



Salt - pinch



Mixed Nuts/Dried Fruits - 3/4 Cup(Chop the nuts & fruits finely or I added grated coconut & finely chopped nuts)



Vanilla extract - 1/2 Tsp



Preparation



1. Toast the Oats, nuts, sesame seeds, chia seeds and last the coconut till slightly browned.



2. To the toasted nuts, oats, seeds, coconut, add the dried fruit if using, 7 grain puffs etc and keep it aside.



3.Combine almond butter, sugar, honey, vanilla, coconut oil and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles lightly, 2 to 5 minutes.



4.Immediately pour the almond butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until no dry spots remain. Transfer to the greased flat pan. Lightly grease your hands and press the mixture down firmly to make an even layer (wait until the mixture cools slightly if necessary). Refrigerate until firm, around 60 minutes; cut into  bars.







Event Participation



1) This goes straight to Champa's - Kid's Delight Restaurant recreation an event started by Srivalli.

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Mung & Urad Dal Appam/Paniyaram(Pan fried vadai)

If you don't have the "Aebleskiver Pan" or the Danish Cake Pan same as Appam Pan please do get it. This is one of the most essential cook ware in my house. You can do lot of wonderful dishes using this cook ware. Paniyaram, Sambar Vadai(Appam), Thayir Vadai, Dahi Balle, Malai Kofta etc without deep frying. You can whip up any of these things very easily in few minutes and this appam is easy finger food and fits apt for kids lunch boxes. Nutritious, delicious and easy to make, what else is needed? If you are looking for this Appam pan, do a google search for "Aebleskiver Pan" and there are lot of sites that sell this including Amazon.



Now coming to this recipe, this Appam just uses Mung and Urad Dal and doesn't use any grain. So fits perfect for people looking for a high protein and low carb food. Because there is no deep frying involved, the taste and flavor of Urad Dal is little well pronouced. So If you dislike that increase the quantity of Mung Dal, but the Urad Dal gives a lot of fluffiness to the Appam and make it little softer. The Appam Photo on the top was made with 2/3 Cup of Mung and 1/3 Cup Urad and one in the bottom was made with both in equal proportions.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 20 Minutes

Serves  - Makes around 18 Appams



Ingredients



Mung Dal - 2/3 Cup (You can make this 1/2 Cup and Urad Dal 1/2 Cup too)

Urad Dal - 1/3 Cup

Green Chili - 2 or to taste

Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Curry leaves few - optional

Asafoetida a small piece



Onion - 1 medium sized

Coconut Chopped into small fine pieces(Not Grated) -  1/4 Cup (If preparing for toddlers add grated coconut)



Method



1) Rinse and Soak Mung Dal and Urad Dal for at least an hour.



2) Drain the water and grind this into a fine batter after adding Green Chili, Salt, Ginger, Curry leaves, Asafoetida and little bit of water.



3) The batter should not be runny, but should be the same thickness of pancake batter.



4) Now add the chopped onions and coconut and mix thoroughly.



5) Heat the Appam pan on medium heat and pour a drop of oil in each one of the hole.



6) Once the pan is hot enough pour the batter, cover and cook little crispy on one side.



7) Now turn the appam and cook the other side. You can add little bit of more oil to get a brown color on the other side too.



8) Remove the appam, when both the sides are well cooked and serve with Coconut Chutney.

Event Participation

1) This goes straight to MLLA-33 an event hosted by Ammalu's kitchen started by Susan.

2) Sending this finger food to Toddler Breakfast Ideas by Soumya's Kitchen.

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Chickpea Sundal

Sundal is a boiled and sauteed bean dish with spices, coconut or onion. You can customize it to your taste, by adding chopped onions, carrot, cucumber or grated mango. Jazz it up little bit with a dash of lemon juice.

Very simple and easy to make but surely tastes great. You can have it as a snack or light dinner with a cup of yogurt or include this as part of your lunch, breakfast or dinner. Options are endless, but do try out and you will be glad you did.

Preparation Time - 0

Cooking Time - 20 Minutes

Serves - 4

Ingredients

Dry Chick Peas - 1 Cup ( Rinse, soak the dry chick peas with enough water overnight)

Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste

Curry powder - 1 Tbsp

Grated Coconut - 2 Tbsp

Curry leaves - few

Coconut Oil -1 Tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 Tsp

Method

1) Pressure cook the soaked chick peas with enough water covering the surface and adding the salt and half of the asafoetida powder for three whistles.

2) Drain the excess water and you can add this water to soup, stock, sambar etc.

3) Heat a pan, add a tsp of coconut oil. Once the oil is hot, then add mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds stop spluttering add the asafoetida powder, curry leaves and drained chick peas.

4) At this stage if you want more salt add and saute for 3-4 minutes, now add curry powder and grated coconut and saute for 2-3 minutes and switch off.

5) Enjoy.

Event Participation

This dish goes to Complete my Thali event hosted by Taste of Mysore an event started by Jagruti.

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Payathamparuppu Sundal

Looking for a quick, healthy, low carb, gluten free, high protein snack. Then surely try this one and you will be happy you did. This legume is very easy to digest, high in protein and low in carb. Best for growing children, people who are on a low carb, low sugar diet, weight watchers. Make this simple sundal and have it along with your breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as a healthy evening snack.



Preparation Time - 0

Cooking Time - 25 Minutes

Serves - 2





Ingredients



Yellow Mung Bean(Split Mung Dal) - 1 Cup

Salt - 3/4 Tsp or to taste

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Green Chili - 2 to 3 or to taste

Curry leaves - few

Grated Coconut - 1/2 Cup

Coconut Oil - 1 Tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp

Water



Method



1) Boil 2 cups of water and then add payathamparuppu (yellow mung bean) and cook till tender, add more water if you need. Make sure the dal is tender, well cooked and not mushed up. The excess water can be drained and added to sambar or any other dish while cooking.



2) Heat a heavy bottomed wide mouthed pan and to it add a tsp of oil.



3) Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and after they stop spluttering add asafoetida, green chili, curry leaves and saute for a second.



4) Now add the drained dal and salt and stir lightly for 2-3 minutes.



5) To this add the grated coconut, saute for a minute and switch off.



6) Enjoy.

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