Ragi(Finger Millet), Green Mung, Black Chick Pea Cutlet

A grain free, gluten free,  a super diet for people with diabetes, carb & weight watchers, easily digestible can be given for kids and even infants. Apart from all these very filling,  tastes very good, very versatile and very inexpensive. Can any food fall on these categories? Ragi or Finger Millet is the one that would fit all these description. This seed used as a grain is extremely nutritious one. Instead of just Ragi, I have combined Green Mung Flour and Black Chick Pea flour to make this as a well balanced dish with complex carbohydrate and protein. I make this often either by adding chopped raw onions and green chili or by combining mixed vegetables. The simple cutlet just with onion and green chili tastes absolutely great when compared to the latter.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 30 Minutes

Serves - 4



Ingredients



Ragi Flour - 12 oz ( 1 + 1/2 Cup)

Green Mung Flour - 4 oz (1/2 Cup)

Kala Chana Flour - 4 oz (1/2 Cup)

Salt -1 Tsp or to taste

Coconut Oil - 2 Tbsp

Water - 30 oz (1 1/2 times the flour)



Chopped Raw onions  - 1 Cup

Chopped Green Chilies - 2 or to taste

Chopped Ginger - 1 inch piece



or



Combination of finely chopped and sauteed vegetables with salt -1 Cup(Carrots, Bell Peppers, Beets, Onions etc)



Method



1) Combine the Ragi flour, kala channa, green mung flour and keep it aside.



2) Heat a wide mouthed pan with water and once it starts boiling, add the salt and the combined flours.



3) Simmer and keep stirring thoroughly  till you a form a thick dough.



4) Set this aside to cool down, once the dough is cool enough to handle with hand, add the chopped onions, green chili, ginger pieces or the sauteed vegetables.



5) Grease your hands and combine the vegetables to make a well formed dough. You should be able to make a ball out of the dough and flatten it with your palm. If the dough is too thick and dry add little bit more of warm water.



6) Heat an Iron griddle and make patties out of this dough and cook on both sides by adding little bit of coconut oil and serve hot with some Onion Pickle.

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Sugar free Shrikhand (Yummy, Creamy Yogurt Cheese Dessert)

Craving for some dessert, try this nutritious shrikhand!! Shrikhand is an Indian Sweet Dish made with strained yogurt and by mixing it with sugar, saffron, cardamom and nuts.  Instead of the sugar, I have replaced it with Xylitol and you can absolutely not tell much difference in the taste of Xylitol on dairy based desserts. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol sweetener used as naturally occurring sugar substitute. For people with diabetes stop using all artificial sweeteners and try substituting with Xylitol or stevia which doesn't have any side effects. In fact Xylitol doesn't cause any cavities like normal sugar and is safe for kids too.



It normally takes several hours for straining the yogurt and to get a thick yogurt cheese. So I substituted Greek Yogurt. Do not directly add all these ingredients to the Greek yogurt, because it is still yogurt with some water left out and we don't need thick yogurt for making Shrikhand but need yogurt cheese



Preparation Time -30 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 2

Ingredients



Greek Yogurt - 2 Cups (16 oz)



Xylitol - 1/4 Cup or more based on taste



Saffron - Few Strands



Warm Milk - 1 Tablespoon



Sliced toasted nuts- 1 Tbsp



Cardamom powder - 1/4 Tsp



Method



1) Place the yogurt in a cheese cloth and squeeze out the excess water from the yogurt.( Make sure you don't squeeze out the yogurt and only the water).



2) Place this cloth in strainer with a bowl underneath and set this aside for 30 minutes to drain any more excess water.



3) Soak the saffron strands in warm milk and set this aside.



4) Now take the yogurt from the cheese cloth and wrap it in paper towel and place a flat bottomed heavy weight object for 5-10 minutes. The excess water any left out will be absorbed by the paper towel. Repeat the process with another 4 to 5 towels and voila you will have the thick, creamy yogurt.



5) Now add the saffron soaked  milk, xylitol, cardamom powder and the chopped nuts.



6) Chill it before serving and garnish with more nuts or chopped fruits before serving.

Event Participation



1) Sending this Shrikhand to the Holi Aayi Re an event by Show and Tell.

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Lemon Quinoa(Quinoa Lemon Pulihora)



Quinoa is a highly nutritious food from South America. Quinoa is rich in protein conten, complete protein as it contains all the essential amino acids, especially lysine, which is required by the body to grow and repair tissues. Apart from Protein it is also a good source of  iron, calcium, copper, potassium and magnesium. If you are looking for a grain free as well as gluten free diet, Quinoa is a boon for you. The high protein content and low carb content will make this a best fit for people with diabetes, childhood asthma,  migraines and vegetarians aiming for a high protein diet.

 The seed of quinoa has a coating of saponin that imparts it a bitter taste and is quite toxic. It needs to be soaked for minimum 30 minutes and rinsed under cold running water to remove this coating. Very easy to cook and so good for you. This can be easily substituted for any rice dish instead of rice

Preparation Time - Nil

Cooking Time - 25 Minutes

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Cooked Quinoa - 2 cups

Red or Green Chillies - 4 (more if you want it spicy)

Roasted Peanuts - 1/4 cup

Coconut Oil - 1 Tbsp

Sesame Oil - 1 Tbsp

Channa Dal - 1 Tbsp (Soak this in water for 20-30 minutes)

Chopped curry leaves - 4 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp or to taste

Turmeric Powder - 1 Tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp or to taste



Method



1) Heat coconut oil, add mustard seeds and once it stops spluttering add asafoetida powder, drained channa dal, chillies, curry leaves. Saute for a minute till the channa dal slightly browns.



2) Now add the turmeric powder and sautee for a few seconds and switch off the stove.



3) To this add the lemon juice and salt.



4) To the cooled Quinoa add a tbsp of Sesame Oil and toss it and then add it to the lemon juice mixture and combine well.



5) Now add the roasted peanuts  and serve with raita.



Note - Soak Quinoa in water for atleast half an hour, rinse and drain. Add 2 measures of water to 1 measure of Quinoa and salt to taste and cook till it fluffs up. Remove quinoa and let it cool completely. Infact for this lemon quinoa if you have left over quinoa from the previous night, refrigerate it and then take it out nextday and warm it. The left over, refrigerated quinoa doesn't have a mushed texture, so it tastes much better than freshly cooked quinoa.







Event Participation



1) This goes straight to Twist the traditional an event hosted by My Innovative Kitchen.

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Eggless OatMeal & Whole Wheat Cranberry Cookies

If you are do include Wheat and Oats in your diet, you should definitely try this one. Absolutely tasty and you can't taste the whole wheat flour at all in this cookie. I came across this recipe in the Quaker Oats Container and made few modifications, like replacing the eggs with ener-g egg replacer and substituting Whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour and also omitting the white chocolate chip cookies. With sweet and tart taste of cranberries and with the texture of Oats and the raw sugar, they taste just perfect. Do try this out and let me know how it turned out.



Gluten is a special type of protein that is commonly found in wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt and triticale. So if you are sensitive to gluten this recipe is not for you.





Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 15 Minutes

Serves





Ingredients



Butter - 2/3 Cup

Raw Sugar - 2/3 Cup

Ener-g Egg Replacer - (3 Tsp + 2 Tbsp Warm Water)

Old Fashioned Quaker Oats - 1 1/2 Cups

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 1/2 Cups

Baking Soda - 1 Tsp

Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Dried Cranberries (Sweetened with fruit juice) - 1/2 Cup



Method



1) Beat the Ener-g Egg replacer with the warm water till frothy.



2) Cream the butter and sugar and then add the ener-g and water mixture.



3) Combine the whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, salt and dried cranberries.



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



5) Now add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and combine with your hands to form a dough.



6)  Place small amount of dough(a small ball sized) in the parchment paper and  flatten them using your hand.



7) Leave enough space as the cookies will expand while baking and bake for 10-15 minutes till they are completely baked.



8) Cool in a wire rack and transfer to a airtight container. Keeps well at temperature for at least a week.



Notes - I left out the chocolate chips, so if you have sweet tooth, add more sugar instead of the sweetness of the chocolate chips. When you are adding more sugar, you might need to add little more of water to hold the dough, so add in small amounts and see. You can also add little bit of milk instead of water but the cookies will become very soft. If  you don't have ener-g egg replacer, replace it with corn starch and corn starch will give a very crunchy cookies.

Event Participation



1) This dish goes to Cooking with Wheat event hosted by Suma and started by Priya.

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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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Eggless Sugarless Vanilla Pudding

I hope you all had a great Valentine Day Celebration. Amidst all the Pink and Red Hearts celebration, I choose the white one to celebrate. The reason is the my Kids had their Valentine day class parties and come back home charged themselves with all the  carb and sugar. I just wanted to keep things at home simple, healthy and ofcourse yummy too. This Vanilla pudding is a very easy and healthy and tastes absolutely divine. Xylitol has a chilling effect on your tongue, so the pudding after it is set kind of tastes like Icecream. With just very few ingredients you can create this delicious dessert. Do try out and let me know, how you liked it.



Preparation Time - 5-10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes

Serves - 2 to 3 (Depending on the portion sizes and cups you choose,  I made this to 3 portions)





Ingredients



Milk - 1 Cup(8 oz - I buy unprocessed raw milk with cream on top, so if you are buying pastuerized, make this as 1/2 Cup Milk and 1/2 Cup cream)

Water - 1/4 Cup

Agar Agar powder - 3/4 Tsp

Xylitol - 2 Tbsp or per your taste

Vanilla extract - Few drops

Almond Flakes - handful for decoration.



Method



1) Soak the Agar Agar powder in 1/4 cup of water for few minutes.



2) Boil this water in medium heat till all the agar agar flakes dissolve, meanwhile warm the milk in medium heat by stirring in between so that there is no creamy layer formation on the top.



3) Add Xylitol and the dissolved agar agar flakes to this milk mixture and stir for 1-2 minutes till xylitol dissolves.



4) Now switch off the stove and add the vanilla extract and pour into desired cups.



5) Once this mixture is cooled down completely, cover the cups and refrigerate overnight.



6) Before serving, add a handful of almond flakes and enjoy.

Event Participation



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

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Eggless Banana Black Bean Brownie

Banana Black Bean Brownie - Does it sound weird? But the taste doesn't. If you like moist, dense and fudge brownies and love the flavor of banana, then you should definitely try this out. The main star ingredient is Black Beans in this nutritious brownie. But you can barely taste it, but the flavor of banana is predominant. So if you love bananas, then instead of making banana bread next time with those ripe ones try this nutritious, protein rich brownie. The additions of walnuts give a nice crunch and the small amount of oats give this little bit texture. I used Xylitol for sweetening. Do you know Xylitol doesn't cause cavities like sugar. They taste best after atleast a day of refrigeration. If you try this out, let me know how you liked it.

Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 30 Minutes

Serves - Makes around 12 Brownies

Ingredients

Black Beans - 2 Cups(Soaked, Cooked, Rinsed and Drained)

Organic Ripe Bananas - 3(Medium sized)

Xylitol - 1/4 Cup

Unsweetened Cocoa powder - 1/4 Cup

Cinnamon - 1/2 Tsp

Vanilla extract - 1 Tsp

Instant Oats - 1/4 Cup

Oats Flour - 1/4 Cup

Walnuts chopped - 1/3 Cup



For Topping



100% Dark Chocolate(Unsweetened) - Few pieces

Milk - 2 Tbsp

Xylitol - 2 Tbsp or per taste.

Vanilla extract - few drops

Method



1) Preheat oven to 350F.



2) Combine all the ingredients except Oats, Oats Flour and Walnuts in a food processor blend until smooth. The beans should not be visible and the addition of bananas will give enough liquid to make a nice smooth batter.



3) Now add the Oats, Oats Flour and Walnuts and combine thoroughly.



4) Grease or line Parchment paper to 8x8" pan and pour the batter in the pan and bake for around 30 minutes till a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.



5) Cool in a wire rack and slice after completely cooled.



6) Add chocolate, milk, vanilla extract and xylitol in a bowl and slightly warm it so that the chocolate melts and  once the chocolate is in spreadable consistency using a spoon spread it on top of the baked and cooled brownies.



7) Refrigerate the brownies at least for one day and enjoy. The flavor, taste of black beans becomes very much unnoticeable after a day.



Check here for the Original Recipe.



Notes - The consistency of the batter depends on the size of the bananas and ripeness. If the bananas are big, make it two instead of three. The batter should be thick and in case you find the batter is two runny add another 1/4 cup of Oats or Oat Flour.



Events



1) Sending this to Delicious Dessert Event.



2) Sending this to Best Western Desserts - Valentine's Special hosted by Priya Mahadevan.



3) Sending this to Cooking with Fruits Hosted by Smita of Taste Buds.



4) Sending this to MLLA-32 Hosted by Sandhya and an event started by Susan.

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