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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Whole Wheat & Oats Digestive Cookies/Biscuits

 Do you like the taste of digestive biscuits? Then you should try this. These taste so good and a much healthier choice than store bought one made with partially hydrogenated oil or high fructose corn syrup. But if you are on a grain free diet or gluten free diet these cookies are not for you.



I made this cookie recipe an year and half before ( a long time) before gluten was eliminated from our diet. Now a days I use only Almond flour for any kind of cookies. Even though I don't make them now, you will still continue to see quite a few of my recipes made with flours containing gluten like wheat. The simple reason is I have couple of them lying in drafts and this will be useful for people who still use whole wheat and oats in their diet.



Preparation Time - 15 Minutes

Cooking Time - 15 Minutes

Makes - Around 24 Cookies





Ingredients



Whole Wheat Flour - 1 Cup

Oats - 1 1/2 Cups

Baking Powder - 1 Tsp

Butter - 1 Stick (1/2 Cup at room temperature)

Salt - 1/4 Tsp

Raw Sugar - 1/4 Cup(Increase this to your taste, but normally digestive biscuits are a tad less sweeter)

Milk - 2 Tbsp (if needed)



Method



1) Grind the oats in your food processor to a powder form.



2) Combine the whole wheat flour, oats flour, baking powder, salt and raw sugar. Mix them evenly.



3) To this add the butter stick and form a dough. If the dough is too thick then add 1 to 2 Tbsp of Milk. Roll this dough into a cylindrical shape and wrap them with parchment paper and keep them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Do not keep this for more than 15 Minutes else it will be rock hard.



4) Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit and line two cookie trays with a parchment paper.

Take out the dough and cut them into even circles and place them in the cookie tray and bake for 15 Minutes.

I poked few holes using a fork.



5) Cool them in a wire rack and enjoy with some hot tea or store in an Airtight container.

Recipe Source - Swirl & Scramble.

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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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Tomato & Bell Pepper Salsa

I love bell pepper not alone for their beautiful color and look. But also the nutrition associated with them. So every week when I go to the farmers market I can't resist myself from buying these beauties. I add them in every thing literally. Soup, stir fry, salads, to rice and quinoa dishes. The options are endless. I still had few left and when I had to prepare something to go along with Almond flour mock chips along with guacamole, I quickly whipped this up. They are low in carb and super delicious. Perfect with some crunchy snacks. Very easy to make and involves no cooking, do try them out and let me know how you like it.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - Nil

Serves - 4 to 6





Ingredients



Tomato - 2

Green, Red, Yellow and Orange Bell pepper - 1/4 of each ( Cut into cubes and keep)

Chopped onions - 1/4 Cup

Chopped Cilantro - 1/4 Cup

Salt - 1/2 Tsp or to taste

Fresh Parsley - 1/2 Tsp (optional)

Lime juice - 1 tsp or to taste (you can also add vinegar)

Jalapeno - 1

Olive Oil - 1 Tbsp



Method



1) Place the bell pepper, onions, cilantro, jalapeno in a food processor and run it for a few seconds so that the ingredients look coarsely chopped.



2)  Cut the tomatoes into halves and remove the seeds and cut them into 4 pieces each half.



3) Now add the tomato pieces, olive oil, parsley, salt and pulse briefly for few seconds to get a chunky texture. Do not run the processor more than few seconds, other wise you will only get a puree and not salsa.



4) Add some freshly ground pepper and lime juice or vinegar and mix thoroughly and refrigerate for few hours and serve.

Event Participation



1) This goes to Smita's AWED - Mexican an event started by DK.

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Radish Yogurt Dip/Raita(Mullangi Pachidi)

Not many people like radish because of their pungent smell. But they are a  good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin C, folate, potassium, Vitamin B6, Calcium and Magnesium. Host of nutrition, right!! But how to include them, there are so many ways like salad, sambar(stew), stuffing inside flat breads, curries and also as raita. This is a very easy and simple to make with no cooking involved except for the tempering.

If you like radish then you will love it. Go for it and let me know what you think about this recipe.



Preparation Time - 5 Minutes

Cooking Time - 2 Minutes

Serves - 2





Ingredients



Tender white medium sized Radish - 1

Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Yogurt - Thick 1 1/2 Cups (12 oz)



Tempering



Sesame Oil - 1 Tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 Tsp (do not include if you are trying to be on a gluten free diet)

Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp

Curry leaves - few

Green chilies -1 to 2 or per taste finely chopped

Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsp



Method



1) Wash, peel and grate the radish and ginger. Let them sit for 5 minutes.



2) Heat a pan, add a tsp of oil. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and asafoetida powder.

After the mustard seeds stop spluttering add chopped green chilies, curry leaves, turmeric powder.



3) Squeeze out the juice from the grated radish and gulp it down, not much will be there but they are so good for you.



4) Add the grated radish and ginger saute for a second and then switch of the stove.



5) To this add the salt and yogurt and serve immediately. They taste good and smell good when freshly prepared. When made and refrigerated, I feel the pungent smell becomes more pronounced.

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Almond Flour Crackers

 If you are craving for some quick salty crackers to munch on, try this simple and easy to make and healthy crackers. These crackers are gluten free and grain free, high in protein and low carbohydrates. They make a great snack with cream cheese or peanut butter sandwiched between them.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 - 12 Minutes



Ingredients



Almond Flour - 1 Cup

Powdered Chia - 1 Tbsp

Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1/2 Tsp or to your taste

Sesame Seeds - 1 Tbsp

Sesame Oil - 2 Tsp

Water - 1/4 Cup (This varies based on the consistency of the almond flour)



Method



1) Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.



2) Combine almond flour, powdered chia, salt, red chili powder, sesame seeds, sesame oil. Now add water little by little and make a stiff dough.



3) Make two equal parts of the dough and place them between parchment paper and using a rolling pin make a thin flat layer. Using a pizza cutter, cut into desired shapes. Using a fork slightly make small holes.

Making the holes, will make it crispy.



4) Bake in a baking tray for 10-12 minutes till crispy and slightly browned.



5) Cool them completely and enjoy.



Notes - Stores good at room temperature for at least a week. You can make the crackers without adding

powdered chia as well and in the picture below I made it without them.

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