Egg Paratha

My sister got engaged last month. I'm happy for her. To me she is still a baby in her 3rd Std , with her pigtails held together by sky blue ribbons. Now she is old enough to get married..... Where did all that time go?
   Time just flies...I got married, had kids meanwhile. Imagine, I'm gonna be a wreck when my kids leave home for college.
   My life revolves around my kids now...My cooking revolves around mainly my son , who like most toddlers is temperamental when it comes to food. One day he loves the food you make, and the next he will not even touch the food by mistake. As his mom I have to be smarter and see to it that he gets what he likes and what is good for him. Tough balance! but I try.

  He usually eats his eggs for breakfast. Suddenly he decided, he hates eggs. Had to figure out a way to make him eat it without him knowing...Sneaky huh? :-D 

Since he likes roti so much, I made parathas with the leftover boiled eggs . They turned out great.                                Recipe                                                                                                                                                                            Boiled eggs 2-3    

                                                                  Carrot - grated half cup

Onion half finely chopped

Cheese 2 tsps        

                                            Salt

Pepper                                                                                                                                                       Roti/Phulka/Paratha dough- Recipe-   http://myattemptsatabalanceddiet.blogspot.com/2011/02/phulka.html                                                                                                                                        

Mash together eggs, carrots , onion, salt and pepper.                                                                                     Take the dough, about an inch in diameter. Flatten with a rolling pin. make the edges thinner than the centre.

Add about 2 teaspoonfuls of the egg mixture in the centre.                                                                        

Bring edges of the dough together to make a purse. remove extra dough.                                                      

Roll the dough along with the stuffing into about 2-3 mm thick parathas.                                                       

Cook on a hot pan, add oil on the edges.                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                 

For adults trying to reduce cholesterol intake, use only egg whites and cook parathas without oil. 

I've tried adding some ketchup to the filling as well ...tastes great                                             

                                                                                                                              

Mint and honey lassi with oven roasted chickpeas

After super busy mornings, afternoons are when I get to relax before the next marathon session of changing diapers, potty training , feeding and cleaning begins again.
   Add to the confusion 'sick kids ',  I lose even the 2 mins I get to sit down and check mails. Stress always makes me reach out to the most unhealthiest things to eat. Crunchy food is the best stress buster.More often than not, crunchy means fried
These recipes satisfy my craving for sweet ...and crunchy fried things

 Honey and Mint are a great combo. I first had it at a restaurant, where the tender coconut water was flavored with mint and honey. It had a great fresh taste. I wanted to recreate the same flavors.

Mint and Honey Lassi
1 cup plain yogurt 2% or non fat
3-4 leaves mint
honey 2 tsps
1 sprig mint for garnish

Method
Mix all ingredients together in a blender to a smooth consistency, adding water if required.
Pour into a pretty glass.
Making a pretty drink is pretty satisfying:)
Dip the sprig of mint in honey and garnish
  

I am a great fan of Alton Brown's 'Good Eats'. He can be intelligent and funny at the same time, and talk about food.I found this recipe on his show, and adapted it to my tastes and made it Indian.

Roasted Chickpeas

chickpeas- 1 cup
olive oil-1sp
salt
paprika
amchur
chilli powder

Method
Soak chickpeas in water overnight.
In the morning drain the water and let it dry out in a collandar
Add oil and salt to taste
Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Heat the oven to 400F
Roast in the oven for about 60mins to 90 mins
toss every 15 mins
They must turn golden and crunchy.
Hit with paprika ,salt and amchur when hot .Mix and serve at room temperature.
Chana chur Garam :-)


I'm yet to try it out wit other legumes. I think they must work great too

Lasagna

  Oh my God! what is Lasagna doing in the list of  healthy things to eat? you may ask...Well1 I figured out a healthier and lighter version of lasagna. No more greasy food that threatens to choke your senses with the over dose of cheese. And, It has proteins. No kidding! I added tofu ( very apprehensively) to the filling...It did turn out great. I got a thumbs up from J!! :-))
      I don't even want to think about the first time I made lasagna.  We ended up eating subway sandwiches that dinner. One of my grand Friday night dinners gone sour. I have come a long way since then. For some reason all the veggie lasagnas I've eaten are extremely cheesy. I wanted to figure out a way to reduce cheese, and add protein.And, my experiment worked:-)

RECIPE

1 pack lasagna noodles- I use precooked ones
2 cups marinara sauce  - any brand of your liking or you could make your own
1 cup cooked spinach drained- I use frozen spinach , thawed and drained
2-3 spoons cream cheese
Italian seasoning to taste
Half onion finely chopped
Tofu crumbles half to 3/4ths cup
Half boiled potato/ 1 egg
Mozzarella cheese shredded 3-4 spoonfuls
1 tomato chopped
Basil chopped
1 spoon minced garlic
Salt pepper to taste

METHOD
In  a bowl , mix spinach, tofu, cream cheese, onion,potato (mashed), salt ,pepper and italian seasoning.
Potato can be substituted with 1 egg. Its function is to hold the filling together. I don't like its eggy taste, hence I substitute it with potato.

Mix chopped fresh tomatoes,garlic and basil to the marinara sauce...Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a baking dish add 1/4th of the marinara sauce to the base.
Arrange the lasagna sheets in a layer. Add half the spinach mixture, spread in an even layer.
Add 1/4th the marinara sauce mix sprinkle an spoon of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Add lasagna sheets to make another layer.
Spread the rest of spinach mixture on top, repeat with marinara sauce.
Add the last layer of lasagna sheets.
Add rest of the marinara sauce and couple spoonfuls of mozzarella cheese on top

Bake at 350-400 F for about 45 mins, till the cheese has melted and bubbly.Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 mins....Before you attack :-)

Healthy Lasagna is ready!
We can change up the flavors ....use salsa instead of marinara. Add roasted veggies like zucchini, bellpeppers and mushrooms. The possibilities are infinite.

Khichdi

Today, while the kiddos slept, I did not sleep,nor did I make dinner or clean the house. I made Hairbands....Yes! for my dear daughter. My brain still has some creativity left ...rather, the right side of my brain is still working...Yay!!:-) I was pleasantly surprised. Taking care of my son, then my daughter 24/7, I had almost forgotten that I was capable of doing things other than clean poop and cooking.:)

  It was pleasantly refreshing to create something. I felt like I was child again ...in my craft period, making pretty things.Sometimes I wish I could go back to being a child. Live the carefree life, with not a worry in the world. In some ways I am living my childhood again, thanks to my children. My daughter is my little doll, I like dressing her up..Playing catch, going down the slide with my son, singing rhymes with actions.Doing all that, makes me feel like a child again.Even if its only a moment, it feels great to let yourself do stupid things . I just love the crazy life I live.
  As children we would just run to our neighbor's house to eat, if my mom made something we did not like, much to my mom's exasperation. Our neighbor, Daisy auntie would welcome us with open arms. One of the things we loved was Khichdi. Yes! its the food eaten when sick. But, we just loved it and auntie made it a fancy meal with all the fixes like, Baingan bhartha, aloo bhartha, kachoomar and raitha.
  It is my go to recipe, when I am sick or need a one pot dish that is healthy. I love pongal but this north indian version is slightly healthier with the inclusion of veggies.

RECIPE
onion- half medium - finely chopped
1 potato- medium sized diced into large pieces
green peas - 1 cup
carrots - 2 large diced
moong dal - yellow-1 cup
Basmati rice- 2 cups
Zeera - 1 spoon
garlic -2-3 pods
ginger-2 spoons
green chillies diced- to taste
 salt -to taste
Garam masala - 1 spoon optional
turmeric- half spoon

Method
In a cooker heat 1 tsp of oil/ghee.
Add zeera wait till it sputters.
Add onion and garlic ...wait till it turns brown
Add all the veggies and cook for a min. Add turmeric
To this add the washed dal ....and stir till fragrant.
Now add the basmati rice and add about 4 cups of water. Close the cooker and let it cook till the mixture is completely cooked.
Once completely cooked add salt to taste and garam masala. Add water if required and heat the mixture.
when the khichidi is simmering add the minced ginger and green chillies on top switch off the heat.

Hot Khichidi is ready to enjoy. It tastes great with raita ...or plain old Mango pickle. fast and healthy
In many ways its the food of childhood ...sonny dear enjoys it with  a dollop of ghee on top.Of course without the chillies. Guddu, my daughter gets it pureed for now :). Healthy and wholesome, its a food for all age groups.






















  

Potstickers/ dumplings

Till I was living in India, the only cuisine, other than Indian I knew about, was Chinese and Italian. Well! Chinese was noodles and Italian was pizza of course. Little did I know they were all Indianised. When I came here, I was craving gobi manchurian and hakka noodles. J took me to what he called a " good chinese place". I was truly and utterly dissapointed, I was expecting gobi manchurian :-(.
  After living here for 4 yrs I have developed taste for all kinds of food. Reducing my intake of chilli has helped my taste buds realize that there are other flavors that need to be enjoyed, other than heat. The name Chinese food in USA conjures images of oily, greasy, fried  food. Not many options for us vegetarians...Fried tofu is not my idea of  healthy.
     In one of our visits to a Chinese restaurant, I discovered dumplings. They had a veggie one ....yay!!
It tasted awesome ...was itching to try it at home.On one of  my trips home, a Nepalese friend of my sis's made Tibetian mommos for us. I was surprised because they were pretty similar to the dumplings I had tried.They seemed pretty tedious to make though. I was not very encouraged to try them.
    On one of my shopping trips to the grocery shop, I noticed wanton wrappers..... I could no longer procrastinate.It made my job easier:).  I tried a couple of recipes to find what I liked. And they turned out great and not as time consuming as I thought they would be.

RECIPE
Tofu- I use firm -half pack
cabbage- finely chopped-1 cup
onion -finely chopped- half
carrots-grated - half cup
Ginger garlic paste-1 spoon( can be substituted with finely chopped ginger and garlic)
Soy sauce - to taste
Chilli powder -to taste
Wanton wrappers- 1 pack

Method
Mash the tofu brick to make scrambles.
Add the rest of the ingredients to make a mixture.

Add soy sauce and chill powder to taste.

Take to Wanton wrappers. Store the open pack in ziplock bag to preven it from drying out.
Take 4 wrappers at a time. Lay it out out on a plate. Apply water with your fingers or a brush, approximately 2 fingers wide. Place a spoonful of filling mixture in the center, pull the edges to make a pouch and press the edges together. Make a whole batch before cooking.

Method of cooking

There are three ways.
Steamed-

I like to use a collander on top of boiling water in a vessel. Oil the collander well, place the dumplings on it.
Place the collander in the vessel such that there is a distance of atleast 2 inches between the water level and the bottom of the collander. Bring the water to a simmer and cook the dumpling for abot 10-15 mins in the steam. Serve hot with sriracha sauce or any sauce of your liking.
 Or in a shallow pan bring water to a boil , gently add dumplings. Wait till completely cooked and gently fish  them out of water.
Veggies like carrots,broccoli, zucchini and squash can be added to be used as a side dish.Served with a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper, makes a complete meal.

Potsticker Style-
 Take a pan with a flat bottom . Preferably a nonstick one. Place the dumplings on the hot pan. You should hear it sizzle the moment it touches the pan. A drop of oil around the base of the dumpling can be added if not using a nonstick pan. Wait for some time ...once the bottom of the dumpling is browned , add water about half a centimeter in height, and cover with a lid. Leave the lid slightly open for the steam to exit. Cook on simmer for for about 15-17 mins. The dumpling are cooked, when they turn translucent. Cook with the lid off for some time .
             Serve hot ....The crispy bottom and soft steamed top make a great combo.

Fried: 
   This is the most unhealthiest way to cook them.But, I'm sure both my J and my my sis would vouch that this is the best tasting.
   Be extremely careful to remove the excess water before deep frying them.

PS; Scrambled eggs can be added to the stuffing mixture. Or, you can completely eliminate the tofu and add only veggies of your choice.
 Though dumplings by themselves are pretty filling, with fried rice/noodles they make a yummy combo.

phulka

After giving birth to my daughter, and eating ' ma ke haath ka khana' for almost 3 months, I found myself 25 pounds overweight. Doc said ' It will all come off, since you are nursing'. My daughter is almost 7 months old now, and I have lost only 2 pounds:(.
        I decided I need a life style/ diet change.  Maybe my body is not metabolising the food the same way it used to. 10 yrs ago I would eat junk , make a meal out of gobi manchurian and still managed to look good. I knew I needed to make changes that I could continue to upkeep for a long time. I believe in eating a balanced diet. I am certainly not going to deprive myself of one food group completely. I believe by being moderate, I might not have immediate results,but will have longer lasting results .One of the decisions was to make roti/phulka most dinners.
   I have fond memories of my mom making phulkas on the chulha( yes, we had one at home). We used to sit around the chulha and the phulka would go straight from the fire to our plates,with a spoonful of ghee. Hmm...yummy
      But, the problem isthat it has to be eaten hot or it gets dry and tough without ghee, which I am trying to avoid.  In my quest to find the right recipe for soft phulkas even when cold , I finally zeroed in on this recipe . It makes wonderful phulkas every time, even right out of the fridge after 3 days. I usually make a double batch of the dough and store in the fridge for later use.It saves time.

RECIPE
Wheat flour- I usually use sujatha/lakshmi brand - 3cups
soy bean flour- to increase the protein content-1 cup
Salt- acc to taste
Curds- I use lowfat yogurt-1 cup
water

Method:

  Mix together the dry ingredients with salt.
To the curds add some water and whip to smooth consistency.
Add to the flour mixture and slowly start kneading.
Once the curds are added add more water if needed to incorporate all loose flour.
Knead just enough to incorporate all the flour. Do not knead too much.Working the dough too much makes the phulkas tough especially after refrigeration.It is a slightly sticky dough. Once all the flour are together in one mass, transfer the dough to a closed container and let it rest for atleast an hour.
I usually make the dough in the afternoon while my kids are asleep, and use them to make phulkas for dinner.

Making Phulkas:
Take a small amount of the dough, dunk in  dry wheat flour if its too sticky.
Make a ball about 1 inch in diameter. Knead well so that there are no lumps.
With a rolling pin roll it out into a roti about 2 mm in thickness.

Mean while heat the pan. Drop the roti in the hot pan. Turn immediately, you can see that the side we put on the pan has changed its colour to beige. Once turned , wait till you see small bubbles forming. Take the pan away from heat. Turn the flame to high and put the roti direct on flame. It starts to puff up. Put the flame back to low, use tongs to turn the phulka . Keep on high for a couple of seconds, and the phulka is ready to serve or store.

 Phulka Served with Dal makes a wonderful healthy and filling meal. Of course my son gets it with loads of ghee :-) He loves his ' ootti' :-)