Everything Burger

Every thing Burger, It has everything but the Kitchen sink :--)). Well! Sometimes I need to clear the refrigerator of leftover veggies. A bit of everything. This is a great and healthy way to finish all the veggies.

INGREDIENTS
One cup each of finely chopped
Onion
mushrooms
carrots
capsicum
peas
corn
Brinjal/ Eggplant
any combo.....
Half cup finely chopped ginger
Half cup Brown rice cooked
Half cup rolled Oats
Cooked lentils half cup.
1 boiled potato/ cooked Mashed beans ( black or red) 1 cup
2 slices bread ...slightly crumbly couple of days old bread
Half cup Cilantro
1-2 Egg

Method:
In a pan saute with a little oil all the veggies till soft.
Add ginger,rice, lentils and oats. Add a little water to let the oats cook ...cook in low heat ....
When it starts to get together in a gooey mass ....Switch off the heat and cool.
Mash boiled potato/ bean paste and add...Let the mix cool
Reserve  2 tsps raw chopped onion. Add to the mix onion and crumbled bread. Add egg and seasoning to taste.
I added salt, pepper, paprika and garam masala.
Make it into patties and cook on low heat with a lil oil on a Tava.
Enjoy with bun as a burger or just like that ..with sauce.
Great way to get my kids to eat veggies.

I can be made into balls and baked in the oven at 350-400 F for about 20-30 mins ...Works great for wraps in pita bread or just as a snack.
I made it a couple of times with different ingredient. Once wrapped in a pita bread with baby spinach and tomatoes,and once with Asian style ..Sweet and sour noodles. Everybody loved it :)

Idly and Sambhar

I have fond memories of my college days. Living in the hostel had its own advantages. We friends would chat/ study late into the night and end up running late for the morning classes. We'd rush to college without breakfast.
My staple brunch after the morning classes would be a couple of idlis with sambhar at our college canteen. It is healthy, fills you up and does not leave you with a feeling of guilt even when you over eat.
  Idly with sambhar is usually my Sunday/Saturday brunch now. It is my all time favorite recipe ...A slightly modified version of our 'good old Standard South Indian Breakfast '.

                           

IDLY
Ingredients
Brown rice 4 cups( standard short grain or long grain)
I use this instead of the usual White Idly rice to make richer in nutrients.
Urad Dal/Black lentils ( shelled is white) 1 cup
Methi/Fenugreek seeds 2 tsps
Salt to taste
METHOD
Soak rice and lentils separately in water for about 3-4 hours . Wash them well before soaking. Soak the fenugreek seed along with the lentils.
Though a stone grinder is ideal for this, a blender would work as well. Heads up , If you are using a blender you may want to reduce the rice to 3 cups. the proportion can be played with to get the right consistency of idly.
Grind the lentils and fenugreek seeds in the blender till smooth, it should be light and fluffy. Keep aside.
Grind the rice with a little water till smooth batter is obtained. Some people like to keep it a little coarse. It is entirely upto you. Add salt and mix together both the batter with hand. Note, It has to be by hand.
Leave the container in a warm place to ferment. In warm weather it usually takes around 3-4 hours.
Fermented batter is light and airy. Mix the batter a couple of time to get an even mix.

Pour into greased idly molds to steam. A saucer used instead to steam, will make a bigger idly .
Steam for about 10 mins in medium heat. Idly's come out puffed and beautifully soft.
I can eat it just like that, but Sambhar makes it a complete meal.

                           

Especially being a vegetarian,Sambhar satisfies the need for veggies and proteins. Its traditional to make Onion Sambhar with Idly...I like to make with all veggies. It needs to be a complete meal :)
INGREDIENTS
Toor dal( split pigeon peas) 2 cup
Tamarind size of a lemon ...if using paste use 2 tsps
Veggies -about a cup sliced ( carrots, peppers,pearl onions )
Tomatoes diced -half a cup
Sambhar powder-Store brought or home made- 2tsps
    Recipe- Dry roast equal quantities of Channa dal, Coriander seeds and red chillis. Powder and store in airtight container. Use a couple of tsps when necessary.
Curry leaves and mustard seeds for tempering .

METHOD
Traditional method is the cook the veggies in the tamarind water and sambhar powder before adding the cooked dal. Just to make my life easier, I put all the ingredients Dal, tamarind, veggies,sambhar powder in a pressure cooker. Add double the amount of water ...that is 4 cups, cook on low heat for about 20 mins .Once the Dal is cooked down and mushy, add tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves.  Yummy sambhar is ready.

There are never any leftovers of this meal. If any left over ...Crisped up on a hot pan with a little oil, my kids devour it :-)



















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Rice and Lentil salad

I just turned 30 last week ! Not the best day of my life....My husband meets with an accident( He's safe,that is all matters. Only the car is bashed up). A trip to the Doctor ....My son fell sick :-( , and my daughter did not take an afternoon nap. Nonetheless it was my birthday and I wanted to celebrate. Reaching 30 is a milestone of sorts, in my head. A wonderful husband , adorable kids and loving friends and relatives. I have a lot to be thankful to God for. ( I just hope my career, that is at the back burner now come to the fore soon ). Is not celebrating Birthday's , celebrating life? Thanking God to have put you on earth to enjoy such wonderful life and experience beautiful feeling like love.
   I made myself a quick Salad with brown rice and lentils I made for kids on the lines of Tabbouleh salad. Traditionally Bulgur is used, not rice.This Mediterranean  Salad has wonderful flavors, that I happen to Love. Happy birthday to me!

INGREDIENTS

Brown rice- 1cup
green lentils- Masoor with shell- half cup
Half cup each of chopped
cucumber
tomatoes...I like to use cherry tomatoes
Peppers ( Capsicum ) all colors
Avacado( not traditional in Tabouleh, but I like it)
Parsley ( key ingredient , I like curly one better for this)
Mint leaves-4-5 leaves
Garlic 1 clove finely minced
Extra VirginOlive oil --2-3 tsps( always used in Salads gives a wonderful aroma
Lemon 1 large
Zatar Spice( optional)

 METHOD
Add Brown rice and lentils to the rice cooker. Add twice the amount of water, approximately 3 cups. add salt to taste and let it cook. Once cooked, I usually add a spoonful of olive oil and mix it up so that the rice does not get mashed up.

For the Dressing : Juice one lemon , add finely chopped parsley, mint  and garlic. Add Zatar and salt to taste. Zatar can be substituted with ground thyme or omitted. I love its flavor . Add Extra Virgin Olive oil, mix well and keep aside.

   When ready to eat mix about half the rice and lentils mix to the chopped veggies and dressing. Mix well and give it a taste. Ingredients can be added according to taste. Enjoy.
Slight variations can be made , like  grilling veggies like peppers, broccoli and mushrooms and serving as a side. Kiddos get it with the veggies finely chopped and rice slightly overcooked.

Thank you God! for this wonderful life. And Mom :-) Love you

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.