Monday, April 25, 2011

Chinese Veg Fried Daliya

I just love Chinese food and I can eat any diet food which is disguised in some way as a Chinese dish.

I made this daliya out of my craving to have lovely Chinese veg fried rice.

The idea behind this dish is to have more of veggies and less of cereal(daliya). Though you can use more quantity of daliya its best to stick to 1 medium katori if you are making it for yourself only.

It tastes fabulous just like a Chinese dish.

Ingredients

1. Finely chopped veggies of your choice.

2. Ginger and garlic and green chilies finely chopped, quantity as per taste.

3. 1 tsp oil (I used sesame oil but feel free to experiment)

4. 1 medium bowl pre cooked daliya (Cracked/Broken wheat).

5. Salt and black pepper to taste.

6. 1/4 tsp Vinegar (we just need a small amount so be careful here)

7. Chings Veg oyster sauce 1/4 tsp OR Soya sauce 1/4 tsp.

8. 1/2 tsp Tomato Sauce (optional)



Procedure

1. Stir fry the veggies on high heat.



2. Once the veggies are crisp and done, add the daliya.



3. Add vinegar and stir well.

4. Add sauces and mix well.

5. Add salt and black pepper.



6. Keep stiring the daliya on high heat for 2 minutes.

7. Serve hot and enjoy.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Award Time

29 April 2012



Got a lovely Versatile Blogger award from Siri from Siris Food Flavours. She has a wonderful blog with lovely delicious recipes. Thanks Siri.


 21 April 2011

It was such a nice surprise to open my email and see these lovely awards. These were given to me by lovely Jyothi of The Weight Watcher Blog. Thanks a ton girl.










So, as per tradition, I need to spell out 7 facts about me. Here goes: (oh man this is gonna be tough.)

1. I am a learner. If something excites me I will dig it and learn it.

2. I like cooking but hate cook everyday.

3. I prepare whole day's meal in one or 2 hours and then do not go back to work in the kitchen.

4. I love sizzlers, they always make me drool.

5. I have recently developed weakness for softies that too a local pink one.

6. I am a Buddhist and I simply love being one.

7. I am a tea lover.

I’d like to pass on this award to some of my favorite bloggers…

1. Me Versus Fat

2. Health Food Desi Vedishi

 

Friday, April 8, 2011

Navratri Special- Quick Tomato Paneer Sabji

A very quick recipe and a very tasty one too.

Ingredients

1. 2 tomatoes

2. Green chillies for taste.

3. Ginger.

4. 2 tsp coriander powder.

5. 1 tsp roasted cumin powder.

6. 1 tsp garam masala.

7. 1 tsp cumin seeds.

8. half potato chopped (you can avoid it if you want.)

9. 1 bowl paneer. I use Amul paneer. The market bought firm paneer is best for this recipe.

10. 2 tsp oil.



Procedure.

1. Grind tomatoes, green chilies and ginger together.

2. In a pressure cooker, heat oil and add cumin seeds. When the seed crackles add the tomato puree and cook till it changes color to dark red. Add all other masalas and salt.




3. Add the potato and the paneer, enough water and pressure cook for 5 whistles.



After Pressure Cooking



4. Mash the potato pieces to make the gravy thick.

5. Adjust the consistency of water and garnish with coriander.





The best thing I like in the dish are the paneer pieces, they swell up and absorb all the flavors and they taste really good.


Enjoy!!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Navratri Special - Low cal Vrat Roties

Before I go on to give a detailed recipe, I need to tell you this story, which I read in a newspaper.

Once upon a time there was a woman who made a perfect spaghetti dish which was very famous in the town, the secret of the dish was the it was boiled in a big size vessel. No other size vessel can be used but the one mentioned in the recipe. The recipe was handed down from her great grandmother. When asked about this recipe the woman's mother said that she has made it just way her mom told her. When asked, the woman's grandmother said she prepared it just the way her mom prepared.

So, finally the question was asked to great grandmother who said "What secret??? I ran out of the right size vessel so used the biggest one available."

Ever since I can remember, I always made these roties with potato and arabi. To knead the dough a nice amount of boiled potato or arabi was needed. I made as my mom and my MIL made, never questioned. The reason why they used such binding agents because the kotu, sinhgada flour is very difficult to knead and breaks easily.

They did not made roties but either made parathas or puries, so one can imagine the fat and calorie content of this humble plain roti.

The amount of carbs always bother me during navratri fast and to top of it consumption of potato to knead the flour, was too much to digest.

So much to my husband's horror and my delight I ended up making vrat roties without kneading the dough with boiled potatoes or arabi and they turned out just fine.

The roties are made like normal roties and we have taken out the potato, arabi and lots ghee out of them and I see no reason why you cannot eat it like a wholesome meal of roti and sabji.


Ingredients:

1. 1 cup equally mixed kottu, sinhgada and rajgira flour (if you do not have all three use the one you have. I usually mix sinhgada flour to kotu or rajgira to get a firm texture.)


2. 3 tbspn thick curd (make sure its not sour)

3. Salt to taste

4. 2 tbsp water (if needed)

Procedure.

1. Start my adding the salt and then the curd
and mix well in the flour. Try to bind the flour as much as possible.






3. Add 1 tbsp water and keep kneading. If the dough is firm ready then its done else add 1 tablespoon water again and knead.

The trick to know if the dough is ready is to check the form of the dough, if its not ready it will break else it will bind together smoothly. Lastly, grease your hand with little oil and knead well to give the finishing touch.
Make sure that its firm.




4. Now, roll the roti. You need to roll and immediately transfer on the tawa.









5. Serve hot.



Weight loss is not about giving up food, its about eating the same food with almost the same taste but with less calories.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Navratri Special - Sweet Potato Pancakes

This is one extremely simple and quick recipe and tastes great with curd.

Ingredients

1. Grated sweet potato.
2. Finely chopped tomato (optional)
3. Green chili
4. Salt and black pepper to taste
5. 1 tsp oil OR oil spray.



Procedure.

1. Heat a non stick pan and slightly grease it. I have used an oil spray. You can spread drops of oil all over the pan and then grease it evenly with a help of a spoon. Remember, you do not require lot of oil for this.

2. Now, arrange the grated sweet potato strings as a heap/pancake.



3. Drop 2-3 drops of oil on the upper part of the pancake, cover for 3-4 minutes. The natural starch will bind the string together and the lower part of the pancake will become crisp.





4. Flip and crisp the other part.




I like the plain version much better than the tomato version. It taste simply yum with curd and it also makes for a great mini meal.

Enjoy

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Navratri and Diet

Though fasting is a ritual of purification and it has it benefits but for a common person (like me), fasting has it challenges specially when so much starchy oily food is available and which I can eat without guilt on the pretext of fasting.

I do not fast but my husband do and as he is trying to keep his weight in control you can understand who takes all the stress while he happily fast.

The thing about fast is that the best available food that will give you satisfaction are starch based. There is no escaping from that. Of course there is an option of being on fruits and veggies diet but when one is fasting for 8 -9 days then that is not much of an option.

Moreover, diet based solely on fruits and vegetables (that too restricted) tend to make one feel weak. So, with pressure of work and running around fasting on fruits is not quiet an option for my husband.

The best way to maintain/lose weight during fasting is to make sensible choices and eat starch at a moderate amount (we all know that don't we).

Here are some pointers to get you started:


1. Mistakes you should not do : Don't stop eating your starch and carbs. In a day or two your body will go in withdraw sysmptoms. If you are eating fruits and veggies the whole day you will not only feel weak but will feel really hungry at the end of the day. This will then make you choose oily calorie filled meals such as fried potato chips, sabudana vadas, sabudana khichadi and what not. Remember, just because you are fasting you cannot excuse yourself from exercise and for exercise you need energy.

2. Healthy items: Every household have a set of food items which are allowed during fasting, so figure out the healthy ones. For example, in my house we can eat cabbage, tomato, spinach, paneer, pumpkin, bottle gourd, sweet potato and potato. SO, that a nice handy list of options and you can create real healthy meals out of these.

3. Know your starches :

A) Sweet potato is the best bet because it has a low GI index. You can google calories in a medium size sweet potato (200 -300) and have that with a bowl of curd, crisp cabbage stir fry on the side. This becomes a full meal and it does gives you satisfaction. It takes lot of time to digest a sweet potato so you won't feel hungry after eating it.

B) Sago or sabudana, well this is pure carbohydrate with really less fibre, it is infact pure starch. I remember, my mom use to use the starch of sago seeds to starch her cotton saree (what lovely days). The thing is if you accompany starch with lots of oil or lots of potatoes it will not only increase you carbs amount it will also shoot your sugar levels.

So should you give this up, I don't think so. In my experience with Sago, if hubby dear eats it for breakfast he is not hungry for a long time. So, I do use sago during fasts but it is allowed only in breakfast. You can increase the amount of veggies in it and decrease the amount of sago seeds, this increase the volume and a bowl of this will see you through comfortably till lunch.

Its a myth that Sago require lots of oil to cook nicely, just use 1- 2 tsp of oil, saute them, cover for two minutes and your sabudana khicadi is ready.

Don't have plates full of sabudana khichadi, a bowl is good enough. If you are hungry after 2 hours, chew a fruit (you are fasting aren't you.)



Grilled Sabudana Vadas



C) Flours :If sabudana was not enough starch, enters the flours that can be eaten during these days, sinhgada (water chestnut), kotu and rajgirah. Moreover, its very difficult to knead the dough unless you make use of potato or arbi (taro root). Usually, puri or paratha's are made out of this (and I love them). So what should you do, use arabi (taro roots) and little curd to knead the dough instead of using lots of potato to knead it. Grill them like a roti and have it with a low calorie sabji. @ of these roties with a sabji will make a meal of
300 -400 calories which is good enough.

D) Potatoes: Its used in most dishes during the fasting days. I have seen people eating lots of potatoes during these days, they eat fried pottao chips and boiled potato. You can take a medium potato and divide it into 2-3 pieces use one piece for your one meal dish, so if you are making sabudana khichadi, you will use only one part of this potato, for sabji you can use the second part and so on. Cut the potato very finally so that you get the taste in small amount.This way you get the taste and you need not eat one whole potato at a time.



4. Yes you can make soups: You just need to pressure cook the tomatoes, grind them and cook them as we make our regular tomato soup but to thicken it use Makhana. Take a fist of Makhana and grind it to a powder and mix into this soup, you can also use finely chopped panner pieces. It becomes a small less calorie meal.



You can do the same thing with Pumkin soup (No one is stopping you.)

Include these low calorie soups in your meals to fill your stomach.

5. Snack - Don't snack on roasted peanuts. You can have a small fistful only once a day. Snack on fruits and during teatime you can have roasted makhanas.

Sabjies that you can make


1. Paneer bhurji with tomato OR mashed spinach paneer tastes great with roties.

2. Pumpkin sabji - This is one healthy vegetable which will do you good,

3. Cabbage - A stir fried cabbage is always a good side dish. One quick dish is to make tomato and cabbage and have it on sides with your sabudana (I know it sounds strange but tastes nice), this guarantees a full stomach with less sago. Cabbage Potato Salad is a complete low cal meal.



4. Raita - Bottle gourd raita and pumpkin raita.


5. Small mini meals
- If you have an urge to eat something and which could be your mini meal the sweet potatoes are really a good option. You can make sweet potato pancakes or sweet potato nests.





Be regular with your exercise. If you lose weight then very good and if you maintain your weight still pat your back, you did absolutely fine.

There is no need to struggle with your hunger during fasting. A small amount of starch will not give you withdrawal symptoms and most of the day you can have veggies and fruits.

Happy Fasting.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Navratri Special- Tomato Soup

This soup is similar to the tomato oats soup but instead of oats we add Makhana. Makhana is also know as Euryale ferox and is prepared from lotus seeds.

The nature of the soup is thick so its great as a mini meal or as a part of the main meal.

Here are the ingredients

1. Tomatoes.

2. Carrot (if you do not eat carrots in fast then leave it).

3. 1 bowl roasted Makhanas.

4. 1 tsp sugar (options)

5. Salt and black pepper to taste.

6. Finely chopped paneer piece - 1 fist (optional).



Procedure

1. Pressure cook tomatoes and carrot and grind.

2. Grind the makhan to a coarse powder and mix water to make a paste. Keep aside.



3. Now mix the makhana paste to the soup and keep heating. Add salt, sugar black pepper to taste.



4. Sprinkle paneer pieces and let it boil for 5 minutes till paneer becomes soft.

5. Serve Hot and Enjoy.