Stuffed Bitter gourd

Here comes the dreaded karela.
Well, not really.  I love the karela the way mom used to make it.  Sliced in rounds, steamed and then drizzled with coconut oil and fried.  The catch is, it does not taste well without the generous drizzle of coconut oil!

Scouting for a recipe, which can be converted into a no oil version, I came upon this.

Ingredients:
Half a kg of Bitter gourd/karela

for filling:
1 tbspn besan/gram flour
1 tbspn dried coconut powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp rock salt
1/2 powdered jaggery
1 tsp dry mango powder.

Process:
Clean the karela.
Cut off the ends.
Slit it lengthwise.

Mix all the stuffing ingredients together.
Stuff it into the karela using your fingers.  While doing so seperate the seeds and push them along with the stuffing. They remain detached from the walls but still inside the karela.

Carefully place them into the steaming vessel, making sure to face the slit sides upwards.  If needed one can use a thread to wrap the karela.  But the besan makes sure it holds well even without the thread.
Steam them for about 5 to 10 minutes, checking to make sure they dont get too soggy.

Makes a good side dish.
Or for karela lovers, this is a snack in itself!

Dill, mint, curry leaves green smoothie

 Another in the series of wholesome goodness for the morning.
A green smoothie with Dill leaves.
Normally I dont like dill leaves in cooked form, but wanted to try in  raw form.

Ingredients:
handful of dill leaves, fresh and green.
three twigs of curry leaves.
half a handful of mint leaves.
three bananas.

Blend together, adding one ingredient at a time.
Makes two glassfuls.

Dal Palak

This is my favorite palak recipe.
 I try and limit the spinach intake to not more than twice a week, alternate weeks, either in smoothie form or otherwise.

 Ingredients:
1 bunch palak/spinach.
1 cup of moong dal/ green gram without skin.
1/2 inch ginger
1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
2 to 4 green chillies
1 tsp turmeric
rock salt or sea salt to taste.

 Process:
Clean and chop the spinach leaves, along with the clean part of the stems.
Boil it with the ginger, the green chillies and a few garlic cloves (Optional) with minimum water. If you keep the lid closed, the water from the spinach will be enough to boil the vegetables.
Once boiled and cooled, put it through the mixie to make a smooth blend.
Boil the dal separately with 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp turmeric.

 Heat a thick bottomed pan.  Add the mustard, cumin seeds.  when they splutter add the rest of the turmeric and then immediately add the boiled dal.  Mash it with a ladle.

 Add in the palak mix.  Add in the salt.

 And it is ready to serve.

Goes well with brown rice, or chaptis, or bhakris.
Can add more water to the recipe to make it into a spinach/lentil soup.

The healthy Nutella

Who does not love nutella!
But did you know that the brand nutella is filled with preservatives and milk and pus cells!
Yuk!

Worry not, we have a healthy version just for your children and for the child within you!

 Ingredients:

2 cups of cashewnuts
1/2 cup to 1 cup deseeded dates depending on how sweet you want it to be.
2 tsp of cocoa powder. (I had cadbury's cocoa powder with me, so used that one.  The richer the cocoa powder, the better the nutella.)
a pinch of salt if desired.
About 1/2 a cup of water or less for grinding.

 Process:

Roast the cashewnuts in a thickbottom pan till they turn slightly  golden.
Mash up the dates with hand to make it smooth and doughy.

Blend all the ingredients in a  blender.
The more powerful the blender the smoother the nutella!
Mine came out a bit lumpy.

If the blender is smooth you might not need any water at all!
If not then add water as required, checking for consistency.

Enjoy!

Avilose Unda--with a twist

Avilose unda, that snack every outstation keralite would savor as a take away after vacations.
Originally made from rice powder, I have tried it with makai or maize flour.  And instead of the jaggery syrup, have used mashed up dates.

Ingredients:
2 cups coconut--grated
2 cups maize flour
1 tsp  rock salt.
2 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
2 cups of dates--deseeded and cubed.

Procedure:
Mix the maize flour and grated coconut. Hand mix them, rub them together for around 20 min or till the coconut and flour is completely mashed up together and the flour is soaking in the oil.
Heat up a thick bottom iron pan.  Add the mix. Roast on low flame, stirring continuously for around 30 to 45 minutes.  It will be all dry and give our a nice coconuty aroma.
Add the salt and jeera seeds.  Can add roasted sesame seeds as well.  Roast for another 10 minutes.
Mash up the dates which have been deseeded and cubed.  Alternately can blend it in a highspeed blender.  I used the traditional brass mortal and pestle.
Add this into the roasted mix.  Again rub them, kneed them together till the date mash is mixed up with the roasted mix.
Roll into big laddoos.

Stays without refrigeration for 7 to 10 days.
In the fridge, stays for around a month.

Cocoa Coconut Cookie

Okay, So there has been an overdose of peanut based snacks since the last few days.
Hence decided to try the other favorite--coconut!
And what better than add a chocolatey twist!
Didn't take any snaps during preparation, though.  

Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups coconut--raw and shredded.
1 to 2 cups- sattu flour (roasted black gram)
1 cup dates--deseeded and chopped.
2 tsp cocoa powder.
1 vanilla pod would have been nice ;)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
A pinch of rock salt

Procedure:
1.  Blend the dates to make a doughy consistency.  Add in the coconut slowly during the process.

2.  Add in the cocoa powder, the salt and vanilla if available (unfortunately I had to use the essence :( )

3.  Remove the mix into a vessel.  Add the sattu flour as required, kneading to make a soft dough.

4. Preheat the OTG at 250 degree for half an hour.

5. Shape the dough with hand and press them lightly on to the sesame seeds, on both sides, before placing them on the tray.

6. Bake for 15 minutes or as required. Check for browning and if needed flip.

7.  Simple and healthy cookies are ready to be served!

This is a gluten free version.  You can use regular whole wheat flour if you feel like.
Stays without refrigeration for a couple of days.  In the fridge remains for around two weeks, if they last that long!

Vegan cheese cracker

Well, though I have named this cracker, it tastes more like the Monaco, without the oil, milk solids and preservatives!

Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup roasted peanuts
1 cup dry coconut powder
1 to 2 cups of wholewheat flour
1 small onion, finely sliced (can use onion powder if available)
1 tsp rock salt (or as per taste)
1 tbp black pepper
1/2 tsp yeast slightly heated to make inactive. ( Can use nutritional yeast instead.)
1/2 tsp cane syrup or date syrup (optional)

Procedure:

1.  In a mixie jar, grind together the peanuts and the sliced onion.  Add water as needed to make smooth paste.  Then add the yeast.

 2. Slightly grind the pepper pods.

 Measure the dry coconut powder and keep it ready.

3.  Add the pepper, salt, and coconut to the earlier mix.

4.  Grind all of them together.  Then add in the flour to make a soft dough.  Beat it well.

Then make small balls and roll out the dough.

 5.  Use a fancy cutter to cut out beautiful shapes.  I have used a playdough cutter which we had lying around!

 Makes beautiful flowery shapes.

6.  Preheat the oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes.
Place the flowers on a baking tray.  I do not use aluminum sheets.  These have enough oil from the peanuts and coconut to prevent sticking.  But if your dough is too sticky you may dust the tray with flour or peanut powder, or sesame seeds before placing the crackers in.

7.  Bake the crackers for 15 minutes or till slightly brown.

The crackers have a cute center formed due to raising while baking!  Didnt see that coming!
What a pleasant surprise!

And the remaining dough I made into a few rectangles.

Such a beautiful looking treat!

Okay, now I am just going overboard with the snaps and my admiration.  Hahaha.

Makes an excellent school snack, or after school snack.
Stays for a week or more.
Have used all organic ingredients, and not a drop of oil.

Excellent taste, and healthy as well! What else do we want!

Variations:
Those allergic to peanuts, may use two cups of dry coconut and skip the peanuts.
Those not wanting to use onions can skip that, or can try ginger or grated carrot instead. Havent tried that. If you do, let me now how that turned out.
Can flavor with ajwain (carom seeds) as well.  I love that flavor too, will try this next time!

Lentils pancake/crepe or adai.

 A south indian breakfast or tiffin item, made wholesome and healthy.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy beans
1/2 cup chana or chana dal (Bengal gram)
1/2 cup whole moong (green gram)
1/2 cup whole chowli (black eye peas/cowpea)
1/2 cup brown rice.

For grinding:
1 large onion
1 bunch of curry leaves
2 red chillies--dried (can use green chillies if preferred )
A pinch of hing (asafoetida)
Rock salt or sea salt as per taste.

Procedure:
Soak all the legumes and rice together, overnight.

 


Grind them together with the onion, curry leaves, salt, chillies and asafoetida.

Heat up a thick iron tava/pan.  When hot enough, pour a tablespoon full and make into a dosa/crepe/pancake.

Cover with a lid.  The steam will make sure the dosa/adai doesnt stick.

Flip and roast the other side till slightly brown.
Serve with coconut chutney.

Recipe for the chutney shown here:
Ingredients:
1/2 a coconut shredded.
1/2 cup roasted chana (bengal gram without the skin)
1 red chilli
pinch of salt
1/2 inch of ginger

Grind them together with a bit of water.  (I skipped the water to make a drier version of the chutney as this was to be packed for school tiffin)

This is a high-protein, gluten-free and oil free vegan snack.  Can be had as breakfast as well.
Since all the ingredients used are organic and whole, the fiber content makes it more satiating and the nutrients get released in a sustainable fashion into the blood stream. 
Safe for diabetics, those with hormone imbalances, and cholesterol issues.

Easy Peanut laddoo

The easy Peanut Laddoo:

With schools about to reopen, the question of the school snack puts many a mommie brain into overdrive.

This is what mine came up with.  True to its style, it picks up all the easy, yet yummy and healthy ideas!

Ingredients:
2 cups roasted peanuts with the thin skin intact.
1 cup dates- deseeded and cut into small pieces.
1/2 tsp dry ginger powder
4 cardamom.

Procedure:
1.  Powder the peanuts.
2. Add the cardamon (with skin) and dry ginger powder.  Blend.

3. Blend the dates in a separate jar.
4.  Add in the peanut powder mix and blend in.
5. Shape into laddoos.

Stays without refrigeration for about a week.