Ragi Falooda

 

This sweet dish is made in our house ONLY when we keep fasts. Muslims fast on the 9th and 10th of Moharram. Since today is 10th Moharram ( First month in Islamic Calender), we are fasting and we made this sweet today. Ashura is a religious observance marked every year by Muslims. The word 'ashura literally means "10th," as it is on the 10th day of Muharram. It has a lot of historical significance. During the time of the Prophet Mohamed ( peace be upon him), local Jews observed one day of fasting at this time -- their Day of Atonement. The Prophet Mohamed ( Peace be upon him), learned of of this tradition, and stated that the Muslims should also fast. He himself fasted for 2 days, and recommended that all Muslims fast for two days as well. This fast is not required, simply recommended.

Ingredients:
Ragi - 1 cup
Dosa rice ( Kacchi chaawal) - 1/2 cup
Sugar or Jaggery - 3/4 cup ( add more if needed)
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Cardomom (peeled and crushed) -10-12
Ghee (to grease the plates)

For Garnishing:
Badam / Almonds AND Pistachios -Peeled and slivered


Method:
1. Wash the Ragi and rice. Sieve and grind with coconut and water.

2. Once we get a fine paste, take a thin cloth or strainer and strain the paste.

3. The paste should neither be thick nor too thin.

4. Heat a steel vessel and pour the paste into it and start stirring it. The main thing while making this dish is to stir it right, to avoid it getting burnt and to cook it well. As you keep stirring it, add sugar/ jaggery and continue stirring it till its dissolved well and all the lumps in the paste vanish!

5. Add the powdered cardamom to the paste and stir well. 

6. Once its cooked well and you get a nice not-too-thin-nor-too-thick paste, grease 2-3 plates with ghee and transfer the paste onto these plates. Do not use any spoon to transfer the paste to the plates, but pour it directly holding the steel vessel itself. This is done so that its evenly spread and this looks neat too ;)

7. When you have all the ragi falooda paste on the plates, garnish it with Almonds, pistas and sprinkle some cardamom and allow it to cool.

8. It can be eaten while its warm but its best to refrigerate it and have it after 2-3 hours. Before serving, make horizontal and vertical lines on the falooda, so that it is cut into medium sized pieces.

As you all know the health benefits of Ragi, you will agree with me that this is one healthy sweet dish! Do give it a try :)

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Brown Rice, Black Channa curry and Turai Sukka - A Heart Healthy Meal!

I came across the Eat well Live well event hosted by Ayeesha of Taste of Pearl city few days back and i wanted to send my entry to it. So i worked on a Article Entry and sent it to her. But i wanted to send a recipe entry to her the event too! I saw that the last date to send the entries was December 15th and since it was my brother's weddding last weekend i was super busy with it. But i told my Ammi about this event and told her lets make one whole healthy meal today. So the menu for lunch was Brown rice, Black Channa curry and Ridge Gourd/ Turai sukka - One perfect healthy meal! Lets move on to the recipes now!

Brown Rice in its raw form, once its cooked and Black channa curry

Brown Rice:

The Brown Rice is now supposed to be healthy diet because of its health benefits than a White Rice.The process that produces brown rice removes only the outermost layer, the hull, of the rice kernel and is the least damaging to its nutritional value. The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids.

Health Benefits:

1. Lower cholestrol
2. Significant cardivascular Benefits for postmenopausal women.
3.Protects against Haert diseases.
4. Lowers type 2 Diabetes Risk.
5. A good source of Fiber.
6. Provides all necessary carbohydrates requirements. 
7. It is a body building food.
8. Beneficial for stomach and intestinal ulcers and for diarrhea. 
9. Because of the mineral content, it supplies important nutrient for the hair, teeth, nails, muscles and bones. 

Brown rice

How to cook :


For 1 cup of brown rice, we need 3-4 cups of water.


Boil the water and add the rice when the water is boiled along with salt to taste.  Brown rice takes more water and time to cook than white rice. Once the rice is cooked and is soft, turn off the heat. 


Next let us move on to Black Channa curry!

Black Channa Curry

Ingredients: 
Black channa / Black Gram/ Black Chickpeas - 2 cups
Coconut Grated - 1
Beans  - 10  ( chopped into 1/2 inch)
Carrot - 3  ( Chopped medium size)
Potato - 2 ( Chopped medium sized cubes)
Whole coriander - 1 tsp
Whole Red chilli - 5-6
Turmeric/ Haldi powder - Pinch
Garlic - 2 cloves
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1 big
Whole Garam Masala - 2 cinnamon, 3 cloves
Coriander Leaves


For seasoning :
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tbsp
Garlic - 3 cloves


Method: 
1. Soak channa overnight or atleast for 6 hours.


2. Roast the grated coconut till light brown. Make sure you keep stirring it cuz it might get burnt!


3. Roast whole red chillies and whole coriander. 


4. In a blender, add the roasted coconut, red chillies and coriander along with haldi powder and blend to a paste.


5. Then add garlic and onion and grind till we get a smooth paste.


6. Meanwhile, pressure cook channa along with water for 3 whistles or till its done.


7. Remove the lid, add the chopped vegetables, salt and allow it to cook without pressure.

8. Add the ground coconut mixture to the veggies, adding water and allow it to boil. Once it starts to boil, add tomato and whole garam masala.

9. Cook for 5 minutes.


10. Add chopped coriander leaves.


11. Last step is seasoning - Heat oil in a pan, add in mustard seeds and once it starts to pop, add garlic. Pour this into the channa curry and now a heart healthy curry is READY! :)


Ridge Gourd / Turai Sukka

Turai sukka

Ingredients:
Ridge Gourd / Turai - 4
Onion - 1
Toamto - 1
Salt to taste
Grated Coconut
Mustard seeds
Garlic
Oil


Method:
1. Peel, wash and chop the turai into small or medium pieces.


2. In a pan, add in the turai, chopped onion, tomato, salt, water and cook till its green. Do NOT overcook as it will lose its nutrients.


Note : Do not add in too much of water as it loses its water while cooking.


3. Add grated coconut once its cooked

4. Seasoning: Heat oil in a pan, add in mustard seeds and once it starts to pop, add garlic cloves and then add this to the turai sukka.

Trust me, this is one of the healthiest meals we can ever have! Do give it a try! 

Keep smiling and stay healthy! :)


Sending this to Eat well Love well event at Taste of Pearl City

And to Vegetarian foodie fridays

  
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Hurray! My First award!

I just completed one month of successful blogging here and i have been chosen for an award. Thank you so much Sujana. Friends, those who know and those who do not know Sujana, please do visit her blog for her awesome recipes.

I would love to pass on this award to 10 of my blogger friend. Do visit their blogs! :)

1. Ayeesha of http://tasteofpearlcity.blogspot.com/

2. Akheela of http://torviewtoronto.blogspot.com/

3. Aparna of http://www.mydiversekitchen.com/

4. Nithya of http://www.4thsensecooking.com/

5. Prathima of http://prathimarao.blogspot.com/

6. Priya of http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.com/

7. Suhaina of http://mysingaporekitchen.blogspot.com/

8. Srivalli of http://cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com/

9. Aipi of http://usmasala.blogspot.com/

10. Akhila of http://akilaskitchen.blogspot.com/

YOU all have been an inspiration to me through your comments, recipes and encouragement! Thank you :)

Heart Healthy Meals - Keep the Heart and add the health!

Eating heart healthy meals doesn’t mean giving up some of those too-rich favorite family recipes. With a few changes, you can keep the heart and add the health. Here’s how:

General Substitutions

Milk/Cream/Sour Cream
● Cook with lowfat (1 percent fat) or fat free dry or evaporated milk, instead of whole milk or cream.
● Instead of sour cream, blend 1 cup lowfat, unsalted cottage cheese with 1 tablespoon fat free milk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or substitute plain, fat free or lowfat yogurt or sour cream.

Spices/Flavorings
● Use a variety of herbs and spices in place of salt.
● Use low-sodium bouillon and broths, instead of regular bouillons and broths.
● Use a small amount of skinless smoked turkey breast, instead of fatback to lower fat content but keep taste.
● Use skinless chicken thighs, instead of neck bones.

Oils/Butter
● Use cooking oil spray to lower fat and calories.
● Use a small amount of vegetable oil, instead of lard, butter, or other fats that are hard at room temperature.
● In general, diet margarines are not well suited for baking. Instead, to cut saturated fat, use regular soft margarine made with vegetable oil.
● Choose margarine that lists liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient on the food label.

Eggs
● In baking or cooking, use 3 egg whites and 1 egg yolk, instead of 2 whole eggs, or 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup of egg substitute, instead of 1 whole egg.

For Meats and Poultry
● Choose a lean cut of meat and remove any visible fat.
● Remove skin from chicken and other poultry before cooking.

For Sandwiches and Salads
● In salads and sandwiches, use fat free or lowfat dressing, yogurt, or mayonnaise, instead of regular versions.
● To make a salad dressing, use equal parts water and vinegar, and half as much oil.
● Garnish salads with fruits and vegetables.

For Soups and Stews
● Remove fat from homemade broths, soups, and stews by preparing them ahead and chilling them. Before reheating the dish, lift off the hardened fat that formed at the surface. If you don’t have time to chill the dish, then float a few ice cubes on the surface of the warm liquid to harden the fat. Then, remove and discard the fat.
● Use cooking spray, water, or stock to sauté onion for flavoring stews, soups, and sauces.

For Breads
● To make muffins, quick breads, and biscuits, use no more than 1–2 tablespoons of fat for each cup of flour.
● When making muffins or quick breads, use three ripe, very well-mashed bananas, instead of 1/2 cup butter or oil. Or, substitute a cup of applesauce for a cup of butter, margarine, oil, or shortening—you’ll get less saturated fat and fewer calories.

For Desserts
● To make a pie crust, use only 1/2 cup margarine for every 2 cups flour.
● For chocolate desserts, use 3 tablespoons of cocoa, instead of 1 ounce of baking chocolate. If fat is needed to replace that in chocolate, add 1 tablespoon or less of vegetable oil.
● To make cakes and soft-drop cookies, use no more than 2 tablespoons of fat for each cup of flour.

Source : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
NationaI institutes of Health
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

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Sending this to Taste of pearl city -Eat well live well event

Andhra Chicken

If you ask me or my siblings what dishes we love eating the most, our unanimous answer would be 'Chickennnnnnn' ! Yeah that's true! We can eat more food when there is a chicken dish on the menu, my mom did a candid research on our eating patterns and reached that conclusion! So when i started spending *more* time in the kitchen, i definitely wanted to learn chicken recipes! I learnt few dishes which Ammi used to cook and then i turned towards my comp! And i landed on cooking4allseasons, a blog by Srivalli.

This was around 3-4 months back and my interest in cooking was just rising. I went through the recipes and finally bookmarked and decided i would make Andhra chicken roast, a beautiful recipe which she has shared. Thanks Srivalli. :) And i made it that day and several times after that. It turned out FABULOUSLY well! Totally yumm! The actual recipe calls it Andhra chicken roast but i make it slightly gravy-ish!

What i gathered:

For the marinade:
Chicken - 1 kg
Yogurt- 2 cups
Ginger garlic paste - 3 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 3 tbsp ( we love spicy food) :p
Salt to taste
Red food color- A pinch

To Saute:
Onions - 4 small
Chopped Ginger - 1''

For the masala :
Whole Coriander - 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel - 1 tsp
Poppy paste -3 tsp

Method:

1. To marinate chicken, wash and cut the chicken to the desired size. Add in yoghurt, Ginger Garlic paste, salt and chilli powder, red food color and refrigerate for an hour. ( The longer, the better)!

2. Heat oil in a kadai and saute the chopped onions until light brown. Add in the chopped ginger and saute for a few mins. Add in the chicken marinade. Cook the chicken for around 20 mins with the lid on, without adding water.

3. Meanwhile, roast the whole coriander, cumin and fennel seeds and grind them to make a fine powder.

4. Once the chicken is cooked well, add the above ground powder along with poppy paste and cook again for around 20 mins or till its done.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Yummy eh? ;)

The Trifle Event

Yaay! My blog completes one MONTH today! :D

I am so happy the way my blogging is progressing! Alhumdulillah! Its all because of the support of my darling techie hubby and all my blogger friends who have encouraged and inspired me in spite of me being an amateur cook! Thank you! :)

As i am relatively new to food blogging, i know that i still have a loooooooooooooooooooooooong way to go till i become a 'good' chef like you all out there, and i do not want to leave any stone unturned during this process! I am all in favor of sharing and learning and would love to learn from each and every blogger in this wide world of food blogs!

I have seen a lot of event hosting going on in food blogs and am totally in love with it! I have participated in quite a few events and am happy about it! And now i want to host one! :) My blog turns one month today and so i thought why not start it today! :D

As i was going through my trifle post, i felt that i need to know more trifle recipes because of the fondness towards it at my place :p So i decided that i would host a 'Trifle' event wherein you all can share and in turn teach me new trifle recipes! :)

I hope i can learn at least one new trifle recipe in this big wide web of food bloggers and share it with others too! After all sharing is caring ;)

So i hereby announce the start of the 'Trifle event' at my blog here and i invite all of you to this event! Awaiting your entries!

All you have to do is to link your recipes through the linky tool below or mail me at mehnaz.kapadia@gmail.com with :

1. Your name
2. Name of the dish
3. URL of the dish
4. Name of your blog
5. Picture of the dish

New dishes or archived ones - Both are fine ;)

NO dishes with alcohol allowed!

Thank you so much! :) And my wait starts now! ;)

Fruit Trifle

I Love this!

If u love Fruits, cakes, custard, or simply desserts, you gonna drool over this one! I too did. I saw the pic of this recipe on my friend's facebook profile pic and i fell in love with it. Ofcourse i wanted to know how she made it and she did tell me. Thank you soo much Ayesha for this :)

I made this for my elder bro's birthday last month and we all finished it in a matter of few mins!! A perfect dessert after a heavy meal. Fruit trifle.. here you come!

Things needed:

A sponge cake
Tinned pineapple- 1
A Chocolate bar
Whipped cream
Vanilla custard ( i used half litre milk for the custard)
Strawberries ( For the topping)
Tutti frutti & Cherries ( Topping)

Method:

1. Slice the sponge cake horizontally into two parts. Soak both the parts in the pineapple syrup till It is completely soaked. ( from the tinned pineapple). Best to use fresh pineapple juice.

2. In a dessert bowl, spread one of the layers of the cake. Spread a layer of whipped cream. Add small chunks of pineapple.


3. Add a layer of custard after this.

4. Add chopped apples and pomegranate ( optional but i did it and it added to the awesomeness) ;)

5. Next, Place the second layer of soaked cake and once again spread another layer of whipped cream.

6. Repeat the custard and fruits layer if u have it remaining. Top it with a layer of whipped cream again.

7. Now to deck it up. Try to be as creative as you can. Here, I first sprinkled grated Kit kat chocolate bars and topped it with cherries and tutti frutti, since i could not get strawberries!

Till date, this has been my favourite dessert and my siblings just cant get enough of it! Nor do i ;) I love trifles and if any one of you know any such mesmerizing trifle recipes, Plzzzzzzzzzzzzz do let me know! Till then happy drooling ;)