Varagu arisi Masala Kichdi (Kodo Millet Kichdi)

 This is a super comforting easy meal that is so light on the stomach and easy to digest. Millet are super grains that are gaining so much popularity in the recent years for their various nutritional benefits. I find them difficult to substitute to our traditional rice.However, there are other ways by which we can cook Millet so that they taste delicious yet remain healthy. There are numerous dishes we can make with various millet. Here, I have shared the recipe for Dal Kichdi using Kodo Millet or Varagu arisi.

This tastes just like a normal dal kichdi that is made using our normal white rice but here, we are replacing it with millet and vegetables for additional goodness. This is a one pot one one shot (OPOS) method which is easy and healthy.

serves: 2-3

Ingredients

1. Kodo Millet - 3/4 cup
2. Toor Dal - 1/4 cup
3. Water - 3.5 cups
4. Green chili - 1 big slit
5. Ghee - 1 tbsp
6. Cumin - 1 tsp
7. Bay Leaf - 1
8. Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Ginger garlic Paste - 1.5 tsp
12. Coriander leaves - fistful chopped
13. Needed salt

Vegetables ( Anything of your choice - chopped as shown in the pic)

• Cauliflower florets - 5
• Carrot - 1 small
• Capsicum - half
• Baby corn - 3
• Tomatoes - 3
• Onion - 1 Big

                  

Chopped Veggies

Kodo Millet

Method

1. In a cooker, add ghee, bay leaf and cumin. Once the cumin crackles, add green chili and onions. Saute until onions are translucent in a low medium flame.

2. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for another 2 mins.

Onion has become translucent

3. Soak the cauliflower in a hot salted water for 10 mins. Wash them and drain them completely for getting rid of worms.

4. Add Toor dal and saute for a minute. Add all other veggies and needed salt and saute nicely.

Dal and veggies getting sauteed

                     

5. Wash the kodo millet nicely to get off the bitter taste. Drain them and add it to the cooker pan.

 

6. Add needed water and give everything a nice stir. Close the cooker and pressure cook for 4 whistles on a medium flame.

  

Add water to pressure cook

7. Switch off the cooker after 4 whistles, once the pressure settles, open the cooker.

8. Give it a nice stir, add some water based on the consistency required and adjust salt.

9. Add the garam masala and give it a good stir. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve piping hot with Papad and some aloo curry. It tastes yummmmm.

Cooked Kodo Millet Kichdi

Beetroot Almond Chapati

It is very difficult to make toddlers eat vegetables that are healthy. I always trick my son into eating healthy vegetables by making it as a puree in chapati. He loves coloured chapatis very much and finds it very interesting. He fondly calls this "Red" Chapati. This is healthy and colourful all at the same time and we parents can happily make it without any guilt. Kids find it very attractive and colourful and hence finish it in no time.

Recently I had come across few online products where they market readymade multigrains wheat flour for toddlers at sky rocketing price. Why buy it at such high price when making this at home is very easy and cost effective. Nothing like making healthy and yummy food for your kid all by yourself.

This contains goodness of beetroot and almond. Vegetable pureed chapatis are generally very soft and hence, kids enjoy it very much.

My son loves this recipe and I will share this fool proof recipe. I have used Aashirvaad Whole Wheat Atta and find it really good. The chapatis turn out very soft and fluffy. I have used kashmiri red chili powder as they aren't very spicy. This gives nice colour to the chapati without adding spice.

Serves: 14-15 chapatis

Ingredients

1. Whole Wheat Flour - 1.5 cups
2. Almond Flour (Blanched/Unblanched) - 1/2 cup
3. Beetroot - 1 small or 1/2 of large
4. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
5. Cumin Powder - 2 tsp
6. Salt - 2 tsp
7. Needed water for kneading the dough
8. Oil - 2 tsp for coating the dough
9. Ghee for final garnish

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together - Flour, salt,cumin and red chili powder well.

2. Peel the beetroot, slice it and pressure cook for 3 whistles with 1 cup of water. After the beetroot cools down, puree the beetroot. Reserve the cooked water for kneading if required. You can even drink it as it is very healthy.

                                      

3. Add the puree to the dough and knead well. Add water depending on the consistency. It should be a smooth pliable dough. Knead well for solid 5 mins. Coat the dough with 2 tsp of oil and cover it with moist cloth.

                                    

4. After 30 mins, roll them into round chapatis and toss it on tawa.

5. You can either directly cook on tawa using ghee or try the phulka method as shown here.

6. Soft Beetroot Almond Chapati is ready. I roll it with honey and give it to my son. He loves having it that way. Elders can have it with any accompaniment of your choice and it tastes great with just a plain curd :)

Organic Homemade Rose Syrup

This is a very special experimentation for me. My maiden attempt to create an Organic Rose syrup using fresh Paneer Roses. Everybody loves Rose Milk right!!! who doesn't. I had recently made Rose Milk flavoured Coconut Ladoo (Recipe soon to be posted) for fireless cooking competition at my office. The Rose Milk essence that was store bought was made in a Chemical Laboratory and tasted pungent and horrible. That is when I understood how harmful these artificial colouring and essence are. The store bought rose milk essence are nothing but just sugar syrup mixed with rose essence and food colour.

Rose syrup made out of real roses has so many health benefits and when you can make something so organic easily at home, why at all store bought?

This Rose Syrup is completely natural and organic made with unrefined brown sugar (sweetness) and beetroot for the colour. This can be stored for about months in an airtight container in a refrigerator and used in milk, as essence in cakes and juices, in sweets, payasam etc.

Following are the Health Benefits of Organic Rose Syrup

1. Act as a great coolant in cooling the body heat.
2. It's anti-inflammatory properties keep problems like bloating and acidity at bay.
3. Loaded with antioxidants, delays aging, natural glowing and healthy skin,
4. Calms the mind and reduces mood swings.
5. Great Immunity Booster and a healthy/refreshing summer drink.
6. Highly kids friendly and kids love rose flavour.

Let's jump to the recipe

Ingredients

1. Rose Petals - 1 cup tightly packed (about 13 roses)
2. Unrefined Brown Sugar - 1 cup
3. Water - 1/2 cup
4. Grated Beetroot - 1/4 cup

Method

Fresh Paneer Rose

1. Remove the petals from the roses and soak the petals in a container full of water.

Wash the petals thoroughly for insects and pesticides

2. Wash the petals thoroughly to get rid of insects and pesticides.

3. Strain the petals well and allow them to dry for half hour.

Drain the water

4. Take a pan and add brown sugar. Add grated beetroot, rose petals and water.

Unrefined Brown Sugar

Grated Beetroot for color

5. Cover the pan and allow it to simmer on low flame for 10 mins with occasional stirring. This helps in removing the raw flavour of beetroot and allow the rose petals to release its essence and flavour.

                                         Roses ready to get boiled

6. After simmering for 10 mins, you will notice the syrup has turned thick and the petals have shrunk well losing all its color. Check for the consistency.

                                           Rose Syrup getting cooked

7. Strain the syrup nicely using a fine mesh.

                                                    Strain the Syrup well

8. Transfer to a clean airtight glass container and refrigerate it. Use it whenever needed for all your sweet delicacies.

Lehsuni Green Moong Tadka

Another healthy and protein packed side dish that goes well with both rice and Rotis. This is very simple and easy to make at one shot in a cooker. I prepare this quite often when am bored with the traditional yellow toor dhal. This also appeases your hunger and makes u feel full for long time. This in turn helps you from over eating and restricting you to eat healthy and in correct quantity.

This is a tadka dish, where spicy garlic and red chili sauteed in Ghee is tempered for the final presentation and taste. You can skip this step if in case you want a less spicy dish in order to make it kids friendly.

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1. Whole Green Gram - 3/4 cup
2. Water - 1.5 cups
3. Tomatoes - 2 (chopped)
4. Onions - 1 big (chopped)
5. Cumin - 1 tsp
6. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
7. Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
8. Coriander powder - 3/4 tsp
9. Jeera - 1 tsp
10. Oil - 2 tsp
11. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
12. Crushed Kasuri Methi - 1 tsp
13. Needed Salt

Tadka Tempering

1. Ghee - 1 tbsp
2. Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
3. Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
4. Garlic Pods - 6 (chopped as shown in pic)
5. Red Chili - 2

Method

1. Soak Green gram in water for minimum of 4 hours. After soaking, drain the water.

2. Take a pressure pan, add oil and cumin. Once the cumin splutters, add onion and saute well until onion turns transparent.

3. Now add tomatoes and give it a nice mix until it gets mushy. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a min.

4. Add the soaked and drained green gram, water, salt and all the powders.

5. Pressure cook the contents for 4 whistles on a low medium flame and then switch off .

6. Open the pressure cooker, add crushed kasuri methi and give a nice mix to the well cooked green gram.

7. In a frying pan, heat ghee.Add some chili powder and garam masala.Add chopped garlic, red chili and fry until garlic turns light golden brown.

8. Now add the tadka tempering to the the cooked dal.

9. Serve hot with chapati or Steamed Rice, Pulao anything of your choice.

Homemade Granola using Jaggery

When it comes to toddler snacks, we always want to go in for a healthy option that are delectable for kids as well. Granola- is one such ideal healthy snacking option not just for kids, but adults as well.
Though not an Indian snack, it is off late gaining lot of popularity here for its healthy and nutritious contents.

This is a no bake recipe that can be so easily made on a stove top. This makes a great travel friendly snacking option for kids. My son loves this as he finds it crispy, crunchy and sweet :):)

You can make N number of combinations and varieties of Granola using the below key ingredients.

Preparation of Granola involves 5 Key ingredients

1. Whole grains - Rice crisps, Whole Wheat grains, Rolled Oats, Corn Flakes
2. Nuts - Walnut, Almonds, Pecan, Hazelnuts,Cashew Nuts
3. Seeds - Sesame, Pumpkin, Melon, Flaxseeds, Chia Seeds
4. Dry Fruits - Dried Cranberries, Blueberries, Raisins, chopped dates, dried apricots, dried strawberries
5. Natural Sweeteners - Dates Syrup, Raw Honey, Maple Syrup,Cane Sugar, Brown unrefined sugar, unsweetened chocolate syrup

You can make this as a Trail mix or as bars. I have chose to make them as a crispy crunch mix. Let's jump to the preparation. :)

Serves: 2 Cups

Ingredients

Whole Grains

• Rolled Oats - 1 cup

Seeds

• Melon Seeds - 2 tbsp
• Pumpkin Seeds - 2 tbsp

Seeds - Melon and Pumpkin Seeds

Nuts

• Cashew Nuts - 2 tbsp
• Walnuts - 2 tbsp

Nuts - Walnuts and Cashew Nuts

Dry Fruits

• Raisins - 2 tbsp
• Cranberries - 2 tbsp

Dry Fruits - Raisins and Cranberries

 

Sweeteners

• Honey - 2 tbsp
• Powdered Jaggery - 1/4 cup

Flavoring Ingredients

• Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
• Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 tsp

Nuts,Seeds and Dry Fruits

Method

1. Dry Roast the seeds and nuts separately in a thick bottomed pan until they emit nice flavour. Keep it aside after roasting.

2. Dry Roast the oats in a thick bottomed pan on a low-medium flame until you start getting nice aroma of oats and keep it aside separately.

3. In the pan, add powdered jaggery, cinnamon powder and 2 tbsp of water to melt the jaggery. Ensure you melt it on full low flame.

4. Once the jaggery has melted, add all the dry roasted ingredients along with dry fruits and give it a nice mix.

5. To above, add Honey and vanilla essence and give it a nice stirring on low-medium flame so that all the ingredients are crunchy and crispy.

6. Remove the contents from the pan and transfer it to a large bowl.

7. Use both your hands to separate the contents from sticking to each other. Initially, it would be sticking to each other due to jaggery. However, as you keep repeating this process of separating them using your hands by breaking the lumps, it is easier for you to make crispy crunch Trail Mix.


Please note : Do it as soon as you remove the contents from pan. If you delay, it would be a little hard to break the lumps without breaking it.


8. Store it in an airtight container and it stays fresh for long :) Enjoy this delicious snacking.

Eggless Whole Wheat Almond Muffins using Flax Meal

As our kids enter toddlerhood, a major pressure or rather confusion befall on us 

(parents) - what healthy snacks can I give my child? 

My son brings back almost half of the snacks that I send him for school. However, he loves cakes, sweets and biscuits which are quite unhealthy. I thought why not make them at home with healthy ingredients so that we can give them without any guilt or fear. This is one such recipe which uses the goodness of whole wheat, Almond flour, flaxseed and butter. This makes a healthy wholesome delicious snack for kids any day.

This is one of my son's favorite snacks. He says Yummy yummy and eat it. That feeling you get when you know your kid is enjoying what you cook for him is such a state of bliss :)

This recipe is an adaptation of SharmisPassions-WholeWheat Almond Muffins. I have replaced the egg in original recipe with flax egg.

                        1 egg = 1 tbsp Flaxseed Powder dissolved in 3 tbsp of water

Yields 9 cup cakes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

1. Whole Wheat flour - 3/4 cup
2. Almond Flour - 1/4 cup
3. Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
4. Cane Sugar/Organic Jaggery - 1/2 cup
5. Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)

Wet Ingredients

1. Flax Egg - 1 tbsp Flaxseed Powder dissolved in 3 tbsp of water (rest for 15 mins)
2. Boiled Milk - 1/2 cup
3. Unsalted Butter - 1/4 cup
4. Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Method

1. Sift all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.

2. Now add all the wet ingredients and mix well using a hand mixer or Blender until the wet ingredients and dry ingredients are combined well.

Cupcake batter ready

                              

3. Line a cupcake liner inside silicon moulds. Alternatively, you can use a muffins tray if it would fit inside your oven.

4. Fill each of the mould upto half of the volume as the batter would rise during baking process.

Batter filled in the moulds

                                 

5. Once filled, decorate them with your choice of sugar sprinklers as shown in the pic.

                          

6. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 10 mins.

7. Place the cupcake tray inside the oven and bake for 30 mins at 180 degrees Celsius.

8. After 30 mins, remove the cup cake and allow it cool to room temperature.

9. Can be refrigerated in an airtight box for about a week.

10. Keep one daily for your toddler in his/her snack box and see them glee :)

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Each oven temperature and heating capacity is different. My oven cooks only after 30 mins. However, I request you to keep checking on the cup cakes every 10 mins.
2. Gently press the top of the cake to see if it is firm, alternatively you can also use tooth pick to check if the cake is cooked in the center. The tooth pick has to come out clean.

Cup cake with icing done

Vegan Banana Bread

I have been googling a lot to find some healthy snack options for my kid which I can pack for him and send it to school. That is when I bumped on to this recipe. I am an amateur baker and still learning. I have had my bad day at baking where my cake has been either burnt or got hard or never raised. I am still figuring out the various reasons and nuances of baking and trying to fine tune the art of baking. This is a recipe picked from Veg Recipes of India and you can refer the recipe here.

I don't have an OTG and am using a normal convection mode Panasonic microwave oven. The cakes baked from OTG definitely looks more professional in terms of texture and color compared to convection oven cooking. Still, you can achieve a close enough texture and softness from convection oven by following proper tips, understanding your oven and setting the right temperature.

Baking to me has always been like a chemistry lab experiment, you add the right ingredients in right amount and there you have the final output :P:P I generally haven't had the courage to play around with ingredients due to the fear of they not turning out properly. In the picture, I have used granulated white sugar. But I suggest you to use unrefined brown sugar or cane sugar instead to make it a healthy option for kids.

This recipe turned out really well for me and my kid also loved it. I will share certain tips that I followed to prevent major mishaps while baking in order to get a smooth soft cake. Follow the exact steps and ingredient amounts to get it perfect. :)

Ingredients

1. Whole Wheat flour - 3/4 cup
2. All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
3. 4 medium sized over ripe bananas
4. Olive Oil - 1/3 cup
5. Unrefined sugar/cane sugar - 3/4 cup
6. Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
7. Cinnamon Powder - 3/4 tsp
8. Baking Powder - 1.5 tsp
9. Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Take a bowl and mash the banana and sugar together into a puree using hand blender or even mixer. I have used White sugar here, but pls substitute with unrefined brown/cane sugar for kids as its healthy.

                           

2. Add  cinnamon powder and Vanilla extract to the puree for flavour enhancement.

3. Add olive oil. This provides the extra softness to the cake as this an eggless cake.

4. Sieve the flour (Maida+Whole Wheat Atta) and add it to the above wet ingredients.

5. Mix the batter using (Cut and Fold Method) to ensure the wet and dry ingredients are combined evenly. Do not over do it. Stop when both wet and dry ingredients have combined in right proportion.

6. Grease and dust a bread loaf pan with flour, transfer the bread batter to the pan. Tap twice and level it.

7. Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 10 mins. After the preheat temperature is set, cook the batter for 40 mins.

Tip 1: After first 20 mins of baking, cover the top of the pan with a wet cloth or wet butter paper. This is done to allow the centre of the batter to get cooked without burning the top. The centre takes long for getting cooked. Wet the cloth/paper every now and then and place it on the top to prevent burning through the entire baking process. The browning of top varies from oven to oven. So if you feel the browning of top happens quickly, then start covering the top much earlier.

Tip 2: After 40 mins, insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread and take it out. If it comes out clean, then the bread has been cooked well and you can remove it from oven.

If not, bake for another 10 more mins and repeat the toothpick step.

8. Allow the bread to cool down on its own completely and remove it from the loaf pan by inverting it.

9. You can store this cake in fridge in an airtight container for about 5 days. Warm the cake  before serving :):)