Ingredients for wheat kheer

• Whole Wheat                                   1 cup
• Jaggery                                              1.5 cup
• Skimmed milk                                  1/5 Litre
• Freshly grated coconut                   1 cup
• Rice                                                     2-3 Table spoons

For garnishing

• Cashew                                              .
• Nutmeg
• Cardamom (Elaichi) Powder
• Roasted khus khus (Optional)

 Method of preparing wheat kheer

• Wash the whole wheat and soak it in very little water (just about soaking the wheat – ½ to 3/4^th cup) for 4 hours.
• Whip this into a dry grinder, making sure that the each wheat grain is broken approximately into 2 or 3 pieces. Ensure that you do NOT grind the wheat into a coarse powder.
• Add the washed rice to this broken wheat mixture.
• Soak this mixture (broken wheat and rice) in 2 cups of water for overnight, about 8 – 10 hours.
• Cook this mixture with water in a pressure cooker for about 10 – 12 minutes (3- 4 whistles), till the wheat becomes soft.
• Add milk to this cooked wheat mixture and let it boil well.
• Now add jaggery and coconut to it and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Stir it well.
• Cook the entire kheer properly and add cardamom powder & nutmeg powder while cooking. Stir well again.
• Garnish it with cashew flakes and roasted khus-khus while serving.
• This kheer can be served hot or even enjoyed as cold desert.

Recipe – Courtesy Mrs Swardha Joshi (cooking enthusiast)

HAPPY UGADI/GUDI PADWA!

Photograph via sxc.hu

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Recipe – Wheat Kheer is a post from: mDhil

Boost up the nutrition levels of your everyday raita by adding some spinach!


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Ingredients for spinach raita

• Spinach– 2 medium bunches, washed and chopped
• Yoghurt–1  cup
• Onions– 1 small, chopped
• Ginger – 1/4 tsp, chopped
• Salt- to taste
• Pepper – to taste

For the tadka

• Urad dal
• Dried red chillies
• Mustard seeds
• Asfoetida
• Oil

Method of making spinach raita

• Pour hot water over the spinach to wilt it. Keep it aside.
• Pour the yoghurt into a bowl and whisk it.
• For the tadka, heat the oil in a pan. Add a pinch of asfoetida(hing), crack open the dried chillies and put them in. Once they start turning a little brown, add the urad dal.
• Wait for the dal to turn golden brown before taking it off the heat.
• Now take the spinach out and add it to the whisked yoghurt.
• Mix in the tadka, onions, ginger, salt and pepper.
• Serve cold. Your wilted spinach raita is now ready!

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Recipe: How to make spinach raita (Hindi) is a post from: mDhil

A beautifully layered dessert with some romantic fruits  to make your Valentine’s day a special occasion!

Ingredients for Valentine’s delight

Ice-cream of your choice – two scoops

Chocolate cake – Two small slices

Strawberries – 6

Kiwi – 1

Chocolate syrup

Tip: Keep the ice-cream simple because you will be adding a lot of toppings

You will also need two pretty looking glasses.

Ingredients for custard

Custard powder – two tablespoons

Milk (low-fat) – 100 ml

Sugar – four teaspoons

Method of making custard

• Heat the milk.
• Mix one part of the milk with custard powder to form a lump-free paste.
• Add the paste and sugar to the remaining milk and let it set.

Tip: Prepare the custard in advance, so it is cool enough.

Method of making Valentine’s delight

• Make the base layer with the cake slices.
• Cover it with a layer of custard
• Top this up with a layer of ice-cream
• Cut strawberry into slices and kiwi in cubes
• Decorate the glasses with the fruits
• Sprinkle the chocolate sauce on top

It is simple, less time consuming and delicious! You can always be innovative with the fruits and layers.

Enjoy your Valentine ’s Day!

Recipe and photograph by Sneha Mehta, Twitter Channel Manager at mDhil

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Recipe – Valentine’s Delight is a post from: mDhil

Crunchy carrots make a great snack!

Recipe – Cruncy sticks with garlic dip

Ingredients for crunchy sticks with garlic dip:

Dip

Hung curd – 1 bowl
Low fat fresh cream – 1 tsp
Pepper – 1 tsp
Mustard powder – ½ tsp
Chopped garlic – 4 pods
Chopped spring onions/celery – 2 sticks
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Crunchy sticks

Carrots
Cucumber
Radish

Method of making crunchy sticks with garlic dip:

For the dip: Make hung curd by hanging it inside a muslin cloth from a hook or above a sink for 2 to 3 hours. Collect the whey or water that seeps through.

Add the low fat fresh cream. Mix in salt, pepper, mustard powder, chopped garlic, chopped spring onions or celery and sugar to taste.

For the sticks: Use fresh carrots, cucumber and radish. Peel, wash and cut them into long sticks. Serve in a platter with dip in centre.

The whey (liquid that’s dripped off) from the hung curd is very nutritious and can be used in soups, curries or to knead dough for chappatis.

Photograph by Supreet Vaid, via sxc.hu

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Recipe – Crunchy sticks with garlic dip is a post from: mDhil

Ringing in Christmas!

Ingredients for fruit cake   

• All-purpose flour – 2 cups
• Baking powder – 1 tsp.
• Salt – ¼ tsp.
• Unsalted butter – 1 cup (227 grams)
• Light brown sugar (you can substitute this with white sugar) – ½ cup
• Dark brown sugar – ½ cup
• Eggs – 3
• Brandy or rum – 3 tbsp. plus extra for brushing the cake
• Juice and zest of orange – 50 grams each
• Lemon zest – 50 grams
• Ground almonds – ¾ cup
• Chopped hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans – 1 cup
• An assortment of dried fruits: raisins, sultanas, currants – 340 grams

Method of making fruit cake:

• Preheat the oven at 160 degrees C
• Add the lemon and orange rind to rum/brandy and soak the dried fruits for at least 2 days.
• Beat the sugars (light brown and brown) with a hand/electric blunder until they are light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add the orange juice, then fold in the ground almonds, chopped nuts and the brandy-soaked dried fruits.
• In a separate bowl, blend together the flour, salt and baking powder and fold this into the cake batter.
• Grease a pan with butter, and line the bottom and sides with butter paper.
• Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 150 degrees C and continue to bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Insert a metal skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out moist, continue baking for a few more minutes.
• Remove the cake from the oven and wait for it to cool.
• With a skewer, poke holes on the top surface of the cake and brush it with a little brandy.

And your fruit cake is ready! Slice it up and eat in the company of family and friends!

Photograph via sxc.hu

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Recipe – Fruit and nut cake for Christmas is a post from: mDhil

Ingredients for eggless chocolate walnut brownie

• Curd – 1 cup
• Sugar – 3/4th cup
• Baking powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Baking soda – 1 1/2 tsp
• Flour – 1 cup
• Cocoa powder – 1/2 cup
• Vegetable oil – 1/2 cup
• Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
• Chopped walnuts – 1/2 cup

 Method of making eggless chocolate walnut brownie

• Mix the curd and sugar till the sugar dissolves. Add baking powder and soda, mix and leave to rise for 10minutes.
• Mix the flour and cocoa powder and keep it aside.
• Add the oil and vanilla essence to the curd mixture and beat well. Add the walnuts and flour mixture, and fold well.
• Pour on to a greased baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or so. You can check if it is done by piercing the centre of the cake with a toothpick or fork. It should come out clean.
• Let the cake cool and serve with vanilla ice cream (optional).

Recipe – Eggless Chocolate Walnut Brownie is a post from: mDhil

Dessert without sugar, flour or baking time? Don’t think its possible? We bring you a healthy Christmas dessert exactly like that!


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Ingredients for coconut snow balls

• Almonds – 1/2 cup
• De-seeded dates – 1 cup
• Coconut powder – 1/3 cup
• Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
• Roasted coconut powder – 1/4 cup

Method of making coconut snow balls

• Grind the almonds in a blender till they are powdery.
• Once the almonds are ground, add the dates and grind the mixture together.
• Add the coconut and the vanilla extract and blend all of it together.
• Pour the mix into a bowl and make ladoo sized balls with them.
• Toss them in the roasted coconut as a final step and voila! Your snow balls are ready!

For best results, chill them for twenty minutes before serving.

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Dessert recipe – Coconut snow balls is a post from: mDhil

Cherries are high in vitamin, carbohydrates, and water, and include trace amounts of fiber and  protein too. It can be a delicate dessert after dinner, especially when served with a dollop of cream. It is great treat for children too as the color combination of red in a golden brown base is very appealing.

Short crust pastry base

Ingredients

Margarine 75gm
Salted butter 50gm
Flour 265gm
Cornflour 5gm
Sugar powder 100gm
Ice cold water to mix

Method of making short crust pastry base

1.       Refrigerate butter and margarine for one hour so that it hardens and cools.
2.       Cut the chilled butter and margarine into small cubes.
3.       Mix the fat in the flour till it resembles bread crumb consistency.
4.       Add sugar powder and mix further to evenly mix.
5.       Add the cold water to the ingredients to form into a soft dough.
6.       Do not knead the dough.
7.       Rest the dough for 30 min, and later sheet the dough to 1/8^th inch thickness.
8.       Apply the dough sheet over tart mold making sure the thickness is even.

Cherry Filling

Ingredients 

Tinned cherry 250gm
Sugar 50gm
Cornflour 20gm
Melted butter 20gm
Lemon juice 3ml
Almond essence 3 drops

 Method of making cherry filling

1. Take out the cherries from the syrup and de-seed them.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl to evenly blend.

To make Cherry Tarts

 OTG or Baking method: Take individual tart molds and pour a spoonful of cherry filling. Arrange all the bases in a tray and keep it in a preheated oven temperature of 200^oC for 15-20 minutes or until the shell is light brown in color and the filling is set.

Microwave cooking: Only convectional microwave can be used for this. Set the oven on baking mode and follow the same instructions as the OTG baking.

Source: Institute of Baking & Cake Art, Bangalore (www.ibcablr.com)

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Recipe – Cherry tart is a post from: mDhil

Ingredients

Plain flour (Maida) – 200g

Oats – 50g

Fresh methi leaves (fenugreek) – 25g

Fresh yeast or instant yeast – 7g

Table salt – 5g

Sugar – 10g

Wheat gluten – 5g

Water – 180ml

Butter / Margarine – 30g

Directions

• Add Fresh/instant yeast in a bowl and pour half of the lukewarm water and sugar, stir and rest aside.
• Take another bowl and add the remaining water and mixed the rest of the salt.
• Sieve plain flour twice and arrange in a large bowl along with oat flakes.
• Add both the solutions to the sieved flour and combine all the ingredients to form a rough dough.
• Pull the dough out onto a clean marble or granite table space and knead. Add butter/margarine and continue kneading to form soft and smooth dough. Add the finely chopped fresh methi leaves to the developed dough and roughly knead to mix well. Cover the dough and rest for 45min – 60 minutes.
• While resting, the dough raises twice the volume, tap the dough and remove the air and let it rest for 15 more minutes.
• Take the dough and gently knead it again. After five minutes, tap the dough with your palm to release most of the air and pull this onto a rectangle sheet, close both the ends inside and roll the dough in a Swiss roll pattern.
• Take a baking tray and grease the inside lightly with oil or butter. Arrange the shaped dough inside the tray, touching the base. Leave it to proof for 45 min or until the dough has risen to double its size.
• Arrange the risen dough tray in a preheated baking oven temperature of 200°C, bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown crust color is achieved.
• Remove from the oven and remove it out of the tray immediately.
• Cool completely before slicing.

 Prep time: 30 minutes, Cook time: 30 minutes, Total time: 2 Hours 30 minutes, Serves 6

Note: Try toasting the slices on a medium hot griddle (tawa) for enhanced flavor and taste.

Source: Institute of Baking & Cake Art, Bangalore (www.ibcablr.com)

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Recipe – Oats and methi bread is a post from: mDhil

Ingredients for Coconut Barfi

• Freshly grated coconut – 1 (medium sized)
• Sugar – 250 gms
• Milk – 1 litre
• Fresh cream –  2 tsp
• Cardamom powder (Elaichi) – ¼ tsp

Method of preparation of coconut barfi

• Mix the freshly grated coconut with milk in a heavy bottom pan for about 15 – 20 minutes on a slow flame.
• Stir continuously with a spatula until all the milk is absorbed by the coconut.
• Add the fresh cream to the mixture.
• Add the sugar and mix well to make a ball like mass of the entire mixture which has good binding. At the right consistency, the mixture should not be sticky to touch.
• Add 2 spoons of powdered sugar and cardamom powder at the end to the entire mixture after removing it from the flame.
• Grease a plate with ghee and spread the mixture in an even and thick layer on it while it’s still warm. You can use the flat side of a katori ( bowl) greased with ghee to evenly spread the mixture.
• Cut this into rectangular pieces while it’s warm.
• Your nariyal barfi is ready to serve once it cools down!

Recipe courtesy Urmila Sarda (cooking enthusiast & home maker)

Photograph by Sneha Mehta, mDhil

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Recipe – Coconut Barfi is a post from: mDhil

Horse gram is a dark brown lentil loaded with therapeutic qualities. It is also rich in iron and calcium.

Ingredients

Pastry Base

Plain flour (Maida) – 100g

Corn flour – 10g

Butter – 50g

Salt – 1g

Milk 15ml

Horse-gram filling

Horse gram Legumes – 50g

Water – 150ml

Butter – 15g

Fenugreek dry leaves (Kasuri Methi) – 1tsp

Salt – 1/2tsp

Hung curd – 50g

Egg Topping

Egg – 2no

Salt – 1/2tsp

Directions

Pastry base

Sieve plain flour (Maida) and corn flour twice and arrange in a large bowl. Add butter to the flour and with the help of a pastry cutter or dough scraper, break into small pieces. Rub the flour and fat together to form soft bread crumb consistency. Add cold milk or water and with the help of your fingertips, fold and combine the ingredients to form a soft dough. Rest the dough covered for 30 minutes.

Horse-gram filling

•  Soak horse gram legumes overnight. In the morning, cook the horse gram in a deep pan till it is 3/4 cooked. Drain the water and rest for some time.
• Place a sauce pan on the stove, add butter, dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) and cooked horse gram, sprinkle salt and mix together for a minute or two. Remove from stove and keep aside to cool completely. Add hung curd and blend it well to coat the horse gram.

Egg Topping

Break two eggs into a bowl along with salt. With a balloon whisk stir the mixture until you get a smooth consistency.

Horse-gram cheese quiche

• Roll the rested pastry dough into 1/8 inch thickness between two sheets of butter-paper, line this to a 6″ pie base and remove the excess from the sides.
• Arrange the pie base in a pre-heated baking oven at a temperature of 200°C, bake for 8 – 12 minutes or until its half cooked.
• Pour the horse-gram filling and level it evenly.
• Also pour the egg topping and level it.
• Grate 15g mozzarella cheese finely and sprinkle over the egg topping covering the entire filling in the pastry base.
• Arrange the pie base again in a pre-heated baking oven at a temperature of 200°C, bake for 12-15 minutes or until a light brown crust color is visible. Remove from the oven. Serve hot or cool completely.

Notes

To make an egg-less horse gram cheese quiche, you can increase the quantity of hung curd and add 5gms of corn flour in to the filling.

Prep time: 30 minutes, Cook time: 30 minutes, Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes, Serves 8

Source: Manish Gaur from Institute of Baking & Cake Art, Bangalore (www.ibcablr.com)

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Recipe: Horse-gram cheese quiche is a post from: mDhil

These Mediterranean looking breads are altered to the Indian palette, by adding chillies and potato. Soft to bite into, with a mouthful of flavours, this bread can be served, both as party snack or anytime bread served with your dinner.

Prep time: 30 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes, Total time: 2 Hours, Serves 10

Ingredients for potato mash kulcha bread

Whole wheat flour (atta) – 225g

Plain flour (maida) – 225g

Potato mash (flakes) – 50g

Salt – 7g

Wheat gluten powder – 5g

Tap water – 365ml

Fresh (compressed or instant) yeast – 15g

Sugar – 10g

Margarine/butter – 20g

Olive oil – 30ml

Chilli flakes – 8g

Oregano (herb) – 5g

Tomato slices of – 200g

Crystal (rock) salt – 7g

Butter – 35g

Directions to make potato mash kulcha bread

1. Take the plain flour, whole wheat flour and gluten together and sieve the mix. Repeat once more and add potato flakes with salt. Keep this mix separately.
2. Add fresh / instant yeast along with sugar in a bowl and stir. Keep it aside and let it rest.
3. Add the yeast solution to sieved flour and combine all the ingredients to form rough dough.
4. Pull the dough out to a clean marble or granite table space and knead. Add margarine/butter and continue to knead the dough, till it forms a soft and smooth texture. Round the dough, cover it and let it rest for 15 – 20 min.
5. While it’s resting, the dough will become twice itself in volume. Tap the dough, remove the gases and round it again. This time, let it rest for 10 minutes.
6. Divide equal portions of the fermented dough on a marble or table slab. Make balls of the fermented dough portions and keep aside.
7. Take each portioned dough and flatten on the table with a rolling pin, so that it’s about 1/4th inch thick (thicker than our usual chapattis).
8. Take a baking tray and grease the inside lightly with oil or butter. Arrange the divided dough shapes inside the tray, by placing them directly on the base. Leave it to proof for 20min or until the dough has risen to twice its size.
9. Dock with the help of a fork or roller pastry docker to form even pricks on each sheeted dough. (Docking refers to the act of pricking the dough all over with a fork or other implement.)
10. Apply olive oil lightly with the help of a pastry brush all over the top of the dough.
11. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on the dough. Then, sprinkle coarse salt, oregano and chili flakes evenly over the tomatoes and dough.
12. Preheat the oven at 200°C. Arrange the garnished risen dough trays into the preheated baking oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is golden-brown.
13. Remove from the oven and release the rolls out from the tray immediately.
14. Apply melted butter on each with the help of pastry brush. Serve hot.

Notes:

You can also alter the flavours further by using herbs like methi leaves (fenugreek), pudina leaves (mint). This combination will make it more Indian and will add to the health benefit.

Source: Institute of Baking & Cake Art, Bangalore (www.ibcablr.com)

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Recipe – Potato Mash Kulcha Bread is a post from: mDhil

Sesame is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. The seeds are known to add benefit to your health, for lowering high blood pressure and also have anticancer effects. The tasty bite of seeds within these crunchy cookies is a delicious treat to all.

Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes, Total time: 45 minutes, Serves 10

Ingredients for sesame seed cookies

Margarine – 200g

Sugar Powder – 300g

Eggs – 2nos

Vanilla essence – 1/2tsp

Plain flour (Maida) – 240g

Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) – 320g

Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Salt – 1/2tsp or 2.5g

Sesame Seeds – 100g

Fresh Milk – 50ml

Directions for making sesame cookies

1. Sieve plain flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda together twice and add salt to keep it separately.
2. In another bowl add margarine and stir with the help of a ladle, add sugar powder little by little and continue to stir, you will see that the cream is fluffing and becomes soft.
3. Once the sugar incorporates, add the eggs and flavor to the creamed fat and sugar and continue to mix till evenly blended.
4. Once it gets blended, fold in sieved dry ingredients along with Sesame Seeds to the creamed mixture and mix evenly to get smooth and soft dough (pliable consistency).
5. Evenly divide the dough into equal parts and arrange them on a lightly greased baking tray a inch apart.
6. Keep the tray in a pre-heated oven (OTG or Convection Microwave) at 150^oC for 20 minutes or more until it’s risen, and turns light brown in color.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool completely and immediately store in a container for later use.

Notes:

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. When baking soda is combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk, honey), the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under the oven.

Source: Institute of Baking & Cake Art, Bangalore (www.ibcablr.com)

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Recipe – Sesame seed cookies is a post from: mDhil

Modak 

Ingredients for modak

For Stuffing-

• Fresh crated coconut – 2 cups
• Jaggery – 1.5 cups  (If  you are a sweet tooth then you can increase the portion to 2 cups – same as coconut)
• Cardamom (elaichi) powder – ½ Tsp
• Ghee – ½ Tsp

For the coating –

• Rice atta – 250 gms or  1 cup
• Water -  250 ml  (same measurement as rice atta)
• Oil – 1 Tsp
• Pinch of salt

Method of preparation of modak

• Take a frying pan and put the ghee, coconut and jaggery in it.
• Put the pan on a slow flame and let the jaggery melt for 2 mins.
• Then add cardamom powder to the mixture. Look out for the consistency of the mixture. It should be good enough to bind and make balls.
• Take water in another non stick pan and let it boil. Add oil and salt to it.
• Add rice atta to the water  while it is still hot and stir continuously to avoid any lumps. Cover this and keep aside for 5 mins
• Grease your palm with little ghee and knead the dough while it is still hot. And make small even size balls out of it.
• Roll these into small puri shape and add 1 spoon of stuffing , and fold them in shape of a modak
  • To form the modak shape, make 8 to 10 folds at the outer edge of the puri, add the stuffing, then bring all the ends together and seal it by presssing
  • Place all of them on a pan inside a pressure cooker and steam for about 7 minutes.

Your hot modaks are ready to serve. Traditionally it is served with little pure ghee. By the way, the same stuffing can be used to make narili poli – with a wheat flour coating.

Hope you have a great Ganesh Chaturthi!

Photograph by GoDakshin, via Creative Commons

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Recipe – Healthy Modak is a post from: mDhil

Lemon is good for your skin and also helps fight against infections. Mint adds to the cooling effect and benefits digestion by eliminating toxins from your body.

Ingredients

Whole egg – 3

Grain Sugar – 80 g

Salt – a pinch

Plain flour (maida) – 80 g

Corn flour – 10 g

Baking Powder – 1/4 tsp

Baking Soda – a pinch

Lemon Zest – 1 lemon

Lemon Juice – 10ml

Fine chopped Fresh Mint (Pudina) Leaves – 5gm

Melted Butter – 30g

Directions

Sieve the dry ingredients flour, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda along with lemon zest, stir and keep aside.

In a deep bowl, break the eggs, add salt and grain sugar and with the help of an electrical hand-held mixer or a table top with whipping attachment, whip the egg at slow speed in a single directional motion within the bowl for one full minute.

Increase the speed, but continue the directional motion for another three minutes or until the egg achieves a stiff and frothy consistency.

Add lemon juice and whip for another minute.

Add the flour-zest mixture to the whipped egg, little by little making sure you do not lose volume of the egg.

Sprinkle the chopped mint leaves and fold it into the batter lightly.

Pour melted butter slowly into the batter and stir gently.

Fold the batter lightly again to get a smooth consistency.

Lightly grease a Madeleine (mini shaped cake mould) with oil, and if required dust with flour (remove excess flour from cake mould).

Pour equal measures of batter into the cake moulds.

Keep the batter filled tray in a pre-heated oven (OTG or Convection Microwave) at 170oC and bake for 15 minutes or more, until it has risen and the top of the cake is golden brown in colour.

Remove the tray from the oven. Allow the cakes to cool completely before storing them in air-tight containers for later use.

Prep time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 15 minutes, Total time: 45 minutes, Serves 6

Source: Institute of Baking & Cake Art, Bangalore (www.ibcablr.com)

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Recipe: Lemon & Mint Madeleine Cake is a post from: mDhil

While the flavour of olives explodes in your mouth, you can make it even more interesting by making sandwiches with different fillings.

Ingredients for heart healthy bread

Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) – 300g

Plain flour (Maida) – 150g

Broken Wheat (Daliya) – 75g

Milk Powder – 10g

Fresh Yeast or Instant Yeast – 15g

Table Salt – 11g

Brown Sugar (Jaggery) – 15g

Wheat Gluten – 15g

Whey Water – 50ml

Black Olives – 40g

Butter / Olive Oil – 30g

Tap Water – 250ml

Method of preparation for heart healthy bread

Soak broken wheat in sufficient recipe water for 30 minutes.

Add Fresh / Instant yeast in a bowl and pour half Luke warm water and brown sugar stir and rest aside.

Take another bowl and add the remaining water mixed with whey water and stir entire salt.

Sieve Whole wheat flour, Plain flour with Milk powder twice and arrange in a large bowl.

Add both the solutions to Sieved flour and soaked broken wheat combine all the ingredients to form rough dough.

Pull the dough out to a clean marble or granite table space and knead. Add Butter/Olive oil and continue kneading to form soft and smooth dough.

Add chopped black olives entirely to the developed dough and roughly knead to spread all around. Round the dough and let it rest covered for 45min – 60 min.

While on rest the dough raises twice the volume, tap the dough and remove the gases and round it for second rest for 15 minutes.

Sheet the dough on a marble or table slab to 1/2 inch thickness. Take a 3 inch heart shaped cookie cutter and divide the portions of the fermented dough.

Take a Baking tray and grease the inside lightly with oil or butter.

Arrange the divided dough shapes inside the tray, touching the base. Leave it to proof for 45min or until the dough is risen double.

Arrange the risen dough trays into preheated baking oven temperature of 200°C, ake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown crust colour is achieved.

Remove from the Oven and release the rolls out from the tray immediately.

Apply Melted butter on each with the help of pastry brush. Cool completely before slicing & serving.

Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes, Total time: 2 hour 30 minutes, Serves 8

Notes

You can also try this bread recipe with Amla (Indian Gooseberry), which makes it healthier for the heart

Source: Manish Gaur from Institute of Baking & Cake Art, Bangalore (www.ibcablr.com)
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Recipe – Bread for a healthy heart! is a post from: mDhil

Ingredients for tri-coloured paratha

For the stuffing:

• Carrots freshly grated                              1 cup             (About 3)
• Radish freshly grated                               1 cup             (About 2 big sized radishes)
• Bottle gourd freshly grated                     1.5 cups        (About ½  a big bottle gourd)
• Green chillies (finely chopped)             2
• Coriander leaves (finely chopped)        1 Tsp
• Olive oil                                                       1 Tsp
• Cumin seeds (Jeera)                                1 tsp
• Asafoetida  (Hing)                                   Pinch
• Salt                                                               To taste

For the dough:

• Whole wheat flour                                   1 cup
• Water                                                          As needed
• Salt                                                               To taste

Method of preparation of tricoloured paratha

For the stuffing:

• Add a little salt to the grated radish and bottle gourd and leave it aside for 15 minutes. Squeeze the water from it out and then proceed to make the stuffing.
• Heat the oil in a non stick pan and fry the cumin seeds, asafoetida and chilli till they crackle.
• Add the grated and squeezed radish, carrot and bottle gourd mixture to this and cook on a slow flame for about 4 – 5 minutes along with the coriander leaves.
• Do not cover this with a lid and keep frying this till you reach a consistency where you can make a ball out of the mixture. Allow it to cool.

For the dough:

• Sieve the wheat flour with salt. Add water and knead to make a stiff dough. Cover and keep aside

Making the parathas:

• Take a small dough ball, and roll it into a small circle (about poori size). Put one small ball of the stuffing on this and cover on all sides. Roll again into thick round paratha.
• Heat the tava (skillet) and cook the paratha with a little oil on both the sides until pink spots appear on top.
• Repeat the same procedure for the remaining stuffing with dough.
• Serve while hot

Serve with curd.

Recipe courtesy – Ms. Pradnya Joshi (Cooking Enthusiast)

Photographs via sxc.hu

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Recipe – Tricoloured Paratha is a post from: mDhil

Homemade Peanut Butter

Ingredients for homemade peanut butter:

• Roasted peanuts (on stove or in oven) –   250 gms
• Ground nut oil –  1 to 3 Tsp
• Pinch of salt  –  Optional
• Jaggery or honey – Optional

Method of preparing homemade peanut butter:

• Place the peanuts in a blender and churn it to get the desired consistency. Initially the peanuts will get chopped into small pieces, but keep blending them more  (for about 3 – 5 minutes) till you get a nice smooth paste of peanut butter. If required, one can add some oil to get a more smoother mix (the peanuts themselves realease oil, so adding the external oil can be avoided).
• Add salt/ jaggery/honey/dark chocolate chips to give different flavours to the peanut butter.
• Incase you want the peanut butter  chunky, add some chopped peanuts to the smooth mix.
• Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy your peanut butter whenever you like!

Photograph via sxc.hu

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Ingredients for healthy buttermilk recipe

• Curd
• Millet (ragi) Flour
• Flax seed powder
• Salt and pepper
• Optional – Green masala made of green chillies, coriander(dhaniya), curry leaves and mint leaves (pudina)

Method of making healthy buttermilk

• Churn the curd till there are no lumps in it.
• Add a tablespoon of ragi flour
• Mix in one or two teaspoons of flax seed powder depending on taste
•  Salt and pepper and/or green masala as per taste.
• Stir well, keep it thick or dilute it by adding a little water.

Health benefits of buttermilk!

• Millet(ragi) flour is rich in proteins, iron and calcium which is especially important for women
• Flax seed powder contains omega 3 fatty acids and copious amounts of fibre.

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Cool, refreshing and healthy buttermilk recipe is a post from: mDhil

Ingredients for Aam Panna (raw mango juice)

• Raw mango – 500 gms
• Ice cubes (crushed) – 15
• Cumin seed powder (dried and roasted) – ½ Tsp
• Mint leaves – few
• Sugar and salt to taste

Method of making aam panaa

• Wash the mangoes and place them with some water in a pressure cooker to boil.
• Boil it on simmer for 5 minutes.
• Allow it to cool and strain of the water.
• Peel the mangoes and remove the pulp completely with the spoon (leaving behind the seed)
• Place the pulp in a deep bowl.
• Add water to the pulp and whisk thoroughly.
• Add sugar and salt to taste.
• Stir well , and add cumin seeds .
• Refrigerate till it cools .
• Serve chill with crushed ice and mint leaves on top.

Photograph by draconianrain via Creative Commons

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Recipe: Aam Panna (Raw mango juice) is a post from: mDhil

Chunky tomato-fruit gazpacho   

Ingredients:

• Tomato, chopped – 500 grams
• Honeydew melon, chopped – 500 grams
• Cantaloupe, chopped – 500 grams
• Mango, chopped – 240 grams
• Cucumber, seeded and peeled – 240 grams
• Orange juice – 240 grams
• Basil, shredded – 50 gm
• Mint/Pudina, chopped – 3 tbsp.
• Lemon juice – 3 tbsp.
• Sugar – 1 tsp.
• Salt – 15 grams
• Jalapeno pepper, chopped – 1

Method of preparation:   

• Mix all the fruits together, and keep aside 200 grams for garnish.
• Blend rest of the fruits with other ingredients in a blender to soup consistency by adding little chilled water, if required.
• Adjust the seasoning with salt, sugar and lemon juice.
• Pass through a fine sieve and cover and chill at least 2 hours.
• Divide the fruit mixture in to 7 cups, pour the chilled soup in to the bowl.

Serve chilled, garnished with a mint sprig and drizzle with few drops of olive oil on top.

Recipe courtesy, The Gateway Hotel

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Recipe – Chunky tomato-fruit gazpacho is a post from: mDhil

Make some mouth-watering mango salsa

Ingredients of Mango Salsa:

• Ripe mangoes – 2
• Cucumber – 1/2
• Red pepper – 1
• Green pepper – 1
• Jalapeno – 1
• Green chilies – 2
• Coriander – handful
• Lemon – 1
• Salt – to taste

Method of making mango salsa:

Take the two ripe mangoes (don’t waste Alphonsos on this) and dice them.

Dice the cucumber, red pepper, green pepper, jalapeno, and two green chilies. Chop up the coriander.

Mix all the ingredients together.

Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the mixture and sprinkle with salt.

Chill the mixture in the fridge and your mango salsa is ready!

Serve it either as a salad with grilled fish or chicken. Or even serve it just as a starter.

Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy: Rajyasree Sen, Chef, Food for Thought (Catering)

Photograph via sailu’s kitchen

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Recipe – Mango Salsa is a post from: mDhil

Chicken tortilla wrap: Tasty Mexican recipe

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Ingredients for chicken tortilla wrap

• Sliced chicken breast
• Red capsicum
• Lettuce leaves
• Tortillas or bread
• Chili flakes
• Red wine vinegar
• Crushed garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Dried oregano
• Maple syrup or honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method of making chicken tortilla wraps

• Put the oil, red wine vinegar, red chili flakes, dried oregano, crushed garlic and a good helping of maple syrup in a bowl.
• Add the chicken and mix well.
• Add salt and pepper for taste
• Refrigerate for an hour or two. If you are in a hurry, you could refrigerate it for just half an hour.
• Grill the marinated chicken on a preheated grill till the maple syrup caramelizes
• Shallow fry the capsicums.
• Fill the tortilla wraps with capsicum, lettuce and chicken. Roll up the wrap.
• Voila your tortilla wraps are ready to be eaten!

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Recipe: Chicken tortilla wrap is a post from: mDhil

Healthy summer salad: Watermelon and feta cheese salad

Click to subscribe to our healthcare channel on Youtube!

Ingredients for watermelon and feta cheese salad

• Watermelon – Cubed or diced
• Feta cheese
• Sliced dark olives
• Mint leaves – Chopped
• balsamic reduction
• Mint sprigs for decoration

Method of making balsamic reduction

• Boil two cups of balsamic vinegar with one cup of sugar and reduce it till it becomes a little syrupy.

Method of making watermelon and feta cheese salad

• Start with a base of watermelon cubes.
• Add some feta cheese to it.
• Sprinkle some chopped mint and olives.
• Top it off with the balsamic reduction dressing.
• Decorate with mint sprigs and serve chilled.

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Salad recipe: Healthy watermelon and feta cheese salad is a post from: mDhil

Boost up the nutrition levels of your everyday raita by adding some spinach!


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Ingredients for spinach raita

• Spinach– 2 medium bunches, washed and chopped
• Yoghurt–1  cup
• Onions– 1 small, chopped
• Ginger – 1/4 tsp, chopped
• Salt- to taste
• Pepper – to taste

For the tadka

• Urad dal
• Dried red chillies
• Mustard seeds
• Asfoetida
• Oil

Method of making spinach raita

• Pour hot water over the spinach to wilt it. Keep it aside.
• Pour the yoghurt into a bowl and whisk it.
• For the tadka, heat the oil in a pan. Add a pinch of asfoetida(hing), crack open the dried chillies and put them in. Once they start turning a little brown, add the urad dal.
• Wait for the dal to turn golden brown before taking it off the heat.
• Now take the spinach out and add it to the whisked yoghurt.
• Mix in the tadka, onions, ginger, salt and pepper.
• Serve cold. Your wilted spinach raita is now ready!

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Recipe: How to make spinach raita is a post from: mDhil