Monthly Archives: December 2012
Dryfruit Nut Laddu ~ Dryfruit Nut Balls
I want to windup 2012 with this healthy treat and another reason to celebrate is, today my sister is blessed with a baby boy, so I am dedicating this healthy recovering snack to my lovely sister whom I miss being with during this beautiful phase of her life.
Milk Coconut Burfi ~ Kobbari Pala Kova
Coconut is offered to GOD in Hindu rituals. Whenever we have pooja ceremony at home we are left with ample coconuts, and my mother used to make this sweet with fresh grated coconut, milk and sugar. Coconut mixed with milk and sugar cooks until it forms a lump, which gives coconut-kova taste and soft chewy texture. I used to take this sweet to college and my friends empty and enjoy them in no time. If you are a coconut fan, you will love this burfi.
Raw Persimmon Pudding – Vegan
When I first came to US, one of my friends introduced me to this fiber rich persimmon and I liked them very much. From then on I never miss enjoying them in every fall season. I bought persimmons from Costco last week to have it like regular fruit. When I opened to check them, they were mushy and very ripe, but I like them firm and ripe. So I searched for very ripe persimmon recipes from which I got this simple, raw, vegan dessert recipe. Most of the raw persimmon pudding recipes included ripe banana, which I didn’t use here.
Vegan Whole Wheat Walnut Dates Cake – Sugarless
I have a strong craving for sweets and I often control myself by keeping sugar free for couple of months. This time, I wanted to follow sugar free vegan diet but the craving for sweet could not be controlled and came up with this vegan whole wheat walnut dates cake. I know dates and honey are not sugar free but at least they contain natural sugars and some minor minerals. By now you know my love for whole grains over refined flours or rice, so I tried this recipe with whole wheat flour rather than all purpose flour and it came out very good.
Whole Wheat Rotis with extra fiber and protein
Roti made with whole wheat flour is one of the healthy diets in India and is also a staple food in northern India. Whole wheat flour contain good amount of dietary fiber which helps to reduce constipation, lowers blood cholesterol and helps you in losing weight. Here I mention the idea of using wheat bran and wheat germ as ingredients to get extra fiber, protein and minerals. We can apply little oil or ghee on rotis while cooking to get softer rotis and to maintain softness even after a day of making to consume later. But pulkas without oil made on tawa and direct fire should be consumed immediately for better texture.
Ragi Oats Poridge
Ragi (Finger millet, Nachni, Eleusine coracana) is a gluten free grain known for its high calcium content when compared to other grains. Ragi also has a good amount of few key amino acids. In south India we make various dishes with ragi like sweet ragi malt, salty ragi malt, ragi mudda, ragi roti, …. I got excited with the idea of including ragi and oats in breakfast from archana’s kitchen and came out with my flavour. As always I added my favorite ingredients fruits, nuts, seeds and wheat germ. What a nice way to start your day with this healthy warm breakfast.
Zucchini Soup
A bowl of hot and steaming soup in this cold winter is refreshing and stomach filling. Getting your daily vegetable intake through soup is easy and nutritional. Soups made with vegetables are low in calories and do not have saturated fat and cholesterol. This Zucchini soup is creamy and little sweet even without adding cream or dairy and any thickening ingredients like cashews or Potato or corn starch. My family enjoyed it and If you are a soup lover, give it a try. Main ingredients are zucchini, broth, onion and garlic. Add your own flavors and have fun. Serve this warm in winter and enjoy it chilled in summer.
Beetroot chutney with Sesame seeds
Beetroot is a cardiovascular friendly vegetable with rich antioxidants and Vitamin C. Adding iron rich sesame seeds and other spices with this highly nutritious vegetable gives you a sweet, tangy chutney. My moms recipe for preparing chutney’s is to add more sesame seeds and very less amount of peanuts. Instead of peanuts I added walnuts. The taste is equally good and this chutney is a good combination with rice or pesarattu. Today I made it with Mixed lentils/ whole dal dosa. My little one enjoyed it saying red chutney. Hope you will enjoy this recipe.
Whole wheat banana pancake – Vegan version
Last night, I was thinking about what to cook for dinner and I was not in a mood to elaborate cooking. I wanted something instant like dosa, but unfortunately I don’t have any dosa or idly batter at hand and I want whole wheat as the main ingredient. Idea of making pancakes came to my mind as my daughter loves them.