PULKA (WITH GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES)

I am again here for giving every one another a healthy recipe and which I eat regularly now a day. This dish is part of my diet food.

When I went to a dietician for asking what I should have for reducing my weight then he advised me that I should avoid eating rice, fried items and sweet. He asked me to include wheat and oats as main course and he also asked me to have leafy vegetables almost every day. Looking at me my husband also decided to go for diet plan but he is very choosy about food. He normally does not like leafy vegetables to eat every day. So I was thinking how to give him leafy vegetables in different way. Here is my first attempt in which I got 100% success.

Pulka with green leafy vegetables

Preparation Time-15-20 min

Cooking Time-10-15 min

Serves- 4 Persons

Ingredients

Leafy vegetables -1 bunch (anything you like Spinach, Amaranth but not fenugreek leaves)

Wheat Flour-2 ½ cups

Carom seed-1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Water-as required

Method

·         Clean and wash the leafy vegetables properly.

·         Now in a pressure cooker, put washed leafy vegetables along with very minimal water and cook in medium flame for 5 minutes.

·         After that cool down the cooker and remove leafy vegetables from that and put on a bowl.

·         After leafy vegetables get cool down than grind it in a mixer.

·         Now in mixing bowl, put flour, leafy vegetables paste, salt along with carom seeds.

·         Mix it well.

·          If you required, add little by little water and make smooth dough.

·         Now make equal ball of dough.

·         With the help of rolling pin make small circle with this ball by dusting little flour on that.

·         Heat a tawa and put rolled pulka on that.

·         Cook both the side properly and then serve with any healthy side dish or dal.(you can also roast little bit directly on flame with the help of chimta).

SUJI MANDA (A POPULAR FESTIVAL ORIYA DISH)

Krishna jyanti is very important festival for Iyengars but all Hindu family celebrate this festival as per their culture.This time my MIL was not with me to guide what to do for festival but I was getting her instruction over phone.


I prepared everything whatever she asked me to make and I will post the recipe of everything one by one.Since I am from Orissa I wanted to make some oriya dish for the puja so I made one dish which is normally prepared by oriya people on festival days it is called as suji manda(Rava Balls with coconut filling) in Orissa. Usually it is prepared during December that is Magh month of Hindu calendar.The whole Orissa celebrate lakshmi pooja on all Thursday of Magh month.

So here the recipe for it:

SUJI MANDA

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Makes-10-12 medium size

Ingredients

Bombay Rava/Semolina (Suji)-2 cups

Water-4 cups

Salt-1/2 tsp

Sugar-1/4 cup

Ghee-2 tsp

Oil/Ghee-for deep frying

For Filing

Finely grated coconut-1 cup

Jaggery-1/4 cup

Cardamom powder-1 tsp

Method:

• Take a wide mouth pan and boil 4 cup of water in this.

• When water starts boiling add salt and sugar.

• Then start adding slowly semolina by continuously steering in this.

• Keep it in low flame and cover it with lid

• Remove the lid after a couple of minute and again steer it.

• Remove the mix in plate and allow it get cool.

• Meanwhile heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan.

• Add grated coconut and fry till golden brown color.

• Then add cardamom powder and jiggery in this.

• Fry till jiggery gets melted.

• Once the mixture isl well mixed it from heat.

• Now for the rava mix you need to put 1 tsp ghee in this and knead it nicely when it is little warm.

• Now heat oil/ghee for deep frying in a pan.

• Then equal size of rava mix and stuff this with coconut mixture.

• Seal the edges with water and give a shape of ball, then flaten it little with the help of your hands.

• Deep fry it in oil ghee.

• Serve hot or cold with your evening tea or coffee.

TIPS

• Keep steering the mix in pan while mixing rava or else there might lumps will get form.

• While stuffing rava balls put little oil/ghee in your hand.By doing this rava mixture will not be stick on your hand.

• If you don’t have jiggery you can use ¼ cup sugar.

• If you want you can add some dry fruits in coconut mixture whatever you like.

KESARI

I have just got few minutes to relax. I am doing something or other from early morning. House was like a dustbin from yesterday night. Why????Yesterday was my hubby's birth day.

Yesterday, we had a small get to gather at home.The end of day we were were tired like anything, so we dumped everything as it is, and went to sleep.

As per my in laws tradition, we prepare at least a sweet at home, on any occasion like birth day or wedding anniversary, and being a daughter in law of a traditional iyengar family I have done same since this time my in laws are not in station.. I prepared a very common traditional sweet known as Kesari in south India but in other places in India it is called as suji ka halwa.I do not know that how many of you know that there is lots of difference in between these two sweets.Soon I ll post the recipe for suji ka halwa also but for time being just have a look how I have prepared my kesari.

Kesari

Preparation time: 5 minutes (Approximately)

Cooking time: 15 minutes (Approximately)

Serving: 4-6 persons

Ingredients

Bombay rava/Suji/Semolina-2 cups

Hot Water-5 cups

Ghee-3/4 cup

Sugar-1 cup

Eatable Orange color-1/2 tsp

Cardamom Powder-1 tsp

Cashew Nut-10-15

Raisine-15-20

Pistachi-5-10

Method

• Heat a pan and put ghee in this keeping 1 tsp ghee aside.

• Once ghee is warm add semolina in this and fry this till it turns to light pink in colour.

• Then add hot water in this and keep steering the rava simultaneously.

• Mix the orange colour in little water and put this also in semolina.

• Once water is dried up add sugar and cardamom powder in this.

• Once sugar mixed up with semolina and ghee started separating from semolina then removes it from flame.

• Now in another pan heat 1 tsp ghee and fry all dry fruits.

• Add the fried dried fruits to kesari.

TOMATO PACADI OR CHUTNEY (ANDHRA METHOD)

Few days back I posted a recipe of tomato chutney which is prepared very often in my in laws house and also very popular in Tamilnadu.Today I got the same recipe but in Andhra style.

Thanks once again to Mrs J Leela who has thought me so many verities of food of Andhra.         

So here is recipe of Tomato Chutney from Andhra:-

Tomato Chutney (In Andhra Style)

Preparation time: 5 minutes (Approximately)

Cooking time: 10 minutes (Approximately)

Serving-5-6 persons

Ingredients

Tomatoes-5 (Medium in size)

Bengal Gram (Channa) Dal-3 tabs

Whole Black Gram (Urad) -1 ½ tabs

Dry Red whole chillies-6-7 (or as spicy as you need)

Mustard Seeds (Rai Dana)-1 tsp

Salt-to taste

Oil-1 tabs

For Seasoning

Oil-1/2 tsp

Curry Leaves-4-5

Asafoetida powder-a pinch

Method

·         Heat ½ tabs oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, dry red chillies, Bengal gram and black gram dal in this. Fry in low heat till mustard seeds are cracked and dals pulses turned to golden brown color.In mean while just cut the tomatoes in quarter and remove the seeds and pulp from it.Remove the mustard seeds, chillies and dals from pan and allow it to get cool down. Now in the same pan add another ½ Tabs oil and fry tomatoes till they are tender and leave their raw smell. Now in a mixer jar put fried dals, mustard seeds and dry red chillies and grind it a fine powder. Now add fried tomatoes and salt in this and grind it again to make chutney. Now heat ½ tsp oil in a pan and season the chutney with curry leaves and asafoetida.

MY TIPS

·         Do not throw the removed pulp and seeds from tomatoes; you can use this for making curry or dal. This chutney does not get spoil for 2-3 .;days..p

TINDORA CHUTNEY

Once I was watching some Telugu channel but I don’t remember which channel it was. I think it must be 3 years back but normally I do not watch any regional channel. It was fortunate that while changing channel I started watching this channel because there was a cookery show coming on that. Honestly I do not remember anything about this programme what channel it was???, what was the programme name?? Who was hosting??? Nothing, only I remember the recipe came on it because it was really interesting.


So the recipe is all about a chutney which is made from the Tindora (Ivy guard). In India, we make different curry from tindora and while making this we throw some tindora which is over ripen. Here is the key of the recipe, yes the chutney is made from over ripen tindora. Take a look how I have made this.

TINDORA CHUTNEY ( DHONDAKAYA PACAHDI)

Preparation Time-5 min

Cooking Time-10-15 min

Serves- 4 Persons

Ingredients

Ripen Tindora -10-12 (Cut in half)

Tomatoes-2 (Medium in size)

Bengal Gram Dal- 3 tabs

Whole Black gram -1 ½ tabs

Dry Red Chillies- 6-7 (or as spicy as you need)

Oil-1 tabs

Mustard seeds-1 tsp

Asafoetida powder- ¼ tsp

Salt- to taste

Method

• Heat oil in a pan.

• Add mustard seeds and allow it to crack.

• Now put Bengal gram Dal. Black gram and red chillies.

• Fry them till they are golden brown colour.

• Remove it on a plate and allow it get cool down.

• Now add tindora to same pan along with tomatoes and cook till it is ¾ cooked.

• Remove it from pan and allow it to get cooled.

• Now in chutney jar, put the Dal and chillies and grind it to a form of granular powder.

• Now add tindora, tomatoes, asafoetida along with salt in this and grind it to a form of chutney thickness.

• If you want you can season this chutney.



ENJOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LAUKI AUR CHANNA DAL KI SABJI

Recently I have posted a recipe which I am eating regularly now a days and believe me it is really effective. I have lost 8 kgs weight in 3 months with the help of exercise and diet plan. I am just waiting for the day when I will see the weighing machine to show 52 kgs when I stand on it.

Lots say that diet foods are boring but I don’t believe this. I am on diet from past 3 months but I never got bored. I did not restrict myself from any food, but I have reduced quantity of those foods which have lots of fat and carbohydrate in it. Here is another one recipe which you can eat with roti and it has hardly 100 calorie in it.

 LAUKI AUR CHANNA DAL KI SABJI

Preparation Time-5 min
Cooking Time-15 min
Serves- 4 Persons

Ingredients

Bottle guard (Lauki)-500 grams (cut in cubes, I used with peel but for you it’s yours choice.)

Bengal gram Dal-1/2 cup

Kasuri Methi- 2 tabs

Coriander powder- 2 tabs

Chilli powder-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Salt-to taste

Gram masala-1/2 tsp

Onion-1 (Finely chopped)

Tomatoes-2 (Finely chopped)

Oil-1 tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Method

·         Wash and soak gram dal for about two hours in water.

·         Now take a pressure cooker and put gram dal along with bottle guard, turmeric powder and salt.

·         Cook in medium flame till you get 2 whistles.

·          Allow cooker to get cool down its own.

·         Now heat a pan and put oil in it.

·         Add cumin seeds and allow it to change its colour.

·         Add chopped onion and fry till it’s transparent.

·         Now put chopped tomatoes along with all dry masalas and kasuri methi.

·         Cook till tomatoes are done.

·         Now add boiled gram dal and bottle guard into it.

·         Cook till you get desire thickness.

·         Serve with Roti.