Curried Cous-Cous

1 1/2 cups couscous
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup small-diced carrots
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
1/4 cup blanched, sliced almonds
2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup small-diced red onion


Place the couscous in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in the boiling water and pour over the couscous. Cover tightly and allow the couscous to soak for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Pour over the fluffed couscous, and mix well with a fork. Add the carrots, parsley, currants, almonds, scallions, and red onions, mix well, and season to taste. Serve at room temperature.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/curried-couscous-recipe/index.html

Fruit Campote

1. Frozen Peach, Plums, Blue Berries, what ever
2. Sugar
3. Vanilla
MIX
Microwave for 2 minutes

Serve with Vanilla Ice cream and Almond strips

Juice it! (Veggie)

I've been eating out for the last three weeks.. and decided to eat healthy this weekend. I bought fresh organic parsley, spinach, carrots, lemons etc yesterday, so I decided to try a few juices.

I made the juice with my "Magic Bullet". The bullet is very helpful when you are making juice or smoothie for 1-2 people. Less dishes - because you can make the juice and drink it out of the same cup.

Here is the recipe for my "Green Veggie Revolution"
Greens: A bunch of Baby Spinach
Flavor: A bunch of Parsley
Consistency: One ripe tomato
Taste: Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Ice cubes or cold water - just to ensure that everything blends

Wash ingredients and then add to the Magic Bullet/Blender
Blend

Please ensure that you use one from each category - for juice that you'll enjoy
Greens: Baby Spinach, Regular Spinach, Kale, Lettuce, Celery, Cabbage
Flavor: Parsley, Basil, Coriander
Consistency: Tomato
Taste: Mint leaves, Lime/Lemon/Orange Juice/Rind, Jalapeño, Red/Green/Yellow Pepper

Tomato and Onion Chutney

TOMATO ONION CHUTNEY
I.Saute in a Tsp of Oil :
Bengal Gram Daal 1 Tsp
Red Chilli 2
Green Chilli 2
Onion cut 3 Medium
Tomato cut 3 Medium
Tamarind 1 Marble size
Salt to taste
Curry leaves
Corriander leaves
COOL & GRIND to Paste

II. Thadka:
Oil 1 Tsp
Mustard 1 Tsp

Add I and II. Ready to Serve with Idli, Dosa, Adai, Upma

Source: Mummy

Corriender and Mint Chutney

GRIND TOGETHER to a fine paste:
Corriander - 1 bunch (equal to a cup)
Pudina - ½ bunch
Onion -1 small
Green Chilli -4
Garlic -4 pods
Jaggery -1 Tsp
Salt to taste
Jeera - ¼ tsp
Juice of ½ Lime Or ½ tsp Pulp of Tamarind.

Sweet Chuthey

Sweet Chuthey for Aloo Tikki, Bhel Puri, Pani Puri and all other "chat items".. Can also be used as a Salad Dressing!!

Pulp / Extract of Tamarind - 1 lime size
Jaggery - 4 Tbsp
Dates (softened and mashed) - 4 to 5
Red Chilli Powder - ½ tsp
Black Salt - 1 Tsp
Roasted Jeera Powder - 1 Tsp
Salt to Taste
Bring to Boil on slow heat stirring occasionally till it shines.

Source: Radha Mummy

Andhra Pesarattu

A healthy version of the dosai!

Wash and Soak for about 2 to 3 hours
Paitham Daal (Yellow daal) - 1 Tumbler
Par Boiled Rice - 1 Handful

ADD to this:
Onion- 1 Medium Size
Green Chilli - 4
Red Chilli - 3
Coconut fresh gratings - 1 Handful
Asafoetida - ¼ Tsp
Salt - to Taste
Curry leaves
Corriander leaves
GRIND TOGETHER to a fine paste. Ready to use.

Source: Radha mummy (my mom)

Whole-Wheat Walnut & Raisin Biscotti - no butter :)

I just saw "Everyday Food" on PBS and I loved this breakfast biscotti recipe. I immediately tried it, and it tasted great.

"Biscotti" means "double baked". A few good things about this recipe:
- No Butter
- Only 1/3rd cup of Sugar
- Very healthy as it has walnuts and raisins
- You can make it and store for a few days
- You can also make it to take along (to work/ travels) as a snack

The best part is that you use very little sugar, and no butter.. Sounds good right.. let's get into the details now..

Oil spray for the baking sheet
Whole wheat flour - 3/4 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Sugar (Brown or Regular) - 1/3 cup
Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
Walnut halves - 1/2 cup
Raisins - 1/4 cup (Use golden/dark raisins)
Eggs - 2
Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon

Optional ingredients in place of raisins:
Cranberries - 1/4 cup
Apricots - 1/4 cup
Mini sweet chocolate chips - 1/4 cup
Or anything else you like!! Just limit the quantity to 1/4 cup

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the baking tray
2. Mix the dry ingredients
3. Beat the egg and the vanilla extract
4. Fold the dry ingredients with the egg mix
5. Make a "loaf" (1 inch thick, 2.5 inches wide and 7 inches long)
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes
6. Cut the loaf into 1/4 inch pieces using a serrated knife
7. Reduce the heat in the oven to 300 degrees
8. Place on the baking tray and bake (turning once after 10-12 minutes) for another 20-25 minutes
9. Store in an airtight container

The link: http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/walnut_raisin_biscotti.html

I'm back with Soy Chai

Hello.. I'm back after a brief break.. with a perfect recipe for a snowy day.. we had a snow storm last night, and it is freezing now! I really wanted to drink something hot tea but realized that I ran out of milk.. I had two cartons of Silk Vanilla Soy milk and decided to quickly try to make "Soy Chai".. and it turned out great!!

Here is what you need for two cups of tea (chai):
Water - 1 cup
Soy Milk - 1-1/2 cups
Tea leaves (four teaspoons) or tea bag (3) - the quantity really depends on the type of tea
A mix of spices
Honey/Sugar to taste

Again, please buy recently packed, good quality tea leaves or bags - it makes a lot of difference..

How to:
1. Boil water in a thick bottom vessel until you see bubbles
2. Add 1/2 a teaspoon of spice mix - see my next post for the ingredients
3. Add the tea leaves/tea bag and bring to a boil
4. Add the Soy Milk and bring to a boil
5. Add Sugar/Honey
6. Strain and drink..

I did not add sugar or honey for myself because the soy milk had a hint of vanilla. You can try it without sugar/honey and always add it later if necessary.

The quantity of water and milk can vary depending on how you want your tea. If you want it watery, add more water.. and if you want it thick, you can add more milk

Ani Phyo's Raw Food Kitchen

I have signed up to listen to talks from the Raw Food Summit (http://rawsummit2.com/free_access). This morning, I heard a talk by Ani Phyo - who is a chef, author, and a raw food expert. As I was inspired by her talk, I went to YouTube to look at the video of some of her easy "raw" recipes.

Here are the links to her videos:
Spanish Breakfast Scramble - This can be a wonderful side for your dinner, or can be had for breakfast. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gvrEj2H36w&feature=related

Crunchy Donut Holes - This can be a very healthy snack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuGjDagUWNg

I also saw a video from Wholegormet:
Homemade Pizza Crust - This is a good way to use up my pound of Whole Wheat flour before I go on vacation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAVUFnhP1ZA&feature=related

Adai (Indian Bean/Lentil Pancakes/Crepes)

I love Adai.. My mom and grandmom make the best adai, but I can confidently say that mine comes as a close second. The Adai is not as thin as a crepe and fat as a pancake.. it is somewhere in the middle.

You can make this as healthy as you want - or can cheat a little bit and have just 1 that is crisped with oil.

This is what you'll need:
1 cup mixed lentils and beans (You can go to the Indian store, and get a bag of mixed lentils)
1 cup rice
5-6 red chili's (based on taste, you can also use red pepper flakes)
4-5 green chili's (as you know, the heat of the chili depends on the species)
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Asafoetida (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asafoetida)
1/2 cup of chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 tsp cumin seeds (Optional)
1/2 inch Ginger (Optional)
1/2 red onion (Optional)
Sesame oil to grease the skillet (or any other oil)

Soak the Rice and Lentils/beans until soft (for about 4 hours; overnight if possible)
Blend everything until it forms a coarse batter

Heat a skillet and until smoking hot (medium-high)
Spread a tsp. of oil on the skillet
Pour a ladle of the batter and spread on the skillet (draw concentric circles from the middle to flatten as you go)
Pour 1 tsp. of oil to crisp the middle and ends of the adai
Turn once a side is done

Serve with butter, brown sugar, any indian pickle, molagai podi (south indian blend chili powder), tomato chutney, or mango chutney.

Notes:
1. You need to have a thick bottom non-stick skillet for the bean crepe to lift off the skillet
2. Making crepes/pancakes is an art - and needs to be perfected over time - need a LOT of practice

See this interesting article about chili: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili_pepper

Healthy Mocha Muffins

Yes, as you realized, the first few posts will be related to Coffee, Cocoa or Chai.

I bought muffin tray last week, and was looking for a recipe to make muffins - not the ones with a lot of butter and sugar - I wanted to make healthy breakfast muffins.

So, I went to google.com and searched for a recipe with the following terms: "Chocolate Yogurt Muffins". And I found this recipe: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,174,147169-239207,00.html

When I read the ingredients, I thought this was an almost-perfect recipe for healthy mocha muffins. I tweaked the recipe (eliminated sugar and reduced the quantity of oil) and here it is:

What you'll need:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle chips)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (you can increase the quantity)
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup fresh strong brewed coffee (I think this will taste better if we use instant coffee/espresso powder)
1 cup plain yogurt (I used Stonyfield low-fat yogurt)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Egg substitute equal to 2 eggs
1/4 cup prune puree (I bought the baby food brand - Gerber)
1/3 cup applesauce (I bought the baby food brand - Gerber)

Optional:
2 table spoons of Sugar to sprinkle on top of the muffins (Optional)
Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar if making this for dessert

Sugar: Since I eliminated sugar in the original recipe, I added prune puree, apple sauce and semi-sweet chocolate chips for sweetness

Makes 16 muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degress. Grease muffin tray (This is an important step. If using muffin cups, please grease them too. I used olive oil spray and also sprinkled whole wheat flour.) Mix dry ingredients (1 to 8) set aside. Beat the wet ingredients with a whisk. Fold in the wet mix with the flour mix - be careful not to form any lumps.

Half-fill the muffin tins, sprinkle sugar on top (optional) and bake for 20 minutes. The muffins came out very well - and tasted very good. (I had 2 muffins for breakfast this morning.) Drop me a note if this recipe worked for you.