Stiry fry with Seeds of change brown rice, quinoa and sprouts

Found the brown rice and qunioa at Costco and brought them on an impulse. They are quite easy to prepare and a good standby option for a quick meal. We had cooked the rice in the microwave according to the instructions. Stir fried half a cup of moong sprouts and 1 cup of pea shoots in a little oil and mixed the rice mix in for a nutritious lunch. Added some soy sauce for a taste boost.

Make it a Meal with Barnyard Millets

Everyone, the world over, are waking to the power of millets. To me, there are two benefits of eating with the 'small' grains. They are not only good for us, but they can in a small way help the climate change. They do not need a lot of water or fertile land to grow. Very hardy and can grow in different and difficult climatic conditions. As a bonus, they are power houses of nutrition too.

Here is a meal with millets, dal, rasam and a curry. The traditional rice meal replaced with barnyard millets. Just cooked it similar to rice with 1 millets to two water in a rice cooker. Let us do our bit to the environment by slowly incorporating millets into our diet.

Sauteed Paneer, Peas Pulao and Boondi Raita - Balance of Nutrition

The boondi, paneer and curd for the protein, peas and cucumber pitching in with the vegetables and the brown basmati rice adds the carbs and a bit of fiber. Delicious and healthy with a right balance of flavors.

Chilli curry with sesame powder

Sesame seeds are powerhouses of nutrition. It is the oldest known condiment to the mankind. Blogosphere is full of information on the beneficial effects of using this seed. Toast them lightly, cool and powder and use it to spike up the nutrition and the taste factor in any vegetable saute.

Spinach and Corn Uttapam - Classic Combo in a new avatar

Slightly sour dosa/idli batter mixed with onions, chilli's is the way we usually make the uttappams. I am trying different combinations to increase the intake the vegetables and spice up the regular dishes. Spinach and corn compliment each other perfectly in many dishes. Tried to get them into the uttappam batter and the resulting dish was quite tasty. In many ways, it can be a one pot meal with all the necessary protein, vegetable and carbs together presented in a tasty combo.

Cabbage jowar roti with spring onions and left over rice

A cup of left over rice, a cup of jowar flour and add a lot of cabbage and spring onions with some ajwain. There is a lot going on in terms of ingredients, but the taste is excellent and is the best way to incorporate more millets like jowar into the dinner. This is not rolled like the normal roti's or chapathi's but must be patted on a banana leaf. Kannadigas are very proficient at making this kind of rotti.

Colorful and Healthy Sandwich Meal

Stir fried on high heat with a tea spoon of olive oil, cheery(cherry) tomatoes garnished with basil and seasoned with salt and pepper are the star of this sandwich meal. The sandwich itself is simple, spread with some corriander chutney and onions and grilled till crisp and brown.

The tomatoes were bursting with flavor and perfectly complemented the spicy sandwich.

Healthy Indulgence for a weekend brunch

Green chutney and cheese sandwich grilled with a healthy dose of creamy mashed potatoes and quick sauteed broccoli - a nice and healthy weekend brunch.

No recipe needed.

Make it meal with Sandwich

Fried moong dal served with a grilled cheese and vegetable sandwich. Serve with a glass a buttermilk to make it an easy and protein rich meal.

Menu Plan - Dal, Instant Tomato Pickle, Cauliflower Pepper Fry and Stuffed Chillies

Easy menu - gets done in half hour for 3 people. Linking the recipes here.

Stuffed Chillies
Cauliflower pepper fry

Spinach Paratha and a green lunch box

Stir fried spinach mixed with spices and besan (chick pea flour), stuffed and rolled into parathas, dipped into corriander chutney, a spoon full of curd and a bite of sauteed green chillies with some salt and all this in a lunch box, what is not to like in it. It does sound very cumbersome to cook and pack, but it actually is not. The green chutney (slightly sauteed corriander leaves and chilli grided with salt and lemon juice) can be made in advanced and left in the fridge overnight to make it easy in the morning. Even the stuffing and the atta can be prepared the night before, all making it very easy to roll them out and pack in the morning. A view of the tasty and easy green lunch box. I should shop for a green one to match for the contents :-)

Macaroni Soychunks Manchurian

Gobi Manchuri/Manchurian is a very popular street food. The bright orange food coloring, the overused oil, the grease and what not - all these add to the taste factor. The resulting brown mass with the addition of crunchy onions is a big favorite with many youngsters. 

If you love that taste but started getting health conscious, then this dish comes to your rescue. It is also a healthier alternative to serve to your kids. Macaroni, soy chunks and manchurian are magnets on their own, and combine it with making it healthier, in a pressure cooker, then what is not to like in it. I have also found that this dish is pretty tasty even it is cold, making it ideal for a lunch box option.

Aloo Paratha Overloaded

Aloo paratha is tasty. No second opinions about that. I have not met anyone till now who does not like one. What if you can overload it with nutrition too. I added some moong sprouts and sesame seeds to up the nutrition level. Of course you act coy and do not mention all the good additions and serve without mentioning anything. Trust me that the parathas will be finished without any complaints or detecting and picking out the "too healthy " elements from the plate.

Overload is used in a positive context here. If you have done any Java Programming, you would know where I am coming from.

Spinach Jeera Rice with Sprouted Masoor Dal, Wholesome nutrition in minutes

What started out as a quick fix turned into a complete dinner. Two cups of left over rice from lunch, a cup of masoor sprouts , two mouths to feed and a lazy me resulted in this fabulous plating. On the spur of the moment, I made the quick cabbage kimchi style salad, and the result was absolutely delicious.

The sprouts were already a week old sitting forlorn in the fridge which resulted in the extra long tails. While it might not look great, the taste of the dal with only garlic for the seasoning was amazing. On to the recipe below.

Easy Dinner With Rice, Simple Moong Dal and Brocoli stir fry

Count down begins

0-1 minute : Wash 2 cups of rice. Add double the water and put the pressure cooker on fire.

2-4 minutes: Follow the recipe for the easy moong dal recipe.

5-7 minutes: Follow the recipe for the broccoli stir fry.

10th minute : Switch off the pressure cookers.

7-15 minutes: Freshen up, set the table, stretch your legs, yadda yadda yadda.

15-30 minutes: Chomp, lick your fingers or the spoon.

31st minute : Burrp.

Easy moong dal recipe, Under 15 minutes

Dal is a must in many homes for the protein quotient especially on the vegetarian plate. It can be made plan with minimal garnishing an elaborate preparation which can take some time and effort. Some days we want to have it easy and have a dish that can go from stove to the plate in the least possible time. This moong dal is one such recipe. 

Split moong dal cooks very quickly as is and if it is done in a pressure cooker, the cooking time is reduced by one third. I had the seasoning done and then added the washed moong dal to be pressure cooked. So it was really ready in 10 minutes. 

Lucky Lentil Pasta, Any Time Meal with Corn and Lentils

I came to know that lentils are served in Italy for good luck on New Year. That is it, I had to blog about this pasta dish I make regularly, for DelMonte cooking contest.  I could use all the luck I can get for winning this one, what with all the amazing cooks across the world wide web.

Lentils are power houses of nutrition. Especially if you are a vegetarian or a vegan or want to have a meat free meal with good quality protein, then lentils are the way to go. Lentils in some shape or form appears daily on our plates. My blog has a good collection of recipes with lentils, whole and split and sprouts.

I have substituted whole organic masoor dal as we do not get the Italian (Puy or Umbrian varieties) here in Bangalore. The picture and the description matched that of  whole masoor. We also like the delicate nutty taste of whole masoor when cooked, in addition to the fact that it gets cooked very fast.

Here I have lentils for the protein, corn for the vegetable and a favorite with kids and of course, the star of the dish - the pasta. Butter, salt, pepper and lemon juice add all the oomph. I generally use my pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time and save on the fuel. All the ingredients in the pressure cooker, 2 whistles on medium high. Voila, you have an easy, tasty and a healthy dish that goes on the serving table in 15 minutes with minimal preparation. In fact, taking the pictures for boasting take more time than cooking and eating.

Serve it as breakfast, as an evening snack or in the lunch box, which ever way you want. Get back the cleanly licked box/bowl as a bonus.

Manchurian Pasta with Sprouts, East meets West in a Pressure Cooker

Indian's fascination with Gobi Manchurian is never ending. From street carts that can be smelled a mile away, to the budget eatery or the fancy up class ones, at least one variation will be served. You can go to the smallest town and you will find a street cart selling "Gobi Manchuri and fride rice", spelled in as many imaginative ways as possible. You will also see curry leaves added for a good measure in some of these establishments. In fact, Indian Chinese or Chinese Indian is now an acknowledge and well loved genre. The only Chinese influence I can see in this dish is the addition of soya sauce.

Chapati and no onion, garlic vegetable curry with coconut and corriander, lip smacking

Peas, carrots , potato and add to it corriander and turmeric, the resulting dish has many hues. Not lacking in flavor and nutrition too. With frozen peas in the pantry, the side dish comes together in matter of minutes, literally.

Masoor Sprouts and Vegetable Pulao flavored with Ginger and Mint

Simple flavorful rice which is filling and light on the stomach at the same time. Simple spices yet big on flavor because of he mint. An absolutely easy and flavorful lunch which easily satisfies all the requirements of protein and vegetables and carbs.