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.

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.

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.

3 pepper omlette - a riot of colors

Break the fast with this beautiful omlette made with the three peppers and free range eggs. Doesn't the yolk look just like sunshine on the plate. Not much of a recipe - just saute a table spoon each of the peppers, break two eggs, season with salt and pepper and eat.

Sabudana Vangi Bath

Vangi Bath is a very popular rice dish in Karnata. There are special green long brinjals which are specifically used for this dish. I had some soaked sabudana and a few purple brinjals when I tried out this dish. With the addition of peanut powder, it is an excellent one pot dish with vegetables and proteins. Served with a bowl of curd or a raitha it is a tasty variation of the traditional vangi bath.

Sabudana Kichidi with Yogurt - Complete Meal

Sabudana kichdi with curd is a complete meal and quite tasty even when cold,  making it a good lunch box option.  It does require some planning in soaking the sabudana overnight and if peanut powder is ready gets done without much effort.

Savory Oats Porridge Topped with Manchurian Flavored sprouts

On a cold rainy morning, a bowl of steaming oats warms the entire body. In our home our  preference is for salty and spicy oats over a sweet bowl. I topped the bowl with a quick saute of moong sprouts and added some soya sauce and tomato sauce to give a sharp Indo Chinese flavor which is loved by one and all. All of us know how much we love our  'Gobi Manchurian' and every variations of it. Many of us have a cart back home which makes the brown and tasty concoction called Manchuria.

Sprouts are tasty, cooks very fast and healthy too. But we will not always like to have them plain. So I have quickly sauteed them and added the oomph factor. Here is a bowl that is pleasing, healthy and very easy to prepare too. Indo Chinese is not specific to a region now, but it is originally credited to the the streets of  Kolkotta.

Green Pea(ce) rice and a greener plate

An easy recipe for a tasty and a healthy rice. The tender green peas are cooked along with some diced fresh jack fruit seeds in a simple mixture of corriander leaves, ginger and green chillies. Tastes awesome even when cool and makes an ideal picnic lunch to be packed and eaten under green trees with plates made from beetle nut leaves. Jack fruit seeds are rich in protein and add a nice nutty taste to the dish.

Serve with pickle and curd for an all rounded meal.

Malabar Spinach Dal Paratha - LeftOver Magic

Malabar Spinach or Basella is a tropical vine which grows in the tropical regions. This was one green that was used widely at home, simply because it is an annual and was always available in the kitchen garden. Hardly takes any space or effort to grow this green.

Moreover, the english spinach was not always available and was not as popular in the 70's and 80's as it is now, in small towns of South India. Even if spinach is abundantly available now, with the reports of high pesticide content, it is safer to turn to Basella. Nutritionally it is equivalent if not more than the regular spinach.

We typically use it to make a dal or an instant chutney. Yesterday I had some leftover dal and turned it around into a simple paratha and served with a simple curry made of soaked green peas and coconut. A very nutrient dense lunch box option that is finger licking tasty.

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.

Dosa MakeOver : Brinjal Dosa with Basil Tomato Chutney

Dosa topped with thinly sliced brinjal and roasted on both sides is a favorite of my son. Occasionally I also top it with some tomato sauce and shredded cheese for a tasty and finger licking experience. It is a complete meal with dosa providing the carbs and protein and the brinjal adding the v factor. Serve this with a tomato chutney flavored with few basil leaves instead of corriander for a completely different flavor. This is a dosa makeover with the purple brinjal and the green chutney adding the oomph factor.

Dosa's should be slightly thicker to hold on the brinjal. Second thing to remember is to roast the dosa after flipping for the brinjal to cook. If the brinjal's are fresh and organic they cook very fast. This is my son's most loved breakfast/dinner/any time snack.

Aspragus fried rice with basil and sesame seeds

Aspragus is a tasty vegetable that cooks really fast. Very easy to cut and faster to cook makes it an ideal vegetable for weekdays. It is not a common sight in the Indian markets. In Bangalore they are  available in Namdhari's and Godrej's Nature Basket.

Aspragus is a very good source of fiber and vitamins A, C, E and K and a trace mineral called chromium that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from bloodstream to cells.

Zuchini, Peas and Tomato Rice

A lone Zuchini, half a cup of peas and couple of tomatoes are all it took to dish out this wonderful rice. Flavorful and tasty even when cool, the minty tomato rice can be packed as is or with a side dish for a yummy lunch box option. If rice is already cooked, then the whole dish comes together in matter of 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.

Dosa Makeover: Coin Uthappam/Dosa with Sprouts, Easy Peasy Lunch Box

Dosa batter topped with moong and masoor sprouts, easy healthy and tasty. They are an ideal breakfast, finger food, any time snack. Packet with a peanut chutney powder, they make a very good lunch box option for the kids. Carbs, vitamins and proteins and non fussy to eat. What more do we want. I have used moong sprouts and masoor sprouts. One tea spoon of sprouts sprinkled on one table spoon of dosa batter and cooked on medium heat for 1/2 minute on each side, that is the recipe. 

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.

Rajma with Jackfruit seeds, upping the nutrient quotient

Jackfruit seeds and Rajma, I was skeptical too until I tried it out. The seeds soaked in the tangy and spicy gravy of the rajma and turned out absolutely delicious. Here is an easy recipe which does not involve any grinding or garam masala. Onion, tomato and ginger for the base of the curry with the beands and the jackfruit seeds being the stars. Serve it with rice or roti to make a complete meal.

Jackfruit seeds have numerous health benefits. Next time you buy the ripe fruit, do not throw them but add to any dish you want. There are quite a few jackfruit seed recipes online.

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.