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.

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.

Masoor Sprouts Dahi Papdi Chaat

Tangy Imli chutney, spicy green chutney, crunchy papdi and the cold dahi - this is a dish which has several nuances in every bite. I had a few masoor sprouts which have been quickly boiled for 5 minutes and added in the place of potatoes. The resulting dish was as tasty as the original with the addition of sprouts for the health factor. No one would refuse sprouts if served like this.

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.

Ragi Khakra Pizza - Guilt free and tasty snack in minutes

Just take a khakra, spread some tomato sauce, few basil leaves, sprinkle a handful of cheese and grill for 2-3 minutes until the cheese just melts. Absolutely tasty after school snacks. I have used off the shelf khakra's available in most stores now.

Nurturing Nourishment - #catchupongrowth

Mornings in our and most households with school going children is no less than a war zone or at the very least it will represent a war room of a big project. Chaos reigns all around. Add to the task of getting the kids ready to school and packing the lunch boxes is the bigger problem of getting something into their tummies. Sleepy kids do not want to have anything and this problem intensifies in the cool seasons. 

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.

Something healthy and some not so

Saute of mushrooms with salt and pepper, simple sub with cucumbers and lettuce and an indulgent side of plain salted potato chips. Something healthy and some not very much but on the whole it does balance out. A sumptuous snack that comes together in 5 minutes to beat the hunger pangs after a long day at work, at school or any where.

Sliced tomatoes topped with Hummus and hung curd

Ripe but firm tomatoes are sliced thickly and then topped with a dollop of hummus and hung curd. Sprinkling of salt and chilli/paprika powder follows. You can drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on the top or devour as is for an easy and a healthy snack. If you do not have hung curd/yogurt, you can instead grate some hard cheese on the top of the hummus. 

There are no rules here as to how much topping should go. More or less, it tastes good. Mellow flavors of the curd and hummus complement the slightly sour ripe tomato. With hummus and yogurt available, this dish comes together in under a minute. 

Savory Dunkin Doughnuts aka Rasam Vada

Urad dal vada soaked in piping hot rasam, garnished with bundi can give the real doughnut a run for its sweet. Of course there is no comparisons other than that both are round and that both the vada and the donut are fried.

Uddi Vada, Medu Vada, Urad Dal Vada or whatever you want to call it, is a very tasty preparation, primarily served for break fast. I had made simple rasam to go with it instead of the usual sambar or chutney. The vada soaked up the rasam and was very delicious. Perfect for the monsoon mornings.

Recipe for the rasam and the urad dal vada will be posted and linked later.

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. 

Moong Sprouts, Cabbage and Tomato Sauteed Vegetable Salad, Upma Style, Take Two

Sauteed vegetables and mung sprouts, served with a corriander chutney, another take on the vegetable salad which has been presented to you here. The only change here is the inclusion of channa dal and urad dal in the seasoning. They added a nice and lovely crunch to the salad in addition to protein.

Salad Upma, South Indian Upma with vegetables and sprouts

Chomping on vegetables is good for you. Yes, all of us know that. But eating raw vegetables is boring after a while, especially for the tongue used to the Indian palate. So came up with this dish, which is made with cabbage, carrot and urad dal sprouts, quickly stir fried with upma seasoning.

Baked Pesto Potato Rounds with home made sour cream

Do not let the picture fool you. The image is not great but the taste is over the top. Cutting the potatoes into perfect wedges takes time. So I just sliced them round to make the job easy. Round or wedge, either way the taste is the same. Baked potatoes with pesto - what is not to like in it. Hung curd flavored with garlic and pepper makes a wonderful dip. Without much ado the recipe follows.