Bagara Baingan

Bagara Baingan is a very popular Hyderabadi dish.  This unique recipe has a sour and a sweet taste to it. Hyderabadi Biriyani is not complete without this wonderful side dish. Biriyani and Bagara baingan complement each other in its own unique way. Being a vegetarian dish, this is ideal for any occasion. 

Ingredients:

Peanut - 3 tablespoon

Dry coconut - 3 tablespoon

Sesame seed - 2 tablespoon

Tamarind pulp - 3 tablespoon

Jaggery - 1 tablespoon

Mustard - 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

Garam masala - 1 teaspoon

Green chilli paste  - 1 tablespoon

chilli powder - 1 tablespoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tablespoon

Onions - 1 medium

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Brinjal(medium size) - 8 nos

Oil - 3 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Method :

First dry roast peanut, coconut and then sesame seeds separately and grind them to a smooth paste adding enough water. Keep this paste aside. Wash and slit the brinjal from both sides without cutting them completely.  Make sure the stem is intact to the vegetable.  Dry the brinjal using the paper towel and deep fry them.

   Heat a wide pan, add mustard, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds. Add in the chopped onions and some salt (adding salt to onions helps in removing moisture from the onions faster), fry them until it is golden brown .Then add ginger garlic paste, saute them till the raw smell disappears. Now  add green chilli paste, some curry leaves and the tamarind paste, cook for a miute or two. The  oil will be oozing out at this stage. 

      Now add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and then pour in the groundmasala to the mixture. Mix them thoroughly, add the jaggery at this point  and add some  water  to the masala.Cover the pan with a lid to avoid splattering liquid. Let the mixture cook in low flame for at least twenty minutes.  The mixture has a tendency to stick to the dish and get burnt. Stir them often, so that the mixture is not burnt.  The oil will ooze out, when the masala is completely cooked. Now  add the deep fried brinjal, simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Let all the masala get incorporated into the brinjal. Switch off the stove. Delicious  Bagara baingan is ready to serve. Mirchi ka salan is also prepared in the similar way, except that mirchi is fried and added instead of brinjal.

 Nutrition Facts :

• Brinjal is rich in calcium, fiber and folic acid
• It is very rich in potassium
• It is a good source of Vitamin A, B & C
• It has high water content, almost 92% of moisture



A whole grain snack - Popcorn

Contrary to the belief, popcorn is one of the healthiest snack, yet the tastiest. Movies are not complete without popcorn to enjoy. This whole grain snack has lot of nutritional benefits. But the health benefits of this wonderful whole grain may turn otherwise, if it prepared in an unhealthy way. It is also a great snack for sporting event and shopping malls. It is always better to prepare pop corns using stove top or air popped. Bagged microwaveable pop corns are not always healthy,with the amount of trans fat included in the bag. They are very high in sodium too. So,why not try the traditional way, which is much simple to prepare and healthy to eat. Air popping the kernels using microwave is also a healthy way of preparing popcorn.

Air popping method:

In a brown paper bag, add 2 to 3 tablespoon of popcorn kernels. Just fold the bag and tape them. Let it cook for a minute or 2 in the microwave. Once all the kernels are popped, add some flavorings and seasonings.

Method to prepare popcorn using stove top:

Heat a heavy bottomed pan (like prestige pan) with a tablespoon of butter or oil. Add a cup of popcorn kernels, cover the lid in such a way that the  air can escape while popcorn pops. After a few minutes, kernels would start popping, shake them a bit, ensuring kernels are not burned and wait till the popping sound slows down. Switch off the stove when popping frequency is lesser than 1 pop in 2 seconds and add some favorite seasonings along with salt.

Nutrition Facts:

• It is rich in protein than any other grains.
• It is a good source of iron and vitamin E.
• It is high in dietary fiber.
• It has no cholesterol.
• It is very low in calories and fat.

An egg a day keeps belly fat away

Egg plays an important role in reducing stomach fat. Most of us are more conscious nowadays in burning calories through diet or exercise, but the combination of both may yield  more effective results.

Mostly the fat gets deposited in the waistline, which sometimes is not easy to get rid off even with our regular exercise.  So, in addition to the routine exercise, we should also concentrate in consuming fat burning food to our diet to help burn fat around the waistline.

Egg is considered to be one of the best fat burning food. They are very high in protein which helps to burn the unwanted belly fat. Food which is high in protein consumes lot of energy to digest them. So, the more protein our body consumes, the more calories we burn. It is a good source of vitamin B12 as well, which is a great supplement for breaking down the fat cells. At the same time, I know that eating too many eggs may increase the cholesterol levels as well. If you are really more concerned about the cholesterol levels, get rid of the yolk.  You will still benefit from the high protein, by consuming  just the white ones because egg whites have more fat burning properties.

                                                An egg a day keeps belly fat away!!!!!

Nutrition facts:

• Egg is very rich in protein
• It is a good source of Vitamin B12
• Egg yolk contains Vitamin D
• Egg contains Choline which helps brain development
• It also contains lutein which is good for our eyes.

Fun facts about Eggs:

• Egg color does not matter. Both White and brown eggs have the same benefits
• White eggs are produced by white hens and brown eggs by red hens
• Uncooked egg has 70 calories and cooked ones have 77 calories
• Even eggs are 'Made in China'.   They are biggest producer of eggs in the world
• Eggs shells have around 17000 pores through which it breathes. The longer you keep the egg it dehydrates more.

Instant Dosa

Instant dosa, as the name suggests is the simplest dosa recipe ever. As you know, every Indian (specially South Indians) love to have dosa for their breakfast everyday.  But it definitely requires some amount of effort and time to prepare the batter. First you need to soak rice and dhal and then grind them and let them ferment. I always wanted to have dosa without much effort but at the sametime  not compromise on the flavor and taste. I've been trying different proportions for instant dosa and finally I got the right way to do it. This comes in handy whenever you would like to have one but do not have time to soak and grind. This tastes similar to  the regular dosa.

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 2 cup

Urad flour - 1 cup

Rava - 1 cup

Methi seeds or Methi powder(venthayam) - 1 teaspoon

Water as per the requirement.

Salt to taste.

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients together in  a bowl, you can use your blender to make sure all the ingredients are mixed well, just blend the batter by adding water to dosa consistency.Transfer the batter to an airtight container and place it in the oven overnight. Next day, dosa batter is ready to use. Enjoy a simple recipe for a wonderful breakfast and let me know the results.

Chole Masala or Chana Masala

Chole Masala is a  popular Punjabi food. It is  a nutritious dish packed with protein and fiber.  This mouth watering dish is favorite of everyone.  You can simply have this with anything like naan, bature, poori, paratha, chapati, samosa, cutlet and even bread.  This chole masala is used as additional ingredient in many chat items.  This is one of my favorite Indian dish .

Ingredients :

Chole - 2 cup

Onion - 1 large

Tomatoes - 2 medium

Green chillies - 3 nos

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon

Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Chana masala - 2 tablespoons

Chat masala - 1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds -1 teaspoon

Asafoetida (Hing) - 1 pinch
Oil -3 tablespoons

Coriander leaves to garnish

Salt to taste

 Method :

Wash and soak chole overnight. Pressure cook chole along with the soaked water for 2 whistles.  Switch of the stove and let it cool down.  In the other side, heat a pan with oil, wait till the oil is ready, add cumin seeds.  When cumin seeds splutter, add onions and salt, fry them till golden brown.  I added salt along with the onion so that the moisture in the onion is absorbed quickly, which helps in the process of frying the onions faster.

Now add minced ginger garlic paste, saute them till the raw flavor disappears. Add green chillies, saute them for 2 minutes.  Now add chilli powder, turmeric powder, chole masala and saute for a minute. Pour in the cooked chole in to the pan. Mix them thoroughly so that the masalas are well incorporated. Let the gravy simmer  in low heat for at least 20 minutes.  Switch of the stove.  Add in some chat masala, garnish it with coriander leaves and onions. Yummy!!!!  Restaurant style Chole Masala is ready to serve.

Nutritional Facts:

1. It is low in saturated fat, very low in cholesterol and sodium.
2. It is a very good source of protein, dietary fiber and folate.

Healing Properties of Ginger

Ginger is a popular home remedy used for centuries in Asia for variety of ailments.  Ginger is a natural spice known for its aromatic smell and pungent taste. When used in food, it enhances the flavor of the food.  There are numerous health benefits associated with ginger. So, incorporating ginger in our daily routine will definitely  result in wholesome effects. Few health benefits of this natural medicine are:

Ginger for digestion : It is used to treat indigestion.  Consuming  two to three pieces of ginger after a heavy meal aids in digestion of fatty foods.

Ginger for nausea and motion sickness : It can cure nausea because it is believed that ginger root can relax and soothe stomach wall muscles, thereby giving relief from nausea. It also helps in motion sickness.  Chew an inch of ginger to treat vomiting and motion sickness.

Ginger for cold and cough treatment : Ginger helps in soothing the  muscular wall of respiratory tract. This gives relief to cold and cough. In a glass of water, add pepper powder, ginger,basil.  Allow them to boil. Strain the liquid, add 1  tablespoon of honey and drink thrice a day. Simple home remedy using ginger.

Ginger for menstrual relief : This helps in giving relief to menstrual cramps.  Prepare ginger tea, by slicing them and allow them to boil in a glass of water for few minutes and drink them.

Ginger for upset stomach : Chew a piece of ginger to calm an upset stomach.

Ginger for reducing pain and inflammation: Regular consumption of ginger in our food helps in treating  inflammation and pain because of its natural anti inflammatory properties.

Ginger lowers LDL cholesterol : Ginger extract helps in lowering the levels of  LDL or bad cholesterol by reducing the absorption of cholesterol in the blood and the liver.

Ginger for heartburn : Consume a piece of ginger about half an hour before a meal will help in preventing heartburn.

Tips to select fresh ginger :

• It is always better to choose fresh ginger over dried one as it has high level of ginger ole as well as anti inflammatory properties.
• Always look for a ginger root which is firm, having a smooth skin, with few twists and joints as possible.
• Always peel the outer skin of the ginger.

Are Diet Sodas Dangerous????

Friends, today I saw this on TV which was very shocking to me. I know that, sharing this information would be much helpful to people who consume sodas in huge amount. Even though  we are all health conscious, we get carried away by the advertisements from the manufacturers. One such example is diet sodas.

Everyone of us love sodas especially flavoured ones. People who really want to shed their  pounds off, tend to look for something which works for their diet. Diet sodas come in handy for them. But, do you know that the recent study shows that drinking diet soda may actually increase the risk of stroke and heart attack by 48%? It also increases the risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that includes high levels of belly fat, blood sugar and cholesterol.

Generally we think diet soda has no calories and we can consume as much as we want. But studies have shown that when we drink any sweet beverages, it leads to sweet craving and you start looking for those calories elsewhere, resulting in consumption of more calories. It is always better to go for natural healthy alternative like lemon juice, buttermilk and fresh juices. Our body actually requires more water and milk. Because of the consumption of soda, we often forget to drink them, which results in other serious diseases. The studies are still ongoing and not proven yet.

You can view the video here for more information.


So say No to Diet Sodas from now on.

 

Sabudana Vada(Jawarisi vada)

Sabudana Vada is a new twist to our regular traditional vadas. A Maharashtrian dish known for its taste and texture. This is yet another nutritional snack from Maharashtra,India. An easy recipe,very simple to prepare for an evening snack. I really love the texture of this vada, very crispy outside and soft inside.  Like all vadas, it tastes great when served hot. Lets start with the recipe.

Ingredients :

Sabudana - 1 cup

Potato - 2 medium

Rice flour - 2 tablespoon

Green chillies - 4 nos

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tea spoon

Onion - 1 small

Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

Chat masala - 1 teaspoon

Asafoetida (Hing) - 1 pinch

Salt to taste

Oil for frying.

Method :

Wash and soak sabudana for at least 3 hrs.After 3 hours of soaking ,remove the excess water from sabudana and keep it aside. Now peel the skin of potatoes and grate them in a bowl. I use raw potato instead of boiled one as the boiled ones tends to absorb more oil.  Now add Sabudana, rice flour, red chilli powder, green chillies, onion, coriander leaves ,asafoetida, chat masala and salt to the potato mixture. Now mix till it becomes like a dough  and make small dumplings like vada. Fry them in oil in medium heat until golden brown like all vadas.