Vegetable oats upma

  Oats has high fiber content which is proven to lower cholesterol levels. My husband is a borderline health freak and he deserves the credit for this recipe. In this recipe, I tried similar to rava kichdi, just replacing the rava with oats. Definitely simple, but can be made enticing with colorful veggies!

Serves up to 2 people

Preparation time:30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of Oats
1/2 tbsp of chopped ginger paste 
2 slit green chillies
1 chopped carrot
1 small cup of chopped cauliflower
5-6 beans
handful of green peas
1 onion sliced
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
1 small inch of cinnamon stick
2 cloves 
1 piece of cardamom
1 bayleaf
big pinch of turmeric
handful of coriander leaves

1 tsp of ghee
salt as required

Preparation:

1. Add 1 tsp of ghee to the pan, then add the mustard seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves ,cardamom and bay leaf.
2. As the nice aroma comes add the onion, green chillies and ginger and saute for a minute.

3.Add the vegetables, turmeric and salt to the pan. Saute well. Close the lid and allow the veggies to cook. Add a cup of water and bring it to boil.

4.Dry roast oats in a different pan for couple of minutes. transfer the oats to boiling water. Mix well. Close the lid for 3-4 minutes. Switch off the flame.

5.Add the coriander leaves as garnish. Serve with spicy pickle.

Bread upma

  Figuring out options for my school going kid's lunch has become a priority off late. Today, I would like to share with you the recipe for bread upma which which can be made within 15 minutes. I have customized the spice level of this dish as per his taste and my son absolutely loved it! 

Serves up to 2 people

Preparation time: 15 minutes 

Ingredients:

2 Bread slices
1 slit green chillies

1 tsp of grated ginger 
pinch of turmeric

pinch of red chilli powder

pinch of garam masala 
1/2 tbsp of tomato sauce

1 small of onion

1 small of yellow bell pepper

1/2 tomato

oil as required
1/4 tsp of mustard
1 sprig of curry leaves

coriander leaves as garnish

salt as required

Preparation:

1.Fine chop the vegetables in to small pieces. Heat oil in shallow pan, add mustard. 
2.As mustard sputters, add onion, green chillies, ginger. Saute for a minutes and add the yellow pepper*. Saute till the raw smell disappears, add red chilli powder, turmeric, tomato sauce and salt.

4.Cut the bread slices in to small squares and add to the pan. Saute well. Add garam masala and finely chopped coriander leaves as garnish. 
5.Bread upma is ready. 

 

*Try this dish with the veggies of your choice.

Oats dosai

  I was recently introduced to Oats dosai by one of my good friends. I have always been aware of oats being a healthy alternative to rice and so trying this recipe was always on the radar. The final product turned out to be better than my expectation and never felt that it was my first time experimenting with oats.

Ingredients:


3 cups of oats
1 cup of raw rice
1 cup of urad dhal
1 tsp of fenugreek 
oil as required
salt as required


Preparation:


1.Soak both the rice, urad dhal and fenugreek in water for atleast 10 hours. Soak oats for about 10 minutes. Wash them and grind them together in to a smooth paste with required amount of water.
2.The batter consistency should not be too thin nor too thick. Add salt and mix well. Allow the batter to ferment for 8 hours.
3.Heat the tawa, add 1 ladle full of batter and pour on the tawa. Use the bottom of the ladle to make a thin layer of dosai.

4. As it turns golden brown, using spatula turn to the other side. Wait
for 2 minutes.

4.Oats dosai is ready. Serve with chutney.

Methi paratha

  Stuffed bread are common in several cuisine as they offer the convenience of both the bread (carbs) and also the stuffing (usually proteins or vegetables) at the same time. In Indian cuisine stuffed parathas can be made with several ingredients like potatoes, cauliflower, spinach  etc. In some versions, the stuffing is cooked separately while in others, the stuffing is cooked together with the bread. In this recipe you will find he example of the later method where the stuffing (methi/fenugreek leaves) is cooked together with the paratha. Try it and relish it!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of wheat flour
1/2 cup of besan/ gram flour
1 tbsp  of oil
pinch of turmeric
 1 tsp of ajwain seeds
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1 tsp of garam masala
1 cup of chopped methi leaves (Fenugreek leaves)
oil as required
salt as required 


Preparation:

1.Mix the wheat flour, salt, besan, turmeric, ajwain, red chilli powder and garam masala.
                                 

2.Then add the chopped methi leaves, 1 tbsp of oil and add required amount of water. Knead well enough to make a soft dough. Keep aside for 10 minutes.

3.Make lime sized balls out of the dough. Roll it out using the rolling pin.

3. In a pan put little oil, fry the paratha on both the sides till it turns golden brown.

 4.Serve hot fluffed methi paratha with raitha or pickle.

                             

Poori

  Pooris are kids all time favorite tiffin. This is definitely very tasty and really tempting tiffin for everyone. Since it is deep fried, it can make us feel full just with a couple of pooris.

Ingredients:

3 cups of wheat flour
1 cup of water 
1 tbsp  of oil
oil for deep frying
salt as required

Preparation: 

1.1.Mix the wheat flour, salt , 1 tbsp of oil and add water. Knead well enough to make a dough. Keep aside for 20 minutes.
2. Make golf-ball sized balls out of the dough. Roll it out. 

3.Heat oil in the kadai, fry the rolled dough on both sides. Press gently with flat ladle on one side so that poori starts to fluff. Turn to the other side till it golden brown.

 

4.Serve with a side dish like dum-aloo, gravy or pickle. 

Aloo paratha

        Stuffed parathas are delicious as it is. There is no extra effort needed to make a side dish as paratha goes well with raitha/ pickle.

Ingredients:

3 cups of wheat flour
1 cup of water 
1 tbsp  of oil
salt as required

Filling:


3 boiled potatoes
1 finely chopped onion
1/2 tbsp of cumin powder
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1 tsp of chaat masala
handful of coriander leaves
Oil as required
salt as required 


Preparation:

1.Mix the wheat flour, salt, oil and add water. Knead well enough to make a dough. Keep aside for half an hour.

2.Peel the potato skin and mash them. Add  onion, finely chopped coriander leaves, red chilli powder, chaat masala, cumin powder and salt to the mashed potatoes. Mix well and the filling is ready. Make small balls of the filling.

3. Make lime sized balls out of the dough, add the filling to it. Roll it out.

4. In a pan put little oil, fry the paratha on both the sides till it turns golden brown. Serve hot fluffed aloo paratha with raitha or pickle.

                             

kuzhi paniyaram

   My mom made this kuzhi paniyaram in my last India trip. My son was a bit reluctant at first to try this new dish but my daughter really enjoyed the dish. Eventually, my son tried and he also loved them. He  thinks them as fried Idlys. So I started making this as a tiffin / evening snack.  

           

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of Idly rice
1/2 cup of raw rice
3/4 cup of urad dhal
1 small cup of grated carrot(optional)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
finely chopped coriander
2 green chillies(~spice level)
oil as required
salt as required

Seasoning:

1/2 tsp of mustard
1/2 tsp of Bengal gram dhal
pinch of asafoetida
curry leaves

Preparation:

1.Soak the rice and urad dhal separately for 6 hours. Grind them separately. Mix the batter together and add salt to the batter. Ferment for 24 hours.
2.Heat 1 tsp of oil in the pan and add the seasoning. Once the mustard sputters, add onion, green chillies, carrot to the pan. Saute well for 5 minutes in medium flame and add salt. Transfer to the batter.
3.Mix the batter. In the Kuzhi paniyaram skillet, add oil in each hole. Once the skillet is hot, pour 1 small ladle of batter in each hole. Close the lid and steam in medium flame. Once the edges start turning golden brown, turn to the other side.

4.Serve kuzhi paniyaram with chutney.