Short Break

Dear Readers,

I am taking a short break from blogging to enjoy time with my new-born son, Siddharth and my 3 year old daughter, Sanjna. Please do check back later for some delightful, nutritious recipes.

Thank you
vidhya

Banana Stem Juice

Here is a really complicated recipe for "Vazhai thandu Juice" or banana stem juice. This juice can help to treat urinary infection and is also part of weight loss programs .

Ingredients list - make sure you have all the ingredients - missing even one will result in you drinking nothing but water - which is also pretty healthy actually.

Ingredients

1. Banana Stem (1 foot long)

Now get ready for the preparation

Peel the outer fibreous sheath of the banana stem and cut the juicy core into cubes. Add water, salt for taste and enjoy with some ground pepper.

Banana Plant - Stem, Leaf, flower, fruit

We recently harvested a head of banana with 7-8 hands of bananas along with the flower.

Did you know that at one time in Indian homes, 90% of the banana plant is consumed by the family/community growing it? A banana plant yields just one head and a stem and no more. Hence once it is harvested, the main plant is removed leaving one of its daughters to become the main plant and the cycle repeats. The stem and the head are consumed by the family and the leaves are often used as plates to serve meals on. The used leaves are a real feast for the grazing cows or goats in the home or the neighborhood. They also consume the outer sheath when the main plant comes down following its yield.

Also the dried sheaths yield long and strong fibrous strands which are used to pleat flowers into garlands in India and are also spun into strong ropes. Its quite amazing how much just this one plant enables Indian villages in terms of eco-friendly living.

The other great aspect of the banana plants are that they are highly disease resistant and are absolutely zero maintenance. All they need is water - and its mainly recycled water which is virtually all the water utilized by the family that is diverted to a backyard banana grove.

The edible part of the plant is highly nutritious. The flower and stem have high medicinal value - curing indigestion and stomach bugs/ailments. The fruit is the most effective when it comes to clearing any plumbing problems in you. It is an excellent laxative. If you don't believe it, read this.

Here are some of the dishes you can make from the highly nutritious flower fingers and the stem.

Vazhai Thandu Juice
Vazhai Thandu Koottu
Vazhai Poo Kari
Banana Muffins

Translations of Tamil Words

Vazhai - Banana
Poo - flower
Thandu - juicy stem

Carrot Salad

This recipe is so simple that this will not even qualify for a blog post. Nevertheless I will post it here with the aim of reminding us all that some recipes are just plain simple, nutritious and tasty.

I had a bunch of carrots and fresh lemons which I had to find a way to use them. All you need are the following

1. 2-3 carrots grated
2. 1 lemon juice (one more lemon can be squeezed depending on the tartness that you require)
3. Green chillies (optional)

Add the lemon juice to the grated carrots. Add finely cut green chillies (optional). Add a little salt. Serve as is or with yogurt.

As a variation to this carrot salad, I add sprouted mung beans.

Snack Mix

Are you looking for some crunchy, savory stuff to go with your evening cup of tea? I found this healthy snack mix at a local Henry's shop. It has a mix of brazil nuts, pine nuts, peas nuts, sunflower seeds, cashews, badam's, walnuts and raisins. The mix is available in both salted and unsalted versions. A handful of this mix provides for good nutrition and a fulfilling snack.

Here is a nice link on the health benefits as long as we stick to eating a handful of nuts every day. Nuts for Nutrition.

Beetroot Mania

The red/puple colored vegetable is naturally one of the sweetest among all vegetables. Loaded with vitamins and anit-oxidants it can be a good source of essential nutrition for growing kids and adults.

Here I have listed three simple items that can be prepared with the beetroots.

Beetroot Curry

1. Slice the beetroots into thin cubes.
2. Put the sliced beetroots in water and let it boil.
3. Once the beetroots are cooked, drain the water and set aside.
4. In a non-stick pan take about 1 tbsp oil
5. Add cumin, mustard. Let the mustard seeds crackle
6. Add 1 tbsp urad dal (ulatham paruppu), 1tbsp chana dal (kadalai paruppu)
7. Add pepper powder, salt, couple of red chillies per taste.
8. Mix the cooked beetroot
9. Add 1tbsp of grated fresh coconut (optional)
10. Cook for a few minutes and take it aside

To the water which was set aside add a tbsp of pepper and salt and drink it.

Countertop

"What's lurking in your countertop?" - a NY times article is a good read for anyone planning to install or already have a granite countertop.

The article mentions that some exotic varieties of granite seems to be emitting radon (a radioactive gas known to cause lung cancer) at higher levels.

As a consumer one doesn't need to panic and immediately tear down the granite countertop. Instead you can try inspecting your granite by calling one of the certified technicians, American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (aarst.org).

If you plan to install granite countertops needless to say have the granite checked before the installation.

Information on certified technicians and do-it-yourself radon testing kits is available from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site at epa.gov/radon, as well as from state or regional indoor air environment offices, which can be found at epa.gov/iaq/whereyoulive.html. Kits test for radon, not radiation, and cost $20 to $30. They are sold at hardware stores and online. (Taken from the NY Times article)

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard is a thought provoking video.
Click here to see the video

Some salient points to take home and execute...

1. Waste less. We can start with NOT using plastics for grocery items we buy at shops. We can use cloth bags instead. Paper bags are better than plastics but they don't come free either. So consciously waste less.
2. Buy Green, Buy Fair, Buy Local, Buy Used, and most importantly, Buy Less.

Vegetable Garden

Our foray into vegetable gardening was confined to growing one tomato plant last year. We have become quite ambitious this summer and are into a full blown vegetable garden. The experiments so far has yielded us some nice green fruits. In this process we have found new ways to conserve and re-use water. We have been preparing our own compost from all the vegetable and fruit waste generated in the process of cooking. The experience so far has been very rewarding.

We have planted eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, okra, mint, water melon.

Some way to conserve water that we have consciously integrated in our every day lives are -
1. Collecting the cold water until the hot water comes during the daily bath. This alone provides for nearly 2-3 buckets of water.
2. Collecting the water used to rinse the utensils in the kitchen.

Do you have any other ways? Please share.

Refreshing Strawberry Banana Milkshake

Summer beckons some cool refreshing drinks. Lying in a hammock, sipping a cool drink and reading a nice novel is a nice way to spend a summer afternoon. Enjoy this fulfilling energy drink.

Strawberries are tart in taste and the addition of banana assuages that to a large extent and adds volume too. Dates lend sweetness and milk helps in pureeing the mixture. The health benefits of banana, dates and strawberry need really no emphasis.

Preparation (Makes 3-4 cups)

1. One medium size banana
2. 1 cup strawberries
3. 1/2 cup dates
4. 1/2 cup cold milk (boil it and cool it if needed)
4. Almond flakes

In a blender take the strawberries, banana, dates, milk and puree it. Add water and ice cubes. While serving in glasses garnish it with almond flakes. Enjoy !

As a variation one scoop of vanilla ice-cream could be added and pureed along with others.

Sprouted Mung Dal Subzi

Mung Dal is rich in proteins. Sprouting amplifies the nutrient content of the mung beans many fold. Sprouted mung dal can be had as is or can be used in making the subzi as below. This subzi is very easy to prepare. Pressure cooking it conserves the nutrient content and is recommended.

Ingredients

1. 1 medium size Onion finely chopped
2. 3 small Tomatoes
3. Ginger small piece finely cut
4. Green pepper about 2-3 depending on taste
5. 2 cloves garlic finely cut
6. 1 small potato peeled and sliced into cubes
7. 1 cup sprouted mung beans

Preparation

1. In a pressure cooker add 1-2 tbsp oil
2. Add cumin seeds and let it crackle
3. Sautee the onions, ginger and garlic
4. Add the cut tomatoes
5. Add the potato cubes
6. Add sprouted mung dal and 1 cup water.
7. Add salt and pressure cook

Mung Dal Subzi is ready. Serve it hot with chapathis or rice.
Nice meal for 2.

More interested in Sprouting. Check this link out.

Spinach Pasta

Spinach pasta is a simple, nutritious and wholesome meal. In my attempt to find some recipes for my daughter's lunch box, I hit upon this recipe from Tarla Dalal. Ever since I have been making this recipe with slight modifications. This recipe packs with it the essential nutrients from spinach and soy milk.

Recipe

Serves 2 people

1. Boil about 2 cups of spinach leaves.
2. Soak pasta in water for 10-15 minutes. This just helps in speeding up the cooking for pasta. Optional step.
3. In a vessel add a teaspoon butter and once melted add 2 teaspoon all purpose flour or maida.
4. To the vessel add a cup of soy milk. (Any milk is fine. Soy milk just provides extra proteins)
5. Let the milk thicken.
6. Add salt and pepper to this thickened milk
7. Blend together the milk and spinach and keep aside.
8. Add pasta to boiling water. Once cooked add a little salt as per taste.
9. Drain the cooked pasta.
10. Mix the cooked pasta and the spinach, milk paste.
11. Add some grated cheese and cook for a few minutes.

You can add a few pine nuts to lend a crunchy taste.

Cooking Vegetables

There is a nice article on NY Times on best way to cook the vegetables.

In Indian cooking we cook most of our vegetables and hardly eat any vegetables raw. While strictly adhering to raw vegetables is not beneficial, likewise cooking all the vegetables is also not beneficial.

The way vegetables are prepared affects the amount of nutrients that enters our body.

Fat-soluble compounds like vitamins A, D, E and K and the antioxidant compounds called carotenoids are less likely to leach out in water. Cooking also breaks down the thick cell walls of plants, releasing the contents for the body to use. That is why processed tomato products have higher lycopene content than fresh tomatoes.

Water-soluble nutrients like vitamins C and B and a group of nutrients called polyphenolics are often lost in processing.

In general boiling was better for carrots, zucchini and broccoli than steaming, frying or serving them raw.

Among the various ways to cook vegetables - pressure-cooking, microwaving, boiling, and steaming, pressure-cooking and microwaving seemed to retain more vitamin C.

Plastics

Plastic has become so much a part of our modern life. It has invaded our cooking space like never before. It is ubiquitous. There has been a raging controversy the past few days on the malign properties of chemical BPA (Bisphenol A) which are found in plastics. It becomes all the more essential for us to be more aware of what we use and how we use.

Here is a nice link to the Facts of Plastic, a must read article for anyone using Plastic.

Memorable meals

Of all the food I have had 2 meals have remained entrenched in my memory. They are the simplest meals to prepare and yet so delightful and tasty.

I had slept early that day after coming back from school. My mom woke me up in the early hours of night to give me my dinner. Oh boy! I never regretted once I woke up from my sleep to eat that dinner. It was nicely roasted potato curry with vendhiya kuzhambu. It was all freshly prepared, served hot and tasted so yummy. Truly unforgettable.

Another memorable meal was even simpler. My grandmother had packed some curd rice and karvepillai podi (curry leaves powder) for our bus trip to the outskirts of chennai. My grandma is adept in making these tasty podi's. It really was a nice meal for the sunny afternoon journey.

Do you have any such memorable meals?

Suda suda or garmo garm

Rice cooking on one stove, fresh rasam on another, vegetable curry on the third. All getting cooked at the same time...Meal ready in half-hour (including cutting and preparation).

The taste of piping hot rasam with rice. Taste buds in the mouth wants to gobble it all at once. Hand is cautious enough to handle it only when right. Slowly and gradually the taste buds are enjoying the treat.

For most people dinner is the only time when all family members are around. Next time try making and having it before the food cools off. Its a real treat for the
family. Also freshly cooked food is more nutritious than re-heating old stuff.

Tri-color sandwich

Looking at the tri-color sandwich reminds one of the Indian flag. This is quick and easy to make. These sandwiches make for a great snack at a seaside picnic with family and friends. This can be used for kids lunches too.

Ingredients

Cheese (optional)

Cucumber cut into thin slices
Tomatoes cut into thin slices

Tomato chutney
Tomatoes (5-6)
chilli powder
little jaggery
1/2tsp tamarind paste
Salt

Cut the tomatoes and mix all the other ingredients and microwave on high for 7-8 minutes until the mixture becomes thick. Keep stirring the container in between.

Green chutney
Coriander leaves
1/2tsp tamarind paste
green chillies (as per taste)
mint leaves
1 tbsp coconut powder

Grind all the ingredients and the green chutney is made

Sandwiches

1. Take 3 bread slices at a time, cut the edges
2. Apply the tomato paste, arrange cucumber, sprinkle a little cheese
3. Close it with another bread slice.
4. Apply green chutney paste, arrange cucumber, sprinkle a little cheese
5. Close it with the third bread slice.

Note - Cooking tomatoes actually enhances the nutritious value of the tomatoes.

Alternatively you can substitute this buttery spread instead of cheese

Incredible Moringa Leaves

Moringa leaves are incredible. They are packed with all the essential amino acids, contains vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, iron. Extremely nutritious, its healing properties are exploited in Ayurveda and Sidha medicine. The powder from this leaf is used to treat malnourished children. It is also believed that eating this leaf produces more milk in post-natal women. The leaf is soothing and tends to reduce blood pressure.

Well now lets move onto what we can make with these leaves. I bought moringa leaves from a Vietnamese store in San Diego. In South India this is available in abundance. Here is one simple recipe to use the moringa leaves -

Kara Adai (Mixed dal, rice crepe) with Moringa leaves

Recipe

1. Soak 1 cup each of toor dal, chana dal and 3/4 cup of urad dal in water for about 6 hours.
2. Soak 3 cups of Idly rice in water for about 6 hours.
3. Add salt. Grind them in a stone grinder or a blender. The batter could be slightly coarse.
4. Take a tbsp of batter and add about 10 red chillies and 5 green chillies (use judgement in using the chillies as appropriate)
5. Add the moringa leaves to the batter and make the crepes.
6. Serve with coriander chutney.

Tips
1. For kids reduce the chilli usage.
2. Grate carrots finely and add along with the moringa leaves.

References/Sources

1. Incredible moringa leaves.
You will need Adobe PDF reader to read this article. Adobe reader can be obtained from here.
2. Moringa - A Common Tree with Rare Power.
3. Moringa - Health benefits
4. Wikipedia - Moringa

Hearty Tomato Soup

Seek beauty through simplicity. - Jon Bentley

The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity. All one needs - a bunch of tomatoes, a small onion and one small potato. This hearty soup can be prepared in less than 15 minutes.

Preparation

1. Pressure cook or steam cook the tomatoes, onion and potato. Optionally you can add some carrots, cabbage also.
2. Puree the vegetables.
3. Add salt and pepper and let it simmer in low flame for about 5 minutes.
4. Enjoy with bread.

Check this site for the beneficial effects of tomato.

Papaya-Kiwi fruit salad

Kiwi fruit has a striking interior. The fruit by itself is tart to acidic in taste. Papaya on the other hand has a milder taste more like cantaloupe. Mixing papaya and kiwi fruit is a happy marriage and gives the right kind of balance. Add a dash of black salt to spice it up a tiny bit and enjoy the goodness of papaya and kiwi. Papaya is a rich source of vitamin B,C and iron. Kiwi is a good source of vitamin C.

Preparation

1. Cut papaya into small cubes
2. slice the kiwi fruit to small pieces.
3. Mix them both and add a dash of black salt

Whole wheat flour Calzones

My foray into the calzone territory was a happy accident. I have always wanted to make my own pizzas. Primary reason being I can customize the pizza to suit my needs - namely less cheese, more vegetables, home-made sauce. So I was more than happy when I found the whole wheat flour pizza dough at Trader Joe's. My job was half done and still there was scope for my creativity! I made one small pizza and there was still dough remaining to make some other item. I tried out the calzones and could recommend this for any picnics - healthy alternative to the tasty samosas.

Recipe

Ingredients
1. Wheat flour pizza dough (Trader Joe's has this)
2. Tomato ketchup
3. Spinach
4. Beans
5. Carrots
6. Onions
Adding other vegetables like cauliflower, corn, tofu chunks are optional

Preparation
1. Add a little oil in a container and when slightly hot, add cumin seeds and let it crackle.
2. Add the finely cut onions.
3. Steam cook the beans, carrots, and cut spinach for about 5 minutes in microwave
and then add these to the onions.
4. Sprinkle chilli powder, salt and remove from fire.
5. Take a small lemon sized dough. Just brush it with little oil to stretch them into thin 6" diameter discs.
6. Spread a table spoon(tbsp) of tomato ketchup on this disc.
7. Add the filling and close it.
9. Preheat the oven to about 400 F. Put the calzones to bake for about 15-20 minutes.Turn the other side halfway through.
10. Serve with tomato ketchup.

Mint Pulao

Mint...A cool and refreshing herb. Oh the aroma of mint - just fills up the kitchen, makes the culinary journey with mint all the more enjoyable. Add some leaves to salad, lemonade or tea to make it zesty. Mint has lots of medicinal uses as detailed in this article. Its a good source of vitamin C and vitamin A. It aids in digestion. Chutney, thuvayal, pulao are just few of delicious recipes one can make with mint.

Mint is easy to grow. Most of the times, the problem would be to keep the growth under control. It needs lots of sun and water. I have had limited success with growing mint. Undeterred after hearing many success stories, I just can't wait to grow it this summer.

Recipe

Ingredients

• Bunch of mint leaves


• 1/2 bunch of cilantro


• 3-4 green chillies


• ginger


• 1 medium size onion


• 2 tbsp of coconut


• 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste


• 1 small cup of Peas


• cumin seeds

Preparation

1. Blend all the ingredients except green peas in a blender by adding water as necessary


2. In a kadai add little oil, add cumin seeds and wait until it crackles.


3. Add the boiled peas


4. Add the pureed mixture to this and close the kadai and let it cook until the water is all gone and the mixture represents a thick paste


5. Cook basmati rice separately


6. Mix the rice and the thick mixture together to make the pulao


7. Enjoy with cucumber yogurt (raitha)

Lima beans and French beans curry

Most of my weekend grocery shopping happens at "Henry's marketplace". I was fascinated by the display of the bean varieties. This store also lists the fiber, protein content for all the bean varieties - very useful in decision making. I picked up lima beans this time to experiment with. Lima beans are rich in soluble fiber. It's high potassium content and low sodium content also helps reducing blood pressure.

Here is a simple french beans curry recipe adapted to include lima beans.

Recipe:

1. Soak lima beans in water for 7-8 hours.
2. Pressure cook the lima beans drain water and keep aside. The water could be used for making sambhar.
3. Steam cook the cut french beans until soft.
4. In a container add little oil, add some mustard seeds and let it crackle. Add some asafoetida powder (optional).
5. Sautee the french beans and cooked lima beans for 5 minutes.
6. Add salt, curry powder or chilli powder according to taste cook for a few minutes and remove.

Whole Wheat Flour

There are several kinds of wheat flour in the market, all-purpose flour, enriched flour and whole wheat flour. They vary in the amount of gluten content, the processing method.

Whole wheat flour is a good source of iron, fiber and calcium. It is a staple food in many parts of India and is used to make chapathis, rotis, parathas.

Here are some tips to make the whole wheat flour more nutritious -

• Add quarter cup of soy/ragi flour for every cup of wheat flour. Mix and refrigerate.

Soy flour boosts the protein content of the chapathis, rotis, parathas. Ragi flour enriches the calcium content.

Green Tea

There is lot of evidence touting the health benefits of green tea
that it reduces cholesterol, full of anti-oxidants etc etc. Well as for me, the subtle flavor induced by green tea makes the warm water drinkable.

The Tea Companion books is an excellent resource guide on all kinds of tea found around the world.

Preparation

Take one spoon of tea and add warm water (about 80 F) to the cup. Let it
stand for 3-4 minutes. Separate the green leaves and use it for preparing
another cup. Don't add milk or sugar. Drink as is, a sip at a time. Enjoy the
different flavors each sip induces.

You can add a wedge of lemon to green tea. This is especially good in times of cold. You can use a tea cup as one in the picture above or a tea infuser to make a cup of green tea.

Green Gram Dal Dosa

Green Gram dal is an excellent source of protein. This dal finds a way to enter my kitchen in numerous ways. It is packed with nutrition. It is a known fact that soaking the green gram dal in water for 2/3 days increases its nutritive value many folds. Here is a simple recipe from green gram dal.

Preparation Time : 1hour

Recipe

1. Soak 1 cup of green gram dal for about 6-7 hours.
2. Grind the soaked green gram with a piece of ginger and 5-6 green chillies in a blender.
3. In a vessel add a little oil and let the cumin seeds crackle.
4. Shallow fry some finely cut onions and cumin and add to the batter
5. Add salt
6. Make dosas the usual way.
7. Serve with Tomato chutney or capsicum chutney.

Tips

1. For kids - use less green chillies. Rest of the recipe remains same.
2. While making dosas, cover and cook. Gets cooked faster as the heat is retained.