Homemade Granola

Ingredients

• Rolled Oats - 2 cups
• Chopped almonds - 1/4 cup
• Chopped cashews - 1/4 cup
• Raisins - 1/4 cup
• Dried cranberries - 1/4 cup
• Brown sugar - 1/4 cup
• Honey or Maple syrup - 1/4 cup
• Vegetable oil - 1/4 cup
• Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tspn
• Salt - 1/2 tspn

health tip

Granola is packed with vitamins, minerals & fiber. It is a wholesome meal for breakfast.

Homemade Granola

method

1. Mix the brown sugar, honey & vegetable oil in a large bowl until they blend together
2. Add the oats, chopped nuts, salt & cinnamon powder to the liquid mix & toss them all together.
3. Spread the mixture evenly in a cookie sheet & bake it in the oven at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.
4. At every 10 minute interval take the cookie sheet out of the oven & flip the granola using a spatula.
   

   Dry fruits & nuts of any choice can be added. Exclude fruits & nuts from this recipe if you are planning to have the granola as a topping for your yogurt.

   
   
5. The granola will still be soft after 25 minutes, but will turn crispy when cooled. Finally, mix in the dry fruits & store it in an air tight container. It will be fresh for 1 week when left outside & for a month when stored in a freezer.
   

Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients

• Medium Eggplant - 1
• Tahini - 1 1/2 tbspn
• Lemon Juice - 2 tspn
• Garlic - 2
• Pepper - 1/4 tspn
• Salt to taste
• Paprika, parsley & olive oil for serving

health tip

Eggplant is an excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1, B6 and potassium. It is also a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, niacin and folic acid. The skin is rich in antioxidant called Nasunin which helps nourish the brain cells.

Baba Ghanoush

method

1. Roast the eggplant on the stove top till the skin is charred.
2. Place the roasted eggplant in a cookie sheet & bake it at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.
3. Peel the skin & dice the flesh when the eggplant is cooled
4. Roast the garlic & place it in the food processor along with diced eggplant, tahini, lemon juice, pepper & salt. Blend it till smooth. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl & drizzle it with olive oil, paprika & chopped parsley.
5. Serve the Baba ghanoush with pita bread or with falafal.

Cranberry Thokku

Ingredients

• Cranberries - 1 1/2 cups
• Chilli Powder - 1 1/2 tspn
• Jaggery - 2.tspn
• Salt - 1 tspn
• Mustard & Cumin seeds- 1/4 tspn each
• Asafoteida(hinge) - 1/4 tspn
• Methi powder - a pinch
• Sesame oil - 3 tbspn

health tip

Cranberries are rich in Vitamin C. Studies show that Cranberries lowers LDL (Bad cholesterol) & increases HDL (good cholesterol) & also prevents urinary tract infection.

Cranberry Thokku

method

Cranberry Thokku is a blend of sour, sweet & spicy taste. You can extend its shelf life by refrigerating it. Because of its health benefits, I usually freeze them up & use it year around to make cranberry rice or to use it as sides for other dishes. I have re-posted this recipe for the "Think Beyond the Usual - Fruits" event.

1. Dry roast the mustard seeds & cumin seeds. Grind it into coarse powder when it is cool.
2. Heat the sesame oil in a deep pan.
3. Add the cranberries, chilli powder & salt. Stir constantly. Cranberries will pop open when exposed to heat. When it starts to get mushy add other ingredients except jaggery.
4. When the oil starts to separate, taste it & add some more salt if needed.
5. Add the jaggery finally & stir it till the jaggery mixes well. Turn of the heat & let it cool before bottling. Keeping the stove on for long time after adding the jaggery results in chewy consistency and is not recommended.
   

   It is always recommended to bottle the thokku soon after it is cooled. If not, cranberry's acidity may etch the metallic pan.

   
   

Cranberry Rice

Ingredients

• Cranberries - 1/2 cups
• Green chillies - 2
• Mustard & Cumin - 1/4 tspn each
• Asafoteida - 1/4 tspn
• Rice - 1 cup
• Salt - 3/4 tspn or to taste

health tip

Cranberries are rich in Vitamin C. Studies show that Cranberries lowers LDL (Bad cholesterol) & increases HDL (good cholesterol) & also helps prevent urinary tract infection.

Cranberry Rice

method

I have re-posted this recipe for the "Think Beyond the Usual - Fruits" event.

1. Dry roast the mustard & cumin seeds & grind them to powder.
2. Grind the cranberries & green chillies into a fine paste.
3. Heat some oil in a pan & season it with curry leaves & asafoetida. Add the ground cranberry chilli paste & saute it along with some turmeric powder(turmeric powder is optional).
4. Cook the rice separately. It should not stick to each other.
   

   Using basmati rice enhances the flavor of this dish.

   
   
5. When the oil separates from cranberry mix add salt, mustard & cumin seed powder.
6. Mix the rice with the paste & garnish it with coriander leaves or green onions.
   

   You may also freeze the cranberries to get their benefits all year around.

   
   

Mexican soup

Ingredients

• Sweet potato - 2 medium
• Medium onion - 1
• Garlic - 2 pods
• Cooked black beans - 1 cup
• Corn niblets - 1 cup
• Medium salsa - 1 cup
• Tomato sauce - 1/2 cup
• Veggie or chicken broth - 3 cups(optional)
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tspn
• Olive oil - 2 tspns
• Coriander leaves & sour cream for serving

health tip

Sweet potato is an excellent source of Vitamin A & C. It is a rich antioxidant food as well. Black beans are rich in protein & is a good source of Iron. Tomato sauce & salsa are good source of Vitamin C.

Mexican Soup

method

I had sweet potato laying around in my kitchen for few days. I was not interested in baking it like I do all the time. So I was not sure what to do with it. Luckily woman's day magazine came to the rescue with a Mexican soup recipe that made use of sweet potato. It did not take a lot of time to make the soup since I had all the required ingredients in the freezer. I am a big fan of Mexican soup especially "Qudoba's" tortilla soup. This soup is different from the one served in Qudoba but it did have the Mexican flavor because of the added salsa & black beans. It was kind of heavy & did not need any thickener as required with other soups.

1. Wash, peel & dice the sweet potato into 1/2 inch cubes. Dice the onion & garlic.
2. Heat the oil(Olive oil is preferable but any oil of your choice is fine). Saute the onion & garlic. When they turn soft, add the sweet potatoes, cumin powder & broth (or water). Simmer till the sweet potatoes become tender.
3. Blend it with a immersion blender. If using a regular blender let it cool & then blend it into fine paste.
4. Transfer the mixture back into the pot & add tomato sauce, salsa, black beans, corn niblets & salt. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Serve it with chopped coriander leaves, tortilla chips & sour cream. This recipe yields 4-5 bowls.
   

Kale Poriyal

Ingredients

• Kale - 1 bunch
• Onion - 1
• Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
• Mustard, Urad dal & 2 red chillies for seasoning

health tip

Kale is rich in fiber and is a good source of Vitamins like K, A, & C & minerals like folate & iron. Kale is also rich in flavonoid called kaempferol which helps to protect against ovarian cancer.

Kale Poriyal

method

Kale is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the Brassica family which also includes vegetables like cabbage, collards and Brussels sprouts. I have tried Kale before but it has always been on and off. However, after getting to know its health benefits, I have become a convert & decided to add Kale regularly in our diet. This recipe even after multiple tries still tops the chart in our home.

1. Cut the vein in the middle. Chop it finely & wash it.
2. Chop the onion. Wash & soak the moong dal for 5 minutes but not more than that.
3. Heat some oil in a pressure pan & season it with mustard seeds, urad dal & broken red chilli. Saute the onion. When onion turns soft add the chopped kale & moong dal & saute it for two more minutes.
4. Add 1/4 cup of water & let it cook for 1 whistle. Add salt after the pressure goes off. Salt should not be added to greens while they are cooking. I am not sure about the reason (probably it might alter the taste I guess) but is always better to add salt at the end after the greens are cooked. Serve it with rice or have it as a salad.
   

   Toor dal can also be added instead of moong dal. Cook the toor dal & kale separately. Toor dal doesn't have to be over cooked like for sambar. Add the dal after the kale is cooked.

   
   

Chicken 65

Ingredients

• Chicken - 1 pound or 1/2 kg
• Yogurt - 2 tbspn
• Soy Sauce - 1/2 tbspn
• Corn flour - 2 tbspn
• All purpose flour - 1 tbspn
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tspn
• Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tspn
• Garam masal - 1/4 t.spn(optional)
• Lemon juice - 1 tspn
• Salt - 1/2 tspn
• Oil for frying

health tip

Chicken is a white meat low in fat & is a good source of protein.

Chicken 65

method

Chicken 65! How did they name it? Some say 65 ingredients were added to make this dish in the past, others say, it was the 65th item on the menu card of a hotel where they served it. There are lot of stories going around regarding the name for this dish. Anyways, Chicken 65 is such a tasty and popular dish back home in India and has a fiery red color to it. Ajinomoto(MSG) & red food color added to the recipe enhances the taste and color of this dish. My recipe above is devoid of the above two ingredients to be completely home style yet yummy.

1. Wash & cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces. Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl except oil & marinade the chicken for minimum 3 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Take it out after 3 hours & deep fry the pieces. It does stick to the frying pan because of the lemon juice but lemon juice enhances the taste. If you do not want it to stick, you may eliminate the lemon juice while marinading but instead sprinkle it while serving the dish.
3. That is it. Enjoy the dish as an appetizer or as a side.

Marinating the chicken overnight in the refrigerator will help permeate the flavr into the chicken nicely.