Masala Fry

Here is an another intereseting recipe which has been my personal favorite from childhood. My mother used to cook patato curry with mouthwatering puris on weekends and I always had to fight my brother to steal last bites. It is really simple to cook and does not require too many ingredients, just few basic inputs and it’s done. Also, don’t forget to try these puris with mango pickle. I sure you will love it.

Ingredients for potato curry

1. 1 kg boiled potatoes
2. 1 large tbsp ghee
3. 2 chopped tomatoes
4. 1/2 cup yogurt
5. 1/2 tbsp anar dana
6. 1 teaspoon turmeric
7. 1 tbsp red chilly powder
8. 1 tbsp salt
9. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
10. 2 tbsp teaspoon coriander leafs
11. 2 cups water

Ingredients for puri

1. 2 large tbsp of ghee (purified butter)
2. 500gm wheat flour
3. 1 tbsp jeera
4. 1/2 tbsp salt
5. 1 cup of water
6. 1/2 litre of oil or ghee to fry

Method

For potato curry

1. Add ghee in the large heated pan. When ghee is well-heated, add chopped tomatoes in the pan and fry at medium heat.
2. Add jeera, cumin seeds, red chilly powder, turmeric and anar dana in the pan. Stir well.
3. Cut boiled potatoes in medium size cubes, add in the pan and stir.
4. Add 2 cups of water in the mixture and give it a boil for 2-3 minutes.
5. Cook the curry at medium heat for another 15-20 minutes.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leafs

For Puri

1. Put wheat flour in large dish bowl.
2. Add salt, jeera and ghee.
3. Add 1 cup of mildly heated water and mix well with hands to prepare stiff dough.
4. Cover the dough and leave it for half ‘n’ hour.
5. Pre-heat ghee or oil in large pan.
6. Divide into small balls and roll out into 6″ rounds on an oiled board.
7. Fry the puri one at a time, holding them under the oil on the first side until they puff. Turn and fry till light brown; and drain.

Tip: Add pinch of salt to the oil to keep it from smoking. And, patato curry also works really well with rice or chapati. Try it.

Image Credit: flickr.com

Tags: allu puri, patato curry, puri

5 Comments »

Today I am going to share with you guys my personal favorite dessert, Gajjar (Carrot) ka halwa. Gajjar ka halwa is famous all over the world for it’s amazing taste and colorful texture. This rich pudding loaded with khoya (thickened milk), ghee (purified butter), nuts and dried fruits. It is definitely not a diet food! Specially, in northern parts of India, it is regular house hold dessert for chilling winters. Normally eaten warm, scrumptious Gajjar ka halwa provides essential warmth and required natural supplements through added ghee and dried fruits full of fibre, carbohydrates, with delightful taste.

Ingredients

1. 1 kg (just over 2 pounds) of fresh grated carrots
2. 1 litre milk or 800 gms of sweetened condensed milk
3. 1 cup sugar
4. 1 cup ghee (purified butter)
   
5. 200 gms khoya (thickened milk)
6. 2 tbsp of raisins/sultanas
7. 2 tbsp of almonds blanched and slivered
8. 2 tbsp of almonds slivered
9. 2 tbsp of pistachios slivered

Method

1. Put milk and grated carrots in a heavy base kadhai / deep saucepan and bring it to boil. Cook over medium heat until all the milk gets dried up. Stir the mixture occasionally to prevent any sticking.
2. Once milk is completely dried up, add sugar and ghee. Stir until the mixture gets dried and carrot takes is completely cooked.
3. Add khoya or condensed milk and again stir on low heat until it get completely absorbed.
4. Add all the nuts and dried fruit and mix them well.
5. Take it off the heat and serve hot.

Gajjar ka halwa requires patience and takes time to cook. So, cook with care and eat with delectation.

Image Credit: Flickr.com

Tags: Desserts, gajjar ka halwa, meethai

No Comments yet »

Healthy eating begins with learning how to “eat smart”. — It’s not just what you eat, but how you eat.

1. Eat slowly and enjoy your food. Because of busy lives and tight schedules, people tend acquire the habit to rush though our meals, forgetting to enjoy the flavors and feel the textures of what they are eating in their mouths.
   But, for proper digestion of the food it is essential to eat slowly to chew food completely. Eating food slowly and proper chewing helps in breaking the food into smaller particles and mixes the food with saliva that contains digestive enzymes. Digestion helps in absorption of nutrients and is step towards good health!

Point I: Chew your food slowly & reconnect with the joy of eating.

1. Avoid stress while eating. When our mind and body are stressed, our digestion system could not perform up to best of its ability. So, while eating we should avoid such tasks which create stress such as working, driving, or watching TV. Also avoid confrontations, serious discussions or worry during meals which are often causes of stress.
   If you feel stressed or upset, stop eating and relax before continuing with your meal. Try to take deep breaths before the start of having meal, and create healthy and soothing atmosphere to completely relax mind and body.

Point II: Relieve stress and enjoy your food.

1. Listen to your body, avoid overeating. Brain takes a few minutes for it tells your body that you have had enough food, and you should stop eating. Eating slowly can help your body receive message from message and avoid overeating. Eating just enough to satisfy your hunger will help you remain healthy, relaxed and makes you best, rather than stuffing yourself into a “food coma”!

Point III: Eat for your needs not just for taste.

1. How often do you eat in a day? Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper. Must have heard this saying millions of times. This is a key to healthy eating and body.
   Starting your day with a healthy breakfast helps you jumpstart your metabolism, and eating the majority of your daily caloric requirement early in the day gives your body time to burn those calories off. Also, eat less than regular meal in shorter intervals throughout the day, rather than the standard three large meals. This helps in keeping your metabolism going and ward off snack attacks.

Point IV: Eat early, eat often

Make these point part of your eating habits along with regular exercise schedules part of your routine life to take yourself to healthy living style. Eat healthy, live healthy!

Tags: health food, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle

No Comments yet »

Studies show that balanced low-fat high on fiber vegetarian diet reduces the chances of coronary artery disease, hypertension, obesity and some forms of cancer.

Animal products are the major sources of dietary saturated fat which is one of the main sources of obesity. A vegetarian diet contains higher amount of polyunsaturated fat proportionally to saturated fat when compared with non-vegetarian food.

A vegetarian diet can be a very healthy option but it also is important to ensure it has right mix. Most peoples stuff their mouth with so called junk food, high on calorie chocolates at every meal to be vegetarian. So just being vegetarian won’t do much good to their health, one need to have right proportion of everything to provide necessary elements to the body.

A balanced vegetarian diet would include:

1. Grains & cereals: Wholegrain bread, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice and muesli.
2. Legumes, seeds & nuts: Soya beans, split peas, lentils, almonds, cashews, sesame seeds
3. Fruit and vegetables: As much as you want - think variety. Try out new fruits and vegetables and include them in your diet every day.
4. Dairy or soya products: Look out for fat free and reduced calorie options for milk, yoghurts & cheeses.

A typical vegetarian diet hardly matches expert dietary recommendations for healthy eating, being low in fats and high in fiber. To complete nutritive requirements of the body, you include to variety in your daily meal.

Image Credit: Flickr.com

Tags: health food, healthy eating, veggy food

No Comments yet »