Healthy Millet Salad

This Healthy Millet Salad is made from Foxtail Millet, kidney beans, sprouts and mix vegetables. It is very healthy, very tasty and very filling. 

You go to the supermarket and are immediately drawn to the shelf that holds these exotic ingredients that you've only heard of but never eaten. It looks nice in it's classy looking packaging. You start remembering that recipe you saw on TV or that food photo that featured in the Magazine, wondering which of them should you cook. You glance at the price, and that wonderful dream of cooking with something exotic just evaporates. Smile replaced by shock. Deja vu, anyone?

I replay this scene everytime I go to stores like FoodHall or Godrej Nature's Basket. And sometimes I do it knowing that it will be an anti-climax. By now I know I will never buy Quinoa because of it's insane cost. Quinoa is being touted as THE superfood. High in protein, not high in calories, it's kind of  a win-win for those who can access it easily.

Quinoa is not Indian. Although, recently, some farmers are toying with the idea of growing Quinoa, it is still not popular enough to replace any of our ancient grains and seeds.

I use Millet instead. India has been the home of millet for centuries. Millets are just as rich as Quinoa. It is rich in fibre and magnesium. It has a low glycemic index and is a rich source of protein. And it is very light on your pocket. In short, millet is affordable super food that are easily available anywhere.

There are various types of Millet:

• Pearl Millet or Bajra
• Foxtail Millet or Navane
• Finger Millet or Ragi
• Sorghum Millet or Jowar

There are so many more, but these are the famous ones.

Let's  get back to this super tasty and healthy Foxtail Millet Salad. I've had it two days in a row and I just cannot have enough of it !!! 

This is a super simple salad. The dressing is made with just Olive oil, lime juice, honey, salt and pepper. Everything you already have at home, so there is no excuse to skip making it. Use any oil you like if you have run out of Olive Oil.

Now, usually, I say that there are things that are optional in a recipe. But in this one, the beans are definitely not optional. They are one the major building blocks of this salad. I really don't believe this salad will taste as good if you skip them. Also really needed are the fresh ingredients - tomatoes, cucumbers and mint. Everything else in the salad can either be skipped or replaced. You can substitute the coriander with parsley. Skip the sprouts if you don't have any. I personally like the light sweetness of the carrots in the salad and would recommend keeping it in there.

This salad was pretty filling due to all the protein in it and the slowly digesting millet. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Kabuli Chana Chaat or Chickpea Salad - Street side style salad made with chickpeas, tomatoes, onions and spices. Hot and Tangy - explosive on your taste buds.
• Radish Salad - Fresh salad made from finely chopped radish or daikon (mooli) and it's leaves.

Healthy Millet Salad

Healthy salad made with mixed vegetables, beans, sprouts and Foxtail Millet. 

Recipe Type:  Salad
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Foxtail Millet or  Navane
1 cup cooked Red Kidney Beans or Rajma
1/4 cup Sprouts
2 ripe Tomatoes
1 small Cucumber
1/2 Carrot
1/2 Capsicum
Handful Coriander leaves
Handful Mint leaves
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Honey
2-3 tsp Lime Juice
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Water

Method:

Wash and soak the millet for 30 minutes.
Drain the millet and pressure cook it with 1/2 cup water until done. In a pressure cooker it takes around 1 whistle or 4-5 minutes after the pressure builds up.
If not using a pressure cooker, cook it the same way you would cook rice.
Allow the millet to cool to room temperature.
Finely chop the tomatoes, cucumber, carrot and capsicum and add to the millet.
Add the red kidney beans and the sprouts to the millet.
Roughly chop the coriander and mint leaves and add to the millet.
In a small bowl, mix olive oil, honey, lime juice, salt and pepper until completely blended.
Pour the dressing over the millet and vegetable mixture and mix well.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.

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Methi Paratha

At a loss of what to pack for lunch tomorrow?

Travelling somewhere and need to carry along your own food?

Or

Just wondering what to make for breakfast tomorrow?

TA-DA!!!

Presenting Methi Paratha -  A humble, healthy, whole wheat flatbread flavored with spices and Methi leaves or Fenugreek leaves.

Methi Paratha is perfect for boxed lunch or breakfast. Number one reason being - it doesn't leak!! So you don't need to worry about a messy lunch bag. Also, it doesn't spoil for a long long time (by long long, I mean at least 2 days in tropical weather, much more in cooler weather). And the dough stays great in the fridge for at least 4-5 days. So you can make it ahead of time and store it.

And guess what's the best part?? Leftovers.... Seriously... Just cut them into small triangles and follow this recipe to get your own flavored Whole Wheat Nachos. Complains, anyone?

I've been making Methi Paratha for a long long time and I've faced certain issues with the way I was making them earlier. I never cooked the Methi leaves, I just chopped them and added it to the dough. All was well until I added the salt. After that though, my dough would just keep getting watery and sticky and I had to just keep adding more and more wholewheat flour to try and stiffen the dough a bit. And by the end of it the paratha would have the methi leaves to the flour ratio all messed up. Also, I'd end up with a messy rolling pin which would have bits of dough stuck to it that I had to clean before rolling out the next paratha.

If you are facing the same problems, read on.

Gee (in her big sister wisdom) showed me how to overcome this. Such a simple solution. Just cook the methi leaves slightly. Cooking them makes the leaves release the water in them. Also adding a little bit of salt during the cooking ensures almost all the water in the leaves is out where you can see it. This leads to a smoother dough that does not turn to sticky in a few minutes. The dough retains it's consistency and is super easy to handle. No sticky rolling pin either.

As for any paratha, Methi Paratha needs to be cooked on a medium to high heat. Cooking them on low heat, makes them hard and brittle. You may need to be watchful that you don't burn them while cooking on higher heat, but hey, you get soft parathas as a result of it.

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Baked Wholewheat Chips - Perfect way to finish off those leftover parathas
• Szechwan Paratha - An Indian-Chinese fusion paratha

Methi Paratha

Methi Paratha is a whole wheat flat bread flavored with fresh Methi or Fenugreek leaves and spices. 

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            North Indian
Prep Time:     20 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:                Makes 8-10

Ingredients:

3-4 cups Methi Leaves (washed and chopped)
2 cups Wholewheat Flour
1/2 cup Water
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tsp Oil
Salt as required
Oil or Ghee for cooking the Paratha

Method:

In a pan or kadhai, heat the 2 tsp of Oil.
Add the chopped methi leaves into it and stir well.
Cover and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until the methi leaves have wilted.
Now add the coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder. red chilli powder and 1/4 tsp salt and mix well.
Cover and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and keep it aside.
In a big bowl or plate, mix together the whole wheat flour and the methi leaves mix.
Now add salt as required and water. Knead it into a smooth dough.
Made small balls of the dough and roll it out into parathas (about 1-2mm thick).
Heat a greased tava or a griddle on medium high heat. Place the paratha on it and spoon oil.
Flip and cook the other side when the first side has cooked (small brown spots appear on it).
Serve hot with butter, pickle or yogurt.

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Grilled Paneer Sub Sandwich

Two crusty chunks of  rye bread, a generous helping of creamy tartar sauce and the hero - a garlic and chilli marinated slab of Paneer that is grilled to perfection. Oh ya and lettuce too. That's what is in this Grilled Paneer Sub Sandwich. Eat that and tell me if you complain!!

We had this absolutely amazing cookout event in office organized by Slurp Studio where they had grilled Paneer, caramelized onions, sauted mushrooms, fresh tomato slices and many more mouth watering ingredients along with a variety of breads and spreads. We had to build our own sandwich and I tried this Grilled Paneer Sandwich that left me obsessed with it even after the day was over.

I had to HAD to have it again. I mentioned it to my sister Gee who got super excited. More than me I think to have this sandwich, it's funny, she did not even have it the first time. But then, that's her. She's totally obsessed with sandwiches. She hacks into my Pinterest account searching for mouth watering juicy sandwiches. I think she's trying to find the ultimate vegetarian Moist Maker just like Monica Geller's.

Building a sandwich is so much about the perfect bread than about the filling I feel. I'm sooo into Artisan breads. That hard crust and soft crumb makes my mouth water. I could probably eat warm Artisan bread with some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper all day long. And I really NEEDED an artisan bread loaf to recreate the Sandwich of my dreams. Yes! that's what I shall call it, Sandwich of my Dreams!!! 

Now Bangalore's a big city where you get pretty much anything but you don't get it everywhere. So my hunt for Artisan bread took me to many famous bakery in South Bangalore, but I was sorely disappointed by the results.

Finally, I took to online shopping. I found this amazing looking herb crusted artisan bread, and I ordered it ASAP. Imagine my disappointment when it came pre-sliced like a regular bread loaf. I had imagined this Sub and I got teeny tiny slices. I immediately returned it. Luckily for me Gee was gracious enough to go all the way to the center of the city to get me this beautiful looking German Rye Bread. Two Thumps UP!!!

Bread sorted out, now let's get on to my Grilled Paneer. This super easy grilled paneer is marinated in a very simple marinade made of ingredients found in your pantry - Oil, Paprika or Red Chilli Powder, Garlic Paste, Cumin powder and salt. Marinate the paneer for 30 mins to 1 hour. I grilled the paneer on a grill pan to get that beautiful char lines, but you can grill it in the oven or a greased pan as well. A coal barbeque is actually the best way to cook it, as it will add that wonderful smokey flavor. The paneer really doesn't need to be cooked for any particular amount of time. The cooking is only to soften it on the inside and char it on the outside.

You can replace the Paneer with Haloumi or Tofu (for a vegan version). It needs to be a hard cheese that won't melt when grilled at high heat.

I also made my own Tartar sauce. It is super simple, just chop and add. If you don't have the ingredients, you can just use Vegetarian Mayo.  You can also use add some mint puree to regular mayo to get mint mayo. Mint mayo goes really well with this sandwich.

Lastly the fresh ingredients, I kept it simple with just lettuce, you can add sliced tomatoes and onions.

The instructions for building the sandwich are as per what I made. Take them as just general guideline and feel free to adapt it to your style of sandwich making.

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Beetroot and Cauliflower Burger
• Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich
• Breakfast Bruschetta Duo

Grilled Paneer Sub Sandwich

Sandwich made with rye bread and grilled marinated paneer along with a home-made tartar sauce and lettuce. 

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            International
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     15 minutes
Yield:                Serves 4

Ingredients:

For Grilled Paneer:

400gms fresh Paneer
1.5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1.5 tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
0.5 tsp Cumin Powder
Salt to taste

For Home-made Tartar Sauce:

1 cup vegetarian Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp chopped Dill Pickle
1 tsp Lime juice
1 tsp finely chopped Dill leaves
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

For the Sandwich:

2 loaves Rye Bread (or any Artisan Bread loaf)
Grilled Paneer
Tartar Sauce
Lettuce leaves

Method:

For Grilled Paneer:

Mix together the extra virgin olive oil, garlic paste, red chilli powder, cumin powder and salt to make a marinade.
Slice the paneer into slabs, about 0.8-1 cm thick.
Marinate the paneer. Cover and keep aside for at least 30 minutes.
Heat up a grill pan or on a barbeque grill, grill the paneer for 1-2 minutes on each side until char marks appear.

For Home-made Tartar Sauce:

Mix together all the ingredients to make a simple tartar sauce.
Adjust lime, salt or pepper according to your taste.

For the Sandwich:

Halve the bread lengthwise.
Layer the lower half of the bread with lettuce.
Place the grilled paneer slab on it.
Spread the tartar sauce on the paneer.
Cover with the other bread slice to make the Grilled Paneer Sandwich.

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Baby Corn Masala (Vegan)

Baby Corn Masala is a semi dry curry made by tossing stir fried Baby Corn in a North Indian style tomato masala gravy.

I’m all into Baby Vegetables this week. First came the baby potatoes simmers in a delicate creamy gravy a.k.a Punjabi Dum Aloo. In case you missed it, check it out here.

Now it is the time for Baby Corn to shine in this super simple Vegan Baby Corn Masala.

I go through phases in my cooking. One week it is the all down to earth pure South Indian meals with simple vegetables cooked in their own juices with just a simple tempering of mustard, green chilli and curry leaves and finished off with a generous helping of grated coconut. Ah! I just LOVE love love fresh Coconut. I even made Raj get me some fresh Coconut oil from Karkala and it tastes amazing.

Anyway, my next week is all full blown Masala curries or other cuisines I love – Italian, Chinese or Thai. This last week was full on North Indian week. I’ve been busy making grilled Paneer, Punjabi Dum Aloo and now Baby Corn Masala.

Now this recipe is very similar to most North Indian curries you have made and very similar to the Vegatable Jalfrezi that I made earlier (which was super AWESOME, btw). 

It is made by sautéing onions, ginger-garlic paste and tomato puree until the oil separates. But don’t be upset if this never happens for you. It rarely happens when I cook too. For oil to separate, there needs to be sufficient quantity of oil in the pan before you add the ingredients, and I usually skimp on the oil. As far as you fry it sufficient enough, the oil-no oil should not be any problem. 

Then add the tomatoes and cook them until oil “separates”, but seriously, don’t worry about it separating, just as long as the tomatoes are cooked and the flavor has intensified, you should be good to go.

I stir fried the baby corn separately and added it. I’ve found that baby corn never softens, no matter how much I cook it. I like that in a way, since I don’t need to worry about over cooking it, but sometimes I wonder if I’m doing it wrong. But I’m still okay with it since it tastes great with that crunch.

This Baby Corn Masala tastes really good with Naan bread or Roti. 

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Punjabi Dum Aloo - Baby potatoes simmered in a creamy yet vegan tomato based sauce.
• Vegatable Jalfrezi - Mix vegetables in a tomato based sauce.
• Baby Corn and Capsicum Masala - Baby corn and capsicum cooked in a restaurant style masala gravy made with browned onions.

Baby Corn Masala

Semi-dry North Indian style curry made with Baby Corn tossed in a tomato based masala gravy.

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            North Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     45 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2

Ingredients:

18-20 Baby corn cobs
1 large Onion
1 large Tomato
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Garlic Paste
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Kitchen King Masala or Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds or Jeera
4-5 tsp Oil
1/4 cup Water
Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

Cut the baby corn cobs into chunks.
Heat 1-2 tsp of oil in a pan. Once it is hot, add the baby corn and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.
Remove from heat and keep aside.
Chop the onion finely and puree the tomato.
Heat the remaining oil and add the cumin seeds.
Once the cumin seeds brown slightly, add the onions and fry until translucent.
Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Add the tomato puree and cook on low heat for 5-6 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add all the spices and salt. Mix well. Cook on low heat for another 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add the fried baby corn and the water. Cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Rotis.

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Restaurant Style Dal Fry | How to make Dhal Fry

I simply love Dal... Especially the restaurant kind. You know, with that hint of ginger and fragrance of the garlic combined with the slight heat from the green chilli and tartness of the tomatoes?

Have you had a tiring day cleaning that cupboard or working on your taxes? Do you crave comfort food? How would you like a warm bowl of hearty, filling and guilt-free healthy Dal? That's my go-to comfort food when I'm short for time, hungry (cranky too...) and tired. Some warm dal with white rice and a side of mango pickle. Yummm... Getting the picture? 

As much as I love dal with rice, my love for Dal-Roti is even greater. Almost a must-order when we visit a restaurant. I almost always order Dal with roti in restaurants, mostly because they get it spot on and with all that spicy food on the table, sometimes you need something to tone it down. 

There are so many ways in which you can make dal, the simplest being with just a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chilli or you can try this recipe for a more flavorful version.

If you remember the universal truths from my previous post - Avarekalu Uppit . This dal fry totally satisfies that truth. It is one of the basic Indian dishes your mom will expect you to know how to cook.

Dal is also probably the simplest Indian dish you can make and let me tell you the biggest plus point - You cannot mess it up!!! Well, as long as you are tasting for salt along the way, that is. And if you by chance did mess up, worry not, it is equally easy to fix it too.

Dal or Dhal can me made from any type of lentil, although there are a few popular ones based on the region. North Indians make dal from Chana Dal or Moong Dal while the South Indians swear by the Toor Dal. You can make this recipe with any other type of lentil or dal you have and it will taste just as good. Promise!!!

If you liked this Dal Fry recipe, you may also like:

• Pancharangi Dal - Curry made with 5 different types of lentils.
• Heerekai Tove - Dal with ridgegourd pieces.
• Dal Makhani - Creamy and rich dal made with black lentils.
• Spinach or Palak Dal - Dal flavored with spinach.

Restaurant Syle Dal Fry

Dal or Pigeon Pea Lentils cooked in restaurant style. 

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     45 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Toor Dal or Arhar Dal or Pigeon Pea Lentils
1 Onion
1 Tomato
1-2 Green Chilli
1 tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds or Jeera
1 pinch Asafoetida or Hing
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
8-10 Curry leaves
2-3 tsp Oil
Water as required
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

Wash the dal at least twice.
Pressure cook the dal in 1.5 cups of water until done.
Mash the dal and keep aside.
Chop the onion and tomato finely.
Chop or slit the green chilli.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
Once they start spluttering, add the cumin seeds.
Add the onion, ginger paste, garlic paste and green chilli and fry until the onions are slightly browned.
Add the curry leaves and fry for 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes until they become soft.
Add the turmeric powder and the asafoetida powder and mix well.
Add in the cooked dal, salt and water as required. Adjust the water according to the consistency you desire.
Simmer for 5-6 minutes.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or rotis.

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