Whole wheat bread in Microwave

Have you ever noticed the ingredients of the whole wheat bread that you buy from the store. Many believe that they are having a healthy breakfast by replacing white bread with brown one. But it is often made with refined wheat flour, and the color comes from caramel.Or in most companies, they just add 20 % wheat flour, the remaining big chunk is still maida. So its always a good thing if you could make one at home. Yes it may not be as tasty as those you get from market. But you can rest assured that they are totally healthy. I am sharing here a recipe to make whole wheat bread in a microwave.  

Microwave whole wheat bread

Ingredients 

Whole wheat flour- 2 cups

Yeast- 2 teaspoons

Sugar-1 teaspoon

Water- lukewarm- 1/2 cup

Salt- 1/2 teaspoon

Oil- 1 tablespoon

Milk- 1/2 cup

Procedure

Dissolve sugar and yeast in half cup lukewarm water. Keep it aside to rise for about 10 minutes. In a vessel take flour and make a dough by adding the yeast mix to it. Also add salt, oil and milk while kneading. Make a soft dough.

Now keep this to rise for 3 hours. Cover the container well with a plastic cover. After 3 hours, knead the dough again and transfer to a greased microwave proof dish. Set the dough by leaving space from the sides of the dish. This allows room for the dough to puff up. Now cook on high power in microwave. To check if your bread is done try pricking with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, then your bread is done.

Let it cool. Cut into slices and refrigerate. When warm, the texture won't be that perfect. But, after refrigerating, it becomes more crumbly.

Whole Wheat Cake in Microwave

This is a real quick recipe if you have a sudden craving for having a cake but don't have the patience to bake in an oven...of course baking is best done in an oven but you can still make an almost perfect cake in a microwave.

My hubby doesn't like maida as its not good for tummy...so i decided to try this time using wheat flour.

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour-1 1/2 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Sugar- 3/4 cup

Cardamom pods- 3

Ripe banana- 2

Butter- 1 tablespoon

Baking soda-3/4  teaspoon

Baking powder- 1/2 teaspoon

Vanilla essence- 4-5 drops

Lemon juice-few drops

Procedure

In a bowl, mix together milk and sugar. Let sugar dissolve completely. 

Mash the bananas till it forms a smooth paste in a blender. Now add this to milk mixture. Also add vanilla essence and cardamom powder.

In another bowl take well sieved flour and add baking soda and powder to it. After nicely mixing the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients to it little by little.
Carefully mix this, breaking down any lump that may have formed. Now add lemon juice and whisk well. Now transfer the contents to a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave on high power for 5 minutes.

Check whether it is cooked using a toothpick or knife. If the toothpick comes out clean, cake is done. Otherwise, cook again for sometime. Do keep checking in between or else your cake might get burnt. Once cooked, let it cool down and then cut and serve.

 

Healthy Sprouts

I love fried and spicy snacks. Samosas and chaats are my alltime favs.But considering the health hazards i have to switch to healthier options. One of the most healthy evening snack that i like to have is sprouts tossed with spicy masala. This way i can satisfy my taste buds too. Considered to be very rich in protein, you can make this healthy snack real quick as an evening snack for children. This is also really good for the pregnant ladies out there.

Ingredients

Sprouted whole Moong (Green gram whole)- 1/2 cup

Sprouted Kala Chana(Black chickpea)- 1/2 cup 

Onions- 2- finely chopped

Tomato-1- chopped

Green chilli-1 - finely chopped

Oil- 1 tablspoon

Mustard seeds- 1/2 teaspoon

Chaat masala- 1 teaspoon

Procedure

Cook the sprouts till done. Don't overcook, it must be crunchy to eat. Now in a pan, splutter mustard. Saute onion till they have a glassy look. Add in the tomatoes and saute for 3 minutes. Now add the cooked sprouts to the pan. Keep stirring till all water dries up. Now sprinkle chhat masala and your healthy snack is ready!

Idiyappam (Noolputtu)

Idiappam is a traditional breakfast dish of Kerala. Also known as noolputtu or sevai, it  is also made in tamil, andhra,kannada households. It is steamed rice noodles had with stew, chickpea curry or any other spicy gravy. Though I could have it even without any side dish. I loved idiappams when i was a kid as it was made at our home on rare occassions and I really looked forward to such mornings.

Ingredients

Rice flour- Very fine powder- 2 cups

Water- 2 cups

Grated Coconut- Half of a coconut

Salt- As required

Procedure

Be sure to use very fine rice powder. Sieve the flour and if any larger grains are there, just grind them again finely. Mix the flour with salt and add boiling water to it. Add little by little water taking care not to exceed. Mix the dough with a spatula and try to form it into a ball. Once the dough is slightly cool, knead with your hands to make the dough smooth and even.

Keep the dough covered with wet cloth for a few minutes. Grease an idli mould and sprinkle a little coconut shavings on top.Now take out small portions and fill into the idiappam press or sevanazhi. Now start pressing the idiappam noodles onto the mold. Go in a circular fashion Going on top of the previous circle two more times. Don't overdo as it may not get cooked properly.

Sprinkle a little more coconut on top and place onto the steamer. Cook on high flame until you could see steam coming out of the sides. Now cook on low flame for about 6- 7 minutes. remove to a serving plate and serve hot with any curry of your choice.

It is so yummmy and everyone were so very hungry that we attacked the food immediately and there's no time to take pictures and I ended up with just a few photos. I will add more pics when i make this next time, for sure.

Chakka varattiyad (jackfruit jam)

To take down a Jackfruit from the tree is a herculean task. Even more tuff job is to cut open the fruit.You will need a big sword for that. Then take out the fruits, deseed them...its a long procedure. But after all this hard labor you could enjoy the honey-sweet and juicy fruits. I am rather lazy to do all this. So I wait for mom to do all this cleaning part.There is whole lot of other items you can make with jackfruit like puzhukku, thoran. I love to eat the ripe fruits. Other than that, i love chips and jam made out of it. . 

 Ingredients

Jackfruit- 2 cups of jackfruit paste

Jaggery- 1 cup

Cardamom powder- 1 tablespoon

Dry ginger powder- 1 tablespoon

Cumin powder- 1/2 tablespoon

Ghee-  2 tablespoon

Procedure

Chop the jackfruit into small pieces. Add 1/2 cup water and pressure cook it for one whistle. Allow to cool. Make a fine paste in a blender. Add equal amount of jaggery powder. Melt jaggery in a heavy bottomed vessel and strain it. 

In a non-stick vessel, mix the jaggery with the fruit paste.Also add in cardamom powder, dry ginger powder and cumin powder. Blend well and cook on a low flame. Keep stirring in between to ensure that mixture doesn't stick to the bottom. Add half of the ghee when partly done.

Keep cooking till almost all the liquid is gone, you can then  switch off the burner and let the jam cool and solidify.At this stage add the remaining ghee and mix it well.Remove and transfer to a bowl. If refrigerated this can be kept for even one year. 

Many delicacies can be used by using this varatti/ jam as base. One my moms favorite is 'pradhaman'-jackfruit kheer in coconut milk. You can also make pothi palaharams/ kozhukkatta and ada with these. Adding the spices in the varatti helps in digestion as jackfruit can sometimes be harsh on the stomach.

 

Uzhunn vada/ Medu vada

Medu vada/ Uzhunnu vada is a staple South Indian snack.Its a crispy Black gram fritters loved throughout India. Its a south Indian snack which has become popular among other parts of the country like idlis and dosas. Generally its had as breakfast but i love them as evening snack with piping hot tea.

The recipe is easy you just have to fry the dough. But the problem is in shaping the vada. The consistency must be right for the holes to form properly. The dough must be stubborn one. What i mean is when you try pouring it with a spoon you should have to literally give a big throw to make them fall. Dont over grind the dal or else vadas wont be fluffy.

Ingredients

Urad dal/ Uzhunnu vada/ split black gram- Soaked in water for 4 -5 hours- 1 cup

Onions- Chopped very fine

Ginger- 1 inch- chopped

Green chilli- 2 - chopped

Ground pepper- 1 or 2 pinch

Hing powder- 1/2 teaspoon

Rice powder- 1 tablespoon

Sooji- 1 talespoon

Salt- as required

Oil- For frying

Procedure

After soaking in water for about 4 hours, drain the excess water and grind the dal to a coarse paste. Try to grind it by adding minimum water. Don't soak the dal too long or it may become too soggy and the batter would become runny.Now add all the other ingredient to the batter except oil and mix well. Heat the oil in a deep bottomed vessel. Add enough oil or the vada will stick to the bottom. 

In a small bowl keep cold water ready to dip and wet your hands before shaping the batter. take a scoop and place on your hands. 

Make a hole in the middle and drop into the oil. keep the flame on medium heat.Fry till golden brown. Drain and drain excess oil by placing on tissue papers.serve hot with coconut chutney or sambar.

Spicy tangy irumban puli achar

Irumban puli or chilumikka in Malayalam is known as bilimbi world over. Its a very sour fruit when eaten raw. But is used as pickles, squash and chutneys. It has many medicinal properties and is considered excellent to lower cholesterol.
Irumban puli pickle is an easy one to make. Just saute all the spices and add in the sliced puli to it.

Ingredients

Irumban Puli- 10-15 nos.

Turmeric powder- 2 tablespoon

Red chilli powder- 4 tablespoon

Hing powder- 2 teaspoon

Fenugreek  powder- 1 tablespoon

Mustard seeds- 2 teaspoon

Oil- 3 tablespoon

Salt- as required

Procedure

Heat the oil and let the mustard seeds splutter. Now lower the flame add all the spices. Keep stirring till the raw smell leaves from the spices. Now add the sliced puli ( you cal also add it whole). Let it cook for some time. No need to add any water as the fruit already has a lot of water. After about 7 minutes switch off the flame. The pickle is done. If you think the pickle is too sour you can add a bit of jaggery.

Store in refrigerator as it can get spoiled quick.

Soft spongy Idli

Rice idli
My favorite comfort food...soft and spongy idlis dipped in sambhar with an accompaniment of coconut chutney...there is no other food that satisfies me as much as this humble idli. Moreover as its steam cooked its a very healthy breakfast. The rice and urad dal in idlis compliment each other, making it a completely balanced meal. The vegetables and dal in sambhar are also good supplements. Though there are many variations in idli, the most delicious one is the simple rice idli.

Ingredients

Idli rice-4 cups 

( One can also use 2 cups raw rice and 1 cup parboiled rice. This makes more perfect idlis. If you dont have paroiled rice then you can add a owl of cooked rice instead.)

Urad dal/black gram- 1 cup

Salt- as required

water- as required

Oil for greasing

Procedure

Wash rice and dal thoroughly. Soak the rice and dal separately for about 5 hours. Dont throw away the water used for soaking as it contain some washed off nutrients. you can use this water while grinding.
Grind rice and urad dal separately in a grinder. Its better to grind dal first as dal paste which does not come off from the grinder will come out with rice. Make sure that batter has a grainy texture. It should not be too runny.
Idli batter should preferably be thicker than dosa batter. Mix the batter well. Now keep the batter overnight. Next day you will find a nicely risen batter which has a fluffy texture. The hardest and crucial part of a successful idli is preparation of the batter. Any mistake in the ratios could either make a hard idli or soggy one. Remember, urad dal makes the idlis soft but too much of it could make it sticky. So always maintain the rice-dal ratio. Another crucial point is giving the batter proper time as well as heat to rise and get a fluffy texture. I remember that my mother used to cover the vessel with a woolen cloth and keep it out in the sun during winters. You could also add a pinch of yeast to the batter if you think the temperature at your place is not enough for the atter to ferment.

Grease the idli moulds and fill 3/4 th with batter. Steam for aout 15 minutes and your idlis are ready.Check by inserting a tooth pick. It should come out clean, or else cook on low flame for a few more minutes. Take care not to overcook. Dont let the idlis remain inside the steamer once the gas is turned off. The cooling of the steam would make droplets of water fall on them and would make them soggy. Scoop the idlis out with the help of a butter knife or a flat spatulaEnjoy this delicious white dumplings along with sambhar or chutney.

Kerala Mixed Vegetable Stew - Simple yet classy

My favorite kerala dish. The dish looks simple and humble, without much masala and colors in contrast to the vivid sambhar, pulissery and other kerala dishes. The stew has pristine white color..but dont go by the looks.. there is more to it than meets the eye..

Stew is a common accompaniment with appam..but is also popular with porotta and chapati as well. 

Ingredients

Coconut milk- out of one coconut

Potatoes- 2- diced

Onions-2- chopped

Carrots- 1- finely chopped

French beans- 3/4 th cup- chopped

Green chilly- 4 - slit into halves

White pepper powder- 1 teaspoon

Cloves- 3

Cardamon-4 

Cinnamon- a small piece

Curry leaves - a sprig

Salt- as required

Oil- 1 tblspoon

Procedure

    Scrape the coconut and using warm water blend it in a blender until it forms a smooth paste.

Use a strainer or a muslin cloth to filter out the white thick milk. this is the first milk. Now add in a little more water and again squeeze out the milk from the coconut paste. This is second milk. Take a deep bottom pan and heat oil. Stir fry onions in it until they appear 'glassy'. That is they should soften but should not turn brown. Add the cloves, cardamom, pepper and cinnamon. Saute until they start giving off a pleasant aroma. This may take about 2 or 3 minutes. Now add in curry leaves and chillies. Toss them for a few seconds and add the vegetables. Saute them for 1 minute. Now add the second milk and salt and let it boil. Cover and cook on a low flame until the veggies turn soft. This will take around 10 minutes.Once done add the thicker first milk and continue cooking.If you want to have a thicker gravy you could mix cashew paste to the thick milk Dont let it boil or the smoothy texture of the milk will be ruined. Switch off the flame the moment stew starts frothing.Your stew is ready to be served.

. 

Besan Dhokla

Dhoklas....the recipe that i learnt from my marathi friend..reminds me of my college canteen..where we friends used to fight for a bite of this gujju snack...one of my favorites breakfast as its easy to cook, has very less oil, easy to pack and super tasty..

Many complain that their dhoklas turn hard or sometimes not cooked well. Easy! its no rocket science..following my tips you could make soft and yummy dhoklas within minutes.
Iam using a pressure cooker here to steam my dhoklas.

Ingredients

Gram flour (Besan) - 2 cups (About 250 gm)

Green chilli - 5-6

Ginger - 1'' pieceCurd (sour)- 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder- a small pinch
Curd- 2 tblespn

Fruit salt- one sachet

Salt- 1 tspoon or as required

Oil- 1tablespoon

Water- as required to make batter..about 3-4 cup would  be enough for  cups besan

Mustard seeds - 1 tspoonn

Procedure

Mix besan well with water to make batter. The batter must be little thick as adding curd later on will make it more loose. When done, add curd, salt, turmeric and mix well. grind the green chilly and ginger to a fine paste and mix into the batter.
Now the batter would be of  pourable consistency. (However care must be taken not to make it very loose.)
Take out the weight from pressure cooker and let the water heat up. Meanwhile add the fruit salt to the batter and mix. Transfer the batter to a container and place it inside the cooker. Take care that the water level inside the cooker is well below the the containers rim.

(Dont make it too long to start cooking as the effect of fruit salt would be gone if you dont haste)

Close the cooker and let it cook for 15 minutes on medium flame. Check if its done. If done cook for another 5 minutes. 

Cool and cut into square pieces. Before serving splutter some mustard seeds and pour over the pieces. You could also garnish with some fried green chillies. Serve with mint chutney or cilantro leaf chutney (dhania chutney)

Hot spicy CHILLI CURRY (Mulaku curry)

Hot spicy CHILLI CURRY (Mulaku curry)

If you are into spicy food, this one is a must-try. A side dish popular in kerala, this curry has hot spicy green chillies blended wonderfully with tamarind. For this you need whole lot of green chillies, dont go for too much spicy ones. You could serve this dish alongside snacks like samosas appam, paranthas and bhajjis and if you like you can have it as a side dish with rice.

The Carolina Reaper was rated as the world's hottest chilli pepper by Guiness Book of World Records..i bet i could never try those. I bite into a humble desi one and that itself is too hot for me..

Ingredients

Green chillies- 100 gm

Oil- 4 tbl spoon

Mustard seeds- 1 tspoon

Fenugreek powder- 1 tl spoon

Turmeric powder- 1 pinch

Chilli powder- 1 tspoon

Asafoetida powder- 1 tspoon

Tamarind- 2 lemon sized balls

Jaggery- 50 gm

Salt- as per taste

Procedure

Cut the chillies into small pieces. Now in a wok heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the chillies. saute them till their green color fades and its slightly brown in color. Dont keep the flame too high or you may burn the chillies and the smoke would end you up with a wild fit of sneezing and coughing..

When done add salt and turmeric..this would make the mix coll down a bit. Keep stirring and add fenugreek and asafoetida. At the end add chilli powder(you could skip this if you dont want it too spicy). Saute the powder well for half minute and then add  tamarind pulp to it.(Soak the tamarind in hot water for half an hour before taking its pulp.) Also add in powdered jaggery to the bubbling liquid. You could add in more jaggery as per your taste.

Keep stirring and for about 15 minutes. Check the consistency and if not too watery you could switch off the heat and your hot and sweet dish is ready.

  

Ash gourd curry

Ash Gourd Curry

Ash Gourd has long been known as a beneficial veggie..its proven as an effective cure for obesity and in treatment of peptic ulcers. A daily dose of ash gourd juice mixed with honey is not only good for obesity but also helps in maintaining the pH of body.
Here i am showing a simple sabzi using ash gourd..its a typical gharelu sabzi which you wont find in restaurant recipes

Ingredients

Ash gourd (petha) diced into medium size cubes- 250 gm

Red beans(Lal lobia)- 1 cup soaked for 2 hours

Onions- finely chopped-1

Tomato-finely chopped-2

Green chilli-chopped-2

Ginger- grated-1 inch piece

Garlic - finely chopped-5-6 pods

Turmeric powder- 1 tspoon

Red chilly powder- 1 tspoon

Coriander (dhania) powder- 2 tspoons

Garam masala- 1 tspoon

Oil- 1 tblespn

salt- as per taste

Procedure

Boil the gourd pieces and beans in pressure cooker upto 2 whistles. 

Heat oil in a pan and  saute ginger garlic and chillies. after about half a minute add onions and saute till they turn translucent. Now add in tomatoes and cook till they get soft and oil starts leaving. Add salt and all the dry masalas and cook for another 1 minute. 

Now add little water and  keep stirring. The veggies would have soaked in all the flavors by now. Now your ash gourd curry is ready. Serve it hot with rotis.

Tender Coconut Pudding (Karikku Payasam)

I love to have coconut water during the scorching summers. It is nature"s electrolyte supplement and is a healthier drink than other juices which are loaded with sugar.. i also love to eat the fruits pulp..i tried a different kind of sweet today with these...though i had heard of it i ve never tried a karikku payasam before..

Its a super tasty sweet..and is easy to prepare as well..

Ingredients

Tender coconuts- 4

Sugar- 2 cups

Milk- 1 litre

Cashew nuts- 4-5

Cardamom- 4-5 pods, finely ground

Procedure

Blend the coconut pulp and coconut water in a blender. Let there be small pieces of cocont pulp, dont make it too fine.

Now heat a thick bottomed vessel and heat sugar until it melts and is golden in color. Keep stirring or lumps will form.Be sure that you dont overheat or your payasam will end up bitter. Add the blended mixture into the caramel.

Keep stirring for about 10 minutes allowing the coconut pieces to cook well. Add milk ,bring to a boil and cook for another 5 minutes.
Heat a pan and fry cashews and kismis and garnish on top of the payasam. Serve your payasam either hot or chilled.

Whole Wheat Samosa

Yesterday, i had a sudden craving for samosas..i stormed into my kitchen only to find that i ran out of maida..so i thought of trying out with wheat flour instead.. i was not sure how it would turn out..but my samosas turned out really crispy and super yum!! And considering the benefits of whole wheat this one is more healthier than the maida version..

Ingredients

For crust

Whole wheat flour(gehun ka atta)-1 cup

Semolina/Sooji- 2-3 tblspoon

Baking powder-1 tspn

Carom/ajwain seeds- 2  pinches

Salt-1/2 tspn

Oil-2 tblspn

Water-1/2 cup

Oil for frying

For filling

Potatoes/aloo- medium size- 3

onion-1

green chilli-2

garam masala-1 tspn

red chilli - 3/4 tspn

ginger- 1''

turmeric powder- 1/2 tspn

salt- 1 1/2 tspn or as per taste

Oil-1 tlspn

Take the wheat flour in a bowl. To this add semolina, salt, baking powder, carom seeds and mix well. Heat the oil a little and add to the flour. mix again and water little by little and make a soft dough. Adding hot oil helps in making crispy samosas.Try making the dough with minimum water. Now wrap the dough with a wet cloth and let it soften for half an hour or so.

boil the potatoes, peel and mash and keep aside. In a skillet, pour oil, splutter jeera and add sliced green chillies and grated ginger. You can add more chillies if you want it be more spicy. Saute for a minute and add finely chopped onions. saute till they turn little brown. Now add the turmeric, chilli powder, salt and mix well. now add in the mashed potatoes and mix well. Add a little water and garam masala and let the potatoes soak the flavour for a while. After a minute or two switch off. Make sure the filling is not soggy or watery.

Now take the dough and make small lemon sized balls out of the dough and flatten it with rolling pins as you would do for making chapatis. Make about 6" diameter circles. Now cut this into semicircles. Take a semicircle and fold it to form a cone. Seal the edges with wet fingers. Now fill the cone with potato mix and again seal the mouth properly. Make samosas with remaining dough in similar fashion.

Now heat oil in a Kadhai and let it heaten up a little but not too hot. Fry the samosas in medium flame till they turn golden in color. Make sure to keep on a medium flame. Serve the hot samosas with tomato and chilli sauce.