Whole Wheat Crêpes with Fresh Peach and Strawberry filling (How to make whole wheat crepes)(How to make fresh peach,strawberry filling for crepes)

Healthy eating is all about eating in moderation, and what is life without a touch of sweetness? Treat your kids to the occasional desserts, but make it a tad healthier by using fresh and less processed foods. Learn how you can add more fibre to your crepes by using whole wheat flour (regular chapathi/roti atta). Using fresh fruits like strawberries, peaches, blackberries or raspberries instead of jams or preserves also increases it's nutritional value.

How to make whole wheat crepes

Ingredients for the crepes: (Makes approx 10-12)

• Whole wheat flour (atta)- 1 cup
• Eggs-3 nos.
• Milk- 1 cup,
• Water- 1 cup
• Honey/ jaggery- 1 tbsp
• Cardamom- 2-3 (remove the skin)
• Salt- a pinch
• Oil- 1 tbsp

Method:

• Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend till you get a pouring consistency. 
• Let it rest for 15-20 mins. In the meanwhile you can make the filling.

Ingredients for filling:

• Peaches/strawberry/blackberry/blueberry- 500gms 
• Lemon juice- 2tsp
• Honey- 1-2 tsp

Method:

1. Wash the fruit well. If using peaches, remove the skin and then slice into thin slivers. Strawberries need to be hulled and sliced into slivers.
2. Put the fruit into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-1.5 mins. 
3. Remove add the lemon juice, honey and mix well. Keep aside.

Making the crepes:

1. Heat a pan, add a teaspoon of oil and spread it around the pan.
2. Pour a ladle full of the batter and swirl the pan to spread the batter (do not spread it with the ladle like dosas),
3. Cover and cook on medium flame for about 2-3 mins till golden brown. Then flip it over to cook on the other side( be careful not to break it since they are very thin).
4. Cook for another 2 mins, then slide onto a plate.
5. Spoon out the filling into the centre and cover it with the two ends of the crepe or roll the crepe (whichever is easier).
6. Serve with a dollop of yogurt or fresh cream or maple syrup.

How to make Whole Wheat crêpe

Watch your kids devour the Whole Wheat Crepes with fresh peach and strawberry filling! Bon appetite!

Low calorie Creamy Palak Paneer

Creamy Palak Paneer (low-cal version)

Here's a low-fat version of Creamy Palak Paneer:
Ingredients:

• Palak: 4 big cups or 250 gms
• Tomatoes: 2 big
• Garlic: 4nos.
• Ginger: 1"piece
• Green chilies: 2-3 (or according to taste)
• Paneer: 250gms (cut into cubes)
• Skim milk: 1 1/2 cups
• Whole wheat flour: 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds: 1tsp
• Hing(asafoetida): a pinch
• Bay leaf: 1
• Turmeric powder: 1/2tsp (or 1 tsp curry powder)
• Coriander powder: 2tsp
• Red chili powder: 1-2 tsp
• Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
• Salt: to taste
• Oil: 3tsp

Method:

1. Puree the tomato along with the garlic and ginger.
2. Bring some water to boil and then blanch the palak leaves for 3-5 minutes. Take out the leaves and puree when cool.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the bay leaf and cumin seeds, when they start to brown add the hing.
4. Then add the tomato puree, garam masala, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric/curry powder and stir fry till you see the oil separating out.
5. Then add the palak puree and mix well.
6. Cover and cook for 10 minutes stirring in between.Add salt to taste.
7. Mix the wheat flour in the milk and add to the saucepan. Mix well and then cover and cook for about 5mins.
8. Add the paneer pieces and mix. Cover and cook for another 5-6 minutes while stirring gently in between.

Serve the creamy palak paneer with phulkas or plain rice and dal.

Note: You can further reduce the fat content of the dish by making your own paneer from low-fat or skimmed milk. Tofu can be used as a substitute for paneer for those who want a vegan recipe and it tastes equally good!

Pineapple Mulligatawny soup

Pineapple Mulligatawny Soup

There are so many versions of the famous "Mulligatawny Soup" (the literal Tamil translation being just "pepper water" ) that I decided to add my own version-a pineapple (yes,now that I have THE pineapple cutter I can actually experiment with pineapple dishes, since we seem to buying it almost every week) flavoured mulligatawny soup. The addition of the pineapple makes this soup a perfect soup for summer or winter!
Ingredients:

• Pineapple: 1 cup (chopped)
• Onion: 1/2 medium (finely chopped)
• Garlic:2 cloves(crushed)
• Ginger:1/2 " piece(finely chopped)
• Pepper: 1-2 teaspoon(freshly ground)
• Turmeric: a pinch
• Curry powder or Sambar/rasam powder:1/2 to 1 teaspoon
• Green chillies:1-2(slit lengthwise)
• Water/vegetable broth/dal water: 2 cups
• Oil: 1 teaspoon
• Salt: to taste
• Sugar/Jaggery: 1 teaspoon(optional)

For tempering:

• Mustard seeds: 1/2 teaspoon
• Zeera/Cumin seeds-1 teaspoon
• Peppercorns:3-4 nos.
• Curry leaves:2-3 nos.
• Hing/Asafoetida: a pinch (optional)

Method:

1. Puree half the quantity of the pineapple into a fine paste and keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the mustard seeds,cumin seeds and peppercorns.
3. When the mustard starts to sputter,add the curry leaves,turmeric and the asafoetida (optional).
4. Add the chopped ginger and the crushed garlic and stir-fry till slightly brown.
5. Then,add the chopped onions,green chillies and salt and saute till the onions are golden brown.
6. Add the pineapple puree along with the rest of the chopped pineapple pieces,curry or sambar/rasam powder,sugar/jaggery(optional) and stir continuously for about 5-6 minutes on medium heat.
7. Add about 2 cups of water/vegetable broth (or you could also use the water after boiling dal) and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
8. Serve hot with a dash of freshly ground pepper.

Question: What is your favorite "summer" soup?

Stuffed Green Pepper (with Chilly Tofu) Microwave Low-fat version

Low-fat Microwave Stuffed Capsicum(with Chilly tofu)

I had first seen the recipe of Stuffed Green Bell Pepper (or "Capsicum" and "Shimla Mirchi"as it is popularly known as in India) when I was a kid and was skimming through one of my mother's magazines (I think it was either "Femina" or "Savvy") and came across this awesome looking photo of a stuffed capsicum(I wasn't into cooking then,so I can hardly remember what it was stuffed with, but I'm guessing it had potatoes).
I was so enamored with that photo that I bugged and begged my mom to make it and she finally relented and agreed to make it.So,the next day, off we went,my mom and little me in tow to the bazaar/market and bought a couple of the freshest,greenest and biggest looking capsicums for the recipe(the rest of the stuff which we bought has been deleted from my memory-I happen to have a limited memory space and I tend to save only the most important stuff). Anyway,we got home and my mom got busy in the kitchen with me doing the most important part-opening the magazine to the page where the recipe was and keeping it where my mother could refer to it.That done,I left my mom to do the cooking(she was the expert afterall)and I guess I must have whiled away the time till dinner.
When it was ready,we were called to the dinner table and I ran excitedly(again please note that I was never a good eater as a child and nothing other than chocolates got me excited) to take my place at the dinner table. That was when I saw what my mom had made and I burst into tears,and no-it was not tears of joy,but that of bitter disappointment!
It didn't resemble the dish in the book at all,infact it didn't even look like she had made the same dish.I ran into the kitchen and got the book and pointed it out to her(just incase she had made the NEXT recipe by mistake)-the photo was of a nice green bell pepper,with a perfectly green skin,no blemishes,filled with the yummiest looking stuff with a little firm cap on it.What actually sat on the table was a soggy, greenish brown mass barely able to hold the stuffing!! My mother and the rest of the family tried to explain that in the photo the bell pepper was not subjected to any cooking and was just to get(what I now understand is called) an "awesome shot".
The recipe called for the pepper to be fried,which made it change in colour and texture and hence the soggy mass sitting on our dining table. Whatever she made must have probably tasted great because she did make it a couple of times after that and even experimented with different stuffing's,but I really couldn't care. It was NOT what was in the book!!!

Low-fat Microwave Stuffed Capsicum(the cooked version)

I've always loved the stuffed capsicum served at restaurants, but have found it way too oily to make on a regular basis. Looking for a healthier version I got the idea of "Microwave Stuffed Capsicum".  I had some tofu that I had bought to make "Chilly Tofu"(the recipe for which I have posted earlier). Since it was for a stuffing, the only change I made was to crumble the tofu instead of cutting them into cubes,and yes,I took a snap of the dish before and after cooking the bell pepper!!
Check out the recipe and ingredients for the "Quick Chilly Tofu" here.
To make this dish you will also need about 4 bell peppers (you can choose whatever colour you fancy).
Method:

1. Cut the bell peppers carefully at the top,and remove the seeds.
2. Apply a little oil to the outer side of the capsicum and microwave on high for 3-8 minutes (depending on the microwave)
3. Once they are ready,stuff it carefully with the "chilly tofu" (recipe given here) and serve.
4. You can even stuff it with paneer/ tofu/ egg burji (scrambled eggs). 

Low-fat Microwave Stuffed Capsicum

P.S:

• Since I've microwaved the peppers, it doesn't look anything like the fried version that is imprinted in my memory.
• You could even 

Question: Have you ever followed a recipe to the T only to end up with a dish that didn't quite look like that shown in the book/magazine?

Beetroot mocktail

Beetroot Mocktail

It's funny how our brains are trained to believe things only when they are supported by facts. There are so many things that I pooh-poohed as a kid and sheepishly acknowledge now because "scientists" have conducted experiments and have proved it to be true.
Growing up in India in a joint family ,we kids always heard about the health benefits of every vegetable or fruit which we had to eat (no questions asked and no explanations given). All that knowledge probably had it's roots in Ayurveda but is still being referred to as "bush medicine". Even Ayurveda,which is an ancient science is only now gaining popularity in the western world though it has been around since BC!!
Wondering where all this talk is leading to? Well the other day I read an article on WebMD stating "Beetroot Juice Lowers Blood Pressure" and it brought back memories of my mom telling me that "eating/drinking beetroot would give me rosy cheeks as it would improve my blood". Beetroot juice is also recommended by Naturopaths for those who are anemic,but then again naturopathy isn't mainstream medicine-it's 'alternative' medicine!!
Over the years,there have been so many such instances when "modern" science has taken up a study on some similar "bush" theory's and proven my mom and grandma right, that every time I read about it,I can just picture my mom doing a little "I TOLD YOU SO" jig in my mind.
Now that I am older(and hopefully wiser) and also armed with scientific data (for some), I have decided to pass on this wisdom that I have inherited to my son as he goes through life(so that later he can picture ME doing the jig)!
Ladies and gentlemen of the "modern" world, please join me as I raise a toast to the wisdom of all our ancestors with this mocktail made with the innumerable benefits of beets,carrots and lemon juice.
Ingredients:

• Beetroot:1 small
• Carrot: 1/2
• Lime juice : 2-3 tablespoon
• Sugar:2 teaspoon(optional)

Method:

1. Blend all the ingredients together in a juicer.
2. Serve chilled.

Check out this awesome slideshow on juices on WebMD called:
Juice Wars: The Best and Worse for your Health

Question: Is there any such "bush" theory that you heard as a kid that science has proved right?