Kala Channa Rasam( Brown Chickpea Rasam)

Kala Channa/Kadle Rasam 

Kala channa/ kadle rasam doesn't actually have any kala channa but is made from the water left over from boiling the kala channa/ brown kadle. When using the channa for a dry sabzi like Manoli kadle or usali, instead of throwing the water, you can make another dish out of it. Moreover, making dal/sambar as the gravy dish will make the meal too heavy with too much protein. The kala channa/ kadle rasam then becomes the perfect side dish for the meal.

Ingredients:

• Kala channa/kadle water: left over water after pressure cooking 
• Tomatoes:2-3 (pureed)
• Garlic: 3-4 (skinned and smashed)
• Rasam powder:2- 3tsp (according to taste)
• Turmeric: 1/4tsp
• Green chillies:1-2 slit in half
• Cilantro/coriander leaves- finely chopped
• Salt: to taste

Tempering:

•  Mustard seeds: 1tsp
• Cumin/jeers seeds: 1tsp
• Urad dal: 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves: 8-10
• Hing/asafoetida:a pinch
• Oil: 1tsp

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan, then add the mustard seeds,cumin and urad dal. 
2. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the hing, curry leaves, turmeric and the slit green chillies and smashed garlic and stir for a few seconds.
3. Add the tomato puree, the rasam powder and salt and stir or 5-6 minutes.
4. Add the kala channa water , salt and mix well.
5. Let it boil, then let it simmer for 5-6 minutes.
6. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
7. Serve the kala channa/ kadle rasam with rice and the Manoli kadle.

Free radicals,antioxidants and ORAC

We’ve all heard about free radicals and the damage it causes the body-but how many of us actually know what free radicals are and how we can prevent/reduce the damage caused by it. Free radicals are oxygen molecules that have lost an electron and hence become highly unstable and extremely reactive. In this state it tries to grab an electron from any atom that it is close to, so that it can become stable again. This sort of starts a chain reaction as now the other atom has lost an electron and has become a free radical and needs to find an electron itself to become stable. This kind of grabbing of electrons within our body causes a lot of damage. Free radicals are created as natural by-products of the various reactions in our body as well as due to exposure to cigarette smoke, air pollution, and UV light or radiation. It is said that on an average, every cell in our body comes under attack from a free radical once every ten seconds. So how do we stop/prevent/reduce this damage? The answer lies in something known as antioxidants.
Antioxidants are substances or nutrients found in food that may help in protecting or slowing the damage caused by free radicals to our bodies. These antioxidants are thought to act as ‘free radical scavengers’ and provide them with the extra atom that they need. By doing so, the free radical become stable and also stops the chain reaction. Although there are some enzyme systems within the body that scavenge free radicals, the principle micro nutrient antioxidants are said to be vitamin E, beta-carotene, and vitamin C. Additionally, selenium ( which is a trace metal that is required for proper function of one of the body's antioxidant enzyme systems) is also included in this category.
Since the body cannot manufacture these micro nutrients, they must be supplied by our diet. Foods that contain antioxidants are measured by ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). Though this theory hasn’t been proved, nutrition researchers estimate that a person needs to consume around 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units every day for our blood levels to maintain a good antioxidant defense system.
Here are some foods and the ORAC Value/100g:
Pomegranate:3,307
Raisins:2,830
Blueberries:2,400
Strawberries:1,540
Spinach:1,290
Plums:949
Broccoli:890
Beetroot:840
Oranges:750
Red grapes:730
Cherries:670
Brinjal/eggplant:390
Carrots:207
String beans:201
Tomatoes:189

You don’t have to memorize these values, just remember to eat a variety of colored fruits and vegetables. The more colorful your diet (naturally colorful-not by the addition of food colors) the more you will benefit. Don’t limit yourself to just the vegetables and fruits mentioned in the list-others can have their own special benefit.
The rule of the thumb should be to include as many seasonal (and fresh) fruits and vegetables as possible.

Q)What is your favorite antioxidant rich fruit/vegetable?

Brinjal Bharta (Eggplant Curry)

Brinjal Bharta

'Eggplant/Aubergine' or 'Brinjal' as it's popularly called in India, is on my list of 'not-so favorite' veggies . It's not that the list is very long-there are just two vegetables (brinjal and potatoes) and again it's not that I will not touch them. I prefer to eat them only in certain dishes:potatoes as chips or in Masala Dosa and brinjal as a bharta, pakora or stuffed.
For the Brinjal bharta, the brinjal is usually first roasted whole over a fire (since we have an electric cooktop here, I had to bake it) . Once roasted,the brinjal pulp is then cooked with chopped onions,tomatoes and garnished with chopped cilantro. The Brinjal bharta goes well with 'phulkas/roti' or with steamed rice and dal.Here are the ingredients for Brinjal Bharta:
Ingredients:

• Eggplant/brinjal: 1 big
• Onion: 1 medium, finely chopped
• Tomatoes: 1-2 ,diced
• Green chillies: 1-2,slit lengthwise
• Ginger: 1 tsp, finely chopped
• Garlic: 4-5, finely chopped
• Garam masala: 1tsp
• Cilantro/coriander leaves: 5 tbsp, finely chopped
• Salt: to taste
• Oil: 1tsp

Method:

1. Spread a little oil over the skin of the eggplant/brinjal and roast over an open flame till it gets cooked(or you could bake it in the oven for 20-30mins).
2. After it cools a bit, remove the skin (the oil applied on the skin makes it easy) and coarsely chop the eggplant pulp. Keep aside.
3. Heat the oil in a pan,then add the chopped ginger and garlic. Let it fry for about a minute,then add the chopped onions and salt.
4. Saute till the onions become translucent, then add the slit green chillies, diced tomatoes and garam masala powder. Stir for about 5-6 minutes till the tomatoes are cooked.
5. Add the pulp of the brinjal and cook for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Garnish the brinjal bharta with chopped cilantro and serve hot with phulkas.

Brinjal Bharta

Question: What is your favorite dish with 'eggplant/aubergine'?

Besan Dosa (Chickpea flour crepes)

When I was growing up in Bombay,Besan dosa was a very popular dish in most Udupi restaurants and was even sometimes called "Vegetarian Omelet". Besan dosa was also sold as a filling inside sandwiches which were named "Veggie omelet sandwich"! Funnily enough,I hated them at that time and preferred my regular 'egg omelet' to the veggie omelet. I made Besan Dosa for the first time sometime after Diwali as I had a pack of leftover 'besan' that my mom who was visiting,had used to make sinful 'besan laadus'. I used it for making kadhi a couple of times and was wondering what else I could do with it (pakodas are a strict no-no).That was when my mom mentioned that I could make Besan dosas but also reminded me that I never much cared for them when I was a kid. Finally,one day I tried it out and to my amazement, loved it(thankfully it was appreciated by hubby and little brat) and so now it's a regular feature at home. Make sure you use a good non-stick pan when you make this-that way,you won't need to use a lot of oil.Besan Dosa

Besan Dosa (Chickpea pancake):Serves 4
Ingredients:

• Besan/Gramflour/Chickpea flour: 2 cups
• Rice flour:1/4th cup
• Rava/Semolina/Cream of wheat: 1/4th cup
• Whole wheat flour: 1/4th cup
• Curd (plain Yogurt)-3 tbsp
• Onion:1/2 small(finely chopped)
• Tomatoes:1 small(finely chopped)
• Green chillies:1-2(finely chopped)
• Corriander leaves/Cilantro: 2 tablespoon,finely chopped
• Hing/asafoetida: a pinch
• Turmeric powder: 1/4th teaspoon
• Jeera/Cummin seeds:1/2 tsp
• Salt:to taste
• Oil:1 tsp, to grease the pan

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients.
2. Add enough water to make a batter of dosa/pancake consistency.
3. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan on medium flame.
4. Pour a ladle of the batter and spread like a dosa. Cover for a 3-4 minutes.
5. Then,flip the dosa over to the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes.Make sure not to burn them.
6. Serve the besan dosa hot with mint,ketchup or a spicy chutney.