For Day 3 of BM #19, I chose to make these nutritious, Calcium rich laddus from Veggiplatter.


Ragi Laddu

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Spinach-Toor Dal Saute

Here is a Calcium rich saute which is very popular at home. This time around I followed the recipe from Veggieplatter and simplified the process as mentioned by her.

This qualifies under calcium rich recipes for BM #19.

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Posted by Harini R on Saturday, August 18, 2012

Tomato Rice - Version 2

For this edition of Blogging Marathon #19, I have opted to cook from a fellow marathoner, Suma of Veggieplatter. I shall post recipes from her space which qualify under the current themes of BM #19. 

When I saw this recipe of Tomato Rice at her space, I instantly fell in love with a new idea of making Tomato Rice. It has been a life saver for me ever since. 

This comes in handy when I need to pack a lunch box and run out of ideas! My older one who is a picky eater has accepted it as one of her favorites (touch wood!!). I have tried adding ginger and garlic to this rice and that version also turns out just as good.

Ingredients - 

Basmati Rice 1 1/2 cups
Tomatoes 2 medium size
Onions chopped 
Green Chillies / Red Chilli Powder as needed
Salt as needed
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Dhania-Jeera Powder 1 tsp
Amchur Powder (Dry Mango Powder) 1 tsp
Seasoning (Oil 1 Tbsp, Urad Dal 1 tsp, Chana Dal 1 tsp, Jeera 1/2 tsp, Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp, Curry leaves few)

Method Of Preparation -

Puree the tomatoes with as much water as needed to make about 3 cups of juice.

Wash Basmati rice and cook it in the tomato juice either in the rice cooker or the pressure cooker.

Meanwhile, in a heated kadai/wok, add oil and the rest of the seasoning and saute the chopped onions until they are light golden brown.

Add the salt, turmeric, dhania-jeera powder, chilli powder, amchur powder and immediately add the rice cooked in tomato juice. Remove from fire.

Mix well and set aside until the flavors seep into every grain and enjoy with chopped cashews and/or almonds garnished!!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 19.

Sending it to Srivalli's "30 Minute meals Mela" 

Preparation Time 25-30 min
Serves 3

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Posted by Harini R on Friday, August 17, 2012

Urad Dal Halwa

I was not too keen on making this halwa for this edition of Indian Cooking Challenge. But in the last minute I managed to make this and felt that it tasted more like Minapa Sunni (Sunnundalu or Urad Laddu). 
Apparently this is an integral part of Chettinad Cuisine. It happens to be a very nutritious and low fat halwa. I believe this is eaten as part of breakfast rather than a dessert!!

Ingredients - 

Urad Dal/Minappappu 1/2 cup
Rice Flour 1/4 cup
Grated Jaggery 1/2 cup (Or sugar)
Coconut , grated 1 tsp (Optional)
Cardamom Powder 1/4 tsp
Ghee 1 1/2 tsp
Water 1 1/2 cups

Method Of Preparation -

Dry roast urad dal until golden brown. Powder upon cooling and set aside. Mix in the rice flour.

In a nonstick pan, boil 1/2 cup of water and add grated jaggery to it. After the jaggery melts, strain to remove any impurities.

Return the strained melted jaggery to the pan and continue boiling. Now is the time to add ghee.

In another bowl, mix in the flours and water to make a lump free batter.

Slowly add the batter to the simmering jaggery syrup. Sprinkle coconut and cardamom powder. 

Stir continuously until the halwa comes together as a single mass.

Remove from fire and serve warm/hot. Optionally garnish with toasted nuts.

Preparation Time 20 min 
Makes 1 1/4 cups

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Bendakaya Nuvvula Koora

In my search for Calcium rich vegetables I found that Okra also known as Ladies' Fingers or Bhendi figures in the list. Each cup of cooked okra has about 100 mg of Calcium. So I added sesame seeds to the mix to bump up the calcium content and enhance the taste as well. Sesame seeds also are known for their rich nutritional profile which includes calcium. 2 Tbsp of  Sesame seeds has 280 mg of Calcium.
If You missed the couple of posts in this series, here they are..

Day 1 Broccoli Curry
Day 2 Dried Figs Halwa
For Day 3, week 2 of BM #19, here is the recipe..

Ingredients - 

Okra chopped 3-4 cups
Salt as needed
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder as needed
Amchur Powder as needed (optional)
Oil 1 Tbsp
To Grind - 
Sesame Seeds 2 Tbsp
Peanuts handful
Coconut powder 1 Tbsp

Bendakaya Nuvvula Koora

Method Of Preparation -

Microwave the chopped okra (Bhendi) for bout 4-5 minutes without adding any water or covering it. Set aside. (This step is optional. I do this to speed up the process.)

Coarse grind sesame seeds, peanuts and coconut powder. Set aside.  

In a heated kadai/wok add oil and transfer the okra, sprinkle turmeric and stir continuously for about 10- 15 min. 

After the stickiness disappears, sprinkle the sesame-peanut-coconut powder. Also sprinkle salt, amchur powder and red chilli powder. Mix well and remove from heat.

Serve as a side dish with Dal and Rice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 19. 

Preparation Time 30 min 
Serves 3-4 

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Posted by Harini R on Sunday, August 12, 2012

Dried Figs Halwa

A few months back one of my friends asked me if I had ever tasted Fig Halwa. I had not and so I had promised her that I would make it sometime and let her know of it. So finally I got a chance to make this halwa. Among the fruits, 1 cup of dried figs (uncooked) have about 300 mg of Calcium.  These figs are also noted for their high Iron content.

This halwa was a little sticky but good. I think the lack of any thickening agents and very little sugar might be the reason. (please don't be tempted to add more sugar as the figs are naturally very sweet.) I know of some people who don't appreciate figs because of the tiny seeds in them. Since the figs were pureed, the seeds didn't bother me at all.

For Day 2 of BM # 19, here is a very nutritious fudge. 

Ingredients - 

Dried Figs chopped 1 cup
Almond Milk (Regular milk is fine too) 1 cup
Sugar 2 Tbsp
Cardamom Powder 1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut 1 tsp (Optional)
Ghee 2 tsp
Chopped nuts to garnish

Method Of Preparation -

Boil milk and soak the chopped figs in the hot milk for about 30 min.

Make a puree of the soaked figs and set aside.

In a non stick wok/kadai add 2 tsp of ghee and transfer the pureed figs. 

Stir in sugar and coconut (if using) and continuously stir until it comes together as a single mass. It took me about 20 min.

Remove from fire and spread the halwa on to a parchment paper lined plate.

Garnish with chopped nuts and cut into desired shape.

Refrigerate before serving.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 19.

Preparation Time 25 min + Soaking Time 30 min
Makes 8 pieces

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Posted by Harini R on Saturday, August 11, 2012

Broccoli Curry

For this edition of BM #19, I have chosen to post a few Calcium Rich Recipes. Typically we tend to associate Calcium with Dairy products. I plan to go a little off track and showcase some Calcium rich fruits and vegetables.

To begin with there is Spinach which is by far the richest source of calcium in vegetables (please correct me if my research is wrong!). Next comes Broccoli. 1 cup of cooked broccoli has about 180 mg of Calcium.
Check out this flavorful curry for Day 1 ..

Ingredients - 

Broccoli Florets 2 cups
Turmeric a pinch
Salt as needed
Seasoning (Oil 2 tsp, Chana Dal 1 tsp, Urad Dal 1 tsp, Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp)
To Grind - 
Almonds 6-7 (also a source of Calcium)
Coconut Powder 2 tsp (grated fresh or frozen works fine too)
Coriander leaves few 
Green Chillies 1-2 (to taste)
Garlic (Optional)
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp

Method Of Preparation -

Grind the ingredients listed under 'To Grind' and set aside.

Steam the broccoli florets until they are just about tender.

In a heated kadai/wok, add oil and the rest of the seasoning ingredients. After the mustard seeds pop, add the steamed broccoli and turmeric.

Mix in the ground Almond masala and sprinkle salt as per taste.

Remove from fire and serve it with cooked rice or roti.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 19.

Preparation Time 25 min
Serves 2-3

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Posted by Harini R on Friday, August 10, 2012

Pesarattu

For Day 3  week 1 of BM #19, I have chosen Pesarattu which is a breeze to prepare. I was totally surprised to realize that I hadn't blogged about this typical Andhra breakfast so far . :) 

Pesarattu and Ginger Chutney along with Upma is  traditionally the combo but such elaborate affair never happens in our house. So a simple pesarattu and peanut chutney is all what we like!!

Ingredients - 

Ginger 1/2 inch
Green Chillies as needed
Coriander leaves / Cilantro
Salt as needed
Onions chopped 1/2 cup

For the Batter -
Moong Dal (either split or whole) 1 cup
Rice 3 Tbsp


Method Of Preparation -

Soak Moong Dal and rice for 3-4 hrs or overnight. [If using split moong dal a couple of hours is enough too]

Grind into a smooth batter adding as little water as possible.

Make a paste of green chillies, coriander leaves and ginger.

Add this paste to the batter and mix in some salt to taste.

On a hot griddle/tawa, pour ladleful of batter and by a brisk circular movement of the ladle, spread the batter into a thin circle.

Sprinkle finely chopped onions and spray as much oil as preferred.

Flip the pesarattu when the underside is lightly browned and let it cook on the secondsideaswell.

Remove the pesarattu and continue with the rest of the batter.

Serve it chutney of your choice for a nutritious and filling breakfast!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#19. 

Sending it to Srivalli's "30 Minute meals Mela"

Preparation Time 20 min
Serves 2-3 

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Posted by Harini R on Sunday, August 5, 2012

Soy Chunks Pulao

For Day 2 Week 2 of BM # 19, here is a family favorite for the lunch box. 

Ingredients - 

Soy Chunks 1 cup
Mixed Vegetables (Carrot, Beans, Peas) 2 cups
Rice (I used Basmati but regular rice is fine too) 1 1/2 cups
Onion 1 medium
Tomato 1 medium (Optional)
Green chillies 2 nos
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Ginger-Garlic paste 1 tsp
Cloves 4 nos
Cinnamon 1 inch
Cardamom 2 nos
Bay leaves 2 nos
Salt as per taste
Olive oil/Butter 2 Tbsp

Lemon Juice as needed

Method Of Preparation -

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat some oil/butter.

Add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves and fry them.

Add finely chopped onions and saute until they golden brown in color.

Add ginger-garlic paste and also tomato or tomato paste and saute.


Mix in turmeric and green chillies (I prefer to put green chilli paste)

Add all the chopped veggies and saute them for a couple minutes and add washed basmati rice.

Saute the rice until it changes color and transfer the contents into a rice cooker.

Add salt and 4 cups of water and switch on the rice cooker.

After it is done, transfer into a bowl and squeeze in some lemon juice.

Serve it with plain yogurt or raita.


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#19. 

Sending it to Srivalli's "30 Minute meals Mela"

Preparation Time 30 min 
Serves 4 

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Vegan Quinoa Pasta

A few days back as I was browsing through the pasta aisle in a health food store, I came across two interesting varieties of pasta. One was Quinoa pasta which had corn and quinoa flours and the other had Amaranth, Quinoa and Wheat Flours. 
I found that the pasta, which was Multi Color Rotini, had no distinguishable taste or after taste which is typical of quinoa. It made a very filling and nutritious dinner for us.
So this makes it to Day 1 week 1 of BM #19.

Ingredients - 

Mixed Vegetables (I used Carrots, Green Beans and Corn) 2 cups
Onions chopped 1/2 cup
Quinoa Pasta (Made out of Corn flour and quinoa flour) 1 cup
Salt as needed
Turmeric 1/8 tsp
Seasoning (Oil 2 tsp, Chana Dal 1 tsp, Cumin Seeds 1/2 tsp, Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp)
Lemon Juice as needed
To Grind - 
Almonds 1/4 cup
Coriander leaves handful
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Ginger 1/2 inch
Green Chillies 1-2 (or as needed)
Tomato 1 medium

*For a non vegan version feel free to top the pasta generously with grated cheese!


Method Of Preparation -

Boil the vegetables either on stove top or in the microwave.

Grind the ingredients listed under 'to grind' and set aside.

Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packet. Drain and set aside.

In a heated wok/kadai add oil and the rest of the seasoning ingredients. After the mustard seeds pop, add onions and saute until they are translucent.

Add the boiled/steamed vegetables, the ground almond masala, salt and turmeric. 

Mix in the cooked pasta and let the flavors blend.

Squeeze lemon juice and serve hot!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#19.


Sending it to Srivalli's "30 Minute meals Mela"

Preparation Time 25 min
Serves 2-3

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