Granola

This weekend was pretty busy with all the Diwali preparations and cleaning going on around the house. I made chooda/chiwda and and coconut barfi following my mother's recipe. They will be appearing very soon on the blog. I made the coconut barfi for the first time. The verdict- my husband has been eating it day and night...I just hope it lasts till Diwali. My whole home was filled with the enticing aroma of coconut and cardamom for hours. It was amongst these plans and tasks I decided to make granola.

I have been always looking forward to eat sugar and chocolate free granola cereal for breakfast and evening snacks, but I never thought it could be made so easily at home. Thanks to Priya from Akshaypaatram, I have finally found my heart's wish come true :). Here is the link to Priya's blog post.

I had maple syrup, honey and vanilla in my pantry, so the only things I needed to buy were the hazle nuts, oats and the pecans. It is interesting to go shopping for things which you have never shopped for before. I found Wheat Germ in the breakfast section tucked on the top most aisle...I guess it is not usually picked up by many people. I then started searching for flax seed and I could not find it in the breakfast aisle. I asked a staff "Where can I find flax seeds"...he turned towards puzzled and asks "Umm.. whats that..can you spell it for me". I say "F-L-A-X". He says "I do not think we have that in our store". I tell him that I was expecting to find it somewhere near wheat germ in the breakfast section. He says "Wheat germ...whats that? "...that is when I realized that he could not be of much help! It shows how much people know about health foods as compared to fast, frozen and ready to eat food. I again went to the breakfast section and a old lady helped to to find the flax seeds. But by then I found a organic mixture of Whole Rolled Oats, Wheat, pumpkin seed and ground Flax seed. It was a 400gm packet and I used all of it to make the granola.

Ingredients I used: 3 cups - Rolled oats + Whole Wheat (flattened wheat..looks just like oats but browner in color)+Pumpkin seeds + Flax seeds
1/4 cup each (unsalted)- Walnuts, Pecans, Hazelnuts - coarsely chopped
1/4 cup - Wheat bran
1/4 cup each (packed) - dried Cherries, plump Golden raisins - coarsely chopped
10-15 dates -coarsely chopped
10 cashew nuts- chopped
1 Tbsp - Butter
2 Tbsp - Oil (I had olive oil, but any vegetable oil works too)
2 Tbsp - Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp - Honey
1/2 tsp - pure Vanilla extract

I followed pretty much the same procedure as Priya's to make this granola. Here is how it looked before going into the oven.
It was raining cats and dogs here due to some storm in the Pacific ocean. It reminded me of the heavy rains in Pune and at times it would rain non stop, day and night for many days in a row. In such rainy days, my mom would make fried jack fruit papad's which we would get from Mangalore and various bhajiyas (vegetable fritters). We had ganola with yogurt, sliced bananas and strawberries on Monday and the granola with hot milk made a hearty breakfast on Tuesday morning when it was raining hard.

With my job there is not much time now a days for doing other activities like reading which I used to previously do very frequently. I mostly find time on weekends and during the week nights to catch up on my reading. I subscribe to Reader's Digest and Good Housekeeping and always eagerly wait for the latest issue to arrive by mail. Here are a few books I plan to finish soon...
Sense and Sensibility-- Auther: Jane Austin (Pride and Prejudice is another of her famous novel)
Reader's Digest
Healthy Living from the Inside Out (I picked up this from the library last week..found the introduction very interesting!)

Soornali or Surnali or Sweet Set Dosa

This is a breakfast regular at my parents home. My mom makes this early in the morning and the whole smells with the sweet aroma of the dosa and the jaggery cooking on the iron griddle. The sweet aroma would make us wake earlier than usual :) The sweet surnali with butter and honey is beyond description and one must taste it to enjoy the wonderful soft dosa along with the butter melting due to the heat of the surnali. The non-sweet version of this dosa can be made by skipping the jaggery, but I always prefer the sweet version. Methi or fenugreek seeds are added to facilitate fermentation and to make the dosa more softer.

Ingredients

2 cups rice (preferably raw rice)
3/4 cup pova or beaten rice (thin)
1/2 cup butter milk or 1/2 cup curd
1/4 teaspoon methi seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 cup gur or jaggery(skip, if you want the non-sweet version)


Method

Soak rice and methi seeds for 6-8 hours. Rinse the soaked rice and methi. Wash the pova and drain the water. Grind rice, methi, curd or buttermilk, pova and coconut to make the dosa batter. You should feel the coarse rice pieces in the batter and the batter should not be very fine in texture. Make sure that the batter is not too runny.

Cut the jaggery into very small pieces using a knife and mix it along with turmeric powder into the batter. If you don't want to make sweet dosa, you may skip the jaggery. Another option is to grind the jaggery pieces with the batter. Keep it in a warm place overnight for fermentation. The batter will rise and will double in volume. 
Heat a non-stick tava or griddle and rub it with oil. Pour ladle full of batter on the tava and gently spread it from center with a spoon. It is very similar to making pancakes. The dosa should not be very thin, so take care not to spread the batter on the griddle as you do for masala dosa. Cover and cook the dosa. This dosa is to be cooked only on one side and should not be flipped to the other side. Hence, it should be cooked on a very low flame till the top of the dosa looks well done.

Serve the sweet surnali with a dollop of butter and honey. The non-sweet version can be served with chutney or pickle.

Preparation time: 45 minutes excluding the soaking time.

Serves: 4-5

Paneer Sabzi

Last week I had delicious salmon curry at my friend P's home. She found a new recipe on the internet and modified it as per her taste to make dry salmon curry. My husband Atul doesn't eat meat, so I tried the same recipe and substituted paneer instead of salmon. The verdict- awesome paneer curry with a new twist!

Ingredients
1 cup cubed paneer
1 cup thick curd
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 medium tomato
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sugar
salt for taste
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
1/4 teaspoon pav bhaji masala powder
handful coriander leaves
1.2 teaspoon butter
oil for frying

Method
Saute the paneer cubes in 2 tablespoon oil till light brown. Grind the onion, garlic, ginger into a fine paste. Add 2 tablespoon oil in a pan and fry the paste till the raw smell disappears. Puree the tomato and add it to the paste and fry till the tomato is cooked. Cool it down completely. Add curd and the rest of the ingredients except the paneer and salt. Heat the masala on a very low flame (I heat it on 2 on the range of 1-9). If the flame is high the curd curdles and the masala becomes watery. Heat it for around 10 minutes stiring occasionally. Add the paneer and cook it on low flame for another 15 minutes or till the paneer has absorbed all the masala. If the masala is very thick then warm milk can be added to make the masala liquidish. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Mooli Raita / Radish Salad

I was wondering the other day when I published the Mooli sabzi recipe "Why have I not put the mooli raita recipe yet?". We have this raita every other week and especially in this season when mooli is available in plenty. This raita tastes great as a side dish with spicy sabzis and helps to cool down the pungent flavor of chillies. I also love this as a side dish with alu or mooli parathas.

Ingredients
1 mooli or radish
1/2 cup curd or yogurt
3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
chopped green chillies or red chili powder
salt for taste

Method
Wash and peel the skin off the radish. Grate the radish and apply 1/2 teaspoon salt to it. Keep it aside for 20 minutes. Squeeze the water from the radish. Mix in curd, chopped green chiles/chili powder, chopped corianader leaves. Adjust salt for taste. Serve immediately.

Mooli Sabzi / Radish Sabzi

I am very satisfied on the days when we are done with our dinner earlier than usual and have time available to relax and catch up on other things like reading or watch TV. Yesterday was one of such days when made a quick (count 20 minutes) and simple sabzi from the fresh organic radish or mooli I got from Farmer's market. Another of my favorite buy at the Farmer's market during the Fall and Winter are the freshly picked zucchini blossoms. I use these to make tava-fried fritters. Other than that I buy pumpkins in plenty as they are a rich source of vitamin A. We usually make radish salad with curd or lemon. But in the cold winters I do not find it very pleasant to eat the cold curd salad, though it is my husband's favorite. So I modify the radish dish and make radish sabzi. This is ready in a jiffy and tastes great. The fresher the radishes, the better the sabzi tastes.

Ingredients
2-3 radishes with leaves
1/4 teaspoon haldi or turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
pinch of asafoetida
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon jeera powder or cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon dhania powder or coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon amchur or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon oil
salt for taste

Method
Wash, scrape and grate the radishes. Chop the leaves into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and asafoetida. Fry for a minute and add turmeric powder and red chili powder. Then add the coriander powder and cumin powder to the seasoning. Add the grated raddish and the leaves and mix it well with the seasoning. Cook covered for 8-10 minutes till the radish is tender and the leaves are cooked. Add amchur or lemon juice and salt as per taste. Serve hot with roti.

Top 10 foods that make you feel full -TOI

I love to read the Diet section under Health and Fitness on our own desi online newspaper TOI . It was my favorite newspaper and I read it regularly when I was in India. I always waited for the Sunday section as the Sunday special section always had a variety of articles on health and lifestyle and latest fashion in town. We do not get any news paper here in US as the newspapers are full of Ads and hardly any useful news. Hence we mostly browse the online TOI daily to get the lastest ongoings in India and the world. TOI had introduced many new sections in the online version in the last few years which contain some of the very informative articles and columns. Here [1]is one of the articles I recently read on TOI and which I thought was worth making a note of.

Top 10 foods that make you feel full[1]

Fatty Fish
Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring and sardines contain large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids which, besides lowering cholesterol, also hasten the metabolism rate. Omega-3 fatty acids alter the level of leptin — a hormone that directly influences metabolism and determines whether you burn calories or store them as fat. Fish also provides ample protein and the best way to eat it is grilled, with steamed vegetables on the side.

Citrus Fruits
Fruits such as grapefruit, lemon, sweet lime, papaya, guava and tomatoes are rich in Vitamin C and fibre. Vitamin C helps the body process fat faster and also stimulates the amino acid known as carnitine — carnitine speeds up the body’s fat-burning capacity. Citrus fruits also have high water content and provide around 50 to 75 kcal, leaving us satiated for a longer period of time.

Green Vegetables
Spinach, asparagus and broccoli have a high thermic effect on the body and a low calorie density. This means that it’s almost impossible for them to be stored as fat because most of their calories are burned off in the digestion process. Apart from that, the fibre in these foods provides roughage and contains antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that help you feel full.

Popcorn
Popcorn is rich in fibre and low on calories. Also, since eating it keeps our mouth busy for a longer time, the satiety levels are high. However stay away from the overly buttered, caramel and cheese cousins.

Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a complex carbohydrate which takes longer to digest — hence it releases energy slowly, keeping you feeling full for longer. It also keeps blood sugar and insulin levels stable, which helps prevent fat storage. Oatmeal is the most satisfying breakfast cereal, providing more protein per serving than any other grain. Mix it with yoghurt or skimmed milk and it’ll keep you full all morning.

Almond and Walnuts
Raw, unsalted nuts, especially almonds and walnuts, provide essential roughage, protein, fat, minerals and micronutrients. Munching on handfuls of these nuts keeps you full and energetic for longer without adding to your waistline.

Low-Fat Dairy Products
Skimmed milk, low fat cheese and yoghurt are a good source of calcium, which helps break down fat cells. Some studies indicate that not getting enough calcium may trigger the release of calcitrol, a hormone that causes fat storage.

Beans
Beans are high in fibre and a good source of protein. They also take longer to digest, making you feel full for a longer time. Also, protein has the highest satiety index (which determines how long will you feel full) than any other element.

Whole grains
Jowar, bajra and ragi contain complex carbohydrates, which release glucose slowly when broken down during digestion. The glucose helps in maintaining your blood sugars levels and combats sugar craving. They are also a rich source of fibre and Vitamin B complex that play an important role in metabolic control.

Apples
High water content and ample fibre is the reason why you feel full after eating an apple. An apple’s skin contains pectin soluble fibre that is a natural appetite suppressant. Seems like an apple a day keeps the weight away.


Reference: [1]Sneha Jain (2009, October ). Top 10 foods that make you feel full. The Times Of India. Retrieved from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/Top-10-foods-that-make-you-feel-full/articleshow/4890340.cms