Nutrition Packed Banana Strawberry smoothie and a Chrysanthemum Mirror :)

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If the part about the mirror in the title baffles you, let me try and explain. No, this site hasn't suddenly transformed into a home decor blog, it still continues to be a food blog:)  But regular readers of this site know that from time to time I share interesting links and other tit bits that I come across in this space. This time that tit bit happens to be this chrysanthemum mirror I made:)   I got the idea for this mirror from Kristi who blogs at Addicted to decorating. She has so many wonderful ideas, but this one was just something I fell in love with and wanted to try immediately. After spending a week, collecting all the items I would need to make this mirror, I spent the next week devoting any extra hour I got into this project and at the end I was rewarded with this.............

 

It is not the most perfect effort, I am sure if I tried this again I would be able to perfect it a little more. But it turned out fairly well and it definitely helped in filling a bare wall in one of our rooms so I'm happy :) For step by step pictures hop over to Kristi's blog post 

Moving on, the right kind of food is very important after a workout. Foods that are a good balance of carbohydrates and protein are said to help in repairing/ replenishing muscles after a workout. Ideally the sooner these foods are consumed after a workout the quicker you recover. Smoothies, I find are the best kind of workout food. Especially smoothies such as this one that I have begun to make frequently. It has milk,  bananas, strawberry, oatmeal, chia seeds and almonds. Power packed with a good balance of carbs and protein. This also makes for a great breakfast, since it is very nourishing and filling, if you are not into working out very much :) 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Banana Strawberry smoothie
1/4 cup 1 minute oatmeal cooked until soft (I microwaved it with 1/2 cup of water for a couple of minutes)
1/4 cup almonds
3 tbsp chia seeds
3 large bananas cut into small pieces
6 large strawberries cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp brown sugar (or to taste)(optional, can be substituted with white sugar)

Cook 1 minute oatmeal in the microwave until soft and keep aside.
Soak chia seeds in a little bit of milk for a few minutes and keep aside.
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In a large bowl, add  all the ingredients including cooked oatmeal and chia seeds + milk. Using a hand blender blend everything together until smooth. Alternatively add all the ingredients to a large blender jar and blend until smooth. Chill and serve chilled. Refrigerate balance if any and use up within a couple of days.

Suggested Variation:
This smoothie can also be made with bananas and pears. Just substitute the strawberries in this recipe with 1 large pear de seeded and cut into small pieces and puree along with bananas and other ingredients. Optionally add 1 tsp vanilla extract for this quantity of smoothie for a little additional flavor.

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Quinoa with tur dhal dosai (Indian crepes with quinoa and split pigeon peas)

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First an update, my mission to update the photos on older posts continues. In the last couple of weeks I have updated a fair number of older posts with newer pictures. Some of you who are following this page on facebook may have already gotten a peak into the new pictures, for the others these are the posts with updated pics.

Sundried Tomato Chutney
Peanut Chutney
Oat Banana Bread with condensed milk
Southwestern Style Pasta Salad

If you would like to check out the pics or the post, click on the titles above and it will take you to the post :)

Moving on to the recipe for quinoa dosai, this is yet another version of quinoa dosai that I made recently. Quinoa in dosai is one of my favorite ways to include this seed in our diet, it adds such an interesting texture and flavor to dosai that I cannot resist using it often in this manner. This time I used tur dhal along with quinoa and added some ginger, coconut and green chilies for added taste and flavor. The result was this delicious dosai that we loved a lot, especially with this peanut chutney on the side. I was also able to come up with an entirely new avatar for the leftover dosai batter with what I termed "quinoa bites" :) I will post the recipe for for the bites in this space soon too.

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make quinoa with tur dhal dosai
1 cup brown rice (can be substituted with white raw rice)
1 cup Quinoa
1 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
5 Thai or Indian green chilies (or to taste)
1 inch piece of ginger
1/2 cup fresh/ frozen grated coconut (if frozen thaw to room temperature)
salt to taste
a little sesame oil to shallow fry dosai

Add the rice, lentils and quinoa to a large bowl and mix well. Add water, swirl with hand and drain water. Fill the bowl with sufficient quantity of fresh water and allow the grains/ lentils to soak for about 3 hours.

Drain water, grind grains in a processor/ mixer in batches adding a little water as required along with green chilies, ginger and grated coconut. The grains have to ground until almost fine, it's okay to have a little texture but not too coarse. Add water only as required while grinding, the batter has to be of pouring consistency but not too watery. Err on the side of thicker batter when in doubt, and it can always be corrected later on by adding water as required.

Add salt to taste to the batter and mix well.

This batter can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. It does not require any fermentation unlike traditional dosai.
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When making dosai, heat a tawa/ flat pan/ griddle on medium heat, pour a ladle of batter in the center and quickly spread into a thin and even circle. Pour a few drops of sesame oil along the circumference of the dosai and allow to cook until the lower side turns an even golden color. Flip over and allow the other side to cook until it has a few golden brown spots.

Remove and serve hot with chutney of choice/ molaga podi (spice powder) of choice

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Simple 2 ingredient nutella icecream

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If you ever had nutella you know it can be very addicting. Everyone in my family loves it, I mean what's not to love, after all it's got chocolate and hazelnut in it. Yum :) I have seen nutella being used in bakes like muffins and breads, but have never seen it being used in ice cream. That is of course, until the other day when I was browsing through pinterest and came across a picture of nutella ice cream.  The picture led me to this recipe.   Now here's the thing that really appealed to me about this ice cream, it has only two ingredients. Seriously I am not kidding you,  this recipe does not call for cream or eggs like other ice cream recipes do, it just needs evaporated milk and nutella. Can it get simpler than this ?  I don't think so :)


 


Anyway I bookmarked the recipe and tried it as soon as I could. I tweaked the recipe slightly and reduced the amount of nutella used in it. I was a little worried about texture and softness of  the ice cream, but I needn't have worried. The ice cream was absolutely decadent, it had just the perfect texture and creaminess. It was also one of the simplest things ever,  it hardly takes any effort. Just measure, mix, chill and churn in the ice cream maker :)   My picture below does not do justice to it, I was in a hurry to take the pictures before the entire thing melted and couldn't get the best picture. Even with the rushing you can see the ice cream is beginning to melt. Maybe I will upload a better picture the next time I make this, after all good pictures are so important......well that plus the fact that I am so ready to use just about any excuse to make this one more time, it was that good :)

 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make nutella ice cream
1 3/4 cup evaporated milk (unsweetened)
1 1/4 cup nutella

Mix the two ingredients together. Use a hand blender to make this faster and simpler. If you do not have one a whisk will work too, just a little slower.

Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Place in the ice cream maker and churn until done. It took me about 30 minutes, at that point I got a soft serve consistency.
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Remove, store the ice cream in an air tight freezable tub/ container, place in the freezer and enjoy whenever you want :)

If you do not have an ice cream maker than place the mixture in the freezer. When it begins to freeze around the edges, remove and stir it vigorously with a whisk or spatula. Return to freezer and continue this process every 30 or so minutes, stirring at least five to six times. Allow it to freeze and serve. If you want more details on this process check out this post

If you are looking for frozen treats, here are a few more...

Coffee Frozen Yogurt

Mango Ice Cream ~ Egg Free ~ No Ice cream maker needed

Strawberry ice cream ~ Egg Free ~  No ice cream maker needed

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Chia Seeds Roti ~ Indian flat bread

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Have you heard about chia seeds ? Until a couple of months back , the only time I heard anything about chia seeds was during the chia pet commercial that played often during the holidays. Never ever gave it a thought and definitely never thought of it as something edible let alone as something nutritious. So I was utterly surprised when my cousin Sandhya who always shares healthy tips with me,  mentioned that they had begun to use chia seeds. She said that chia seeds were a kind of super food and a great source of omega-3. 

Never one to miss out on a chance to include more healthy ingredients in our diet, I started looking up chia seeds online. From various sources, here is what I learned about these seeds. Chia seeds are said to have originated in south America and was a staple in the diets of ancient Mayans and Aztecs. Like flax seeds, chia seeds also have high levels of omega-3 fatty acids along with protein, fiber and anti oxidants. When it comes to omega-3,  2 tablespoons of chia seeds has more than 4000mg of omega, whereas 2 tablespoons of flax has about 2700 mg of it. And 2 tablespoons of chia seeds has 6.9 grams of fiber vs 4 grams of fiber in flax for the same quantity. Chia seeds also are a good source of calcium, phosphorous and manganese. It is also said to be good for stabilizing blood sugar because it slows down the rate at which carbs are assimilated by the body. It is also said to have anti inflammatory properties,  helps boost metabolism and is said to aid in weight management.

Now that I know that chia seeds are such a powerhouse of nutrients, I have been trying to get some chia seeds in our diet regularly.  Since chia seeds do not have a very pronounced taste, it is easy to include chia seeds in our diet by simply sprinkling some on cereal or salads. But I have also used it in breads and Indian flat breads. I especially love chia seeds in this version of roti. It tastes so, so good. The seeds add a touch of crunch to the roti that makes the roti so very interesting. So if you are in the mood for trying something new and have a packet of chia seeds in your pantry this might be something that interests you, give it a try and tell me what you think :)



Here is a pic of the chia seeds...................



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Chia seeds Roti
2 cups whole wheat flour (atta/ godumai maavu)
3 tbsp whole chia seeds soaked in 1/2 cup of water for about 30 mins (can be substituted with milled chia seed/ chia seed powder, see notes)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala (or to taste / can be substituted with any other curry powder)
water as needed
1 tsp oil
a little extra flour for dusting
a few drops of oil/ clarified butter (ghee/nei) (optional) (use oil for a vegan version)

Soak chia seeds in approx 1/2 cup of water for 30 mins or so. Mix once halfway to ensure even soaking, the chia seeds become gelatinous and kind of thick.

In a  large bowl, assemble all the dry ingredients and mix well.  Add the soaked chia seeds along with the water and mix into the flour. Add water as needed to knead into a soft and non sticky dough, add 1 tsp oil and knead again.
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Keep dough covered and allow it to "rest" for at least thirty minutes

Divide dough into equal lemon sized balls. Using a little flour for dusting roll the dough into an even circle of desired thickness.

Heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa on medium heat. When hot place rolled out dough on it and allow it to cook until light brown spots appear on the lower side. Flip over and cook the other side until light brown spots appear on it.

 If you plan to use clarified butter/ ghee/ oil, it can be applied to the side facing upwards after flipping the roti and flip back again for the other side to cook for another few seconds. Using oil/ ghee is not required at all, since this roti is pretty soft as it is, especially if served immediately after making.

Remove and serve hot with curry of choice/ dhal of choice

Notes:
You can also used milled chia seeds / chia seed powder for this recipe. If you do, then just mix the powder into the flour along with the spices, then add water and knead into a soft non sticky dough. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as mentioned above. I've used both and notice that when using ground chia seeds, it blends in better and the roti tastes more conventional, whereas when using the whole chia seeds it adds a light crunch to the roti that I personally like but which definitely cannot be described as conventional :)


If you are looking for roti varieties, here are a few more

Spring onion Roti ~ Hare pyaaz ki roti

Carrot Roti ~ Gajar Roti

Avocado Roti

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