Category: Recipes

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Tangy Methi Amla

Sharing with you a very special recipe of Methi (Fenugreek) with a twist cooked with Amla (Goose berries). This dish has lot of memories attached to my in-laws house. My Mother in law to keep my father in law diabetes under control used to use lot of amla. I anyway love eating it raw or in pickle. Eating it like a sabzi was new and I must tell you that it tastes awesome.

Tangy Methi Amla

Ingredients

  1. Fresh Amla (Goose berries) – 1/2 Kg

  2. Fresh Methi ( Fenugreek )- 200gm

  3. Dry spices- Cumin Seeds, Coriander powder, Chilli, Turmeric powder, Garam Masala

  4. Salt to taste

  5. Sugar- 1/4 tsp.. (opt) use it only if the Amla are too sour

  6. Green Chillies

  7. Oil- 1tsp

Method

1) Pressure cook the Amla like we boil potatoes. Remove seed and cut in slices

2) Heat Oil in Pan

3) Put Cumin seeds and other dry masalas

4) Add the boiled amla and saute for a minute and then put the methi leaves

5) Add salt to taste and green chillies

6) Cook till the vegetables are tender and add garam masala

This is a variation of Potato and Methi vegetable. You can add peas or carrots along with it but you would need to steam and add the same since Goose berries are boiled.

This vegetable is rich in Vitamins. It helps to reduce blood sugar levels and boost immunity.

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Baked Malai Kofta

My family loves the malai kofta and me the health conscious mom is always saying no as it is fried. So I have simplified the traditional recipe and made it simpler. My koftas are usually a hit in any gathering, but it’s cumbersome to fry each kofta . So came up with the baked version.

For the kofta

  • 100 gm grated paneer

  • 1 boiled potato grated

  • Kasuri methi

  • Milk Powder- 1tbsp

  • 1 tsp cornflour

  • salt to taste

Method to make the Kofta

1) Mix all the ingredients and make small balls with greased hands.

2) Use an air fryer to bake them at 180 degrees for 15min.

3) You can stuff the koftas with dry fruits like raisins and cashews. I have not done so as my kids do not like them.

For the Gravy

  • 10 cashews soaked in milk for an hour

  • 1 big black Cardamom (elaichi)

  • 1 green small cardamom (green elaichi)

  • 1 bay leaf (tej patta)

  • 4 tomatoes

  • 1 small onion (optional)

  • 1/2 inch ginger

  • 1 green chilli

  • Roopak Kashmiri Masala- 1tsp

  • Turmeric Powder- 1tsp

  • Coriander Powder- 1tsp

  • Salt to taste

  • Jeera seeds- 1tsp

  • Cream- 1 tbsp

  • 1/2 cup milk apart from soaking

  • Ghee for the gravy

Method

1) Grind all the ingredients till Green chilli into a fine paste

2) Take a pan and put some Ghee and heat

3) Put jeera seeds and add the dry masalas – kashmiri masala, turmeric powder, corriander powder and heat for a minute

3) Now add the tomato and cashew paste to the pan. Keep roasting the same till the ghee separates from the gravy

4) Now add 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water and salt and boil the same.

5) Add the koftas and cream and let it simmer for a minute

6) Serve in a shallow dish with a swirl of cream

Hope u enjoy making this.

 

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Pumpkin Soup

It has been a long time since i wrote on the blog but something or the other kept happening even if wrote i forgot to upload and then the mood changed and i did not like my article. Thanks for my family , friends and customers who kept following up with me for a fresh post.

Finally i am writing & it feels nice to be doing it . Here comes a winter soup recipe my favorite Pumpkin Soup. After tomato, this is my most favorite soups. It is extremely low on calories and yet is a very filling soup. Works wonders for losing weight. So here goes –

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Kg yellow Pumpkin, peeled and chopped
  • 1 onion cut in slices
  • 4-5 pods of Garlic
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil or any oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup Milk
  • 1 tbsp Cream (optional)
  • 1 tsp Cornflour (optional)
  • 3-4 cups water

Method

  1. Saute garlic, onion and pumpkin in olive oil for 3-4 min. Add salt to the vegetables.
  2. Add water and let it boil for some time till pumpkin becomes soft and mash-able.
  3. Sieve out the water in a pan and mash the pumpkin or grind it in the mixer ( by grinding in mixer u can have the thicker soup without cornflour)
  4. Add the pumpkin paste to the stock and add milk . If adding cornflour please mix in milk and add the same.
  5. Give the soup a boil and it is ready to serve. If you find it bland please add pepper and any other seasoning as per your taste
  6. For garnishing u can add cream and some basil leaves

Enjoy the soup and do share your version of the same. My kids also love the same –  I did not tell them it is pumpkin soup and they loved it. Now with Halloween so famous in India it is called the Halloween Soup in our house!!

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Grilled Tofu with Vegetables

After a long break sat down to write something.  In this crazy lifestyle and Rakhi thrown in the middle I could not find time to pen it down.  A healthy variation when we do not want to eat salad but crunchier vegetables.  I was not a lover of Tofu but forced by doctor to try, so in this recipe I replaced paneer with Tofu. I keep changing vegetables and color palettes to suit everyone’s taste.

Before we start the list some tips to have softer tofu. Soak it in water for 30 min and boil it in salty water.

For Hung curd it is better to use packaged curd and hang it. It gives better taste than homemade. If using homemade curd then hang curd for 4 hours.

Ingredients

  • Tofu- 200gm
  • Onion -1 cut in thick wedges
  • Tomato remove pulp and cut in big pieces
  • Capsicum- 1 big cut in 1 inch pieces
  • Bell peppers- – 1 big cut in 1 inch pieces
  • Broccoli- florets separated
  • Ginger paste 1tsp
  • Garlic paste- 1tsp
  • Lemon juice- 1tsp
  • Hung curd- 2 tbsp
  • Oil- 1 tbsp in marination and then later for grilling if using a pan instead of oven
  • Salt to taste
  • Tandoori masala-1tsp
  • Chili powder- 1tsp
  • Kasthuri methi- 1.2 tsp
  • Mango pickle masala – 1tsp optional
  • Jeera powder- 1 tsp
  • Dhaniya powder- 1tsp

Method

  • Mix together ingredients except vegetables in to a paste form
  • Mix the vegetable in the paste
  • Marinate for ½ to 4 hours in fridge
  • Arrange the vegetables in skewer sticks
  • Grill in oven for 8-10min or cook in non stick pan or grill pan

You can replace the tofu with boiled chicken cubes. I had sticks readily available so used them but you can generally grill them in a pan and eat them like salad.

Kids just keep changing the vegetables in the marinade. My daughter has added boiled potatoes and even baked chicken nuggets to the paste. More you involve the kids in a little bit of experiment it will make them finish the most hated vegetables.

Another tip is not to increase the hung curd quantity to increase the taste. It will just make the marinade liquid-y

Happy  grilling!!

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Healthy Chocolate Egg-Less Banana cake

After my kids’ recipe of cake in a mug, lot of mothers wrote to me or sent me a message that the recipes were wonderful and kids loved trying them. It feels really great when people get back to you and good feedback is so motivating.  But they wanted a healthier version of cake which they do not mind kids eating again and again. Had to put the thinking caps to figure out what could be done

The other problem that I face and I am sure other mothers would be facing  too that we want to feed our kids a fruit and esp Banana. We all know it is loaded with vitamins, minerals and lot of health benefits but the fruit is too naughty like our kids. It becomes dark and over ripe very fast. Kids need an excuse not to eat if it is black or soggy or it is not firm enough to eat. What you do with these bananas. I freeze the bananas to use later for my cakes or use one of these recipes to make a cake. It is whole wheat recipe so hope fully now the moms will be happy and kids because of chocolate. Pl note this recipe is small portion. I made 4 individual big muffins from this

Ingredients

  • 5 to 2 over ripe Banana
  • 2 tbsp olive oil or any other oil
  • 4 tbsp castor sugar
  • 6-8 tbsp of milk
  • ½ tsp vanilla essence or Banana essence
  • ½ cup Whole wheat flour or All purpose flour / Maida
  • 3-4 tbsp Coco powder
  • ½ tsp Baking Powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • Nuts or Choco-chips (optional)

Method:

  • Mash the Banana well
  • Sieve the dry ingredients Flour, coco powder, BP, salt and keep aside
  • Take a bowl add the mashed banana, sugar, oil and about 5 tbsp of milk, essence. Mix well
  • Add the dry ingredients
  • Mix well with spoon and if you find the batter too thick pl add 2-3 tbsp of milk. The reason we controlled the milk portions is lot of time banana give the fluid as size may vary.
  • Pour in greased mugs or four- five small bowls
  • Bake in pre heated oven for 15-20 min at 180 degree Celsius
  • You can also put chocochips before baking or nuts of your choice
  • Serve them hot with some whipped cream or ice cream

My kids love this version of cake and lot of time they will unnecessarily fuss to eat so that I make this cake for them . Hope the Mom and  Dad are happy that kids are going to eat fruit with whole wheat

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Oriental Rice Salad

Eating Salad is the most convenient and easy habit that one can adopt in today’s health conscious environment. Restaurants offer special salads in their appetizer menu and there are cafes which cater for sandwiches and salad. A salad is cool, crunchy and fun to eat and has lots of textures in it. You can customize them to include the fruits and vegetables that appeal to you the most or whatever is in season or in hand.

This one is simple salad with rice and creates a wholesome meal. It is a favorite in our house.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup boiled rice (1/3 rd cup raw rice). It could be any rice that you eat brown or white
  • 1 capsicum chopped
  • ½ cup Mixed bell peppers chopped
  • ½ cup chopped and boiled carrot
  • 1 spring onion or normal onion finely chopped
  • Few mint and coriander leaves
  • 1 cup finely chopped cabbage and better to take it out from hot water once
  • ½ cup boiled chickpeas
  • 1 bread slice cut and fried or toasted in square pieces
  • Few nuts of your choice
  • Cheese for garnishing

For the dressing

  • ½ Tbsp vinegar. If you have use Balsamic vinegar otherwise any vinegar is okay
  • 5 Tbsp Olive oil
  • Salt and white pepper to taste
  • ¼ tsp mustard powder
  • Pinch of sugar
  • 1 ground garlic
  • 2 tbsp Tomato ketchup

Method

  • Mix all the ingredients required for dressing
  • Beat for a minute and set aside
  • Mix all the main ingredients except bread and cheese
  • You can serve it on platter or on a bed of lettuce leaves or a jelly mold
  • Sprinkle the dressing and garnish with bread and cheese
  • There is no hard and fast rule you can mix it in the salad itself.

Variations- Pl use any kind of vegetables like corn, red cabbage or blanched beans..etc whatever your family likes.

Salad gives us lot of fiber, helps us to cut calories and give us more fulfilling meal. You can also choose different kinds of dressings as per your palate.

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Mug Cake

It has been close to three weeks that I wrote any article but have been posting pics on the site.  Two reasons one is  Bakesngrub venture setting up is taking time and lot of teething issues and to top it all I have two brats who have their summer vacations on . All mothers will relate to this aspect if you have two kids at home 24/7 so what can happen. Delhi Heat also forces you to keep them indoor.  To keep kids occupied we have been experimenting a lot with food, the mother and kids have made Nutella cake in a mug,  oreo biscuit cake, maggi tikki and lots of amazing stuff. These may not be my recipes but adopted from internet and made some variation to suit our palette. But what I am sharing with you all today is special recipe downloaded by my kids and they wanted me to try with them and be their taster. I tried getting the source but there were many version as kids had just noted it down on paper. So here it goes Nutella Cake in microwave in a Mug

Ingredients

  • Nutella- 3tbsp
  • Sugar- 2tbsp
  • All purpose flour/Maida-4 tbsp
  • Milk- 4-5 tbsp
  • Oil- 2tbsp
  • Coco powder – 2 tbsp
  • Baking Powder- ½ tsp
  • Choco chips- 2 tsp or even grated chocolateMethod:
  1. Take a Big Coffee Mug which is microwave safe. Brush, it with oil
  2. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Sieve it or whisk them together (Sugar, Flour, Oil, Coco Powder, Baking Powder)
  3. Add the wet ingredients and make it smooth paste. Check the consistency and increase or decrease the milk
  4. Pour the batter in the mug
  5. Microwave around 2 min or 15-20 seconds more or till it is done
  6. Remove from microwave or let it stand for 2 min in microwave.
  7. Serve hot in the mug itself with fresh cream, ice-cream or chocolate sauce

It turned out really well. Thanking the person who made this recipe and my Kiddos loved making it . These days they just pop it after dinner as desert and only need someone to pull it out from micro as it is very hot.  Go ahead and make with kids or just surprise yourself with sudden desert after a meal

Since it has been a long time, I thought I will give one more recipe again it is not mine I used to make it with Parle-g biscuits but I saw it with Oreo biscuits.  Take about 15-20 oreo biscuits and grind them in mixie with 1 cup of milk and 1-2 tbsp of sugar. Pour in microwave safe bowl which has been brushed with oil.  Add ¾ tsp of eno once the batter is in the bowl or ¾ tsp baking powder. Microwave for about 3-5 min or till the cake is done. Let it stand for 5 min and then cut it

Hope you all enjoying making these recipes. I promise to be more regular. Pics may not be too good as kids took it

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Perfect recipe of no-lump Atta Halwa (Wheat Desert)

Atta halwa just reminds me of my childhood days when my grandmother used to sit on stool and make this for me.  She was short and could not reach the gas and I used to snuggle to her tummy and taking in aroma which was coming and keep asking her when will it be done some 10 times.  My grandmother would keep saying 2 min and her hands would be busy in making the halwa. Even today when I make it for my kids and they just love the same and the smell just rekindles those memory in my mind.

With people becoming conscious of health, ghee and sugar portions need to be controlled. So, in way I devised this no lump halwa and where you can control sugar and ghee portions without compromising on taste. Recently made the same for my friend with healthier version and she loved it.

Here it goes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Atta/Wheat flour
  • 1 cup sugar but you can take little less (you can reduce if u want or replace with sugar free)
  • ½ cup ghee (low fat version or u can reduce or increase as per taste)
  • 1 tsp cardamom powder
  • 2 cup water
  • 2 tbsp mixed dry fruits chopped for garnish

Method

  • Dry Roast the wheat flour till dark brown. Let it cool completely
  • Mix sugar and water in a non-stick vessel and add the cooled wheat flour to it and cardamom powder
  • Once it has mixed then switch on the gas and keep stirring it
  • Add Ghee to the mixture depending on your need. Min of 3 tbsp gives you the good taste
  • Keep stirring till it thickens and leave sides of the vessel
  • Garnish with dry fruits and serve hot

Please enjoy the hot halwa and do share feedback on your version

 

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Channa Vada

It has been two weeks that I wrote something on the blog, I am sorry for the same. But thanks for waiting patiently.  I have been very busy setting up the production of healthy tea cakes and coupled with mothers day it just got crazy.

This time I am sharing a simple recipe of making south indian channa or masala vada. This suggestion was given by a friend who had come down to enjoy my South indian spread  at our place. I was rattling off the recipe to her and she said please write in your blog so that we can refer at any point of time. So here goes –

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Channa Dal
  • ½ cup finely chopped onion
  • ¼ Coriander leaves finely chopped
  • 1-2 green chilies chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger grated
  • 10 black peppers
  • 2 slices of bread optional- grind them in mixie
  • 1 tbsp of cornflour if batter becomes too thin
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for frying

Method

  • Soak Channa Dal for 4-5 hours
  • Coarsely Grind it in mixie without water
  • To this add onion, coriander leaves, Chilies, ginger, black peppers. Bread and cornflour to make it dry mixture.
  • Mix properly and make flat balls
  • Deep Fry them in oil
  • Serve them hot with coconut chutney

You can avoid green chilies if making for kids , even can add boiled vegetables to the same . Pl add cornflour to the same so that they do not break due to water in vegetables. The result is always yummy.

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Fruit Cream with NO Cream!!

I got married to a husband who hates cream and milk and I love them! I do not remember a summer without chilled fruit cream at mums place . So with my thinking cap came this recipe of fruit cream with no cream. Instead using our King of Fruit Mango. This is quite low calorie as we are not using cream. This has become everyone favorite at our place and of our friends.

Fruit Cream With No Cream

Ingredients
  • ½ cup mango
  • About 2 cups milk
  • 2-3 tbsp of sugar or little milkmaid
  • Roasted nuts
  • Assortment of cut fruits like apple, mango, pineapple, grapes, banana, kiwi
Method
  • Puree the mango with sugar or milkmaid
  • Add Milk and churn it again
  • Mix all the fruits and nuts in the mango puree
  • Chill in fridge for at-least 3 hours before serving
  • Garnish with some chopped mango and cherry and nuts

Tips/Variations

  • Pl note nuts add little crunchy taste to the dish. You can skip if you do not like it .
  • People who like cream and give a top layer of whipped cream or Amul cream. But remember to set in fridge to chill.

Go ahead and Enjoy the mango season 🙂