BRINJAL CAPSICUM GRAVY
Eggplant or Aubergine as it is known in many parts of the world, Brinjal is very much an Indian sub-continent name. It has a higher concentration of potassium and magnesium along with folic acid and is a good source of dietary fiber. Heavily loaded with 92% water, it pumps the least amount of fat into our systems. When combined with capsicum, which is a good source of anti oxidant, Brinjal capsicum gravy would definitely aid in getting the right source of nutrition for the day. The benefits of tomatoes are infinite and some being anti-oxidant support, anti-cancer benefits, lowering bad cholesterol, help maintain a healthy heart, rich concentration of lycopene – promoting bone health, reducing the risk of osteoporosis. This dish is an attempt to get all the nutrition crammed into one pot.
INGREDIENTS
Tomatoes (Red and ripe) – 4
Capsicum(Green, Red, Yellow) – 1 each
Brinjal – 2 (medium sized)
Coriander leaves – a few (finely chopped)
Green Chillies – 1 (finely chopped)
Haldi/Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp
Dhania/Coriander powder -½ tsp
Hing / Asafoetida – a pinch
Jeera/Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
Olive oil – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
METHOD
Cut all the vegetables as thin long slices.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, turmeric powder, green chilly and asafoetida.
Add brinjals and cook on medium flame.
After five minutes, add Capsicum and then tomatoes a little later.
Once they get cooked, add coriander powder and sauté for a while till the raw smell of the powder disappears and the gravy leaves the sides of the pan.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with white rice or rotis.
Points to keep in mind
Brinjals should be added first because they take a little longer to cook.
Use olive oil to get protected from cardio diseases.
Use non-stick pans to reduce the consumption of oil intake.
MIXED VEGETABLE SALAD
Colours are the key to any salad. A wide array of colours imply that there is a wider scope for all nutrition to be scooped inside our body. This vegetable salad incorporates the colour scheme that is widely addressed: red, orange, green and white. It is simple and easy to make with the available ingredients, much easier to say that you can actually add in or add out a few. Potato is a good source of dietary energy and contains several micro-nutrients. The protein content is high compared to many other roots. Its high Vitamin C content promotes iron absorption. By itself, potato is not fattening and the feeling of satiety that comes from eating it can help people control weight. Pomegranates help in reducing heart diseases. It helps prevent prostate cancer and common cold.
INGREDIENTS
Potatoes – 2 (Medium)
Salad tomatoes – 6 to 8
Cucumber – 1 (Big)
Lettuce – 1 bunch
Baby corn – 6 (small)
Red carrot – 1 (big)
Sprouted green gram – 1 bowl
Pomegranate (optional) – 1 bowl
Coriander leaves – 1 small bunch
Lemon – 1
Salt – as required
White pepper – as required
METHOD
Boil potatoes and cut into small cubes.
Dice the cucumber, carrot and corn into small pieces.
Cut the lettuce into thin strips and chop the coriander leaves.
Mix them all together and add salt, white pepper along with squeezed lemon juice.
Points to keep in mind
Salads are eaten fresh. To avail the best of salad nutrition, cut and store each salad vegetable, separately, in advance and refrigerate them. That would add an extra crunch to every bite. While serving, arrange the bowls of vegetables on the table and let each one pick veggies of their choice to make it colourful and personal.
RICE NOODLES
A traditional rice noodle, made in a jiffy. Simple to attempt and delicious to consume, this rice noodles is a very popular dish in Singapore. Be it in restaurants, potlucks, temples, or recreation clubs, rice noodles finds a place as the most easily available dish in Singapore. This recipe calls for tofu, soya beans, vegetables which increase the nutritive value effectively. Tofu has high protein content. Chye sim is a kind of spinach.This dish will surely be relished by people who want to change to vegetarianism.
INGREDIENTS
Rice noodles – 1 packet
Mushroom Vegetarian sauce – 1 tbsp
Salted Soya bean – 1 tbsp
Tofu – a few pieces
Garlic – 6 pods
Red chillies – 3 big
Spring onions – 1 bunch (small)
Potatoes – 1 (big)
Chye sim (Sawi in Malay) – I bunch
Ajinomoto¬¬ – 1 pinch
Vinegar – 1 tbsp
Cooking oil – 2 tsp
Salt to taste
METHOD
Soak the rice noodles in cold water for 45 minutes, strain and keep aside.
Use kitchen scissors to cut the noodles into small pieces.
Boil potato and cut into small cubes. Chop the spring onions fine.
Fry tofu to start with and keep aside.
Grind chillies and garlic into fine paste.
In a frying pan, add oil, the ground paste and soya beans. After a minute, add mushroom vegetarian sauce and then the chye sim.
Add potato cubes, tofu, rice noodles, ajinomoto and required quantity of salt. Saute for a minute or two.
Add chopped spring onions and finally add the vinegar.
A delicious vegetarian noodles meal is just ready for grabs.
PUFFED RICE DELIGHT
Bhelpuri is the most common form of using puffed rice. Puffed rice, poris or murmuras, as they are called in many parts of India, would be crunchy, eaten just as it is or with peanuts. In most part of the last century, peddlers would ride around the town in their own conventional vehicles like that of a wagon or a bicycle with bells ringing constantly, enticing you to peep out of your homes and plead to elders to buy a packet or two for a munch that evening. Today, their reminiscences envelop us with joy. This recipe makes use of the puffed rice to make a entirely different recipe which can be made in a jiffy. A nutritious healthy evening snack with less calories.
INGREDIENTS
Puffed Rice – 1 small packet
Onions – 2 (medium)
Tomatoes – 2 (medium)
Green chillies – 1 (small)
Yellow capsicum – 1 (small)
Red capsicum – 1 (small)
Hing / Asafoetida – ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Cooking oil – 1 tablespoon
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste
METHOD
Take a huge bowl of water and add the puffed rice to it. Squeeze out the puffed rice and spread on plate. The purpose of soaking it in water is that it will become a little soft and all the impurities will settle down at the bottom.
Cut onions, chillies, tomatoes, yellow and red capsicum into small pieces. Chop the coriander leaves fine.
Heat a pan with oil, add turmeric powder and asafoetida. Then add all the finely chopped vegetables. Saute for a while till they are a little tender.
Add the puffed rice and mix them well.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
VEGETABLE SOUP
INGREDIENTS
For White Sauce
Butter – 1 tsp
Maida/All Purpose Flour – 1 tsp
Milk – 1/2 cup
Vegetables
Carrot – 1
Beans – 5 to 6
Potato – 1
Spinach – 1 small bunch
Mushrooms (optional) – 4 or 5
Onion – 1
Tomato – 1
Broccoli – 1 small bunch
Corn – 1 small bowl
Salt – required quantity
White/ Black Pepper – a small pinch
Coriander leaves – I small bowl
METHOD
To prepare the white sauce, we need to mix butter and maida/all purpose flour together. Whisk them with milk without any lumps and keep aside.
Cut the vegetables into big cubes. Boil the vegetables without over cooking them.
Heat a deep pan, add white sauce to the vegetables.
Crush some white/black pepper onto the soup and allow them to boil together for a few minutes.
Serve piping hot by garnishing with coriander leaves.
A Very healthy, nutritious and filling soup is ready in minutes.
Points to keep in mind:
The consistency of the soup depends on each individual’s preferences. To thicken, allow the soup to boil for extra minutes. Adjust water, pepper, salt to the soup to according to taste.
CHEESE MACARONI WITH VEGETABLES
INGREDIENTS
For the white sauce:
Maida / All Purpose Flour – 1 tbsp
Butter – 2 tbsp
Milk – 300 ml
Macaroni – 250 gms
Capsicum – Red – 1 (medium)
Broccoli – 4 to 5 big pieces
Potato – 1 (medium)
Corn – 75 gms
Mushroom (Optional) – 100 gms
Garlic – 4 to 5 pods
Grated cheese – 100 gms
Mixed herbs – 1 tbsp
White pepper – 1 tsp
Olive oil – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
METHOD
To prepare the white sauce, heat a pan on low fire.
Add butter and all purpose flour. Stir a little and then add milk while whisking it thoroughly to keep the lumps away.
Keep the white sauce aside.
Boil water, add macaroni and salt. After 5 minutes, switch off the stove. After another 10 minutes, wash the macaroni with cold water, strain and keep aside.
Cut the vegetables into thin long slices. Chop the garlic into fine pieces.
Heat butter in a pan and sauté the vegetables with salt in low flame for 5 minutes.
The vegetables should be crunchy and not fully cooked.
Add mixed herbs, white pepper and then the white sauce along with the macaroni.
Grease a tray with butter and add the above mixture, topping it with grated cheese.
Bake in oven for 15 minutes at 170° Celsius.
Points to keep in mind
Vegetables like spinach, cauliflower, carrots or peas can be added.
Low fat butter and cheese would be an ideal substitute.
ALMOND SOUP
When a flu runs into the family, how many times have we resorted to the very usual and monotonous tomato, corn and vegetable soups? And how many times have we been given glances and expressions like “No not again!” Assertively, no, not anymore again! This almond soup comes in as a pleasant change from the ordinary, packed with almonds which help in increasing your good cholesterol. It is a very easy recipe which calls for no extra expertise than the average.
INGREDIENTS
Almonds – 7 to 8 pieces
Onion – 1(medium)
Potato – 1 (medium)
Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp finely chopped
Corn flour – 1 tbsp
Butter – 2 tbsp
Milk – 300 ml
White pepper powder – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
METHOD
Soak almonds in water overnight or soak them in hot water for half an hour to remove the skin.
Chop onion and potato into small pieces. Sauté the almonds, onion and potato in ½ tbsp of butter and set them aside.
Heat one and a half tbsp of butter in a pan. Add cornflour and whisk the milk slowly into the pan without forming lumps.
Add the almonds, potato and onion to this and blend them together in a mixer/ blender.
Heat a pan and bring the mixture to a boil by adding the required amount of salt and water.
Garnish with white pepper powder and coriander leaves.
STIRFRY MUSHROOM
Mushrooms are a good source of protein. They act as a very good vegetable for weight reducers, since mushrooms have lean fat which gives them ample source of nutrition without actually consuming heavy food. The wide range of vitamins and minerals help flush the toxins out by boosting the immune system. Along with olive oil, which is good for the heart, this vegetable makes a very simple and easy stirfry. This vegetable can be an accompaniment for chappathis or can even be used as a stuffing for bread sandwiches.
INGREDIENTS
Mushrooms – 150 gms
Onions – 2 (medium)
Tomatoes – 4 (medium)
Garlic – 3 pods
Green chillies – 2 (small)
Coriander leaves – 25 gms finely chopped
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Olive oil – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
METHOD
Cut the onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, and green chillies into fine pieces.
Heat a pan with olive oil and add turmeric powder. Stir for a few seconds and add onions, tomatoes, garlic and green chillies and salt.
Saute well on low heat to enable it to cook well. Mushrooms cook quickly.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chappathis or rotis.
OPEN VEGETABLE TOAST
INGREDIENTS
Bread – 3 slices
Butter – 3 tsp
Grated cheese – 3 tbsp
Broccoli – 50 gms
Carrot – 1 (big)
Boiled potatoes – 2 (medium)
Peas – 50 gms
Onions – 2 (small)
Chilli flakes – 1 tbsp
Oregano – 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves – 50 gms
Salt to taste
METHOD
Toast the bread, using butter.
Boil potatoes and cut into small slices.
Add a little butter to a frying pan. To it, add the chopped broccoli, onions and carrots and peas and sauté on low flame for 10 minutes.
Add the boiled potatoes, required salt, chilli flakes, oregano and coriander leaves and switch off the stove.
Spread the mixed vegetable spread on the toasted breads, sprinkle grated cheese and bake them in an oven for 10 minutes.
A crispy open toast is ready in minutes.
Points to keep in mind
Low fat butter and cheese can be used for less calorie intake. If you desire, you can add mushrooms and other vegetables for a more wholesome, tasty and enjoyable snack.
BITTER GOURD VEGETABLE
Bitter gourd is one of the few vegetables which gives us a wholesome health package, combining nutrition with a cure for many of the ailments unheard of. It has twice the calcium of spinach, twice the beta carotene of broccoli, twice the potassium of banana and high amounts of iron. Aren’t these well enough to get you started with trying this vegetable and this dish in particular?
INGREDIENTS
Bitter Gourd – 2 (medium)
Besan flour – 3 tbsp
Sour curds – 4 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Chilli flakes – 2 tsp
Coriander leaves – 50 gms (finely chopped)
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
METHOD
Cut bitter gourd into small square pieces.
Mix besan flour, sour curds, turmeric powder, chilli flakes and salt.
Marinate the bitter gourd with the above mentioned paste for one hour.
Heat a frying pan, add olive oil and add the marinated bittergourd.
Reduce the flame to low and slow fry it.
Garnish finally with coriander leaves.