Sesame & Flax Seed Mukhwas/Snack

This mukhwas (digestive aid) is a calcium, magnesium & phosphorous rich mix, if had 2 tsp daily will really contribute to overall health of bones, hair, and heart amongst other benefits. It will also substantially contribute to daily requirements.

Due to lack of availability of a healhty digestive aid, if available just too expensive.. I thought let me just make my own mix. Also I am averse to taking tablets and prefer natural sources and dietary changes as a means of healing and precaution. My sister being a dietician & nutritionist, she supervises and guides most of my cooking. So this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Makes 300 gms. Preparation Time: 10 mins. Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

100 gms (½ cup) white sesame seeds

100 gms (½ cup) black sesame seeds

100 gms (½ cup) flax seeds

2-3 tbsp rock salt

1 tbsp salt

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi) [opitonal]

½ cup water

Method:

1. Firstly clean all the seeds of dust or any other particles by sifting them. Leave them each in separate bowls.

2. In a small bowl, take water and mix in the lemon juice, rock salt and salt and leave aside. Let it sit for 5-7 mins or until the salts have dissolved. 

3. In these 3 bowls with seeds, equally distribute the liquid and mix well. Let this mixture sit for 6-7 hrs. 

By the end of which will look a little lumpy or wet. 

4. After 6-7 hrs, take a pan, SLOW ROAST each of them on LOW flame. This will take about 7-10 mins each. After roasting each of them, they will be dry and the seeds will be separated. White Sesame will get slightly darker in colour and flax seeds too will get darker. They should be crunchy. You can taste them and accordingly put of the heat if unsure. Though make sure not to over roast or under roast them.

5. Let each of them cool. Once cooled, mix in all and store in an air- tight container.

It can be consumed daily 1 tbsp each time after lunch and dinner. In addition to its health benefits, it aids digestion too. 

Make sure you chew it well or else it will be pointless consuming it!

PS: Please do not consume in excess as it has a laxative effect.


Nutritional Value & Benefits:

Sesame Seeds:

1. Rich source of minerals like Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorous, Iron &  Zinc amongst others. It also supplies Vitamin A, B along with others.
2. It is comprised of unsaturated fats which means it is good for the heart.
3. Helps reduce hypertension, high blood pressure, & type 2 diabetes.
4. Helps in combating against gingivitis & maintain healthy teeth & bones.
5. Women above the age of 40 pose the risk of osteoporosis, instead of taking calcium supplements, this is a natural substitute.
6. Helps in maintenance of healthy skin (anti ageing)& hair.
7. Antioxidant rich helps prevent Cancer & Stress relieving.
8. Being a laxative, obviously helps solve constipation problems.

Flax Seeds:

1. Rich source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids & lignins (type of anti-oxidant) which help in prevention of  heart diseases.
2. Like sesame they also greatly contribute in prevention of diabetes, high blood pressure, hyper tension, cancer. 
3. Besides, they help in obesity and asthma.
4. Excellent source of vitamin E, hence great for skin!
5.They help stabilise the hormone oestrogen in women, hence women with hormonal disorders, menstruation problems, menopause, depression etc. feel better with regular consumption. Pregnant women must consume under medical guidance.
6. Helps in lowering cholesterol crucial for a healthy heart!
7. This too helps in relieving constipation issues.

Carrot & Corn Parathas

Some weeks back I made carrot & corn parathas. A leftover of sorts, so thought lets try! And it turned out to be quite tasty!

I paired it with Phudina Raita which went well with the parathas. This dish is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner! 

So here's the recipe of the quick & yummy parathas:

Makes 10-12 parathas. Preparation Time: 15 mins. Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

For Parathas Filling:
1½ cup carrots, grated
1 cup sweet corn, boiled, half crushed
1 medium sized potato, boiled
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp green chilli paste or finely chopped
1 tsp ginger paste or grated ginger
a pinch of sugar
salt as per taste

For Dough:
1½ cup sifted wheat flour
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt

For Roasting:
Ghee or Oil

For Garnish:
Few sprigs of Coriander or Cilantro

For Raita:
1½ cup Yoghurt/Curd
10-12 mint leaves (phudina), finely chopped
salt as per taste

Method:

1. Grate the carrots & half crush the boiled corn. Boil the potato. 

  

2. Mix in all the ingredients under 'For Parathas Filling'. We use the potatoes for binding so use accordingly.
Divide into equal sized balls. 

3. Now make the dough for parathas using the ingredients under 'For Dough'. 

4. Roll out rotis and make parathas as usual with the stuffing.

5. Roast it with ghee or oil as preferred. 

6. For the raita, beat the curd, add the chopped mint leaves and salt.

7. Serve the parathas hot with cold raita.

Notes & Tips:

1. For Jains: Substitute the boiled potatoes for mashed boiled bananas and proceed. 


PS: Excuse the pictures as they are from my cellphone. 

Thai Fried Rice

To accompany the Thai Green Curry I made the Thai Fried Rice. A very simple & quick recipe. A very versatile dish for South Asian cuisines.

Serves: 4-6 Preparation Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup basmati rice, washed thoroughly and soaked for about half an hour
1-2 stalks lemon grass
3 tbsp Red bell peppers/capsicum, julienned
3 tbsp Yellow bell peppers/capsicum, julienned
3 tbsp Green bell peppers/capsicum, julienned
3 tbsp carrots, julienned
3 tbsp green or purple cabbage, julienned
1 small spring onion (3 tbsp), white, chopped
3 tbsp spring onion greens, chopped
1 tbsp ( 2-3 cloves) garlic, crushed
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp Tabasco sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)
1 tbsp white or black pepper powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt as per taste

Method:

1. Firstly, take twice the quantity of water for rice and let it boil. Now add some salt, oil and lemon grass stalks roughly chopped. Now add the soaked rice let it simmer until 85% cooked. Each grain should be separate. You may pass it through cold water to arrest cooking.
Once strained, you now remove the lemon grass stalks.

2. While the rice is being cooked, chop the spring onions, carrots, bell peppers, cabbage and leave aside. 

2. In a wok, or a deep & wide kadai heat some oil. Add the spring onion whites & greens along with garlic and sauté for 2 mins. 

3. Now add the bell peppers & carrots and stir fry for about 2-3 mins. 

4. Now add salt, the capsico sauce, oyster sauce, pepper powder, lemon juice and mix well. Mix in the cabbage and cook for 2 mins. The entire mixture will reduce in size by now. We do not cook the vegetables until entirely soft. Slight crunchiness will add a nice texture to the rice.

5. Now toss in the rice taking care that it they do not break or mash. Let it cook for a minute and serve warm!

Enjoy your rice with the mouth watering Thai Green Curry!

Notes & Tips:

1. For my Jain Friends:

Omit onion & garlic. Stir fry bell peppers, carrots (if using) and add cabbage towards the end. Add capsico sauce, pepper, lemon juice and 1 tbsp soya sauce. And proceed.

2. The purple cabbage looks colourful and is in fact a healthier option to our green cabbage. 

3. I do not like the taste of oyster sauce, hence omitted. You can either add 1 tbsp soya sauce or skip it entirely like I did. It tastes equally good. 

Pls. note if you're adding soya sauce, reduce salt accordingly.

Thai Green Curry

Continuing further with the thai cuisine, here is the quite famous Thai Green Curry. A yummy, healthy and colourful main course for the thai taste buds!

Let us first start with the Thai Green Curry Paste - the base of this curry.

Serves: 5 - 6 Preparation Time: 15-20 mins Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

For Green Curry Paste:

2 green chillies
1/2 cup coriander, chopped
2-4 kaffir lime leaves or lime leaves
5-6 green basil leaves
4 stalks of lemon grass
4  garlic cloves
1" ginger
1/2 tbsp brown sugar or regular white sugar
2 spring onion, roughly quartered, only whites
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, whole
1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground (optional)
3 tbsp oil (optional)

For Green Curry:

1 1/2 cup coconut milk (200ml appx.)
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup baby corn, sliced diagonally
1/2 cup carrots, sliced diagonally
1/2 cup broccoli, florets
3 tbsp tofu or cottage cheese/paneer
1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup zucchini, sliced
1/4 cup brinjal, diced
Oil
Salt as per taste

Method:

1. In a mixer/food processor/blender, take all the ingredients under 'For Green Curry Paste' and blend it into a coarse paste. You may use a little water if required. Mix it well and keep aside.

2. Now to proceed further, chop all the vegetables as under 'For Green Curry' and keep aside.

I did not use all the veggies due to taste preferences, hence feel free to use as per your taste.

I used colourful bellpeppers instead.

3. Now, take a deep vessel and heat some oil. Now fry the paneer or tofu pieces until slightly brown and keep it aside. This will ensure that they don't break while stirring.

4. In the remaining oil now sauté the green curry paste until the water dries out and it starts oozing out oil. 

5. Once done, now add the vegetables and let it cook for about 5 mins. 

6. Add the coconut milk diluted with equal amount of water. Add salt and let it all cook until the vegetables are soft.  If you feel the curry is too thin, you may add 2-3 tbsp cornflour slurry to thicken.

7. Garnish with some fresh basil leaves and serve hot. It goes well with steamed rice or Thai Fried Rice.

Notes & Tips:

1. To make cornflour slurry, mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water stirring to avoid all lumps. Use the smooth mixture as required.

2. Lime Leaves, lemon grass and basil are core ingredients hence make sure you use them. Availability of lime leaves could be an issue, then increase the quantity of lemon grass. 

3. I have used Dabur's coconut milk. You can use the fresh coconut milk as well. 

4. I did not add any oil while grinding the curry paste to make it less oily and it did not make any difference to the taste.

5. I directly added all the vegetables after frying the curry paste. Alternatively, all the veggies mentioned can be deep fried, drained and added after step 6. I find this too oily & unhealthy so prefer adding them raw. 

6. My Jain friends can omit garlic & onions in the curry paste and increase the amount of coriander to 3/4 cup. Adjust the lemon grass & basil flavours accordingly and proceed. As for the veggies, use as per your preference. 

Thai Red Curry Paste

The very traditional thai red curry paste is used in many preparations apart from curry.

You can always make a cup of this and freeze it and use as and when required. Though making it fresh is always better. But those crunched for time, the former option works well!

So lets go ahead with the recipe. 

I recently made it using galangal and kaffir lime leaves,have updated the same. 
Galangal is a species of ginger family which is native to thailand. Similarly, kaffir lime is of the lime family native to thailand. In case you do not find kaffir lime, indian lime/lemon leaves would do as well. If doing so, just increase the quantity as kaffir lime is potent in flavour than regular lemon/lime leaves.

Makes: 1/2 cup.  Preparation Time: 5 - 10 mins. Cooking Time: Nil

Ingredients:

4 Dry Red chillies, soaked in hot water or 3-4 tbsp of red chilli powder (Kashmiri preferably)
2 thai red bird chillies (optional),
2-3 medium sized kaffir lime leaves,
2" galangal block (optional)
½" ginger block, (if not using galangal use 2" ginger block)
4-6 garlic cloves, 
1 tbsp cumin seeds,
1 tbsp coriander seeds,
3-4 shallots, small sized, quartered (madrasi/sambar onions)
¼ tsp white pepper powder or black pepper powder, whichever is handy
2-3 stalks lemon grass (2 if thick, 3 if thin), roughly halved
5-6 red or green basil leaves (red is difficult to get here, so you may substitute with green)
few stalks of coriander 
1 tsp salt

Method:

1. De-stem  & de-seed the chillies soaked in water. Be careful not to let the seeds touch your skin as it may sting you later! or simply use gloves! I skipped this step and it tasted the same, so you may do that too. 

2. Put all the ingredients in a mixer/food processor and blend it into a coarse yet smooth paste. You can use the leftover water of the chillies, about 2-3 tbsp while blending.

Thats it! Ready to use! 
I do not have a good picture of it, but it should look something like this:

Notes & Tips:

1. The quantity of lemon grass really depends on the variety used. Hence make sure its a potent one as lemon grass is one of the core flavours of the paste. The stalk we use is the thick stem and not the leaves we use for making tea!

2. Jains can omit the garlic & shallots and proceed with the rest.  

3. You can adjust the spiciness by adding or reducing the amount of chillies. 

4. Thai bird chillies are tiny red coloured chillies which are really potent. So use carefully. You can entirely omit the dry red chillies and use only the bird chillies. But note that the colour of the paste will not be as red. 

5. If you are preserving it, outside, add enough oil (3 tbsp for a cup of paste) and store. 
If frozen is your way, add 1 tbsp oil and store.

Do try the paste and let me know how did you use it. Please leave comments about your experiences with it.

Thai Corn Fritters

We made this for entrée along with the salad. This may look similar to my Zucchini & Corn Fritters, but it definitely tastes a lot different. 

I simply love anything with corn. But I think, even the non-corn lovers will like it! 

We use two types of corn here, the American style yellow corn and the Indian aka desi white corn. Its an interesting combination!

So here's the recipe:

Makes 18 - 20 fritters. Preparation Time: 15- 20 mins. Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup yellow corn kernels, boiled
3/4 cup white corn, raw coarse paste
1 green chilli thinly sliced,
2 tbsp curd (yoghurt)
2 tbsp Thai Red curry paste
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
2 tbsp cornflour
3 tbsp maida
2 tbsp lemon zest
Salt as per taste
Oil for shallow frying

Method:

1. Crush the white corn into a rough paste. Now squeeze out the water from the mixture.

2. Mix in rest of the ingredients into a loose dough. Add salt in the end. Incase if it is too loose, you may add some torn bread to soak up the excess moisture. Alternatively, you may also coat them with bread crumbs.

3. Divide them equally into small flat balls and shallow fry them.

Thats it! Its ready!! Serve with hot & sweet dip or our versatile ketchup! 

I served it with garlic mayonnaise. That went well with it too!

Notes & Tips:

1. If white corn is not available, you can substitute it with yellow corn. Though half crush about half of them. 

2. Please find the recipe for red curry paste here. Alternatively, you can use the ready made paste, easily available in stores stocking international foods.

3. To make it more crispy you can also coat it with some rice flour and proceed with shallow frying.

Som Tam Salad

So I start with my Thai evening recipes. The most popular Thai salad Som - Tam which basically means pounded or grated papaya. Originally,  a salad of grated papaya, beans, hot chillies, prawns, chicken and peanuts. The vegetarian Som-Tam is a different, fresh, crunchy and tasty start to a thai evening.

Serves 4 -5. Preparation Time: 20 mins. Cooking Time: Nil

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup green papaya, grated (1 small sized)
1/2 cup cowpea beans, finely chopped (chawli, yardlong beans; 1 thin bunch)
3/4 cup roasted peanuts, pounded coarsely (salted will do)
1/2 cup coriander, chopped
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp green chillies, crushed
salt as per taste

For Garnish:
1 tbsp crushed peanuts

Method:

1. Grate the papaya. Finely & thinly chop the beans. Pound the peanuts roughly. We do not need a powder, hence be careful about the texture while crushing it.

2. Now in a small bowl, mix the dressing, soya sauce, tamarind pulp, brown sugar and salt. 

3. In the salad bowl, mix the papaya, beans, chillies, coriander, peanuts, garlic and the dressing. Toss it well several times. 

Top it with some crushed peanuts! So simple.. its ready!! Enjoy!! 

Notes & Tips:

1. You can substitute brown sugar for normal white sugar.

2. I hand chopped the beans, but you may use a food processor to roughly chop them. 

3. For Jains: Omit the garlic. It wont make much difference.

Apple Crumble

A few days back I had a thai soirée at my cousins place and she delighted us with this delicious dessert in the end!

I am sure you would love to try this as a quick, easy and sinful dessert!

Makes - 3, Cooking Time: 10 mins. Preparation Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

2 Apples
2 chocolate brownie
1 bowl whipped cream
3 scoops vanilla ice cream
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
chocolate sauce as required

Method:

1. Peel the apples & chop them 1/2" sized pieces. 

2. Now sprinkle the sugar, lemon juice & cinnamon and microwave for about 3-5 mins until a little cooked and soft but not mashy.
Alternatively, this can be done on the normal stove in a small pan too.

3. Once cooled (5-10 mins), we can start serving. 

4. In a separate bowl, crumble the brownie coarsely and mix  in with the apples. We use about 1 to 2 tbsp (depending upon how juicy the apples are) of the liquid retained after heating.

5. In the serving bowl, place a spoonful of this apple mixture. Top it with the whipped cream. Now place a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnish with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
And there its ready!! 

Enjoy this yummy dessert!

Notes & Tips:

1. For diabetics, omit the sugar. Even otherwise, if the apples are quite sweet & juicy you can skip the sugar and adjust the lemon juice accordingly.

Zucchini & Corn Fritters

Leftover vegetables and hunger pangs led to this versatile and tasty snack. One could also use it as an entrée/starter! Served with the yummy tangy spicy tomato chutney

Zucchini comes from the squash family and is like ridge gourd in texture. It also resembles cucumber, but less watery. Not of Indian origin but widely available in most cities or supermarkets.

Makes 15 fritters. Preparation Time: 10 mins. Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients

1 cup Sweet Corn kernels

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 cup zucchini, with skin, grated

1/2 cup parsley, chopped finely

3 tbsp onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp maida

1 tbsp milk

Salt & pepper as per taste

oil for roasting & shallow fry

Breadcrumbs for coating

Method:

1. Firstly, roast the sweet corn & garlic at 170°C in a well greased baking tray for about 10 mins or until golden brown spots appear. Simultaneously grate the zucchini,  chop the onions & parsley & keep aside. 

2. Squeeze out the water of the zucchini. In a mixing bowl, add the grated zucchini, corn, parsley, onions, maida, milk, salt, pepper and garlic. Garlic should be soft and mashable.

Mix it all into a dough. It will be a little loose dough.

3. Roll out into 1.5" wide balls & flatten it. Coat them with bread crumbs. Shallow fry them in a non stick pan until slightly golden brown on each side. 

4. Serve hot with ketchup or the spicy tomato chutney! Enjoy!

Notes & Tips:

1. If the mixture gets too loose, you may add a small slice of bread torn into pieces that will absorb the moisture. 

2. You may also add some green chilli paste to make it more spicy. 

3. Do roast the garlic and corn as they lend the flavour to this dish.

4. For Jains: Skip the onion & garlic and add 1 tbsp grated ginger and proceed.

Borscht

Monsoons are the perfect time to gorge on healthy soups. Borscht is one of them. It is a Russian soup, the vegetarian recipe given by a Russian friend. Originally prepared with beef, beef stock & veggies, this is the vegetarian version.

I love this deep colour of the soup along with the variety of veggies. 
At large people avoid beetroot, this iron rich soup is not only a healthy but a delicious change.


Serves 6. Preparation Time: 15 mins. Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

For soup:
2 medium sized Beetroots, peeled
1 medium sized potato, peeled
2 small carrots, peeled
1 large onion, sliced
1/4 cup cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup tomato, finely chopped
4-5 tbsp chopped parsley
3 tbsp green capsicum, thinly sliced (optional)
1 tbsp vinegar (optional)
salt  & pepper as per taste
2 tbs oil
3-4 cups water or vegetable stock

For Garnish:
Few sprigs of Parsley
Sour cream or Hung curds

Method:

1.Borscht needs the potatoes, carrots, beetroot & capsicum in juliennes. All of them shall be cut raw. Slice the onions & cabbage. Chop the parsley along with the stalk.

2. Heat the oil in a deep vessel and sauté onions, capsicums & cabbage. After about 2 mins, once softened, add remaining veggies except parsley.

3. Now mix in the salt and cook for another 2 mins. Now add in the water or stock whichever is available. Let all the vegetables cook and release their flavours for about 15 mins. 

4. You can check if the vegetables are cooked. They should be cooked and not mashy. Once ready add the pepper, vinegar (optional) and the chopped parsley and cook for about a minute.

5. The soup is now ready to be served. Garnish with a tbsp of sour cream or hung curds if available & a few sprigs of fresh parsley. You may serve it with garlic bread or soup sticks.
Enjoy!

Notes & Tips:

1. You can also add in chopped celery for some flavour. Add it while you sauté onions.

2. This soup is slightly watery, hence you can add some cornflour slurry if you wish to thicken.