Karela(bitter gourd) Stuffed with raw mango

Stuffed bitter gourd/bharvan karela with raw mango/kairi

Bitter melon/bitter gourds/karela are very low in calorie,rich in iron, excellent source of essential vitamins.It contains a insulin like compound that is highly beneficial for diabetic patients.

As they are bitter in taste, many people hate them.

One says that combination of sour and bitter goes very well.To suppress bitterness of karela,I added raw mango in stuffing.

These stuffed bitter gourd with raw mango are delicious.Enjoy this recipe,its  full of flavors ( sour,tangy,bitter,spicy) and health benefits.

Ingredients:

3 to 4 big Karela/bitter gourd.You can also use small karela,take more of them.
1 big raw mango(kairi)
1/2 cup peanuts
1 medium onion
10 garlic cloves
1 tsp turmeric powder
4 tbsp coriander powder
2 tbsp chilly powder(add according to your spice level)
4 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp garam masala(optional)
1 tsp jaggery/sugar
Salt as per taste
2 tbsp oil

Method:
1. Heat water in a pan with salt.Add karela in hot water ,boil for 5 to 10 min.Once karela little soft,take them from water and keep aside. (befor boiling them you can scrap karela if you want).
2. Roast peanuts and break them into half.
3. Peel and grate raw mango. Chop onion in small pieces.

3. Add all spices,chopped onion,grated garlic in grated raw mango to make stuffing.Keep it aside.

4. Cut karela in 2 or 3 pieces if using big one.

5. Slit them lengthwise.If there are more seeds take some out and add them in stuffing else  leave them in karela only.

5.  Stuff  karela with stuffing.Keep leftover stuffing aside(will use it later to make gravy).

6. Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan ,add stuffed karela. Cover with lid.

7. Let them cook for 10 min on medium heat,then turn back to cook another side for more 5 to 10 min.

8. Once Karela roasted completely.Take them out. In same pan add remaining stuffing to make gravy. Add some water and cook for some time.

9.Once spices cook completely ,add karela in gravy.

10. Serve them with chapati or rice.

Please leave me a feedback or comment if you like this recipe.

Easy Crepes with plum filling

Healthy/tasty breakfast recipe.
Crepes are french thin pancakes.Very easy to make and they are so yummy that you can't stop having them.My 2 year old loved them so much.You can try different combinations of fruits for filling.
You can  make crepes ahead of time and can freeze to use them later.

Ingredients:
For Crepe:

1 cup maida (All purpose flour)

1/4 cup sugar
2-3 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup milk + as needed

For filling:
1 Plum
1/2 Apple
1/4 cup dry fruits of your choice(I used cashews and almonds.
2 tbsp honey/sugar or both + as needed
1/4 tsp cardamom powder (optional)
Pastry cream

Method:
1. Mix maida,sugar and salt. Slowly add milk and make thin batter (consistency should be like heavy cream/dosa batter).
2. Now add melted butter and vanilla essence and mix well.

3. Cover with lid and keep batter in fridge for half an hour.
4. While batter is sitting in fridge make filling.
5. Cut plums and apples in small cubes.
6. Heat a pan and add fruits ,sugar/honey. I used honey but as per your choice you can add honey/sugar/even both.
7. Cook for 5 to 10 min till fruits get cooked and turn thick.
8. Mix cardamom powder and dry fruits to filling. Filling is done. Keep it aside.
9. Now make crepes.Heat a non-stick pan  in medium heat.Apply some oil and wipe the pan.
10. Pour spoonful batter on pan and rotate in circular motion to form a thin circle.

11. When crepe start to peel off, turn it over and cook on other side too.

12. Cook till you see golden spots both side.Now take it off and keep aside. Now make more crepes.

13. When they are cool enough to handle apply pastry creme/any other spread you like.You can also use thick custard instead of pastry cream. 

14. Now cover this with other crepe.Again apply cream and place filling all over the crepe.Then garnish with some chopped dry fruits.

     

 You can cover this with another crepe /do your own creation here and serve.

Enjoy breakfast  with love.

If you like this recipe then please leave a feedback/comment.

Sabudana(sago) khichdi recipe

Sabudana(sago) khichdi is mostly served during fast but I love to make it more frequently for breakfast and even for dinner sometime. Its easy to make with easily available ingredients in your kitchen.
It contains large amount of protein and full of  carbohydrates which provides high energy throughout the day. This is the main reason why people prefer it while fasting.

Ingredients:

2 cup Sabudana(sago)
1 medium size Potato (boiled)
1 cup Peanuts
2 Green chilly
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Black salt as per taste.
1/2 tsp black pepper powder.
1 lemon
2 tbsp ghee
handful of chopped coriander leaves

Method:
1. Soaking of sabudana: There are 2 types of sabudana,big one and small one.Here I used small one.After washing sabudana 2 to 3 times,add enough water to soak them.Small one will be done in half an hour but big one takes time so what I do,I soak them for 1 hour then drain the excess water and cover sabudana container with cover and let it sit overnight ,in morning you will get perfect pearls.
2. Roast peanuts and keep aside.
3. Grind half of the peanuts and mix with sabudana. Mix boiled ,chopped potato salt ,black pepper to sabudana.


4. Heat ghee in a pan.
5. Add cumin seeds,mustard seeds, green chilly.
6. Add rest of the peanuts,roast for 10 to 15 sec, then add sabudana mixture.
7. Mix well and cover the pan with lid,let it cook for 2 to 3 min.
8. Add lemon juice ,mix well.Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.
9. Serve hot.

Corn Spinach pakoda/fritters

Corn Spinach fritters/pakoda recipe.

These are spinach pakoda made with corn batter(besan/gram flour batter is replaced with corn). This is my mom's recipe with little variation(I added spinach and onion to basic recipe).Try this recipe,its yummy.

Ingredients:

2 corn cobs

4 tbsp cup gram flour

4 tbsp rice flour -optional

4 tbsp rava(semolina) -optional

1 cup spinach

1 medium onion

Handful of coriander leaves

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp chilly powder (or as per taste)

Salt as per taste

Oil to fry

Method:

1. Grate corn kernels to form batter.

2. Mix gram flour,rice flour,semolina to corn batter.

3. Now add spices,chopped spinach and chopped onion to mix.

(gram flour and rice flour is to provide binding ,rava I love to add).

3. Mix with spoon to form medium consistency batter (almost like idli batter).

4. Heat oil in a pan and drop pakoda/fritters.

5. Fry till they are brown in color.Serve garma garm pakoda with coriander chutney/sauce.

  

Chakali/kurkure namkeen Recipe

Chakali/kurkure namkeen easy snack recipe.

In the world of pizza,pasta,chips,kurkure,Indian homemade snacks are loosing their presence.Lets give some memories to your kids.

Make them,store them and have them anytime.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup roasted chana powder

1/4 cup peanuts (roasted & crushed coarsely)

2 tbsp oil

Salt as per taste

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp red chilly powder  

Oil for frying

Method:

1. Grind roasted chana to powder.

2. Mix Chana powder,peanut powder and rice flour.

3.  Add salt,chilly,turmeric,cumin seeds into mixture.
4. Heat oil in a pan.
5. Take 2 tbsp hot oil from pan and add it to flour mixture.Mix oil with fingertips.
6. Now add water to make soft dough.Not too wet, not too dry(cookie consistency).

 7. Place a portion of  dough in ojas machine(chakli maker) and close the lid.

8. I lost the star shaped disc which use to make chakali so I made namkeen instead of chakli.

9. Now gently squeeze out the dough directly into oil(medium hot) in pan.

10. Oil should be medium hot to cook them properly.Fry them both side till golden brown.

11. Let them cool and store in air tight container.

Steamed Cucumber cake

Steamed Cucumber Cake:

So healthy,easy to make,no butter,no sugar,no maida,egg-less steamed cake.
Have lots of cucumber sitting in fridge,want some healthy breakfast/snack/dessert,then follow this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cup Rava/sooji(Roasted)

2.5 cup grated cucumber(kheera)

1 cup grated jaggery(gud)

1 cup shredded coconut(optional,add for better taste)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder (Ilaichi)

1/4 cup almonds(badam),cashews(kaju)
Milk/Yogurt if needed 

Method:
1. Wash,peel and grate cucumber.Do not throw cucumber juice.

2. Mix rava/sooji and cucumber(mix juice also).
3. Mix jaggery ,cardamom powder,coconut into mixture.
4. Mixture should be in medium consistency if its not then add yogurt or milk as needed.
5. Mix chopped almonds and cashews.
6. I used dhokla steamer here. You can also use cooker,just remove whistle from lid and then tightly cover the cooker with its lid(remember to pour water in cooker for steam).
7. Grease a pan with oil and pour batter.

8. Garnish with some chopped almonds and let it steam for 30 to 35 min.You can check if its done or not by inserting knife,if it comes out clean,its done.

9. Once its done let it cool for sometime and then serve.

Gajar ka Halwa

We all love Gajar ka Halwa but the traditional way of making it  is very time consuming. We think and think ,and never cook.
Here is quick method to make this delicious dessert using Pressure cooker.There is no compromise in taste.

Gajar/Carrot Halwa

Ingredients:

2 cups grated Gajar/Carrot
1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp ghee
1/2 cup mava/khoya
5 to 6 Cardamom
1/2 cup chopped dry fruits(almond,cashew,raisins)

Method:
1. Wash,peel and grate carrots.
2.  Heat 2 to 3 tbsp ghee in a cooker,add cardamom. Then add grated carrots.

3. Cover cooker with lid and take 3 whistles.
4. Once pressure subsides,open cooker.
5. Add remaining ghee to a non stick pan ,then add carrots and khoya/mava.  (I transferred carrots  to nonstick pan,but you can continue with cooker also).

 6. Stir occasionally. Once mixture is thick, add sugar and continue cooking on medium flame.
 7. Cook further for  3 to 4 min,once mixture start releasing ghee,switch-off the flame.

8. Add dry fruits and enjoy 'garma garam gajar ka halwa'.

Tip: Ask your hubby to grate carrots :P .

Hara bhara Upma/Spinach Upma

So here is more delicious,more healthy Upma recipe, Hara bhara Upma. Try this recipe and add more veggies in your diet.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Semolina/Rava/Sooji

 One Tomato

1 cup spinach

1/4 cup peanuts

1 medium onion (Chopped)

10 to 12 curry leaves

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp urad daal

2 to 3 Green Chilly (Chopped)

Salt as per taste

2 tbsp oil 

2 cups water

Coriander leaves for garnish.

Method:

1. Blanch tomato and Spinach and grind them to make puree.

2. Heat a Pan and dry roast rava/sooji on a medium heat. Stir often while roasting.

3. Once rava/sooji began to smell toasty and fragrant ,switch off the flame. 

4  Keep roasted rava/sooji aside.

5.  In a pan,add 2 tbsp of oil. 

6. When oil is hot add mustard seeds.

7. Once mustard seeds start crackling ,add cumin seeds ,curry leaves,urad daal.

8. Fry till they are brown. 

9. Now add Peanuts,saute for a min and add chopped onions,green chilly and salt.

10. Saute till onions become translucent.

11. Add spinach,tomato puree with water and give it a boil on high flame.

12. Lower the flame and add rava/sooji in 4 to 5 batches.Once you add rava/sooji stir immediately after each batch.

13. Mix well. Rava grains will absorb all the water and upma will become thicker.

14. Cover pan with lid and let Upma to steam for 2 to 3 minutes on low flame.

15. Garnish Upma with coriander leaves.

Kiwi Cooler for hot summer

Try this  fresh Kiwi drink.
Kiwi is full of health benefits.
It contains more vitamin C than same amount of orange.
Good for digestion.Helps in immune system and lowering cholesterol.
Packed with fiber and more.

Ingredients:

2 Kiwi
Handful of Mint leaves
Handful of coriander leaves
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 cup of sugar (or as per needed)
pinch of black salt
1 glass of water
4 to 5 ice cubes

Method:
1. Roast Kiwi either on gas stove or bake it in oven.

2. Peel outer layer of kiwi and chop them in pieces.
3. Add Kiwi pieces ,coriander,mint leaves,lemon juice ,cumin powder,salt,sugar,ice cubes and little water in a mixer.Blend it.
4. Add remaining water and blend it.
5. Your Kiwi drink is ready ,enjoy it to beat hot summer.