Here are some easy recipes - quick to whip up, high on nutrition content and ideal to pack with you for that picnic you’ve long been looking forward to:
Cool Cool Curd Rice
Ingredients:
1 cup boiled rice 2 cups of plain yogurt (curd) 1 tsp. chana daal 1 tsp. urad daal 1/4 cup milk 1-2 green chillies 2 Tbsp oil 1 tsp. mustard seeds 1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped ginger 2 Tbsp desiccated coconut 1/2 tsp. salt Finely chopped coriander leaves
Method: Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a saucepan and add to it the mustard seeds. Once they start popping, put in the urad and the chana dal. Add ginger, green chillies, and coriander and sauté the mixture for about a minute. Now take the saucepan off the flame and add the rice, salt and coconut. Then add the final ingredient - curd and mix it well with the rice and spice mixture.
Since curd rice tastes really good at room temperature as well, it is an ideal thing to carry while going on a picnic or a journey.
Tip: Serve curd rice with some mango pickle or raw mango chatni.
Delicious Theplas
Ingredients
2 cups heaped wheat flour 2 Tbsp besan 2-3 tablespoon of curd Haldi Red chilli powder to taste A pinch of asafoetida Paste of 2 green chillies 3 Tbs oil 3/4th cup methi leaves (optional) Salt to taste
Method: Mix all the ingredients together to make a soft dough, adding the required amount of water. Divide it into equal portions to make small balls and then roll them out thinly into circles, about 4 inches in diameter.
Make sure to cook them on both sides of the tava till they are golden brown in color, using just a little bit of oil.
Tip: Serve Theplas with green chutney or some spicy chilly pickle.
For all of those of you live alone and have no real time for pot and pan cooking, this Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Sandwich makes for the most perfect snack – it’s healthy with a fair amount of nutrition and can be prepared within a few minutes.
Ingredients: 100 gms Paneer 2 slices of White or Brown Bread Butter as required Red Chilli Powder – a pinch Dried Mango Powder – a pinch Black Salt – to taste
Method: Cut the paneer into thin slices. In a pan, melt some butter.
Sauté the paneer slices together with the mango powder, the chilli powder and the black salt till it turns a little brown in color.
Once this is done, place the sautéed paneer onto the bread of your choice. To add some more nutritional value you can some tomato or lettuce.
The bread can either be pre toasted or toasted once the paneer filling is ready.
If you’re home after a long day and can’t possibly stand the thought of ordering any more of that greasy Chinese take-out, try this quick fix salad-soup-dessert meal recipe. It’s ready in a jiffy and scores big on the low-cal meter as well.
Crunchy Vegetable Salad
Ingredients
1 cucumber finely chopped 1 tomato finely chopped 1 onion finely chopped 1 carrot finely grated 1 small boiled potato finely chopped (optional) 1 slice raw mango finely chopped 1 tbsp. coriander leaves finely chopped 1 green chili finely chopped 1/2 cup puffed wheat 1 tbsp. white vinegar 1/2 tsp. sugar powdered 1/4 lemon juice extracted 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds powdered Salt to taste
Method
Mix all the ingredients together except for the wheat and chill it as desired. Toss them into the puffed wheat a few minutes before the salad is to be served. Make sure that you serve this dish immediately so that the crunchiness is intact.
Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
200 gm Chopped Mushroom 2 medium sized Chopped Onions 2 flakes of Crushed Garlic 2 tbs Chopped Coriander leaves 2 tbs Butter 2 tbs Corn flour 250ml Milk 41/2cup Water Salt & pepper to taste
Method
Heat the butter in a pan over a medium flame. Add 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms and sauté it for a while. Remove from the pan. Now add the garlic and the onions to the butter in the pan and sauté it well.
Boil the remaining pieces of mushroom in water along with the coriander and some salt for about 10 minutes. Let it cool. Then, grind the contents.
Mix the corn flour with milk and add this to the freshly ground mushroom paste. Place it on the pan and boil it for about 3 minutes. Remove from the flame and add to it the sautéed mushroom pieces and pepper powder and stir continuously till well mixed.
You can use the remaining coriander leaves to garnish the soup.
Cherry Pie
Ingredients
4 cups cherries, pitted 1 cup sugar (1 1/4 cups if the cherries are sour) 1/4 cup flour 1/2 tsp cinnamon Pastry shell for a double-crust pie
Method: Mix all the ingredients thoroughly to make a filling. Place in the pie shell. Place the top crust on and remember to cut vent slits in the top crust as well as the flute edges so as to allow the pie to bake well. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle over some powdered sugar. Bake the pie at 425°F for 25 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 350°F and let it bake for another 25-30 minutes.
TIP: To make sure that the cherries are coated well, you can try putting the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large zip-loc bag, adding the cherries and then tossing the bag. This allows them to be coated more evenly than a bowl and the filling is much firmer.