Butternut squash upkari/stir-fry

My kids have liked butternut squash since babies. I used to generally boil them with salt and give it to them with a little butter. To add a little more flavor and to get them into mainstream eating and reduced cooking for me, :) ) I often make upkaris ( stir-fry ) for them. I decided to make butternut squash the way they make pumpkin upkari back home. And it came out delicious! The kids loved it!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Butternut Squash :1 medium
Mustard: 1/4 tsp
Chana dal : 1/2 tsp(optional)
Green chili: 1
Asofoetida ( hing): pinch
Coconut oil: 1 tsp. ( you can use any cooking oil of your preference, I use coconut oil in mine).
Jaggery(molasses)/ sugar:1 tsp
Salt to taste.
Fresh grated coconut: 1 tbsp ( optional).

Method:

Peel the butternut squash and dice it into 2 cm cubes and keep aside. Slit the green chillies and keep aside.

Heat a saut� pan/ wok on medium heat,add 1 tsp coconut oil. Now add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the chana dal, then the slit green chillies. Saut� for a minute until the chana dal turns a little golden color.Now add the diced butternut squash & saut�.Add asofoetida( hing), a little bit of salt and 1tsp sugar. Reduce the flame to low, cover the pan and cook until the vegetable is soft enough to eat. Generally takes about 15 minutes. Ensure that you check in between to see if it is cooked. You do not want it to turn into mush!

Garnish with freshly grated coconut. Serve with rice & rasam or dal. You can eat it just like that too.

Cooking made easy:

• This upkari ( stir-fry) can also be made with other types of squash like Acorn or Calabash. 
• The easiest way to cut squash is to first peel it with a regular peeler. The outside skin is tough but the inside is soft and easy to cut.

Tip for healthy living:

Incorporate colors and variety in your diet. Every single day try to eat at least 4-6 different colors of fruits and vegetables. This will automatically ensure that you get the adequate amount of the daily requirement of your vitamins and minerals NATURALLY! 

References:

http://www.wholeliving.com/134734/power-foods-butternut-squash

http://www.eufic.org/article/en/show/spotlight/rid/colours-of-fruits-and-vegetables-and-health/

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/eat-a-colorful-variety-of-fruits-and-vegetables

Food for thought:

Rome was not built in a day ( John Heywood).

Blackened Chicken

I have joined a group called Chef at Large which has several amazing cooks with blogs of their own on it. This recipe I learnt from one of the members of the group Ruchi Airen. She blogs at http://www.foodfellas4you.com This is apparently her mother's recipe. The beauty of this recipe is it's simplicity! I have neither the time nor the patience for recipes with a long list of ingredients,lengthy procedures and several pots and pans. I leave those to people with the inclination and time on their hands. This recipe was quick and easy to make with only 2 pots to wash! The aroma was enticing, and the taste absolutely delicious! You will definitely reach for second helpings!

The original recipe called for chicken drumsticks, I have used boneless chicken breast.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Chicken boneless breast cut into medium-small bite sized pieces : 1 lb.
Chili powder ( cayenne pepper): 1 tsp
Garam masala: 2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp
Soya sauce : 1 1/2 tbsp
Vinegar: 1 1/2 tbsp
Olive oil : 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Marinate cleaned  chicken with all the above ingredients except oil. Keep it covered in the refrigerator for at least 30 mins.

 Heat oil in a walk on medium-high flame. Add the marinated chicken and saut� till the chicken looks a little fried and the water has almost reduced. Reduce the flame to low, cover and cook for 5-8 mins. Open and saut� again on high flame until all water has evaporated . Make sure that the chicken has cooked through and through.

Garnish with onion rings and serve hot. Can be served with rice and dal/ rasam  as a side dish or  alone as an appetizer!

Cooking made easy:

• When you bring chicken home from the store, try to immediately clean and marinate the chicken before putting it in the freezer.
• Use a basic marinade of salt, pepper and lemon juice. Freeze them in small airtight containers or freezer bags in small portions.
• This way you can defrost just enough portion and make chicken anytime you wish without having to spend extra time on cleaning, marinating etc.
• Depending on the dish you are making you can add the additional marination ingredients and leave it for 10-15 mins.
• Chicken tastes better and is tender when marinated well
• You can do the same thing with fish too.

Tip for healthy living:

Try to use only organic chicken or cage-free hens without antibiotics. While organic chicken can be expensive there are also options of chicken whose sellers clearly state that no antibiotics have been fed to them. The examples I have are Perdue and Fairway brand. I have tried both of them. I must say I like the Fairway brand better.

Why must we use organic or antibiotic-free chicken? Because those chemicals/medications will enter our body and affect the functioning of our body. Think of what it might do to our growing children! 

References:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/safe/overview.html
http://www.foodpolicy.umn.edu/policy-summaries-and-analyses/antibiotics/
http://m.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/what-makes-organic-chicken-organic

Food for thought:

Every bit matters ( source: unknown).

Quinoa Black-Bean Salad.

A year ago, I decided to make some lifestyle changes towards better health and healthy living. As part of this, I decided to avoid gluten.One of the gluten- free grains I came across was the protein-rich quinoa. Quinoa was all the rage then. It has come a long way from being in health food stores into mainstream grocery stores. It is a superfood with several health benefits. I did not know what to do with it. I have a colleague of mine who has food sensitivity and uses quinoa as a rice substitute. She gave me some quinoa to try out and I  could not do it. I love my rice! I decided to make upma with it just by substituting the sooji( semolina) for quinoa. It turned out horrible!  She then gave me some quinoa- black bean salad one day for lunch & I loved it! I decided to again try making quinoa again ( especially since I had a 5lbs bag of it!). The quinoa black-bean salad was a great hit ! It has been liked and devoured every single time I made it! Of course I have tweaked her recipe a little!This is for you Lyra.Here is my recipe:

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

Quinoa : 1 cup
Water: 2 cups
Black beans: 1 8oz can
Corn kernels: 1 8oz can
Spring onions( scallions): 1 small bunch, finely chopped.
Red/white onion: 1 small, finely chopped.
Bell pepper green( capsicum): 1 small, diced.
Orange/red/yellow bell pepper: 1 small,diced.
Cucumber: 1small, diced.
Tomato: 1 small, deseeded and diced ( optional).
Dried cranberries: 2 tbsp( optional)
Coarsely chopped walnuts: 2 tbsp( optional)
Feta cheese: 6oz, crumbled.
Olive oil ( preferably) extra virgin:3 tbsp.
Lemon juice: from 1 whole lemon.
Pepper powder ( preferably freshly ground): 1tsp
Salt to taste.

Method:

Boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan with 1/4 tsp salt. When the water comes to boil, add quinoa, cover the pot. Reduce the flame to low and let it cook for 15 mins. Once cooked, let it cool down completely to room temperature.

In the mean time, rinse thoroughly and drain the canned black-beans & corn. While that is draining, chop the vegetables.

Take a large salad bowl,add all the chopped vegetables, black-beans, corn, feta cheese, cranberries, walnuts, cooled quinoa,cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Mix well. Keep in the refrigerator until it is served.

Serve chilled. You can garnish with sprigs of cilantro.

Cooking made easy:

• This salad is very versatile and can be made with pretty much anything that you have in your pantry & fridge.
• You can add all colored peppers or just the ones of your choice. You can skip it altogether if you don't like them.
• Instead of black-beans, you can use red kidney beans or pinto beans. You can also add either of them in addition to the black-beans.
• You can substitute fresh corn for canned corn kernels.
• Queso de fresco or cottage cheese can be used instead of feta cheese.
• You can cook the quinoa ahead of time ( like the previous night) and put it in the refrigerator.

Tip for healthy living:

You must have heard of several celebrities being on a gluten-free diet. Is it a FAD? May-be. But gluten has been known to be the cause of several health issues like joint pain, fatigue, bloating to name a few. Gluten is the root cause of Celiac disease.Should you go on a gluten- free diet? Not necessarily. These health issues are present in those who are gluten- intolerant (like those with celiac disease )and those who are gluten- sensitive. This is the population who experience issues like fatigue, bloating & joint pain. So what exactly is gluten? Where is it present? It is a protein component present in wheat, rye and barley.Gluten is what gives these foods their stickiness/elasticity. To learn more go here.Even though there are only 3 kinds of grains that contain gluten, avoiding gluten means avoiding a whole array of foods that are fattening. Examples include pasta, bread, pastries, cakes, donuts, cookies, crackers, so on and so forth. This automatically makes you choose more healthier foods like fruits, vegetables and grains like quinoa, oats & millet. When you eat healthy you will not gain weight.I think celebrities predominantly go on a gluten- free diet as one of the ways to keep their weight under control.

Food for thought:

Failure is the stepping stone for success ( Source:unknown).

Poddale ( snake gourd) upkari/ toran ( stir fry).

Poddale ( snake gourd) upkari/ toran ( stir fry).

My in-laws are simple, down-to-earth people. They are vegetarians. In India, being a vegetarian means they do eat vegetables and dairy. They do not eat anything that has eggs in it. Of course, vegetarians in India don't eat fish, chicken or any meat. Coming back to my in- laws,they have always inculcated a healthy lifestyle.One of the common vegetable that my mother-in-law makes is poddale ( snake gourd) upkari or stir- fry. She states that this is one of my father-in-laws favorite vegetables!

Poddale aka snake gourd has different names in different parts of India. It is known as paddavalakai in Kannada, padval in Marathi and so on. You can find more here http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichosanthes_cucumerina
This is one of the vegetables that is gentle on the digestive system and can be safely eaten when one is sick or is on any kind of elimination diet. It also is known to have several medicinal values.

The stir fry is easy and quick to make and requires very few ingredients. This is one of my favorites for weeknight dinners.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Poddale ( snake gourd) :2 medium sized.
Mustard: 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds ( jeera): 1/4 tsp
Green chillies: 1-2 (as per your spice level) ( I use one when I am making it for my little ones).
Coconut oil: 1 tsp. ( you can use any cooking oil of your preference, I use coconut oil in mine).
Jaggery(molasses)/ sugar:1 tsp
Salt to taste.
Fresh grated coconut: 1 tbsp ( optional).

Method:

Cut the snake gourd (poddale)lengthwise twice. Remove the seeds inside and keep aside.Then slice thinly horizontally so that you have 2 cms long thin slices and keep aside. Slit the green chillies and keep aside.

Heat a saut� pan/ wok on medium heat,add 1 tsp coconut oil. Now add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the cumin seeds, then the slit green chillies. Now add the sliced poddale ( snake gourd)& saut�.Add a little bit of salt and 1tsp sugar. Reduce the flame to low, cover the pan and cook until the vegetable is soft enough to eat. Generally takes about 15 minutes.

Garnish with freshly grated coconut. Serve with rice & rasam or dal.

Cooking made easy :

Vegetables in the US tend to have higher water content and hence do not require additional water to be added while cooking. But if you find the pan getting too hot or you are in danger of burning the vegetable
then you can sprinkle some water and let it cook to your desired level of softness. It should not be mushy.

Tip for healthy living:

How does one determine how many calories a person needs? This energy requirement is dependent on one's height, weight, age and activity level. As part of the online nutrition and health course I am currently undertaking on Coursera, I came across this wonderful website  https://www.supertracker.usda.gov that helps you determine your calorie needs and help track your food and activity levels. It can also analyse your food and tell whether you meet your daily nutritional requirements.

Food for thought:

Treat others the way you would be like to be treated.

Pineapple dosa( pineapple rice-lentil pancake)

When it comes to cooking, my mother is very innovative. She can cook with anything! One of her creative recipes is Pineapple dosa. Apparently, one day she had some leftover pineapple slices that were a little too ripe for her to eat. She decided to use it in her dosa. Here's the recipe for pineapple dosa!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Rice: 3 cups

Urad dal: 1/2 cup

Beaten rice( poha):1/2 cup

Methi( fenugreek seeds): 1 tbsp

Pineapple pieces : 1 cup

Salt to taste.

Oil for the tawa( skillet).

 Method:

Soak rice, urad dal & methi together at least 2-3 hours(or overnight). 

Now grind it to a fine batter in the blender. 

Add pineapple pieces to it once the rice is ground finely & blend.

Soak poha( beaten rice) for 10 mins ( just before you begin grinding the batter )and blend it with the rest of the batter in the blender. 

Allow it to ferment overnight ( at least 6-8 hours). The batter should be slightly thick as in fermentation it tends to get a little thin.

Add salt  to the batter when you are ready to make the dosa. 

Heat the skillet to medium hot, take a ladleful of batter and pour it on the skillet ( just like you would do while making pancake). Cover with a lid, reduce the flame until you here a sizzling sound. Open the lid and see if you see any wet patches. If not, the dosa is done!

You can eat these soft fluffy dosas with wet or dry chutney of your choice!

Cooking made easy:

• Make sure that the flame is low or else the underside of the dosa will burn.
• I soak the rice & dal in the morning  before I go to work and grind it in the evening when I come back.
• The above quantity is enough for 2 breakfasts. I save the leftover batter in the fridge. It stays fresh for up to 1 week.
• If you live in a cold country, you will have to ferment your batter longer. During winter, I grind my batter on Thursday night and leave it in the oven( with the oven switched off) to be used on Saturday morning for breakfast. You must check periodically to see if the batter has risen.If it has, then it means that it has fermented sufficiently.
• If you don't have the time to let it ferment, you can add a pinch of baking soda to the batter 15 mins before making them.

Tip for Healthy Living:

Why does one put on weight? There is a simple equation to it. Weight gain is the direct result of the imbalance between calorie intake and calorie output.

Calorie Intake = Calorie output = No weight gain

Calorie Intake > Calorie output= Weight gain.

Food we eat constitutes calorie intake, while the physical activity constitutes calorie output.As long as one balances the food intake and the physical activity, one will not gain weight.

Food for Thought:

There is always something to learn from everyone we come across in our lives as long as we keep the windows of our mind open...