Tamde bhajji Upkari ( Red Amarnath leaves /Red Swiss chard Stir fry): fasting food too.

It is interesting how human beings evolve as they grow up. It is also I interesting how our brain dictates everything that we do. Growing up, I used to hate stir-fried greens ( bhajji upkari). Now, everyday I need to eat atleast one serving of some kind of greens! Amazing isn't it?? I have therefore invented several ways to make stir-fries using not only the Indian greens like Amarnath and spinach, I also cook Swiss chard, kale and collards. I have Indianized these western greens! Funnily enough, I love them all! Today I am going to share with you all the simplest of all stir-fries without onion/ garlic. Simple, easy, quick and absolutely delicious! This is a good option for Navrathri fasting too.

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

Red Amarnath leaves or red Swiss chard: washed, and finely chopped.
Coconut oil: 1 tsp ( any cooking oil can be used).
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Dry Red chillies:2-3
Salt: to taste
Brown Sugar: 1/2 tsp

Method:

Heat 1 tsp coconut oil in a frying pan/ wok. Add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add red chilli bits. 

Then add the washed Swiss chard/ red Amarnath leaves, salt and brown sugar. Let it cook on medium flame for 10-15 mins until the Swiss chard/ Amarnath leaves have cooked. 

You can leave the remaining fluid alone or increase the flame and dry it up. 

Garnish with freshly grated coconut.

Serve with rice or roti or can eat it alone!

Cooking made easy:

The best way to clean greens is to soak it in cold water with a spoonful of vinegar for 10-15 mins and then wash it and cook it. Soaking makes all the dirt settle at the bottom of the water.

Tip for healthy living:

Instead of using a myriad of kitchen cleaners to clean your kitchen counter, just use a little bit of  undiluted vinegar.Vinegar is non-toxic, eco-friendly and you can prevent the ill-effects of the chemicals in the cleaners on your family.
References:
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Vinegar-for-Household-Cleaning
http://www.versatilevinegar.org/usesandtips.html

Food for thought:

Nature does nothing in vain. Aristotle

Ghosale Upkari ( Ridge Gourd Stir-Fry).

Ghosale ( Ridge Gourd) is another one of my father-in-law's favorite vegetables. My mother-in-law teases my father-in-law with a small poem that she has made connecting the days of the week and his favorite vegetable to be cooked that day!

Ghosale aka Ridge gourd is also known as Luffa or Chinese okra. It has different names in different parts of India. It is known as Herekayi in Kannada, Adavi Beera in Telugu, Peechinga in Malyalam, Dodka in Marathi and Turai in Northern India and so on. You can find more herehttp://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa
This is another 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 too is one of my favorites for weeknight dinners.

Servings: 4 

Ingredients:

Ghosale ( Ridge 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.
Freshly grated coconut: 1 tbsp ( optional).

Method:

With a paring knife/ peeler,peel the ridges off the Ridge gourd.

Cut the ridge gourd (poddale) lengthwise twice.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 ghosale( ridge gourd) and 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 / bread.

Cooking made easy:

Make sure you cook on low flame as you want the vegetable to cook in it's own juices. Increasing the flame, makes the fluid evaporate quickly thereby increasing the chances of burning your vegetable.

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.

In India, for the above recipe, you can add 1/2 to 1 cup of water as needed. You can also cook it in a pressure pan. If you are doing so, add 3/4 cup of water, cover and let it cook on medium flame with the pressure cooker weight on, until you hear 2 whistles from the cooker. Turn the flame off and weight for the cooker to cook down completely before opening the lid. This is the pressure cooker method for most vegetables to be cooked in India.

Cooking the vegetable in it's own juices also has the advantage that we don't lose much nutrients.

Tip for healthy living:

"Activity, activity, activity ", this is the mantra for healthy living. When you are physically active, you automatically burn calories. This is especially true for the elderly and retired people. When you work you automatically move, walk and get out of the house. Whereas after retirement, most people don't find the necessity to get out of the house. This significantly limits the amount of physical activity. You have to find reasons to get out of the house atleast once a day. Find stuff to do around the house.This will get your joints moving. The more active you are, the better you will be.

Food for thought:

To err is human; to forgive is divine.( Alexander Pope).

Garlic Saut�ed Beets With Leaves.

I have to have some greens everyday.  While I was familiar with the greens available in India , and often cooked it,here availability is a issue as these are only available in Indian grocery stores.During winter,my trips to the Indian store are rather infrequent. This got me on an adventure experimenting with the greens available in the vicinity.We have a  farmer's market nearby which I often frequent and came across fresh beets with its leaves. 

Back home we use the beets alone and throw the leaves. I decided to try and use the leaves. It came out yum. 

Here's the recipe:

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Beets with its leaves: 4 nos
Coconut oil: 1 tbsp
Garlic: 4 cloves, chopped and lightly crushed
Dried Red chillis: 4 nos
Salt to taste

Method:

Soak the beets with leaves in cold water for 5 minutes. This allows the sand / mud settle at the bottom. Separate the leaves and stem from the beets. Now chop the beet leaves and keep aside. Peel the beets,dice them and keep aside.

Heat oil in a saut� pan/ wok on medium heat. Add crushed chopped garlic, saut�  until you smell the aroma of garlic. 

Add red chillies/ chilli pepper flakes.Add the diced beets and the chopped stems, lower the flame, cover and cook for 5 -7 mins. 

Now add the chopped leaves, salt  and cook on low flame until done without covering, approximately for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve hot with rice/ bread/ baked chicken/ baked fish.

Cooking made easy:

The above recipe can also be made with other greens like spinach, broccoli rabe. The only additional ingredient to be added is 1/2 tsp jaggery/sugar. This combats the bitterness of the greens. Beets being naturally sweet, does not require additional sugar/jaggery to be added.

Tip for healthy living:

Beets are great for good health. They are supposed to support anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and detoxification effects in the body.Beet is a liver-protective food and apparently helps reduce blood-pressure.Beet is a favorite part of raw-food diet and beet juice is very popular.
References:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/benefits-beet-juice

Food for thought:

An idle mind is a Devil's workshop.(H.G.Bohn)

Beans Upkari (String Beans Stir-fry)

For some period of my life, I lived with my uncle Nammi mam and Lata aunty. They have a cook whom we fondly call "Namma",who cooks excellent Konkani meals. Anything she makes tastes delicious. She can infuse deliciousness into the simplest of dishes. One of the dishes she made is green beans upkari. The beans are chopped fine and cooked to a crisp finish. They look like bright green emeralds and taste great. Her dish calls for more oil. Being health conscious, mine has little oil and at times I also garnish it with freshly grated coconut. I absolutely love the taste of freshly grated coconut and find reasons to put it in my dishes :).This is a great side-dish for weeknight dinner.Here's the recipe:

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Fresh green beans( string beans) : 1 lb (450 grams). Chopped into 0.5 cms length pieces.
Coconut oil: 1 tbsp( can use 1/2 tbsp for even more healthier version.) ( Any cooking oil can be used, I prefer to cook in coconut/ olive oil).
Mustard seeds: 1/4tsp
Dried Red chillies: 2 nos
Freshly grated coconut: 1 tbsp ( optional)
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat a saut� pan/ wok on medium heat. Add oil and mustard seeds. 

Once they splutter, add the red chillies and the chopped green beans. Add salt. 

Reduce the flame, cover and cook until done, approximately 15 minutes, saut�ing in between.

Note: If cooking in India, you can add 1/2 cup water while cooking. Vegetables in the US tend to have higher water content, hence additional water is not required while cooking. If in India( or you are in a rush),the above dish can be made in a pressure pan. After adding the water, let it come to a boil, now cover the cooker lid, let it cook until you get 2 whistles. Open the cooker lid only after the hissing stops completely.

Garnish with grated coconut( optional)

Serve hot with rice.

Cooking made easy:

The above dish can be made with several other vegetables like potatoes, Chinese potatoes, okra, long beans (alsande) to name a few.It is quick, easy to make and healthy.

Tip for healthy living:

In recent years, there was a huge uproar that coconut, coconut oil should be limited in your diet as it is a saturated fat and would increase the cholesterol in the body and clog your arteries. Many people either switched to "healthy" oils like canola or corn. I have always believed that the way our ancestors lived was a healthier way. They lived closer o nature, and had healthier eating habits. So I wondered could all our previous generations who cooked exclusively in coconut oil be all wrong? In fact, my mother exclusively eats food that has been cooked only in coconut oil . Any other oil upsets her stomach and makes her sick. We now understand that the whole"coconut oil is bad for you" was a myth propagated by the big companies who wanted to promote canola and corn oil industries. In fact canola and corn production is a big industry! Today, health proponents are strongly promoting the use of coconut oil and sing praises of the health benefits of coconut . People are even encouraged to eat dry coconut pulp as a snack! 

Coconut oil apparently has medium chain fatty acids that are healthy and whose breakdown helps the liver burn energy in an efficient manner.It also acts as an anti-oxidant in the body.

References: 
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/surprising-health-benefits-coconut-oil
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/coconut-oil-and-health
http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

Food for thought:

What goes around, comes around.(unknown)

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).

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.