Jowar Idlis | Idlis with Urad dal and Jowar flour

September 21, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

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Had been wanting to add this recipe on the blog since long and so glad I am finally writing this today. As mentioned in my last couple of blogs, my daughter’s school has started. So after sending her in the morning and finishing breakfast for the rest of us, I get some free time to do what I love to do. ❤️

So I have been making some fun reels on Instagram combining my kids’ videos and pictures with my favorite songs in the background. Love how they come out. ❤️ You can check them in my Insta handle @healthycookingwithmitha if you want. Some cute memories from my life. 😍

After my daughter comes in the afternoon, I get busy with feeding her, helping her with her homework and also taking tuitions for a boy who comes for an hour every evening. Love teaching the boy and I am learning so much new from the current syllabus too. Post that follows my outdoor walks and playtime with the kids which refreshes me a lot. Early dinner and a good 8 hours sleep too which gives the required rest to my body. This is how my day passes nowadays and enjoying it a lot. ❤️

Coming back from my life to these idlis 😀, after Ragi flour, Jowar flour has been accepted well by my kids and these idlis are what I make regularly for them. They turn out super soft, really tasty and are very nutritious as well. Hope you all try and love it. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes about 20 idlis }

1 Cup Urad dal ( I use split ones )

2 Cups Jowar flour/ Sorghum flour

About 1 Cup water to make the batter

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

1. Soak 1 Cup Urad dal in enough water for about 4 hours. Drain the soaked water and grind using fresh water to a smooth paste. Add as little water as possible while grinding. Pour into a large preferably steel vessel.

2. Now add 2 Cups Jowar flour into the batter.

3. Now add about 1 Cup water and make a thick batter free from lumps. The amount of water to add depends on the consistency of the Urad dal batter. I make a very thick Urad batter. So it takes me 1 Cup water to bring the batter to thick consistency. Add salt, mix well with hands and keep aside covered for fermentation for atleast 8 hours.

4. After fermentation, pour the batter into greased idli moulds.

5. Steam for 20 mins or till a knife inserted in the center of the idli comes clear.

6. Serve hot with a chutney of your choice.

Notes:

* I make a simple ginger chutney with these idlis. Grind about 1 Cup Coconut with 3 green chillies, a small piece of ginger, a tsp of tamarind paste, salt and water to a smooth paste. Season mustard seeds and curry leaves in coconut oil and pour over the chutney. Mix well.

* The ratio of Urad to Jowar flour is perfect for me as I grind in mixie. For those of who grind in grinder, you may need a little bit more of the Jowar flour as in grinder, the Urad batter is more.

* An important tip while making these idlis is to NOT add much water both while grinding the Urad dal and also while mixing the Jowar flour. Add water to make a thick batter, thicker than dosa batter. If made a thin batter, the idlis don’t come out as fluffy but you can still make dosas from it.

* This batter can also be used to make dosas.

* I also make Jowar flour dosas. You can check the recipe here – Jowar flour dosas.

* These bhakris from Jowar flour also come out very tasty – Jowar Vegetable Bhakri

* For all Millet recipes – MILLET RECIPES

* For all Idli recipes – VARIETY IDLI RECIPES

Healthy Meal Ideas

Healthy meal ideas – 1 | Snake gourd upkari, Broccoli fry, Carrot Kismuri

September 13, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

There was a time when I used to make only one or two curries for our meals. But since few months, I have been making atleast 3 to 4 curries because my son is a huge fan of vegetables (touchwood 🤞). He loves seeing different colours on his plate and enjoys eating them too. 😍

Here is him holding his share of all three curries as soon as I make them. He eats them as it is at first even without rice. 😀

He’s only three years old and I hope this love for vegetables lasts always. In this plate, my daughter’s favorite is the broccoli stir fry. When I make it, she eats her matta rice gruel only with broccoli. It is super easy to make but tastes really delicious. ❤️

The rest two curries are simple Konkani style accompaniments which are also very healthy. Will share the recipes below. We eat these curries with matta rice gruel but if you make normal rice, you can add a rasam/ dal/ sambar to the meal. Makes for a wholesome, healthy and yummy meal. ❤️

Hope you all like this idea of mine to share healthy meal plans. I know how difficult it is to decide for meals each day and my aim is to make it easier for all of you. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPES –

Snake gourd Upkari | Poddale Upkari

1. Soak about 2 Tbsp of Chana dal in water for about 20 mins or till needed.

2. Scrape the skin of the snake gourd, remove core and finely chop the snake gourd. Keep aside.

3. Heat 1 Tbsp coconut oil in a pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, a sprig of curry leaves and a pinch of hing. Allow mustard seeds to splutter.

4. Add 3 finely chopped green chillies and soaked Chana dal along with chopped snake gourd and salt. Mix well. Cover and cook on medium flame till the snake gourd turns soft. Add very little water only if needed.

5. Garnish with freshly grated coconut. Mix well and remove from flame.

You can check the recipe for Snake gourd spicy dosa which I make with the core of the snake gourd.

Broccoli fry

1. For Broccoli stir fry, take bite size broccoli florets in a bowl and wash it well. Drain and keep it ready.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add the broccoli florets. Also add salt and pepper. Fry on high flame for few seconds. Cover and cook on medium flame till the florets turn soft. Sprinkle water only if needed. You are done!

You can also check the recipe of Vegetable Paneer Chilly where I add Broccoli too and my kids love it a lot.

Carrot Kismuri

You can check the recipe for Carrot Kismuri here – Carrot Kismuri recipe

Salads

Healthy Coleslaw | Purple cabbage salad recipe

September 5, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

It’s been more than two months that I have blogged a new recipe (Too long a break, I know!😀). But sometimes you just want to get away from the same schedule of life and do something different. For me, in these two months, I enjoyed a lot with my kids. I made reels with them with funny Instagram filters (did not post them but made it just for fun.. their smiles on seeing them as Tigers and Donkeys were super cute 😍😍), played football with my son, did a lot of drawing and colouring with my daughter, danced like crazy everyday with both the kids and cooked whatever they wished for. ❤️

Since it was my daughter’s vacation, I made it my vacation as well 😅. Had a fun couple of months sleeping till late in the morning and watching my favorite songs on repeat. ❤️

So now that her classes have started with alternate weeks of online and physical classes, I said enough of my break and restarted blogging. What’s better to start than this salad which both my kids love a lot. ❤️

Purple cabbage has this unique flavour and crunch which tastes so good when made as a salad. Usually coleslaw recipes use Mayonnaise but I have substituted it with yogurt to make it vegetarian and of course healthy. Hope you all try and enjoy it. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

Special thanks to those who missed me and pinged me to ask why am I not blogging. It was so nice of you all and I appreciate it with all my heart. Loads of love. ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Purple cabbage, finely chopped

1/2 Cup regular cabbage, finely chopped

1/2 Cup Carrots, peeled and grated

1/2 Cup Capsicum, finely chopped

2 Tbsp thick yogurt (or hung curd)

1 tsp Vinegar (or lemon juice)

Pepper powder to taste

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

1. Take the finely chopped cabbages, Capsicum and grated carrots in a mixing bowl.

2. Now add thick yogurt, salt, pepper powder and vinegar. Mix well.

3. You are done. Serve immediately or chilled as it is or as an accompaniment with rice.

Notes:

* You can also add onions, lettuce or coloured capsicum if you want but I make this way.

* This salad is best consumed the same day when made as when kept in refrigerator and consumed next day makes it taste slightly bitter due to the purple cabbage.

* Make sure to use thick yogurt. If your yogurt or curd is thin, sieve it to remove water content and add to the salad.

* Pepper powder and vinegar are to taste. You can add as much or as less as you desire.

* This salad acts as an excellent sandwich filling. My kids love it a lot. ❤️ I add a little more yogurt to it, a little ketchup and fill in sandwiches.

* You can check : All my Salad recipes

Dosa corner

Barley Urad dosa – No Rice dosa

July 1, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 2 Comments

I know this dosa might be new for most of you. Don’t worry, it’s the same with me too. 😄 Never knew dosas could be made with Barley. I usually make this Barley Carrot soup and Salad but dosa idea never dawned upon me (which is quite a surprise in itself as I see dosa in every grain, every lentil that I see 😂😂 Talk about Dosa Pyaar 😍).

Few months back, as I was organizing my pantry shelves (which is my favorite timepass when I have extra time after my chores and my kids are playing on their own = Rare blue moon occasions 😅), I found this little packet of Barley lying in the corner of the cupboard smiling at me, as if happy to be found. 😍 As I was about to soak it to make salad and soup, I remembered I had to soak for dosa batter too. A quick Google search and next day, Barley dosas were born in my kitchen for the first time. 😍

These dosas come out so tasty and you can never say it has Barley in it. If you are looking to include this healthy grain in your diet, dosa is the best way. My kids love it so much that they have more dosas than usual when I make them. ❤️

Hope you all try it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes about 10 dosas }

1 Cup Urad dal (I use split ones)

1/2 Cup Barley

1/2 tsp Methi seeds

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

1. Take Urad dal, Barley and Methi seeds in a large bowl.

2. Wash it well and soak in enough water for atleast 2 to 4 hours. Now drain the water and add to a mixer jar.

3. Add salt and little water. Grind to a smooth paste. Pour into a large vessel.

4. Keep covered at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.

5. Heat dosa pan and pour a ladle of dosa batter over it. Spread using the back of the ladle like regular dosas. Cook till the surface cooks. Add ghee or oil. You can either cook only one side or flip and cook both sides.

6. Remove and serve hot with a chutney of your choice.

Notes:

* I served it with Sambarpalli leaves Chutney. Makes a great combination with this dosa.

* Barley dosa made this way comes out very soft. You can cook both sides to make it crispy.

* Barley is very good for health, mainly for intestines and is rich in vitamins. Here is the Barley Salad and Soup recipe that I make with Barley.

* You can check all my “no rice” dosas here – “No Rice” dosa recipes compilation

Chutneys, Konkani Recipes

Sambarpalli Chutney | Panikoorka/ Doddapatre chutney – version 2

June 30, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

Sambarpalli leaves are also known as Panikoorka in Malayalam, Doddapatre in Kannada, Ajwain Patta in Hindi and Indian Borage in English. They are very good for digestion and also to cure common cold.

It’s amazing how good music can change your mood completely. This morning as I woke up, checked my YouTube subscriptions and saw that T series has released something called a mixtape which is a combination of two beautiful songs. Today’s was a mix of Tera Chehra and Jaan Meri, both of which are soothing songs, the mixtape sung beautifully by Jubin Nautiyal and Tulsi Kumar. It gave a wonderful start to my day and I loved it so much that I listened to it on repeat. ❤️

So since I am in a pleasant mood, I decided to utilize it to blog a new recipe (Make hay while the sun shines 😀). This chutney might look like a simple recipe but it’s a very special one. Not only does it taste super delicious, is healthy, made from our home grown leaves and importantly learnt from one among my favorite people, Mamta mai. ❤️

Me and her are so similar in many many ways that she calls us as twins with 25 years difference 😂😂. We met each other through food groups, then realized we are related distantly and now we bond just like two long lost siblings and gel along like best friends. 😍 It’s super sweet how she cares for me and her love is very precious for me. ❤️

So when she shared this recipe of Sambarpalli chutney, I had to try it as we have loads of these leaves in our backyard, all thanks to my husband’s gardening skills. For him, plants are his love and passion in midst of his hectic work life, something which makes him very happy. Here is the sambarpalli bush which came in as a small plant but look at how well it has grown. 😍

So, here’s sharing the recipe of this chutney made from homegrown leaves. A very healthy yet delicious chutney. Hope you all try and love it. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

Thank you so much Mamta mai for this recipe. ❤️🙏

RECIPE:

Recipe Credit : Mrs Mamta Shenoy

Ingredients:

About 8 to 10 Sambarpalli leaves

1 tsp Oil

1 tsp Jeera/ Cumin seeds

3 to 4 Green chillies

4 Garlic pods

3/4 Cup Coconut

1 tsp Tamarind paste

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Fry for few seconds. Add green chillies and garlic. Fry till garlic turns slightly brown in colour. Add sambarpalli leaves and fry till it wilts.

2. Allow it to cool. Then add it to a mixer jar along with coconut, tamarind and salt.

3. Add little water as needed and grind to a smooth paste. Serve as a rice accompaniment or with idlis or dosas.

Notes:

* You can another version of chutney with these leaves here – Sambarpalli leaves Chutney . This version is without garlic.

* The leaves I have taken are tender, small ones. If the leaves in your plant are large ones, 5 to 6 will suffice for the amount of coconut mentioned.

* These leaves are very healthy and I use them in two ways apart from making chutney:::

1. I put couple of leaves in a vessel along with water. Heat it and take steam inhalation when even having the slightest of cold symptoms.

2. Heat the leaves in a pan as shown in the first picture. Then when it starts oozing water, remove it and crush it using mortar and pestle. Sieve the juice and mix honey (for kids above one year old) . Give as medicine for kids and adults when suffering from cold or stomach ache. Works very well. Take about 6 to 8 small leaves for one dose.

Hope these home remedies are helpful to you too. These leaves are really magic!

Idli Stand

Split Green moong – Urad dal idli | No Rice Idli

June 21, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 2 Comments

Summer vacations are about to begin here and this is the last week of online classes for my daughter. Many people we know are travelling to India and even though I am happy for them, it is making me homesick. Sometimes no matter how much you explain to your mind and heart, it fails to listen. Missing people you love is the worst kind of heartache which does not go away until you meet them.

My Amma has been telling me how safe I am here and I truly accept that. But on days when I am down, all I want is to go to Amma, sleep on her lap and just listen to her talk. That’s the most comfortable place on Earth and I really miss it. ❤️

With all this going on, blogging was the last thing on my mind, but today morning I had a heart to heart talk with my best friend, Sunanda who suggested me to focus on the blog for some relief. Talking to her really brought peace in me and I decided to think only about positives as much as possible. Really blessed to have her in my life, who is with me in all my ups and downs in life since many years. As is said, you don’t need the whole world, just handful of friends who support and love you is more than enough. ❤️

After this emotional talk, here’s sharing my kids’ “green idlis”. 😀 For them, Mallige Idli is “white idli” , Ragi Idli is “chocolate idli”, Pumpkin idli is “yellow idli” and so on.. so these are their green idlis as it’s made of green moong even though it’s a mix of green and brown in colour. The idlis come out soft and delicious with the flavour of moong in it. Do try for a change and I am sure you will like it. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { 13 idlis and about 6 dosas }

1 Cup Split green gram / green moong dal with skin

1/2 Cup Split Urad dal

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

1. Take Urad dal and Moong dal separately in two vessels.

2. Wash atleast couple of times till water turns clear. Now soak in enough water for atleast 2 to 4 hours. Look at how much moong gets increased in size on soaking.

3. Now, first grind Urad dal with little water to a smooth paste. Pour in a vessel.

4. Now grind moong dal with little water to a smooth paste. Pour into the same bowl as Urad dal paste. Mix well adding salt.

5. Ferment overnight or for atleast 6 hours. Look at how well the batter ferments.

6. Mix well and add into greased idli moulds.

7. Steam in idli steamer for about 20 mins till a knife inserted in the center of the idli comes out clear.

8. Allow it to cool slightly. Remove and serve with a chutney of your choice.

Notes:

* I have served them with my Amma’s style Tomato chutney and it makes a great combination.

* Dosas from this batter comes out very crispy. Here is the picture.

* You can also make these idlis with regular yellow moong dal like I make these Urad Moong dal idlis.

* I also make whole moong idlis. You can check the recipe here – Whole moong idlis.

* You can check all my idli recipes here – Idli recipes.

* My last blog was with split green moong too – Split Moong Curry

Curry house

Split Moong curry | Easy side dish for chapatis

June 17, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

Usually I decide the lunch menu the previous night itself. When I put my kids to sleep, before falling asleep myself, I quickly think of what vegetables are in the fridge, what pulses can I soak and what I could make such that it caters to the liking of all of them (Motherhood diaries and I am sure it‘s a kahaani ghar ghar ki 😅).

But since few days, me and the kids have been doing a dancing session in the evening where we put on Bollywood songs, dance however we want to, without the care in the world. 😂 Even though I am a big zero at dancing 😁, my daughter teaches me few steps and I am learning atleast basic dancing from her. 😀 For me, it’s a form of workout and apart from my favorite walking, this dance session uplifts my mood so much. 😍

My favorite song to dance is “Tum hi ho bandhu” from cocktail movie in which this line is my favorite, “Jag mujhpe lagaye pabandi, main hoon hi nahi is duniya ki.” That’s what I have thought of myself too. Over the years, trying to fit everywhere, I now realize there’s nothing wrong in being different. We are all unique and that’s what makes us special. ❤️ Also, there is truly something magical when you dance for yourself with no one to see you (no adult, to be precise 😄), that I realize now, all thanks to my 6 year old daughter. ❤️

So after all that dancing, I fall asleep even before the kids now 😂 and that leaves me no time to think about the lunch menu. That’s when this instant split moong curry comes handy. When vegetables are less, when you feel like having whole moong curry but have forgotten to soak it or merely if you are in no mood to make something elaborate, this split moong curry becomes a best friend. 😍

The curry tastes really delicious with chapatis and rice equally, is very filling and healthy too. I make this regularly and is loved a lot by my family. Hope you all try and like it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup split green moong dal (with skin)

1/4 Cup split yellow moong dal (skinned)

1 tsp Ghee + 1 tsp Oil

1 tsp Cumin seeds/ Jeera

3 to 4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 inch Ginger, finely chopped

3 Green chillies, finely chopped

1 medium sized Onion, finely chopped

1 medium sized Tomato, finely chopped

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Cumin powder

1 tsp Garam masala powder

1 tsp Red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp Lemon juice, for garnish

2 Tbsp Finely chopped Coriander leaves, for garnish

Step by step recipe:

1. Take 3/4 Cup split green moong dal and 1/4 Cup split yellow Moong dal in a bowl. Wash twice and soak till use. (You can make the curry even without soaking but soaking atleast for 15 mins helps it to cook quickly.)

2. Take ghee + oil (or only oil) in a pan. Add cumin seeds and allow it to change colour. Add finely chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies. Fry till garlic turns brown in colour. Add onions and fry till onions turn translucent.

3. Now add tomatoes and fry till tomatoes turn mushy. Now add turmeric powder, cumin powder, Garam masala powder and red chilli powder.

4. Mix well frying for few seconds. Now drain water from the soaking dal and add to the pan.

5. Add water and salt. Mix well. Bring to a boil.

6. Cover and cook till the moong turns soft and water gets absorbed completely.

7. Now drizzle lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. Mix well. Serve hot with chapatis or rice.

Notes:

* You can make the same curry with overnight ( or atleast for 6 hours) soak whole green gram or even sprouted green gram. I make with split ones when I forget to soak, yet feel like eating this curry.

* Combining both split green moong dal and split yellow moong dal makes it tastier.

* Skip onion and garlic for a satwik version of the curry. I do so on fasting days and it still tastes delicious.

* You can cook till the moong dal turn mushy or till it’s just done. Also you can make the curry dry or keep a little liquid in the gravy. Depends on your taste.

* I usually make this curry with chapatis but it tastes delicious with rice meals too.

* You can also try this:

# Amma’s style moong curry.

# Sprouted Moong Methi sukhe

# Muga Dali Usli

Desserts

Mango Coconut Ladoos | Healthy version without condensed milk

June 13, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha Leave a comment

Don’t the ladoos look pretty? I loved how this picture came out. 😍 Even though I have been making these ladoos since some time now, the cashew bits idea came while presenting them for the blog and they looked so cute that I felt so happy. ❤️

I have a Microwave Mango Coconut ladoos recipe on the blog which many of my readers have tried but the recipe is with condensed milk which they wanted to avoid and I got requests for alternatives. So, I started experimenting and substituted condensed milk with cashew paste. And it worked very well. 😍

The ladoos come out very soft yet melt in the mouth delicious. I still remember the first time that I made it, I shared it with my neighbor Trinita and she showered me with so many wonderful words saying it tasted really delicious. Happiness is sharing, everything tastes much more yummier once you have shared it with your loved ones! ❤️

**Wish I could share with all of you too** 😍

Similar is with my daughter. She can’t colour alone and needs me (only me, mind you! Mr daddy is invisible to her 😅😁) to colour along with her. I guess sharing the colouring page and pencils make it much more pleasurable an activity. So, we both colour together listening to our favorite songs. Her current favorite is “Mere Sohneya” from Kabir Singh movie. Listening with her, I too love the song now (super cute music and lyrics ❤️) which is coming very close to “Tujhe kitna chahne lage” which has been my most favorite from the movie. How kids change our song choices too! 😍

On the note, sharing this sweet recipe made from my favorite Mango. Hope you all try and love it. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { About 15 small ladoos }

2 Cups Freshly grated/ Desiccated Coconut

1 Cup thick Mango Pulp (fresh/canned)

1/2 Cup Cashews

1/4 Cup Milk

1/4 Cup Jaggery powder

1 Tbsp Ghee

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

Step by step recipe:

1. Grind 1/2 Cup Cashews with 1/4 Cup Milk to a smooth paste.

2. In a pan, add 2 Cups desiccated Coconut, 1 Cup Mango pulp, 1/4 Cup Jaggery powder along with cashew paste.

3. Now mix everything well into an even mixture.

4. Keep this pan on medium flame and cook till moisture evaporates and the mixture turns dry. Takes about 10 mins depending on the moisture content of the mango pulp. Now add ghee.

5. Remove from pan and allow to cool. Add cardamom powder and mix well.

6. When it cools, using your palms form ladoos. It will be very soft and you can make ladoos easily. If the mixture sticks to the palm, apply ghee on your palms while making ladoos.

7. Repeat the same with the rest of the ladoos. Garnish with bits of cashews for it to look pretty. 😍

Notes:

* If using freshly grated Coconut, dry roast in a pan first to remove the moisture and then mix in mango pulp, jaggery and cashew paste like in step 2. Do not brown the coconut though. Just light toasting will do.

* You can use both fresh or store bought mango pulp during off season. If using fresh pulp, do not grind using water. Just slice mangoes and grind the mixer without water for a thick pulp.

* During off season, I use Mother’s recipe brand of Alphonso mango pulp. It works really well for this recipe.

* You can skip jaggery if the mangoes are very sweet. You can taste the mixture slightly and then add jaggery only if needed.

* You can use grated Jaggery in place of jaggery powder as anyhow it will melt when we cook it.

* For a Vegan version, you can skip milk and grind cashews with equal amount of water. Also you can skip ghee and use any neutral flavoured oil while greasing your palms while forming ladoos.

* Cook the mixture really well such that the moisture evaporates. Else it will be difficult to form ladoos is the mixture is sticky. But don’t cook a lot that mangoes lose flavour. It took me about 10 mins on medium flame in my cooktop.

* These ladoos are not like regular ladoos and very soft but tastes delicious.

* If you have difficulty forming ladoos even after applying ghee on your palms, then refrigerate the mixture for an hour or so. You can form ladoos easily after that.

* After a day, refrigerate the ladoos in a moisture free container.

* You can also check out these recipes:

# Microwave Mango Coconut ladoos

# Coconut Burfis

# Dry fruit Coconut Ladoos

# All Mango recipes list

# Easy, healthy sweet recipes ready in 15 mins compilation

Salads

Mixed Vegetable Salad | Simple salad recipe

June 7, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

This salad recipe is so simple that I thought twice before adding on the blog wondering if anyone would actually even look at this recipe. But then I thought, even if one person benefits by it, then the blog is worth it. So here is sharing the easiest salad recipe ever and definitely very healthy too since it has so many vegetables in it. ❤️

My kids are huge fan of this salad and this whole bowl that you can see above is finished mostly by them only. They enjoy it as it is and then add puffed rice or Bhel to it, calling it “Charmbure Upkari” or Bhel Puri in Konkani. Whatever they call it, I am very happy that all these vegetables go into their tummy without a fuss. ❤️

When I was a child, my grandmother used to make a simple salad with just tomatoes, onions, green chillies and coriander leaves. After a while of making it, it would leave water due to salt in it and I used to love to slurp that water. 😍 Now my son is the same. The water left by the salad is reserved only for him and he enjoys drinking it. Like mother, like son. ❤️❤️

Today, I also want to share a glimpse of my mother’s window which is her view of the outside world. Suffering from muscular dystrophy in her legs, she’s mostly sitting on her bed and this window is her best friend which offers her beautiful views of mother nature, the gleaming sky, different varieties of birds and butterflies, also of cows grazing. This picture was clicked by Amma today. Isn’t it beautiful! ❤️

Also, here is a picture of a pigeon, one among the many who come to visit Amma. How sweet is that! 😍

During my vacations, I used to lie on this bed, chatting with Amma while looking outside at nature, enjoying the beautiful scenery. Major missing since close to two years now. But really happy that Amma has this window as her friend, which makes her feel close to nature, even from within her room. That’s so blissful! ❤️

On this note, here’s sharing the recipe with all of you. Hope you all try it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

2 English Cucumbers (about 2 cups chopped Cucumbers)

1 medium sized Carrot (1 Cup grated Carrot)

1/2 Cup grated Cabbage

1/4 Cup finely chopped Capsicum

3 Lettuce leaves, chopped into small pieces

1 medium sized Onion

1 medium sized Tomato

3 Tbsp finely chopped Coriander leaves

2 Indian lemon or to taste

1/4 tsp Cumin powder

Salt to taste (I use rock salt/ kaala namak)

Step by step recipe:

1. Get all the veggies for the salad ready. I love to keep everything set at first so that I don’t forget any of the Vegetable and also love how colourful it looks. 😍

2. First chop the cucumbers into small pieces and add to a large mixing bowl. Then peel and grate carrots, finely chop cabbage, capsicum, onion and tomato. Make small pieces of lettuce and add to the bowl too.

3. Now add lemon juice along with salt, cumin powder and coriander leaves. Mix well and serve.

Notes:

* If using Indian cucumbers, it will need peeling and removing the core. Since I used English Cucumbers, I do not peel it.

* You can skip any Vegetable in this if you don’t have. I add as per what I have available.

* You can also add green chillies or pepper powder. I skip both as I make for my small kids.

* This salad acts a good base to make Mixed Vegetable sandwiches. Just take little of this salad and mix either hung Curd or cream cheese along with little tomato ketchup. Mix well and spread between bread slices. Toast on a pan and delicious sandwiches are ready.

* Also you can use this salad to make Mixed Vegetable Bhel Puri. Just take a little of this salad and mix in red chilli powder to taste along with little curd, puffed rice/ Bhel and Bhujiya/ Sev. Add Date Tamarind chutney too if you have.

* These are the other Salads that I make regularly:

# Carrot Kismuri

# Moong dal Kosambari

# Cabbage Kosambari

# Khamang Kakdi

# Mixed Bean Salad

Desserts

Amrakhand | Mango Shrikhand | Easy Mango dessert

June 3, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

This picture of Amrakhand or Mango Shrikhand is making me drool now and I am so sad that it’s already finished off. 😅 Had made it as it is my brother’s birthday today and I wanted to post a sweet recipe on the blog dedicated to him. As my regular readers know, Mango is my most favorite fruit among all and making mango sweets are my favorite pastime during mango season. 😍

This dessert hardly takes any effort (just mixer jar washing 😂) but looks so beautiful (all credits to my fav Mango ❤️) and tastes so delicious that whenever I make it, the kids can’t get enough of it. They call it mango ice cream. 😍

Just received a picture of my brother cutting his birthday cake. He turned 25 years today and this picture amazed me as to how much he has grown from a little baby on my lap to a handsome man. ❤️

He works for IBM, Bangalore but is at home due to the work from home situation now. Grateful to God for that as I am relieved that my parents have company and also he’s much safer in Udupi. This picture also shows my home, Amma’s dream flat amidst nature near Shri Krishna temple, Udupi and makes me miss all of them so much. ❤️

Also sharing a collage of pictures of my journey with my brother from when he was a baby, born 6.5 years after me, to our childhood memories to growing up together. ❤️

Here’s wishing you a very happy birthday dear Madan. Loads of love and blessings on this special day as you turn 25. Dedicating this sweet to you. ❤️ The big heart is me, being your Akka and the small heart is you, my little brother.😍😍

On this note, sharing the recipe with all of you. Hope you all will try this sweet recipe and I am sure you will love it. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes about 3 Cups }

2 Cups Curd / Yogurt

1 Cup thick Mango pulp

1/4 Cup Jaggery (about 3 to 4 spoons)

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

Saffron strands and mango pieces to garnish (optional)

Step by step recipe:

1. Make Hung Curd from the regular curd. It is very easy to make and I have shared all the step by step pictures in this Jaggery Shrikhand post. You can check that.

2. Once hung curd is ready, keep all the other ingredients ready too. In this picture you can see, freshly made hung curd, mango pulp, jaggery powder and cardamom powder.

3. Now add all these ingredients in the mixer jar and blend till the mixture turns smooth and creamy.

4. You are done. Now pour into bowls, garnish with saffron and mango pieces. Serve chilled.

Notes:

* This sweet tastes best with Alphonso mango pulp due to the natural sweetness of the mango.

* You can use fresh or canned mango pulp. When making the mango pulp at home, just blend the mangoes to a thick pulp without adding water. Else the Amrakhand turns watery.

* You can skip jaggery too if the mangoes are very sweet.

* The thicker the yogurt, the quicker you will get hung curd. I hung the curd in a bowl only for two hours and it came out to be a thick hung curd. That’s because the curd or yogurt that we get here is very thick.

* For making hung curd using regular curd, check my Jaggery Shrikhand post.

* You can also add dry fruits to it. I skipped as my kids like it only with mango pieces.

* I have added a lot of mango sweet recipes on the blog. You can check them here – Mango Recipes.

Healthy cooking with Mitha

Jowar Idlis | Idlis with Urad dal and Jowar flour

Healthy meal ideas – 1 | Snake gourd upkari, Broccoli fry, Carrot Kismuri

Healthy Coleslaw | Purple cabbage salad recipe

Barley Urad dosa – No Rice dosa

Sambarpalli Chutney | Panikoorka/ Doddapatre chutney – version 2

Split Green moong – Urad dal idli | No Rice Idli

Split Moong curry | Easy side dish for chapatis

Mango Coconut Ladoos | Healthy version without condensed milk

Mixed Vegetable Salad | Simple salad recipe

Amrakhand | Mango Shrikhand | Easy Mango dessert

Join me in my journey with a foodie husband and hungry kiddos while I make them eat healthy!