Paneer Butter Masala | No Onion No Garlic easy recipe | Ready within 20 mins

January 25, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 2 Comments

Ideally I should be sleeping now as my kids have finally slept after chattering and more chattering (just like me 😁) but I decided to finish writing this (blog baby calls ❤️). Had planned to give it a break, actually fully from social media as I am someone who needs quiet time to focus inwards (the other side of me 😄) but that went for a toss as I got many beautiful feedbacks from my near and dear ones. So I had to post it and hence was active on my Facebook page (perfect example of how life never goes as per my plans 😬).

But I did listen to a lot of songs on repeat from Sanam and Maadhyam bands (my latest favourites ❤️❤️). The meaningful lyrics, combined with the singers’ soulful voices soothes me so much that I wonder what my life would have been without music. It’s as important as air and water for me (I know I am going overboard but that’s the truth 😁). Don’t know if anyone can understand this but once you fall in love with music, you just fall crazily and there’s no going back. 🎶❤️

That’s why I guess it’s called “falling” in love.. We slowly fall, without our control and by the time we know it, we have already fallen quite deeply into it.. ❤️ (sometimes there’s no way out and you don’t want to come out either 😍) – proof of my craziness 😅

Now coming back to today’s post before I lose my focus in my chatter (night time gives me ample time to think and write 😄), this combination is what I regularly make especially on days when we are fasting and don’t consume onion/garlic. The paneer butter masala comes out so delicious that you can never say it is a Satvik one. I make it only this way now and it can really beat restaurant ones anyday for sure (not exaggerating. Try it to know the magic 😍)

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

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

200 grams Paneer cubes

1 Tbsp Butter or Ghee

1 Bay leaf

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Cumin powder

1 tsp Red chilli powder or to taste

1 tsp Shahi Paneer Masala (I use catch brand) *substitute with any Garam masala powder of your choice

Salt to taste

2 Tbsp Milk

3 Tbsp Coriander leaves to garnish, finely chopped

To grind to paste:

2 to 3 medium sized Ripe Tomatoes

1 inch Ginger piece

2 Cloves

1 Cardamom

Step by step recipe:

1. Grind tomatoes, ginger, cloves and cardamom with about 1/4 Cup water to a smooth paste. Heat butter in a pan and add bay leaf along with the ground paste.

2. Allow it to cook, sauteing in between till the mixture turns thick (takes about 10 mins) and leaves the sides of the pan. Now add all the masala powders and salt.

3. Mix well. Now add milk and bring to a boil. Also add paneer cubes and cook for about 5 mins till paneer turns soft.

**The colour looks orangy due to my kitchen lights and my mobile camera clarity. It comes out as shown in the main picture which was captured in daylight.**

4. Remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves. Mix well. Serve with rotis, rice or pulav.

Notes:

* I serve this with Peas Pulav. For peas pulav, heat 1 Tbsp ghee in a pan. Add bay leaf. Add washed and drained 1 Cup Rice along with about 1/2 Cup frozen peas and salt. Add water and cook till the rice turns soft yet firm. Amount of water depends on the variety of your rice. Garnish with coriander leaves.

* Please use ripe and bright red tomatoes for best results as it really makes a difference in the flavour. You can increase the number of tomatoes to 3 if you want to make more of the gravy.

* Cooking the ground paste very well till the rawness completely goes away is the most important step in this recipe.

* You can also add 1 Tbsp Tomato ketchup to the curry along with the masala powders if you are not particular about “no onion no garlic”. I add when we are not fasting and it adds a wonderful flavour to the curry. ( Some brands of ketchup contains garlic paste.)

* I use Catch Shahi Paneer Masala to make this curry as the flavours are great and it does not contain garlic or onion powders. You can use any powder of your choice though.

* Milk can be substituted with cream for a richer version but add cream after cooking paneer and don’t cook much after adding it.

Dosa corner, Millet recipes

Bajra Moong dal dosa | No rice dosa

January 20, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 6 Comments

Click on the image to save the recipe on Pinterest

As I had mentioned in my last post of Aloo Corn Bharta, my friend Ashwini Kulkarni sends me different healthy recipes that she makes and this dosa was one among them. These don’t contain rice but comes out so crispy that the texture is just like restaurant dosas. And it contains the healthy bajra or pearl millet too with protein rich lentils. So in all, a healthy and tasty breakfast option.

When I posted the Bharta, Ashwini commented on the post which touched me a lot. Would like to share the comment with all of you. She said, ” Thank u so much Mitha. Yes even u r blessing for me. Have made so many of ur recipe which my family eats happily. My mom always says that a lady who feeds everyone happily is a ANNPURNA. U DO it through ur blog and our group. Am sure ur family is blessed to have it. Best wishes and love always.” ❤️

It took me back to my teenage days when I used to be condemned by some of my relatives for not knowing how to cook, not doing household chores while questioning my mother over my upbringing (the saddest part as Amma has cried many times due to it). I have also been condemned for not being beautiful (by their standards) and that I will have a difficult life post marriage. That had let me to not believing in myself and always thought myself as not good looking or even good for nothing (some sad but true memories of my childhood which I can never forget).

And now, when Ashwini compared me to Goddess Annapurna, I felt I could never get a greater compliment. ❤️🙏 I can finally tell that looks don’t matter at all and girls who don’t know how to cook before marriage need not be the same later too. In fact cooking is just a basic skill which can be learnt at any age by anyone. There is no rush for it. And your character is what defines you in life, not your looks.

Just shared my deepest feelings with you all. I am sure all of you must have experienced this in some way or the other and can relate with me. Thanks for reading. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes about 10 dosas }

1/2 Cup whole Bajra (pearl millet)

1/2 Cup Moong dal

1/2 Cup Urad dal

Salt to taste

Ghee or oil to cook the dosa

Step by step recipe:

1. Soak Bajra, moong dal and Urad dal together for about 4 to 5 hours. Drain water and add to the mixer.

2. Add about 1 and 1/2 Cups water along with salt and grind to a smooth paste. Pour into a large vessel preferably steel.

3. Keep for fermentation at room temperature for 8 to 10 hours.

4. For making dosas, heat a dosa pan and pour a ladle full of dosa batter. Spread like you spread regular dosas. Add ghee or oil and cook till the underside turns brown.

5. Remove and serve with a chutney of your choice.

Notes:

* I serve this dosa with coriander leaves chutney. Just grind coconut with coriander leaves, curry leaves, ginger, salt and water to a smooth paste. Season mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil and pour over the ground chutney. Mix well.

You can also check my “No Rice” dosa recipes collection.

Curry house

Aloo Corn Bharta with Milk Chapatis

January 19, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

I have had people tell me that social media friendship is fake and what matters is the friends we make in real life. Might be true for many but I feel finally it ends to the vibe you feel with each individual. Some people talk with so much sweetness that it might seem unreal in the beginning but when you get to know the person, you understand that they are really good natured. (my experience and I have been lucky that way to get to know many nice people. ❤️)

In real life, I talk with everyone (being the chatterbox that I am 😁) and have many friends but if I have to choose my close buddies, they are only two (my college besties ❤️❤️). Apart from that, through social media, I have many friends and some people offer so much love, encouragement and support that I have to call them my angels rather than friends. I sometimes wonder if I really deserve this love and it overwhelms me (not used to hearing praises and having had some self worth issues as a child). But these people keep me going, by motivating me with their kind words. So social media friendship can be anything but fake and gives you a chance to know genuine people too. ❤️

One among them is Ashwini Kulkarni whom I got to know through a food group. She had first tried my Masoor dal dosa and messaged me saying how much her daughter loved it. After that, she messages me whenever she makes the dosa and also sends many healthy recipes for me to try (that has been very helpful for me 🙏).

This Aloo Bhartha is also her recipe which she learnt from Binita Mangaraj but added corn to it making it Aloo Corn Bhartha. I loved the recipe so much that I tried it instantly with soft Milk chapatis (that I recently learnt from Mukherjee Mala). It came out to be such a great combination that we all loved it a lot.

This is one recipe combination that I will be making regularly from on. Huge thanks to Ashwini, Binita and Mukherjee Mala for their recipes. Hope you all try and love it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

4 medium sized Potatoes

1/4 Cup Sweetcorn

1 medium sized Onion

1 medium sized Tomato

2 to 3 Green chillies

1 tsp Red chilli powder

1/2 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp Oil

1 tsp Cumin seeds

3 Tbsp Coriander leaves, finely chopped

Step by step recipe:

1. Pressure cook the potatoes till soft. Allow to cool. Then peel and grate using grater. You can alternatively mash it.

2. In a pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds. When it changes colour, add green chillies and onions. Fry till onions turn translucent.

3. Now add tomatoes and fry till it cooks and turns very soft. Now add Turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and Garam masala powder. Fry for few seconds.

4. Now add the grated potatoes, sweetcorn and salt. Mix well. Add little water and cook for 5 mins on medium flame till sweet corn turns soft. Also add coriander leaves and mix well.

5. Serve hot with rice meals or chapatis/rotis.

Notes:

* I served this with Milk Chapatis. For milk chapatis, just add wheat flour and salt in a bowl. Also add milk and water. Knead to a soft dough and make chapatis as usual. I add about 1/2 Cup milk to 2 Cups flour and add rest water while kneading. Gives really soft chapatis.

* You can mash the potatoes instead of grating but grating gives a good texture to the curry.

* You can make the curry as thick or thin as you like.

* Sweetcorn can be skipped but it gives a good bite to the bharta.

* I used frozen sweet corn which cooks quickly. If your sweet corn variety takes time to cook, boil it separately and add.

Breakfast time, Cakes and Bakes, Snacks

Falafel Flatbread | Vegan, gluten free flatbread recipe| Snack idea for kids

January 16, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 9 Comments

Though I don’t feel proud of myself quite often, just looking at this falafel flatbread is making me swell with pride that this is homemade by me. 😍 And how happy I am to share this with all of you as I know you will feel the same emotion when you bake these cute little breads for your family. ❤️

I am part of many facebook food groups and my news feed is always filled with delicious looking food posts by members of various groups (which I why I don’t browse fb when my son sleeps on me during evenings. Looking at fb makes me hungry and I can’t move 😭😭). Other times when I browse, I keep saving posts which attract me and these breads were one among them. As I checked the recipe, it was super easy. So I was so inspired that I made it the next day itself (for my love for falafel specially falafel wraps from our nearby Freshway cafe. Yum! 😋).

And the kids loved the bread so much that it got over and I hardly got a bite. 😄 So after that, these have become a weekly fare at my house for evening snack as the kids love it a lot (kids food preferences rule here 😅). Also did I mention it’s less job for me too. Just grind everything, spread on a plate, dump into the oven. Done! Easy peasy! 😁

Did you notice how beautiful do they look and I loved how the pictures came out too. Here’s one with the tomato plant in our garden filled with different plants (My husband’s babies, his love, his life 😄).

My orange thread also shows up in most of my pictures. It’s actually a prasad from Hanuman temple in Moodbidri near Udupi. I have been a devotee of Hanumanji since a child and used to wear his pendant until marriage. Whenever I feel scared, worried, lost, I hold the thread and feel he is always with me. I also have made a ritual to listen to Hanuman chalisa daily and also chant the Hanuman stothra with my kids before sleeping so that they don’t have bad dreams.

And *like always😬* I deviated from the main topic but I love sharing bits about my personal life with all of you as I consider all my readers, a part of my extended family. Hope you try this flatbread and if you have any doubts, please message me. It will be pleasure to help! ❤️

RECIPE:

Adapted from: CookwithK

Ingredients: { Makes about 4 regular bread sized flat breads}

1/2 Cup dried white Chickpeas

About 20 sprigs of Parsley leaves

About 10 sprigs of Coriander leaves

1 small sized Onion, roughly chopped

3 to 4 Garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 Green chilly, optional

1/2 tsp Cumin powder

1/4 tsp Pepper powder

1/4 tsp Baking soda

Salt to taste

1/4 Cup + 3 Tbsp Gram flour or Besan

1 Tbsp Oil (I use coconut oil)

Oil for greasing the plate

Step by step recipe:

1. Soak the chickpeas in atleast double the water for 8 to 10 hours. Drain the water.

2. Add the chickpeas along with parsley leaves, coriander leaves, green chilly, onions, garlic, cumin powder, pepper powder, salt and baking soda into a food processor.

3. Grind, pulsing several times till it turns into a coarse grainy mixture. Pour into a bowl. Do NOT add water while grinding.

4. Refrigerate for 30 mins. Then remove and add chickpea flour. Mix well using your hands. It will be a loose mixture and not very firm, but still held together. Also add oil and mix well.

5. Preheat the oven at 200 C for 10 mins. Grease a oven proof plate generously with oil (or use parchment paper). Add this mixture over it and flatten evenly into a thin layer using your fingers as shown.

6. Bake in the center rack of your OTG (or with both rods on or in bake mode of your convectional mode oven) at 200 C for 20 to 25 mins till the edges get brown and the center is not soft, free from raw mixture and cooked well.

7. Now let it cool completely. Cut into squares or rectangles using pizza cutter.

8. While serving, top with cream cheese or hung curd along with pepper powder and add cucumber slices, tomato pieces, parsley leaves and olives. Get creative and garnish as you like!

Notes:

* No need to cook the chickpeas. It is soaked and ground directly with the herbs and spices.

* If you don’t have parsley, substitute with more of coriander leaves.

* I make this even without onion or garlic and it does not make much difference to the texture. So if you don’t eat onion/garlic, you can skip it.

* Be sure to grind the mixture to a coarse mixture and not smooth paste.

* Do NOT add water while grinding.

* It takes me 1/4 Cup + 3 Tbsp Chickpea powder to get the mixture bind perfectly. More chickpea powder might make the flatbread dry. So don’t add more than the mentioned measurement.

* I used coconut oil. You can use any oil that you use.

* Make sure to generously oil the plate so that the flatbread does not stick to it. Or use baking parchment. I always prefer oiling my plate though.

* Don’t keep opening the oven door atleast till 20 mins into the baking time. Mine takes exactly 25 mins to bake perfectly.

* They are dry on the surface but moist and soft inside. Don’t over bake as it can lead it to become hard.

* Topping with cream cheese is our favorite!

* You can also top it with Homemade Hummus or Eggless Mayonnaise. I have shared the recipe on the blog earlier. Garnish with veggies of your choice.

* These flatbread last well at room temperature for couple of days. Mine gets finished off before that by my family.

I have tried to note down as much points as possible so that it’s easy for you all to follow but if you still have any doubts, either comment here or message me on my Facebook page Healthy cooking with mitha or on my Instagram handle and I would be happy to help.

Dosa corner, Millet recipes, Snacks

Jowar Vegetable Bhakri

January 15, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 7 Comments

I have mentioned before that I always believe in following our age old traditional recipes for a healthy lifestyle. So when I found a youtube channel through food groups named NK Food & Lifestyle by Mr Krishnamurthy Setty sharing similar beliefs as mine, I felt happy and subscribed instantly.

I don’t follow many channels just for the sake of it, but only those whom I really feel are worthy enough (I am choosy that way 😄). This channel is in Kannada language showcasing Uttar Karnataka dishes, which makes me even more interested being from the south part of Karnataka. All their recipes are unique, simple and healthy, making me want to try that time itself.

This Jowar Bhakri, which they call as thalipittu was tried following their video, even though I chose to make it as thick ones rather than thin as my kids prefer that way and it’s easier too (for the busy mommy me 😀). My kids, specially my 2 year old son loved it so much that he became a fan of it. Can you believe this has radish too in it which goes into the tummy in a secret way 😁. We all loved it very much. A must try recipe for sure!

On a side note, I read something which made me think a lot (me and my best friend – my thoughts 😅). I was reading about how we should be kind and supportive even to strangers as we don’t know what they must be going through. We all have that facade which we show to the world but inside we might be suffering which is hidden deep inside us. So, as much as possible we must show empathy towards everyone. Have you ever noted how kindness showed by a stranger increases your faith in humanity? And what if you were the person who was kind to someone whom you don’t even know, without expecting anything in return? Doesn’t that make you happy?

That happiness is what I feel while sharing about Mr Krishnamurthy Setty’s youtube channel. He thanked me many times when I shared my feedback and said I would be writing about his channel on my blog. The way he expressed gratitude made me confident that I am on the right path.

So, support everyone, even strangers without expectations and love your loved ones with all your heart without conditions. Though expectations are human nature and unconditional love is not easy at all, once we experience it, we understand life fully. ❤️

After this long heartfelt writeup, here’s sharing the recipe with all of you. Do try. This comes out very delicious. Happy and healthy cooking!

RECIPE:

Recipe adapted from: NK Food & Lifestyle

Ingredients: {Makes about 7 to 8 thick Bhakris}

1 Cup Jowar flour

3/4 Cup Whole wheat flour

1/2 Cup Chickpea flour or Besan

1/4 Cup finely grated Radish

1/4 Cup finely grated Carrot

1/4 Cup finely grated Cucumber

1/4 Cup finely chopped Onion

1/4 Cup finely chopped Coriander leaves

2 to 3 Green chillies

Salt to taste

Ghee to cook the Bhakris

Step by step recipe:

1. Take Jowar flour, wheat flour, chickpea flour and salt in a bowl.

2. Now add finely grated Radish, carrot, cucumber and finely chopped onion, coriander leaves and green chillies.

3. Mix everything once with hands so that the veggies mix well into the flours. Now if making thalipeet, add very little water and make into a soft dough. Since I made Bhakris, I added water to bring it to a thick dosa batter consistency (about 1 1/2 to 2 Cups of water).

4. Now heat a dosa pan and add a ladle of dosa in the center of the pan. Spread to make a thick dosa. Drizzle ghee over the surface.

5. When the surface cooks, flip and cook for about 1 to 2 mins.

6. Serve hot with butter and a chutney of your choice.

Notes:

* I refrigerate the leftover batter for use the next day. It lasts well and there is no taste change in the Bhakris.

* Skip radish if you don’t have but it’s a great way to include the vegetable in your diet as you can never find out that the bhakris have radish in it.

* I have not tried these Bhakris without wheat flour. So can’t say about the result.

* Chickpea flour gives a good flavour to this. So don’t skip it.

* You can spread it like thalipeet but I find them making like Bhakris easier.

* Cook both sides well as this takes time to cook than regular Bhakris due to Jowar flour in it.

* I served these with Coriander leaves chutney. For the chutney, grind together coconut with green chillies, ginger, coriander leaves, salt with little water to a smooth paste. Season in coconut oil with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

* You can check all my bhakri recipes in this recipe compilation post.

* Other recipes with Jowar flour:

Jowar Idlis

Jowar Dosa

* All my Millet based dishes : Millet recipes collection

Desserts

Til Jaggery Burfi | Easy 15 min, 3 ingredient sweet recipe

January 12, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 4 Comments

I was supposed to write this blog last night after putting my kids to sleep but their tired mommy fell asleep before them 😅 and so here I am, writing it atleast before they wake up (and the double storms start 😁😁). Had a great sleep after long though, with so many dream sessions. I have been a person who gets loads of dreams, about people whom I think of during daytime, about places that I wish to go, some hidden desires which only I know about, all of it gets fulfilled (atleast 😄) in my dreams ❤️. And I remember it even after I wake up. Am I weird or is it the same with all of you too? 😀

Anyhow, after some heart to heart talk, let me get back to these burfis which I am sharing as it is Makara Sankranthi in two days. Til and Jaggery are important ingredients that people consume on the festival in different forms like ladoos, chikkis, burfis and many other ways. Makara Sankranthi is celebrated all over the country marking the end of winter with the sun starting it’s northward journey or the Uttarayan journey and signifies new beginnings.

I love how each of our festival gives such positive vibes and also the dishes consumed are so healthy. Til and jaggery are both warm foods to the body, also loaded with health benefits, so this festival makes sure we consume it atleast on this day.

Hope you all try this easy to make Burfi which requires only 3 ingredients. I always prefer to make such quick sweets as I don’t like to spend my whole day in the kitchen for sweets. Also, this is very healthy and perfect for the festive occasion as well. Wishing you all a very happy Makara Sankranthi. 🙏🙏

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes about 12 small pieces of burfis}

I usually double this recipe when I make for my family

1 Cup white sesame seeds/ Til

1/2 Cup Jaggery (I use powder)

2 Tbsp Ghee

Sliced almonds for garnish (optional)

Step by step recipe:

1. Roast 1 Cup sesame seeds in a pan on medium flame till it starts browning on the edges. Don’t allow to burn as it can taste bitter. As soon it starts turning brown, remove onto a plate. Allow it to cool. Now powder coarsely in a mixer.

2. Now add 2 Tbsp ghee, 1/2 Cup jaggery and 2 Tbsp water in a pan. Allow jaggery to melt in the water and form bubbles on top like shown.

3. Immediately reduce flame to medium and add the powdered sesame seeds. Mix well continually for about 3 to 5 mins till everything comes together and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

4. Keep a plate greased with ghee ready. Pour this mixture and spread evenly using spatula. Allow it to cool.

5. Garnish with almond slices to enhance the beauty of the Burfi. Slice and serve.

Notes:

* Don’t burn the sesame seeds while dry roasting it. Sesame seeds get roasted quite quickly and we have to be very careful while roasting it so that it does not turn black. As soon as it starts turning browning, immediately transfer it to a plate to cool.

* Powder coarsely in the mixer. Gets done very quickly. Don’t grind too much as sesame seeds can leave oil.

* You can skip ghee for a vegan version but ghee adds a wonderful aroma.

* 1/2 Cup Jaggery + 2 Tbsp Water makes a correct ratio. Adding more water can make the burfi turn into halwa. 😀

* Add the sesame seeds powder as soon as you see bubbles forming in the jaggery water. Mix well for few minutes and then remove immediately. Keeping in the hot pan itself can make it form a crisp layer on the bottom.

* This Burfi hardens as you keep it. So don’t worry if it’s soft first. Just slice with knife and keep it to cool. Remove after it hardens.

* You can also add cardamom powder if your want and garnish with any other dry fruits too or just leave it plain.

You can also check my other 15 mins sweets recipe collection.

Salads, Soups

Barley Carrot Soup | Barley salad |Healthy soup recipe

January 10, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 3 Comments

Soup takes me back to the piping hot tomato soup in paper cups that used to be served during our 3 day long train journey to Bombay. My uncles lived there and we used to be so excited, waiting for the train to reach the destination yet enjoying every bit of the journey too. Me and my brother would sit close to the window seat, watching trees, fields and mountains pass by, counting the number of bogies in goods trains while waiting for food hawkers to come, to buy their snacks. 😍

Among them, tomato soup used to be sold early in the morning and I specially would wake up early for it (sacrificing my precious sleep for that delicious soup 😅). As soon as they started calling out, soup.. soup.. I would wake up my father asking him to buy one for me (spoiling his sleep too 😬). But the feel of drinking that tasty hot soup while looking outside the window of the train, enjoying nature come alive early in the morning with the background music of birds chirping, is something which can’t be replicated at all. Which is why even after so many years, it is as fresh in my memory. ❤️

After that, if there is any soup I loved, it is my mother’s tomato soup. I can never forget how lovingly she made it and we used to enjoy it together in small steel bowls with mickey mouse spoons (😍) sitting together chatting away (major missing 😭).

It is the same recipe that I am sharing today but have included barley in it too. Barley was brought home by my husband as he wanted me to taste it after eating it in his company “canteen” (as he calls it but it is no less than a restaurant which offers so many delicious options in the buffet). He said soup and salad with it tastes delicious and I looked through few recipes on how to cook it and combined it with Amma’s soup recipe.

It tasted really good and I loved the soft texture of Barley. Funniest part is when I made the soup for the first time and was serving my son, he asked me what was in the other bowl too. I said salad. He asked me to mix both in his bowl. I told him that’s not the way to eat it but he still was confident he wanted to eat it that way. 😅 So I gave in and served him exactly that way. (Tip to survive motherhood: Give in if it’s safe to do before tantrums start. 🤣)

And he could not stop saying “Amma, yummy!!” with every bite while I was very surprised at this weird combo. 🙄 Then, when we tried it, it was delicious for real. 😄 The bite of cucumber, carrots and onion gave a great texture as well as flavour to the soup. Since then, we have been eating this soup the same way. 😀 Huge credits to my two year old boy for showing us the right way to enjoy this soup. 😍

Sorry for the super long write up. Did not realise how lengthy this turned out to be but don’t feel like cutting it short too. You can always skip if it bores you. 😁 Hope you all try this healthy, filling and tasty soup. Happy and healthy cooking!! Happy winters too. The best time to enjoy soup! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Serves 4 }

1/2 Cup Barley (I make both soup and salad using this measure)

1/2 a large Carrot (about 1/2 Cup chopped)

1 medium sized Tomato

1 small sized Onion

Red chilli powder to taste

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

1. Wash barley well and soak in about three times water overnight or for 6 to 8 hours. This makes barley soft and aids in digestion too.

2. Then drain water from it and add to a pressure cooker. Add water a little above the level of barley (about 2 cm) and pressure cook till soft. It takes me 1 whistle on high flame and then reduce to medium flame and keeping for 10 mins. It gives me perfectly cooked barley.

3. At this point, I remove 1/2 Cup of this cooked barley and add to my salad (will share the recipe of that in the notes towards the end of the recipe.) It leaves me with 1 Cup of cooked barley. Just add chopped carrot, onion and tomato along with 1/2 Cup water.

4. Pressure cook for about 3 whistles on high flame or cook till the carrots turns soft. Allow it to cool.

5. After it cools down, puree it in a mixer. Leave some cooked barley without pureeing as it gives a wonderful bite to the soup. I leave about 1/2 Cup of cooked barley.

6. Now add the blended puree back into the pressure cooker and add red chilli powder and salt. Also add water to make it into your desired consistency. Bring to a boil and cook for about two mins. Soup is ready! Garnish with Coriander leaves. Serve with croutons or bread sticks.

Notes:

* You can garnish with butter, cream or pepper or anything you like. I make it very basic as my kids love it this way.

* My son enjoys this soup along with salad in one bowl. It makes for a tasty and filling snack or a meal in itself.

* For the barley salad, add finely chopped cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, carrots, coriander leaves and green chillies (optional) in a bowl. Add cooked barley with salt, pepper powder and lemon juice. Mix well.

* Barley absorbs a lot of water when pressure cooked. So add atleast about 2 cm level of water more while pressure cooking it.

* I soak Barley when I remember. Drain the water after 8 hours and refrigerate. This lasts well for couple of days. So when I need to make it, I already have the soaked barley. So can make both the soup and salad instantly.

* Adding more carrot or onions can make the soup very thick and sweet. So if you are not a fan of sweet soups, you can reduce the amount of both.

* Don’t add all the barley while pureeing. Save half of it as it gives a good bite to the soup.

* The soup thickens as you keep it. So if you are making ahead, you might need to add little water to bring it to desired consistency.

* These are the other soups that I make regularly.

# Narangi Shorba (Orange flavoured Pumpkin soup )

# Easy Cream of Mushroom soup

Desserts

Peanut Jaggery ladoos | 2 ingredient easy Ladoos

January 6, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 5 Comments

I am someone who gets emotional and get tears very quickly (no matter how much I show that I am strong from outside 😀) and right now I am having tears of joy in my eyes. The reason is that the blockade which was imposed on Qatar (where I live) by some neighboring countries has been lifted after more than 3 years. It is definitely a happy news for people living here as well as people in those countries as finally things have got normal like before (most importantly many families reuniting ❤️).

It takes me back to the time when this sudden blockade was imposed. We were really worried as we did not have much grocery, veggies or milk as people were stocking up everything. The supermarkets were empty. Milk and milk products which used to come from Saudi and UAE stopped coming. There was utter chaos.

But our King handled everything very well and within few months, we became self sufficient with milk industry doing great production and even fresh veggies being available locally. Really proud of him, the way the situation was managed. 🙌

Now when things have got back to normal, it makes me happy that whatever misunderstanding there was between the countries have been solved and they are back together like before. I don’t belong here and mostly will shift back to India within an year or so, but that does not stop me from being proud of this country and celebrating this happy news. ❤️

So here’s sharing a very easy 2 ingredient Peanut Ladoo that I learnt from my friend Trupti Rao who is a great cook and someone who encourages me a lot. Thank you so much dear for your amazing recipe. We all loved it a lot. ❤️

Dedicating these ladoos to Qatar 🇶🇦. May this country always be as amazing as it is and more power to our King. 🙌

RECIPE:

Ingredients: {Makes about 10 ladoos}

1 Cup Peanuts

1/2 Cup Jaggery powder

Step by step recipe:

1. Dry roast the peanuts on medium flame till the peanuts get brown spots on it showing it has got roasted. Don’t burn it. Remove as soon as it starts getting brown spots. Allow it to cool.

2. If using peanuts with skin, you need to remove the skin after the peanuts cool down. Since I have used skinned peanuts, I have skipped this step.

3. Add to a mixer along with jaggery powder or grated jaggery.

4. Now grind the mixture,not in one go but pulsing, removing after few seconds and scraping the sides, grinding again and repeating till peanut leaves oil and the mixture turns little wet from powder form. It took me about 5 times of grinding, scraping the sides and grinding again till I got the perfect mixture.

5. Now add to a bowl. Take little quantity of mixture in your hands and form small ladoos by pressing well using your palm and fingers.

6. Do the same with the rest of the mixture.

Notes:

* Store in a moisture free container. Lasts well for couple of days. Mine gets finished off by then.

* If using peanuts with skin, roast, cool, remove skin and then add to the mixer.

* Roast on medium flame only and remove as soon it starts turning brown. Else burnt peanuts will have a bitter after taste in the ladoos.

* Use grated jaggery instead of powdered ones.

* Main part here is grinding it till it turns from powder to slightly wet but not such that peanuts leave oil completely. So just pulse (grind only for few seconds), scrape the sides of the mixer and continue doing so. I usually check if I can form small ladoos. If I can, it means the mixture is ready.

* Learning to bind ladoos takes few attempts to get perfect but once you get the knack of it, it’s very easy. Just take a handful of mixture in your palm and continue pressing while opening and closing your fist giving it the shape.

* You can check my Wheat jaggery ladoos/ Churmundos recipe too. Very easy to make and tastes heavenly.

* I also make Peanut Jaggery Ubbattis or Holiges or Puranpoli which comes out very delicious.

Dosa corner, Konkani Recipes, Millet recipes, Recipe collections

Collection of “no rice” dosa recipes

January 6, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 23 Comments

**Click on the image to Pin the post on Pinterest**

My regular readers know how much my kids love dosas. So much that anyday you come to my home, you will find dosa batter ready, either fermenting or in the fridge (and if you don’t find it, don’t worry, I can magically make some instant dosas for you too 😍). It is also very handy for those sudden hunger demands by the kids, especially my son who feels very hungry after his evening nap and says, “Amma, bobbo jayi.” (I want dosa in baby Konkani 🤩)

We have a little game after he wakes up where he being held in my arms, shows me the way to the kitchen and points to what he wants to eat. I purposely do a little wiggly kind of walk (the never growing child in me 😅) to make him laugh and that brightens him up. Then it finally ends in him pointing to dosa batter bowl. So I always have any one variety of dosa batter ready for him (my little “bobbo” lover boy ❤️).

My readers also love the dosa recipes that I post and always request for more “no rice” dosa recipes. So I decided to finally compile all my dosas which don’t contain rice and I was surprised to find that I had so many of them. This is one compilation I enjoyed making as it was like playing treasure hunt with my blog. 😂 Hunting dosa recipes without rice which is indeed no less a treasure for my readers requesting for it (sorry for the poor joke 😬).

Anyhow, hope this is useful to all of you. Happy and healthy cooking! Enjoy dosa making! (That rhymed!) 😄

Instant “no rice” Dosas/ Bhakris:

1. Rava Bhakri/ Instant Semolina dosas: These are one of the oldest variety of Konkani breakfasts and my family favorite too. If I forget to soak for regular dosas, Rava Bhakri it is for breakfast the next day. Also makes for a quick snack option. Tastes oh so heavenly with butter. ❤️

Recipe here: Rava Bhakri/ Instant Semolina dosas

2. Instant Cucumber dosas: This is a variation to rava bhakri with the addition of grated cucumbers which makes it even aromatic and healthy along with being super delicious. When I have to finish off those leftover cucumbers, I make these dosas.

Recipe here: Instant Cucumber dosas

3. Eggless Tomato Omelette: Being from a vegetarian family, the only Omelette we knew as a kid was this eggless Tomato Omelette which Amma made with loads of love. She always made sure I got the omelette with the maximum number of tomato pieces in it. 😍

Recipe here: Eggless Tomato Omelette

4. Instant Oats Vegetable Bhakri: This is our favorite evening snack and is super filling too. Best way to get oats and veggies in our diet. Add loads of green chillies and coriander leaves. Tastes super yummy with butter and simple coconut chutney. ❤️

Recipe here: Instant Oats Vegetable Bhakri

5. Instant Oats Poha dosas: A soft yet delicious dosa which can be made instantly yet tastes like regular dosas. Awesome combination with sambar making it a complete meal in itself.

Recipe here: Instant Oats Poha dosas

6. Instant Jowar Vegetable Bhakri: These Bhakris contain a mix of radish, carrots, cucumbers along with Jowar flour but still comes out so tasty. A very healthy and filling evening snack that I make always. You can make them as thalipeet too.

Recipe here: Instant Jowar Vegetable Bhakri

Dosas which don’t need fermentation:

1. Moong sprouts and Oats dosas: My kids don’t eat sprouts as it is, so this is my way to include sprouts in their diet in their favorite way, the dosa way! 😄 The way our brain works overtime in motherhood. 😂😂 Turns out so delicious too! No fermentation required makes it very easy too.

Recipe here: Moong sprouts and Oats dosas

2. Masoor dal dosas: One of the most tried and loved recipe by my readers. Try masala dosa with this and it tastes amazing. ❤️

Recipe here: Masoor dal dosas

“No rice” Dosas with millet flours:

1. Ragi Set Dosas: A dosa that I make atleast weekly once to include the wonder millet, Ragi in our diet. Turns out so soft and delicious. My daughter calls it “chocolate” dosas since she was a baby and even now at almost 6 years. 😍

Recipe here: Ragi Set Dosas

2. Urad – Jowar flour dosas: I feel this is the best way to include Jowar flour in our diet. Yet another weekly once breakfast in my house as kids love it. Kids food preferences rule in my house. 😀

Recipe here: Urad – Jowar flour dosas

“No rice” dosas with Whole Millets

1. Bajra Moong dal dosa: This is the crispiest dosa that I have ever made and you can never say it does not have rice in it. Also combines the goodness of Bajra with moong dal.

Recipe here: Bajra Moong dal dosa

2. Little Millet dosa: A very healthy yet tasty dosa with Little millet. Great idea to include this variety of millet in your diet.

Recipe here: Little Millet dosa

Other “no rice” dosa recipes:

1. Oats mixed dal dosas: A dosa for which I have got many compliments from readers for making them so evenly and also for the gorgeous colour. One of my readers have even commented that it looks machine made and there’s magic in my hands that it has been crafted to perfection. 😀 So these dosas are indeed very special for me. ❤️

Recipe here: Oats mixed dal dosas

2. Broken wheat Mixed dal dosas: These are one of my recent additions on the blog but tried and loved by so many of my readers. They loved how healthy yet tasty it turns out without missing rice in the dosa at all.

Recipe: Broken wheat Mixed dal dosas

3. Urad whole moong dosas: These are my favorite because I can make both idlis and dosas with this batter. Also a great way to include whole moong in my kids’ diet as they don’t eat moong as it is.

Recipe here: Urad whole moong dosas

4. Urad wheat flour dosas: This was my last recipe that I posted on the blog. Learnt it from my friend Vinanti and have turned out to be my kids’ favorite. They eat more dosas (touchwood!) when I make them. I absolutely love the gorgeous colour that it turns out. ❤️

Recipe here: Urad wheat flour dosas

5. Barley Urad dosas: These dosas are so soft and delicious, you could never say it has the healthy Barley grain in it. One of the most regularly made dosas in my house lately.

Recipe here: Barley Urad dosas

You can check all my dosa recipes here: DOSA CORNER

You can check all my idli recipes here: IDLI STAND

I have made two other recipe collections. You can check them out.

Oats recipes Collection:

Healthy Cakes and Bakes:

Healthy sweets that can be made under 15 mins:

Dosa corner

Urad – Wheat flour dosa | “No rice” dosa

January 3, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 3 Comments

Though I had been trying different “no rice” dosas due to reader requests, it eventually has led to my kids loving it over rice based ones and now Ragi set dosas and Jowar flour dosas have become their favorite. It is easier for me too as I need to grind only urad dal and just mix in the flours. (Also saves my temper as running the mixy is like curfew time in my house as my daughter hates the sound. So she keeps asking every 30 seconds if it’s done. 🙄😄 #justmotherhoodthings 😂)

As I have already mentioned before, if anything keeps me sane sometimes, it’s music. Today when I finished my work and opened youtube to listen to cover songs (I am loving covers more than the originals now ❤️), I found a singer, Simran Sehgal. Loved her sweet voice and when I checked her videos, most of them were my favorite songs which I had forgotten about. Especially old ones like Hum Bewafa and Aap ki nazron ne.. I went mad at her song choices and beautiful singing (music crazy me😂).

Finally here’s the dosa recipe which I learnt from my friend Vinanti Gouri through a common food group that we are a part of. They come out so delicious that we all love it very much and I make it atleast weekly once. Glad to share this recipe with all of you. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes about 12 dosas }

1 Cup Urad dal (I use split ones)

1 Cup Wheat flour or Atta

Salt to taste

Oil or ghee to cook the dosa

Step by step recipe:

1. Wash well and soak the Urad dal for about 4 hours. Drain the water completely. Add 1 Cup water or as required and grind with salt to a fine paste. Pour into a steel vessel.

2. In another vessel take wheat flour. Add water while whisking it to remove lumps bringing it to slightly thick, smooth batter. (It takes me 1 1/4 Cup water for 1 Cup wheat flour)

3. Keep the batters to ferment separately at room temperature overnight or for 8 hours. Might take longer in cold weathers. After fermentation, the wheat flour batter leaves water on the surface. Discard that water.

4. Now mix the wheat flour batter to the Urad dal batter.

5. Now heat a dosa pan and add a ladle of dosa batter onto the pan. Spread as thin as you can. Add ghee and allow it to cook. The below dosa is crispy. If you like it soft, remove when it browns only slightly.

6. Repeat the same with the rest of the batter. Refrigerate the remaining batter and use later.

Notes:

* Remember to ferment the batters separately.

* Remember to discard the water that leaves at the top after fermentation. Else the dosa batter might turn runny.

* These dosas can be made soft or crisp. For soft dosas, don’t allow the underneath to brown a lot while for crisp dosas, cook till it browns completely. Also serve hot as keeping at room temperature makes the dosas soft.

* I serve them with Raw Onion chutney. Just grind coconut with green chillies, ginger, onion, tamarind and salt with little water to a smooth paste. You can season if desired. I don’t as my daughter does not like mustard seeds.

* Other no rice dosas: Ragi set dosas and Jowar flour dosas , Broken wheat mixed dal dosa , Masoor dal dosa