Tag Archives: Instant

Tri colour Capsicum Salsa | Easy Capsicum salad/dip recipe

March 23, 2023 Healthy Cooking with Mitha Leave a comment

Click on the image to save the recipe on Pinterest

Tri colour Capsicums always attracted me when I went for grocery shopping but it used to be super expensive and I never felt like buying it. Recently Qatar has been growing a variety of veggies locally and hence we have been getting even expensive vegetables like Broccoli and coloured capsicums considerably cheaper. Also just see how fresh they are! 😍

So, whenever I get my hands on them, it’s either this salsa or fried rice. Both ways, it is consumed happily by my kids which is most important for me whenever I cook something. With salsa, I present it to them with nachos for evening snack and they munch it on happily. ❤️

Also, these capsicums are best when they are had raw with their flavours intact. Cooking them leads to make it soft and is not as fresh. So my preferable way to use these capsicums is by making this salsa which we have as an accompaniment with rice meals as well. Tastes so yum. ❤️

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

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1/2 a medium sized Green Capsicum

1/2 a medium sized Yellow Capsicum

1/2 a medium sized Red Capsicum

1 medium sized Onion

1 medium sized Tomato

3 Green chillies

1/4 tsp Pepper powder

Salt to taste

Juice of 1 Indian lemon or half of large lemon

Finely chopped Coriander leaves, for garnish

Step by step recipe:

1. Finely chop the three capsicums and add to a mixing bowl.

2. Now add finely chopped Onion, tomatoes and green chillies to it.

3. Add finely chopped Coriander leaves, salt, pepper powder and lemon juice. Mix well. Taste and adjust the lemon juice and salt as needed.

4. Done! Enjoy as a salad or as a salsa with Nachos. ❤️

Notes:

* The above measurement serves 4. If you are making for more people, just use three whole capsicums and about two tomatoes and two onions.

* You can skip green chillies if making for small kids. I remove green chillies before giving to my kids.

* You can also add a dash of red chilli powder for more spice but we love this as it is.

* I also serve it as a side along with rice meals and the salad gives a nice, fresh crunch to the meal.

* The other salads that I make regularly:

Mixed Bean Salad

Carrot Kismuri

Moong dal Kosambari

Cabbage Kosambari

Mixed Vegetable Salad

Khamang Kakdi/ Cucumber salad

Barley Salad

Banana Stem Salad

Purple Cabbage Coleslaw

Breakfast time, Healthy Meal Ideas, Snacks

Methi Thepla | Easy, soft, flavourful theplas with fenugreek leaves

January 18, 2023 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

As my son is sleeping after coming back tired from school, I have finally sat down to write this recipe of Methi Theplas which are his favorite 😍. He loves variety of dosas, bhakris, parathas and his recent love is this Methi Thepla. ❤️ It’s winter now in Qatar and we have fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves growing in our tiny kitchen garden, handled very lovingly by my husband. Here are the tiny yet pretty and very healthy leaves 😍

These leaves are plucked when my son demands for Theplas and love how homegrown leaves have an amazing flavour of it’s own. Farm to kitchen lifestyle is really the best way to enjoy and respect food. ❤️

Though I also make Alu methi and methi dal, these Theplas have become more regular as my kids love it. It’s also very easy to make and hardly takes 30 mins from start to finish.

They also stay well at room temperature for few hours and remain soft. So, in case there are leftovers, they still taste yum when enjoyed later.

Do try this delicious and healthy variation instead of rotis or parathas and you will definitely love it. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️

Ingredients: { Makes about 7 Theplas }

1 Cup = 240 ml

1 cup finely chopped Fenugreek leaves/ Methi leaves

2 Cups Wheat flour / Chakki ka Atta

2 tsp white Sesame seeds / Til

2 tsp Oil ( I use coconut oil)

1 tsp Red chilli powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

A pinch of Hing/ Asafoetida

Salt to taste

Approx 1/2 cup water to make the dough

Oil or Ghee to cook the Theplas

Step by step recipe:

1. Take finely chopped methi leaves in a large mixing bowl (I chop the tender stems too along with the leaves. You can chop only the leaves if the stems are thick). Add sesame seeds, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, oil, hing.

2. Now add wheat flour and mix everything well. Add water little by little and form a soft dough just like chapati dough.

3. Now divide the dough into equal sized balls as shown.

4. Using dry wheat flour, dust each of the balls and roll just like chapatis.

5. Heat a pan and fry the Theplas, both sides while applying oil or Ghee. Cook till brown spots appear on either sides of the Thepla.

6. Enjoy hot Theplas with curd and pickle or even as it is. Tastes so yum ❤️

Notes:

* You can also enjoy them after a while as they remain soft for many hours. Hence they make an excellent lunch box option or to make and carry during traveling.

* Just pack them tightly in a steel box or a hot case.

* The ratio of 1 : 2 for methi leaves : wheat flour works well for me. If you change the ratio, it might be difficult to roll the Theplas.

* Remove thick stems from methi leaves before adding to Theplas. I add thin, tender stems finely chopped and you can never feel them in the mouth.

* Make sure to cook both sides of the Theplas well with oil or Ghee which makes the Theplas soft.

* I also make Theplas adding yogurt which is another method you can try. I make Bottlegourd or Dudhi/ Lauki Thepla that way. Here is the recipe : Bottlegourd Theplas

* For growing your own methi leaves, just sprout regular methi seeds and add them to soil. You can also grow in pots of you don’t have the space for direct soil. It takes about two weeks for methi leaves to grow completely once sowed in soil. I have shared the detailed blog on how to sprout methi seeds in this blog. You can check HERE.

Breakfast time, Konkani Recipes, Snacks

Batat Phovu| Kanda Batata Poha | Easy Breakfast recipe with rice flakes

December 4, 2022 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 2 Comments

Whenever I ask my husband what breakfast he would like to eat when there is no dosa or idli batter, he immediately says “Batat Phovu”. 😄 And to imagine that he used to simply dislike potatoes when we got married. I used to beg him to please get us some potatoes as it used to be my favorite vegetable. Yes, “used to be” 😂 Now I have joined him in not liking potatoes so much but he is slowly liking them in some dishes and one of them is this Batat Phovu. 😍

In fact, it is he who suggested me that I should definitely share this recipe on the blog while I was sceptical as this is quite a well known recipe. “Everyone makes this and everyone knows the recipe..”, I told him. “But don’t think anyone can make it as perfectly as yours!”, was his reply instantly. (This man really loves what I cook 😂😂)

So I decided to share the recipe on the blog. Because if it helps even one, I will consider my efforts worthwhile. Though I am not a perfect cook in any way, some dishes I cook comes out really tasty and Batat Phovu is one among them.

Here’s sharing the simple recipe for those who don’t know yet. Hope it’s helpful for you. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: {Serves 2 to 3 people}

1 Cup = 240 ml

2 Cups Thick Poha / Rice flakes / Beaten rice

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1 tsp Ghee

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2 Tbsp Peanuts

Few Curry leaves

3 Green chillies

1 medium sized Onion

2 medium sized Potatoes

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

A pinch of Asafoetida/ Hing

2 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

2 Tbsp Coriander leaves, for garnish

2 Tbsp freshly grated Coconut, for garnish

Juice of 1/2 an Indian lemon

Step by step recipe:

1. Heat oil + ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Allow mustard seeds to splutter. Now add peanuts, curry leaves and finely chopped green chillies. Fry for few seconds till peanuts get roasted.

2. Now add finely chopped Onion and fry till onions turn translucent.

3. Add peeled and finely chopped Potatoes and turmeric powder. Mix well and fry the potatoes for a minute. Now add few spoons of water. Cover and cook till the potatoes turn soft. Will take about 5 mins.

4. Meanwhile take Thick Poha in a bowl. Note to take thick variety of Poha and not the thin variety of Poha.

5. Now wash it well once or twice to remove impurities from it. Drain water completely after washing. Poha turns soft now. Add salt, sugar and hing powder. Mix well.

6. Once potatoes turn soft, add poha to it and mix well continually till the mixture combines. Cover and keep for 5 mins on very low flame.

7. Now remove from flame and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut. Drizzle lemon juice on top. Mix well. Serve hot. Done! ❤️

Notes:

* We like the Poha soft and moist. So I wash really well and also cook after adding to the pan. If you don’t like it soft, you can wash only once and just mix in the pan and remove from flame without covering it.

* Batat Phovu is best had hot when freshly made. If kept for long, it tends to get dry. In case you have to make ahead, just sprinkle few drops of water while reheating before serving. That makes it moist again.

* You can skip potatoes if you don’t like and make simple Kanda Poha with only onions.

* Some people also add carrots, capsicum and peas to this making it Vegetable Poha which is even healthier but my family loves Batat Phovu the authentic way only. Just shared as I thought it’s a great idea.

* I add oil + ghee to enhance the flavour of the Batat Phovu. You can add only oil if you like.

* Thick Poha is used to make Batat Phovu and not Thin Poha. Thin Poha is used in dishes like Godu Phovu (sweetened rice flakes) and Bhajjil Phovu (roasted rice flakes).

* I mix salt, sugar and hing in the washed Poha instead of adding in the pan as I have seen it results in even mixing and tastes really good.

* The thick Poha I use does not need soaking at all and turns soft when I wash it twice. If your Poha is very hard, you will need to soak for few minutes to make it soft before use.

* You can also try my other Poha recipes:

Kobi Pohe (Satwik version of Pohe with Cabbage)

Poha Vegetable Cutlet

Instant Poha Idlis

Instant Oats Poha Dosa

Other Breakfast Ideas

Curry house

Easy Paneer Masala | Quick Paneer curry

November 25, 2022 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

Paneer is our most favorite and I regularly make different paneer curries and kathi roll with it. But the most commonly made is this super easy and very tasty Paneer Masala which I made one day when I had 15 mins to cook before we went out. This quick fix curry was loved so much by my family that now, I mostly make Paneer only this way.

This along with jeera rice or chapatis makes a delicious meal which tastes better than even restaurant ones. I love how homemade food has a comfort of it’s own which can never be found in outside foods, no matter from which fancy restaurant.

Hope you all try and like this simple yet delicious curry too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

300 grams Paneer cubes

To fry and make paste:

2 ripe medium sized Tomatoes

1 medium sized Onion

1 inch Ginger piece

About 10 to 12 Cashews

4 Cloves

2 Cardamom pods

1 Tsp Ghee

Other ingredients:

1/4 Cup Curd/ Yogurt

1 Tbsp Ghee

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 Bay leaf

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Amchoor powder

2 tsp Coriander powder

2 tsp Red chilli powder

2 tsp Garam Masala powder

A pinch of Sugar

Salt to taste

Finely chopped Coriander leaves for garnish

Step by step recipe:

1. Heat 1 tsp Ghee in a pan. Add cloves and cardamom pods. Add Cashews and fry till brown. Now add roughly chopped ginger, onions and tomatoes.

2. Fry till the onions and tomatoes turn soft. Now allow it to cool.

3. Now add this to a blender along with yogurt.

4. Blend to a smooth paste. Now heat Ghee in the same pan. Add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Fry till cumin seeds turn brown. Now add the ground paste.

5. Mix well for few minutes. Then add turmeric powder, Amchoor powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, Garam masala powder, sugar and salt.

6. Mix well again continually for about 5 mins. Now add paneer cubes and cook on medium flame till paneer turns soft. Add water if needed to adjust consistency.

7. Remove from flame and garnish with finely chopped Coriander leaves.

Notes:

* I usually combine this with jeera rice or chapatis. For jeera rice, heat coconut oil and fry cumin seeds. Add rice, hot water and salt. Cook till rice turns soft. Garnish with coriander leaves.

* You can skip Amchoor powder if you don’t have. I add it since I have it. Yogurt and tomatoes are enough for the tangy flavour.

* A pinch of sugar enhances the overall flavour of the curry. So remember to add it.

* You can decrease the amount of cashews if you like a less thicker curry.

Other Paneer recipes that I make regularly:

Paneer Butter Masala | No Onion No Garlic

Dhaba Style Paneer

Restaurant style homemade Palak Paneer

Paneer Sukka

Vegetable Paneer Chilly

Paneer Hara Masala

Paneer Kathi roll

Breakfast time

Kobi Pohe | No onion No Garlic Satwik version of Poha with Cabbage | Breakfast recipe

June 2, 2022 Healthy Cooking with Mitha Leave a comment

I know if you have come here to read the recipe, you must be wondering as to what kind of Pohe this is. The name itself is so unique that I too was amazed as I read it few months back. My friend on Facebook, Aparna Kamat had posted this recipe and as part of a theme, I had tried it. Even though I was hesitant as to how it must taste with cabbage (also called Kobi in Goan side), I was surprised that it tasted so delicious and I never missed onions in my Pohe.

Thus Kobi Pohe found it’s place in my kitchen and I started making this whenever I had fresh Cabbage or when I felt like making Pohe on Pooja days and I needed to skip onions in my dish. Cabbage substitutes onion really well and you can never tell the difference. Aparna says this Pohe is made in our temples in Goa and I must say, what a great idea!

Though our breakfast is mainly Dosa and Idli varieties, some days the dosa batter is not sufficient for everyone and that’s when I make seasoned dishes like this Kobi Pohe for breakfast and relish it.

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

Thank you so much Aparna for your wonderful recipe. It’s a keeper for sure. ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

3 Cups Thick Poha/ Flattened rice/ Beaten rice

1 Cup Finely chopped/ Shredded Cabbage

2 medium sized Potatoes

3 to 4 Green chillies

1 inch Ginger piece, finely chopped

For seasoning:

1 to 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2 Tbsp Peanuts

A sprig of Curry leaves

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp Lemon juice, for garnish

1/4 Cup finely chopped Coriander leaves, for garnish

2 Tbsp freshly grated coconut

Step by step recipe:

1. Keep finely chopped Cabbage, peeled and chopped potatoes, finely chopped ginger, green chillies and curry leaves ready.

2. Take the thick Poha in a large bowl and wash it well removing impurities if any. Drain and keep aside.

Note: Be careful while washing Poha as some Poha requires only be sprinkled with water and it turns soft. My variety of thick Poha needs to be washed well and drained completely to get the desired texture.

3. I add salt to this softened Poha. Mix well and keep. This ensures that salt gets mixed evenly in the poha.

4. Now heat oil in a large pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves, ginger, green chillies and peanuts. Roast till peanuts turn slightly brown in colour.

5. Now add potatoes, cabbage and turmeric powder. Keep frying for couple of minutes. Now cover and keep on medium flame. Cook till potatoes turn soft.

Note: Only if needed, you can sprinkle little water for potatoes to cook. I don’t add water at all.

6. Now add the softened Poha and mix well. Cover and keep for 2 mins on low flame.

7. Remove from flame. Drizzle lemon juice and garnish with finely chopped Coriander leaves and freshly grated coconut. Done! Enjoy Kobi Pohe with a hot cup of tea. ❤️

Notes:

* For a regular version of Poha which is called Kanda Poha in Maharashtra and we Konkanis call Batat Phovu, substitute Cabbage with finely chopped Onions. Rest procedure is the same.

* You can use white or brown Poha but make sure it is Thick Poha and not Thin Poha.

* If you are unsure of whether your family will like this or not, just use 1/2 Cup Cabbage first. Trust me, you just can’t say the difference between this and Kanda Poha. Just be sure to finely chop the Cabbage such that it mixes well with other ingredients.

* I also like to drizzle a spoon of ghee at the end as garnish while making any kind of Poha. It not only ensures that the poha is not dry but gives a wonderful flavour to the poha too. It is completely optional but just sharing the way I do.

* All Breakfast Recipes: Breakfast Recipes Collection

* All recipes with Poha: Poha recipes Collection

* All recipes with Cabbage : Cabbage Recipes

* My favorite recipe with Cabbage : Cabbage Kosambari

* My favorite recipe with Poha : Instant Poha Idli

Chutneys

Hotel style Tomato Chutney

May 16, 2022 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 3 Comments

Both the kids just left for school and I take this (peaceful 😄) opportunity to write a recipe which I wanted to share since long time. In Qatar, during winters ie roughly from November to April, residents grow vegetables in their gardens. Main vegetable which almost everyone grows is Tomato. Even we have tomatoes in abundance every year which we enjoy till June due to it’s good shelf life.

Here are some of the beautiful tomatoes which grew in our’s and our neighbor’s garden who was kind enough to share with us. ❤️

And plenty of tomatoes means making my favorite, my Amma’s Tomato chutney. 😍 Apart from that, due to my daughter’s request, who wanted the hotel style Tomato Chutney which she enjoys at Aryaas restaurant here, I happened to try this recipe which came out exactly the same. Imagine my happiness!! ❤️

So after getting daughter approval as well, I knew this recipe deserved to be blogged and shared with all of you. Hope you all try and love this recipe too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

About 4 to 6 medium sized Tomatoes (or as available, even 2 large tomatoes are fine)

2 medium sized Onions

1 inch Ginger piece

4 pods of Garlic

3 to 4 Red chillies

A sprig of Curry leaves

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder/ Haldi

1 Tbsp Coconut oil

Salt to taste

For seasoning:

2 tsp Coconut oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Cumin seeds/ Jeera

A sprig of Curry leaves

A pinch of Asafoetida powder/ Hing

Step by step recipe:

1. Take all the ingredients for the chutney and keep ready. I have taken home grown tomatoes of different sizes depending on which of them were turning soft. Since I have a lot of tomatoes, I have taken plenty to make this chutney. You can use only two to three large ones depending on availability.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add curry leaves, chopped ginger, garlic and onions. Fry till onions turn translucent. Then add red chillies. Fry for few seconds.

3. Add roughly chopped tomatoes along with turmeric powder and salt. Cook till tomatoes turn soft. Don’t add water at all. Tomatoes will leave a lot of water as it cooks.

4. Once the tomatoes cook and turn soft, remove from the flame. Allow it to cool. Blend to a smooth paste.

5. Heat oil in the same pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and hing.

6. Now add the blended paste along with little water if needed to bring it to desired consistency. Check for salt and also spice level, adding red chilli powder if needed.

7. Done! Serve with dosas, idlis and chapatis.

Notes:

* You can skip Onion and Garlic if you don’t consume or on Pooja days. The texture of tomatoes will still make a thick chutney.

* Ripe and bright red tomatoes will give a beautiful colour and flavour to the Chutney.

* Keeps well if refrigerated for couple of days. Mine usually gets over within that.

* I make a big batch specially during tomato season, hence you can see I have used plenty of them. You can use two to three tomatoes to make one batch of chutney.

* For variety of dosa recipes, you can check my Dosa Corner page.

* For Instant and Millet based dosas, you can check my No rice Dosa Compilation page.

* For all my Idli recipes, you can check my Variety Idli recipes Compilation page.

* For other chutney recipes, you can check Chutney recipes.

* I also make another variety of Tomato Chutney which in my Amma’s recipe and my favorite. You can check the recipe here – Amma’s Tomato Chutney.

Breakfast time, Konkani Recipes, Snacks

Instant Sweet Appo | Wheat Jaggery appe | Easy Sweet Paniyaram | Godu Appo

December 16, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 3 Comments

The bowl of sweet appes that you can see above has been finished off by my sweet 3 year old son as I write this. After I made it and gave him one, he took a bite and asked me innocently, “mmm yummy Amma, ye hotel?” 😄. I felt very happy and like a chef that my son found the appes so good that he thought they were from hotel. 😍

He wanted more and finally ate the whole bowl of it. My heart filled up as a mother by seeing him eat happily and I wanted to share my happiness with all of you too as soon as possible. So, sat to write down this blog now itself. ❤️

These appes were one among the first I learnt to make when I got the Appe pan as we have grown up eating them. My kids love it a lot and I make it regularly for them as a tasty snack. It’s so quick to make yet fills up their tummies in a healthy way. ❤️

I also want to share a glimpse of my kitchen counter with all of you today seeing which makes me very happy each day. I love arranging it and love to keep the house clean. Took this picture to send my Amma and felt like sharing with you all too. A peek into my kitchen and my favorite place in the house. 😍

The popsicle molds are my recent purchase and I am loving making new varieties of fruit popsicles each day for the kids. Their excitement while enjoying them is one of a kind. 😍 Will share the recipes when I find time. ❤️

Hope you all loved reading this blog. Do try these appes and I am sure you will love them. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes about 24 small sized appos }

1 Cup Wheat flour (Chapati Atta)

1/2 Cup Jaggery powder or to taste

2 to 3 Tbsp freshly grated Coconut

A pinch of Salt

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

1/2 Cup Milk

1/2 to 3/4 Cup water (to make the batter)

1 small Indian Banana (1/4 Cup mashed banana)

Ghee to cook the appos

Step by step recipe:

1. Take 1 Cup wheat flour, 1/2 Cup Jaggery powder, about 2 Tbsp freshly grated coconut, salt and Cardamom powder in a mixing bowl.

2. Add 1/2 Cup Milk and water (1/4 Cup each time) to make a slightly thick lump free batter. It takes about 1/2 Cup to 3/4 Cup water to make this batter depending on the brand of wheat flour and how much water it absorbs. The consistency should be neither very thin nor very thick. It should be thicker than dosa batter.

3. Now add the mashed banana to the batter. Mix well. I add 1 small Indian Banana which is 1/4 Cup when mashed.

4. Now heat the Appe pan and when it becomes hot, reduce the flame to medium. Now add a drop of ghee in each of the holes of the pan. Add one spoonful of batter in each of them. Don’t keep the flame on high as the appes may turn black in colour. Always keep the flame on medium to get golden coloured appes.

5. Cover and cook for a minute or till the surface looks slightly cooked.

6. Flip and cook for a minute again.

7. Serve them warm or at room temperature. Tastes so yum! 😍

Notes:

* You can skip banana if you don’t have but trust me, these appes taste really heavenly with the banana flavour and the slight bite of bananas in them.

* If you are not adding bananas, you will need to add a pinch of baking soda to help the appos fluff up. I don’t like to use soda and hence I add bananas everytime while making appos.

* This is how I make Wheat banana pancakes too. So you can use appe batter to make pancakes.

* The measurements I have shared above works very well for me. You can add or reduce jaggery, coconut and milk as per your taste.

* Always cook the appes in medium flame for perfect golden coloured appes.

* I also make Mixed dal Appes which comes out delicious. You can check the recipe here.

Breakfast time, Konkani Recipes, Snacks

Bhajjil Phovu | Easy Konkani style roasted Poha snack

November 11, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 1 Comment

I know I have been taking long breaks from blogging and there are many reasons for it, some are personal, some are worth sharing with all of you. The main reason why I can’t blog like before is my son, who needs me all the time, to play with him, to hear his life issues as a 3 year old (😅) and sometimes to just hug him tight, sitting on our sofa, looking outside at the birds. ❤️

But all this will last only for 4 more months as we have got him admission for Kindergarten (KG 1/ LKG) which he will join in April. It’s a bitter sweet moment for me as both the kids will be at school while the home turns empty.. Though I know I will get all the time in the world for myself, I really don’t know what I will do with that time 😂. Will definitely miss the chatter and the fun mornings with my son. ❤️

It’s been many days my husband has been asking me to restart blogging ( he loves this blog much more than me 😅) and I wanted more time to get my mind reset on blogging. Today he said he will play with the momma’s boy and here I am writing this blog.

I learned to make this roasted Poha snack long back when Nandini Bhandarkar Akka posted it on our common food group. We all loved it and it has now become a regular at my place. I absolutely love how quickly it can be made, yet tastes really delicious with simple flavours.

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

Thank you Nandini Bhandarkar Akka for your recipe. ❤️

RECIPE:

Recipe credit: Mrs Nandini Bhandarkar

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups thin Poha/ Aval/ flattened rice (thin variety)

2 tsp Coconut oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

6 to 8 Curry leaves

3 Green chillies

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder/ Haldi

1 tsp Sugar/ Jaggery powder

Salt to taste

Freshly grated Coconut for garnish

Step by step recipe:

1. Dry roast the thin variety of Poha in a pan (without oil) on medium flame till it turns crisp. Takes about 5 mins.

2. Now remove it in a mixing bowl. Keep aside.

3. Now heat coconut oil in the same pan. Splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves, finely chopped green chillies, turmeric powder and fry for few seconds.

4. Add the roasted Poha to this seasoning along with salt and sugar. Mix well. Switch off the flame.

5. Remove in a bowl. Garnish with freshly grated coconut. Serve!

Notes:

* Bhajjil Phovu makes for an excellent evening snack as it is light on the tummy and can be easily made, yet really delicious.

* You can also roast peanuts in the seasoning.

* Please note that this snack is made using thin Poha and not thick Poha. Thick Poha needs soaking before consuming whereas thin Poha does not need it.

* If making for breakfast, you can combine it with Upma or Chane Usli too for a filling breakfast.

* Store this in a tight, moist free container and it lasts well for few days too. You can add freshly grated coconut just before serving.

* This Bhajjil Phovu tastes just like the Phova Chiwda that is made during festivals, the difference being this Phovu is a simpler and easier version of it.

* For more recipes with Poha/ Aval, you can check – Poha recipes collection

* For all breakfast recipes – Breakfast recipes collection

* For all snack ideas – Snack recipes collection

* For all Konkani recipes – Konkani recipes Collection

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 2 Comments

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