Bharwan Bhindi (Stuffed Okra)

Stuffed veggies make a delightful appetizer or side. The spicy filling adds to flavor in a crisp vegetable. Some of my favourite stuffed veggies are okra, karela (bitter gourd), and tomato.

Okra has been in cultivation for centuries, thought to originally come from northern Africa around the region of the upper Nile and Ethiopia, from where it spread towards Saudi Arabia and India. It's earliest record of cultivation is in Egypt.


The fibre content of okra helps to stabilize blood sugar levels as it curbs the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract. Okra’s mucilage binds cholesterol and bile acid, which carries toxins dumped into it from the liver.


For stuffed Okra you need

15-20 okras
for the filling
4 tbsp besan/gram flour
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
½ tsp amchur/ dry mango powder
salt to taste
a pinch of turmeric


Wash and pat-dry the Okra.
Cut out the top and end of the okra and slit them vertically as shown in picture.
Roast besan until the raw smell goes.
Mix all the filling ingredients together. Stuff this filling between the okra slits.



Shallow fry the okra in a non-stick pan covering the pan occasionally and turning okra pieces around to be cooked evenly.
Remove from pan once it is browned and cooked.
Serve warm with rice or chapati.

Black Gram (kala chana) Sprouts Salad

Sprouts have long been famous as “health food.” Whole pulses like moong, chana, chole, chawli, rajma, masur etc., can be easily sprouted. These sprouts are the energy foods for the body.

I make kala chana or black gram sprouts very often at home and like to have it raw in a salad. apart from the energy it provides all vitamins when consumed raw.

Sprouting is soaking, draining and then rinsing seeds at regular intervals

until they germinate, or sprout. I usually make sprouts in one day. But if you want the long , tender and juicy white sprouts you can keep it an additional day to grow longer.

Take 1 cup of black gram, wash it and then soak it in a bowl in 2 cups of water, preferably in a warm spot. Cover and wrap the bowl tightly with a muslin or thick cotton cloth.

After 12 hours uncover the bowl and you will find that the gram has softened and there are very small sprouts appearing. Drain the remaining water (you may use this water in your cooking, i add it to my juice, since it has some nutrition dissolved in it), very lightly rinse the gram and again cover it and keep it in a warm place.
After another 12 hours you will see long white sprouts growing out of the gram. The sprouts are ready now.


I make this salad very often and it is great both in taste and nutrition.

1 cup sprouted black gram
1 big Roma tomato finely chopped
1 white onion finely chopped
1 green chili (jalapeño) finely chopped (optional)
2-3 sprigs of fresh cilantro (or your favorite herb)
1 tbspn Extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
pepper
chaat masala (optional)

In a mixing bowl add sprouts, chopped tomato, chopped onion, jalapeño. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt pepper, chaat masala. Toss and mix evenly. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro. Serve this energy packed salad cool with soups and toasts or as a side.

Variation:

1. Add 1/2 cup of cottage cheese or paneer cubes.
2. Add one ripe banana cubed.

Atta Halwa (Whole Wheat Fudge)

Prasad (offering to Gods) used to be an incentive which kept us hooked to religious poojas as kids. Mom would make mouth-watering sweets full of goodness for almost all main poojas.
Halwa with lots of nuts makes a great sweet dish at festivities be it the more popular carrot, semolina and Doodhi(bottle gourd) halwa or the simple whole wheat halwa .
I adore the simplicity of atta halwa and that is what I prepared last week.

3/4 cup Coarse ground whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar (I like it mildly sweet, hence I use only 1/2 cup sugar)
2.5 cups water(warm)
3-4 tbsp ghee
1/2 cup chopped cashew and almonds
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 tspn cardamom powder

Roast wheat flour in ghee till light brownish on a slow to medium flame stirring constantly. The unmistakable aroma of roasted wheat flour is hard to miss. I usually add 1 whole cashew in the beginning and when the cashew turns brown I know the roasting is done.
Now add all cashew and almond pieces and raisins. Roast for another 2 minutes.
Add the sugar while stirring constantly.
Add the warm water till it gets incorporated in the flour. The water will quickly disappear and the volume of the halwa would be doubled.
Add the cardamom powder and give a final stir. The rich appetizing aroma fills the kitchen.
Cover for a minute. Switch off the flame.
Indulge your sweet tooth in the goodness of atta halwa. A simple way to please the Gods !

Mooli Paratha

My Mom could make parathas stuffed with a variety of fillings. Mooli Paratha (pan-toasted radish stuffed bread) used to be my favorite lunch menu. To go with it Mom would make a special tomato raita (relish) to gratify my taste-buds. I still try to make it Mom's way, not without nostalgia. Here's a recipe.

For the filling:
1 big Mooli (Daikon radish) washed ,peeled and grated
2 whole green chillies finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves finely chopped
salt to taste
1 teaspoon cumin powder

For the Paratha bread:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup milk
water as needed
vegetable oil/ ghee for frying

1. Knead a soft dough by adding milk and water as required to the whole wheat flour.
2. Press the grated daikon radish between palm to extract extra water out.
3. Mix radish, green chillies, cilantro salt and cumin power to make the filling.

4. Make rounds from the dough about one inch each.
5. Take 2 rounds and roll out thin rounds.




6. Place the filling evenly on one rolled out round and cover it with the other round. Seal the edges with little water.
7. Place the paratha on a hot non-stick skillet (tawa).
8. Toast one side till it gets small brown bumps then flip on the skillet.
9. Coat the toasted side evenly with some oil/ghee and then flip again.
10. Coat the other side with little oil too.
11. Cook on both the sides till the paratha becomes golden in color.
12. Serve hot with cool tomato raita and ketchup.

Tomato Raita (Relish)



1 cup Yogurt
1 small Roma tomato finely chopped
1/2 small white onion finely chopped
2-3 sprigs cilantro washed and finely chopped
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

Whisk the yogurt till it becomes smooth. Add all the ingredients and mix lightly . Serve with parathas, rice or as a side dish.