Tasty recipes for diabetes patients October 31, 2007

Diabetes…it has become a common enemy of humans. The major reason why so many people are getting affected by this disease are today’s sedentery habits and culture, and of course Hereditary phenomen. Diabetes requires strict and stringent rules with regards to lifestyle and eating habits.

I can imagine how hard it is to control when you really want to eat tasty mouthwatering sweets. I have seen my mother go through it and it makes me feel very sad. From now on, I am going to add some diabetes friendly recipes on my website.

Some of the vegetables, fruits and seeds which are good for diabetic patiens are -

• Indian gooseberry
• bittergourd
• tomatoes
• lettuce
• Spinach or palak
• Gongura
• Totakura aaku
• Carrots
• Ladyfinger
• Bottlegourd
• Snakegourd
• Brinjal
• onions
• garlic
• Bengal gram,
• Peanuts
• Soyabean or soya chunks or soya granules
• greengram, (all soaked, or sprouted – not fried)
• Plenty of fruit (they contain simple sugar like fructose), esp. grapefruit, jambul fruit.
• Methi (fenugreek seeds) or menthulu in telugu
• Turmeric powder
• Ginger powder or sonthi podi
• Jamun powder

Those to be avoided: Saturated and polysaturated fats Roots and tubers (potato, sweet potato) rich in carbohydrates Sweet foods, pickles, desserts, chocolates, biscuits, etc. Sucrose containing foods (which requires higher levels of insulin for metabolism).

Atukulu fry – A perfect snack for afternoon cuppa of tea October 30, 2007

 

Ingredients

2 cups poha or atukulu or beaten flakes
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup putnalu pappu or roasted gram dal
curry leaves
Red chilli powder
A pinch turmeric powder
Red chillies
Salt to taste

Method

Take a pan and add 1/2 tsp of oil. Add half tsp of mustard seeds and let them crackle. Add curry leaves, peanuts, roasted gram dal and Red chillies and fry them for a while. Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. In the end, add atukulu and mix well. After 5 minutes, turned off the stove and let it cool. Transfer or store it in a container. Its a perfect snack for lazzzzy afternoons. Best part is that it never ends!!! Enjoy

Dhaniya Pudina or Coriander Mint Chutney or spread October 30, 2007

Dhaniya Pudina or Coriander Mint Chutney or spread
Ingredients

1 bunch mint leaves
1 bunch coriander leaves
half cup curry leaves
lemon sized tamarind, soaked in water
1 clove garlic
1 inch garlic
2 tbsp groundnuts
2 inch piece of coconut

Tadka or Popu

1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
3/4 tsp jeera
3-4 pinches of asefotida
3 dried red chillies
3 green chillies
2-3 menthulu
5 tsp of oil
salt to taste

Method

Pour some oil in a pan and, fry ginger, garlic, curry leaves. Fry until the leaves turn crisp. Remove and keep aside

In the same oil, fry mint leaves. once they are cooked properly or become soft  remove them and keep aside. In the same manner fry coriander leaves and keep them aside. In the remaining oil and add all ingredients for tadka and fry for a while.

Now the grinding part. In the grinder, add the fried leaves, ginger, garlic, coconut pieces, groundnuts, soaked tamarind and tadka and grind well. Add little water so that paste like consistency is reached. Add salt to taste and your chutney is ready. This chutney is an excellent appetizer and is often used as spreads for making tasty sandwiches.

Note: This chutney will stay good for 2 days if stored in a refrigerator.

Coriander powder October 30, 2007

Coriander Powder

Ingredients

1/2 cup (Red Dried Chillies)
1 Tbsp. Oil
3 Tbsp. Coriander seeds
1 Tbsp. Tamarind (seedless)
Salt to taste
5  Garlic pods
1 Tbsp. Cumin seeds

Method

Take a pan and add oil and chillies. Stir the chillies until they are fried. Then add whole coriander seeds and fry them for a while.Add tamarind and salt with all the above ingredients and blend them. Add small pieces of garlic pods and cumin seeds to the above mixure and blend them again. Dhaniya powder is ready! You can transfer the powder into a tight container. This powder tastes very well with hot hot idlis.

Sweet and Sour Tomato chutney October 30, 2007

Sweet and sour Tomato Chutney

Ingredients

Tomato – 2 cups
Tamarind – 250gms
Red Chillies – 3
Fenugreek seeds – 3
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
Oil – 200gms
red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – pinch
Jaggery – 1/2 tsp

Method

Take a pan and pour some oil. Add urad dal, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, red chillies and fry for a while. Add the cut tomatoes and cook for a while. Add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric and mix well. Add the tamaring juice and jaggery, cook for while and turn off the stove. Let it cool off and then grind it into a smooth paste. This chutney goes well with rice.

Bread Pakoda October 26, 2007

Its one of those delicious snacks that you will find in almost every delhi college canteens Its a must have item in canteens..students actually survive on good old bread pakodas. There are quite number of variations – paneer stuffed bread pakoda, potato stuffed bread pakoda! both are so tasty that one might end up eating many.

I made simple bread pakora with no stuffing. It tasted real good! Here is the recipe.

 

Ingredients

8 Bread Slices cut diagonly half
1 cup gram flour
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds or jeera
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
a pinch turmeric powder

Method

Cut Bread slices into desired shapes (like triangle, rectangle etc.)

Apply the coriandar and mint chutney on both sides of the bread.

In a bowl add gram flour salt, chili powder, garam masala, jeera and mix it.

Now by pouring little water at a time make a smooth batter (neither too thick nor too lose)

Heat oil in a kadhai.

Dip bread piece in the batter and fry till crisp on medium flame.

Serve bread pakora hot with tomato sauce.

Bittergourd or kakarkaya curry October 25, 2007

Ingredients

2 cups round slices of bittergourd
1 cup chopped onion
3 chopped green chillies
A pinch of Turmeric powder
1 tsp Gram flour or besan
2 tbs Lemon juice

Method

Cut the bittergourd into thin round slices. Place all of them on a plate and sprinkle salt and turmeric and mix well. Keep it like that for at least 15 minutes. Now take a ziplock bag or any bag and put all these pieces into it and squeeze the juice out of the pieces. Sprinkle some oil on the pieces and microwave it for 10 minutes on high (stirring in between).

Take a pan and add popu (urad dal, mustard seeds, jeera and senagapappu, red chillis, curry leaves) Add chopped onion and green chillies and fry them till onions turn transulcent. Now add the bittergourd pieces and cook for 15 minutes stirring in between. Add 1 tbsp of besan or gram flour and mix well so that it absorbs all the oil. The reason why I add besan is it soaks the bitter taste and gives a crunchy look. This curry goes well with chapatis!

Wheat Bran upma or godumulu upma October 24, 2007

Wheat bran upma

I am sure all south indians are all familiar with semolina or rava upma. But there is another variety of upma too…goduma rava upma or wheat bran upma. Its highly nutritious and really tasty.

Here is the recipe :-

Cooking time 20-25 min

Ingredients

1 cup wheat bran
1 cup diced Onion
2 diced green chillies
Curry leaves – 4 to 5
1 potato cut into pieces
1 cup boiled peas
1 cup diced carrot
2 cups water

Popu or Tadka

1 teaspoon sanagapappu
1 teaspoon minapappu
1 teaspoon  mustard seeds
1 teaspoon  jeera
2 or 3 red chilli
half a teaspoon of ginger garlic paste
salt to taste

Method

Pour some vegetable oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add sanagapappu, minapapappu, jeera and red chillies. Stir well. Add onion, green chilies, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste and keep stirring until onions are transparent and soft. Add potato, peas and salt and let it cook for a while. Add 2 cups water and let it boil. Now slowly add the wheat bran and mix well. Put a lid on the pan and let it cook for 10 min stirring in between. After it is cooked, garnish it with coriander leaves and savour it!

Andhra Khichdi October 22, 2007

Here is the recipe of simple andhra khichdi. It is quite healthy and nutritious.  It tastes really well if you eat it along with some andhra pickle or with curd.

Ingredients

2 cups of rice nicely washed and soaked

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1 cup boiled peas

half cup kandi pappu or masoor dal - soaked

1 tsp chilli powder

2 pinches of turmeric powder

1 cup diced onions

4 green chillies sliced

half spoon of ghee

Salt to taste

half tsp peppercorns

3 bay leaves

2 or 3 cinnamon sticks

4 cups of water 

Method

 

Take a pan and pour some oil into it.  Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and peppercorns and stir them well. Add the vegetables and fry them for a while. Add the soaked dal and rice. Add water. Add salt, chilli powder and turmeric and mix well. Pour the entire mixture into rice cooker and cook. Garnish with coriandar leaves and serve hot with pickle or curd! Your dish is ready to eat.

How to make round chapatis! October 19, 2007

You would be surprised to know that this is one of the most searched item on search engines. There is actually no shortcut of making perfectly round chapatis..but it requires lot of patience and stamina Here are some tips :-

• Always add a pinch of salt in the flour before mixing it with water.
• Mix the flour with a little hot water. It comes out really soft.
• The quality of the chapatis totally depends on how soft the dough is.
• After you have made the dough, apply some oil and again mix it properly. This is one of my mother’s trick! She is champ in making the most softest chapatis sslurrppp
• Take a small ball of the dough and again press it softly..apply some flour and make a pancake like shape.
• Keep applying little flour so that it doesn’t break
• Now the trick is how to use the belan or rolling pin with your palms as well as fingers.
• First you have to you use complete palm on the pin to make it flat by the sides. It will become a squarish round.
• Then using fingers on the sides of the belan, start rolling the chapatis (increasing) and keep turning it around. Keep applying little flour at each step.
• Best way to check whether you will have a soft chapati is to lift and see it under light..if u see dark patches it means you need to press it a little more. If its transparent, that means it will become a perfect phulka!
• Now fry it on the skillet, fry both sides till nicely brown. You can add little oil. Now see the change at the table, but serve hot, or keep covered till serving.

I hope this helps..