Category: Delicious but Nutritious

Posted in Delicious but Nutritious

Fritters and Indian Mathri, Baked To Fall In Love

Posted on by SIMI
..WHEN SNACKS MATTER

Baked To Perfection, The Yummy Fritters

Delicious Mathri,Truly Indian

Tea is incomplete without a little munch along. And what can be better if you get something yum that too guilt-free !

I planned to bake my snacks today. My taste buds have to be satisfied, this was the first condition. Should we not utilise this lockdown period in making our system healthier ? So the snacks had to be healthy, was the second condition.

The multigrain flour got a little more healthier with some spices and herbs added to it. The spices added to the taste, aroma and digestion. Fenugreek is known to lower blood sugar and reduce bad cholesterol and is a rich source of fibre, protein, Iron, manganese and much more.

As always, i choose what’s invariably there on my shelves, but you can choose to replace anything you would like to according to your taste, As i feel cooking is something you enjoy experimenting with. So here comes the list of four basic ingredients followed by some spices and herbs you would need.

Lets collect

  1. One and a half cup multigrain flour
  2. Half a cup of sooji [ SEMOLINA]
  3. One teaspoon baking soda
  4. Approx 75 gms of olive oil
  5. Condiments – ajwain [ carom seeds ], zeera (roasted) or zeera powder [ cumin ], pinch of red chilli powder, methi [ fenugreek ] leaves (dry / fresh), pinch of freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
  6. Warm water

Lets mix up

Mix all dry ingredients except fenugreek leaves. (Not everyone likes the flavor)
Add oil while kneading the flour to mix everything evenly BUT only with your fingers. You must remember the fingers do the magic here. Feel should that be of soft bread crumbs/ wet sand.
Now slowly add warm water while kneading so as to soften the flour till you can make a ball of the entire mix.
Keep aside for approx 20 mins for the flour ball to set.

At this step i divide the ball into two halves.

In half the mix you can add crushed fenugreek leaves not more than 2 tbsp. Make small balls of this mix, flatten them up evenly as you place them inside the oven later.

Work the other half of the flour and flatten like making a big chappati Keep it approx 4 to 5 mm thick.Make holes with the help of a fork. They help them become crispy and look awesome.
Cut into shape with a knife.

Lets bake


Preheat oven for 10 mins at approx 200 C.
Grease a baking tray and place the shaped fritters or mathris
Bake for approx 10-15 mins or till just about light brown.
Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes. ( most difficult)

Voila….. your mathri / fritters are ready. Enjoy with tea

TIPS

Bake the fritters before the mathris lest the fritters take up the aroma of mathris.

You can replace multigrain flour with whole wheat flour or all purpose flour.

You can use butter or ghee instead of olive oil

TWISTS

You can make tasty sweet fritters by adding brown sugar/ honey, choco chips/cocoa powder, cinnamon powder, instead of salt and other spices.

I am loving them, hope you would enjoy these baked delights too..

Posted in Delicious but Nutritious

Chewy and Delicious Oats and Walnut Cookies

Posted on by SIMI

When healthy gets tasty..!

Some things, just don’t require an introduction. You name them and they say “Hey we are healthy !”

Oats walnut cookies are healthy and fantastically delicious. These crunchy and yet soft cookies that you cant stop eating, can give any cookie in the world, a run for their money.

Oats and walnuts are known for multiple benefits.

They are incredibly nutritious, rich in antioxidants and fiber so, not only help fight cholesterol and sugar levels but also help lose weight. Loaded with important vitamins and minerals they are believed to help avoid childhood asthma.Well you can also apply them in certain forms externally for glowing skin. So, not bad at all.

Oats-Walnut Cookies

As usual i gather the very basic things and use my all time favorites like olive oil, cinnamon and multigrain flour to make these sumptuous cookies. The recipe is very versatile like all my other recipes so just enjoy making them.

Lets collect

2 cups of standard oats

1 cup of walnut kernals

1 tbsp cinnamon powder

2 tbsp multigrain flour

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup of honey ( that is according to my taste buds so you can add some brown sugar if you want them sweeter)

1 whole egg beaten

4 tbsp olive oil ( you can use butter if you want)

1/2 cup of toned cold milk

Few raisins if you want

Lets do it

I have my six simple steps to tell you

  • dry roast the oats and walnuts separately for 5 minutes on low flame
  • once cool, crush them coarsely in a grinder
  • place them in big container and mix flour and baking powder followed by egg, honey, olive oil and raisins (if you want)
  • mix well with finger tips and add milk just enough to make a dough consistency
  • make small balls, slightly flatten them
  • brush them slightly with milk/olive oil/butter and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I turn them somewhere in between.
  • when brown, take them out and cool

ENJOY THESE YUMMY COOKIES THE WAY YOU WANT TO. They taste wonderful with hot coffee, i mean if you can save some till then..!

TWISTS

You can add any other nut too or you can replace the walnuts completely if you want.

You can add vanilla or any other essence of your choice if you are not fond of cinnamon.

You can add cocoa powder for some chocolaty feel.

My GOLDEN THUMB RULE while cooking is –

“Follow no rules and take no stress,

If you enjoy doing it, it can never be a mess.”

CHEERS..!

Posted in Delicious but Nutritious

Delicious and super healthy Apple Crumble.. with.. Apple Smoothie..!

Posted on by SIMI

Apples always make me happy.

They remind me how something can help me quench my thirst as well as hunger, without the slightest feeling of guilt.

This super nutritious fruit containing loads of fiber and vitamin C, seems to lower the risk of diabetes, heart diseases and various gut problems.Promoting weight loss is one of its linked advantages too, along with many others. Cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants and has powerful medicinal properties. I love to add it to my recipes. The flavor is magical.

APPLE CRUMBLE

APPLE CRUMBLE needs 6 basic ingredients altogether. I take 10 minutes to mix things up and 20 minutes to bake it.

LET’S COLLECT

Multigrain flour 1 cup

Baking powder 1 tsp

Powdered brown sugar 2 tbsp

Peeled and thinly sliced apple 1

Cinnamon powder 1 tbsp (i love the cinnamon flavor, you can reduce it if you want)

Virgin olive oil (can be replaced by butter) 2 tbsp to begin with

Few nuts (broken roasted walnuts and raisins preferably) are OPTIONAL.

LET’S DO IT

-I prefer mixing little cinnamon powder and little powdered brown sugar to the flour along with baking powder, to begin with.

-Just mix this flour with oil slowly and keep kneading with fingertips till it looks and feels like breadcrumbs. You can add a pinch of salt if you are using olive oil.

-Take a small flat baking tray and spread a layer of this flour at the bottom. Press it a bit with fingertips evenly.

-Arrange a layer of sliced apples over this and sprinkle cinnamon powder, nuts and brown sugar powder over it.

-Repeat these two layers as many times you can. The final one needs to be flour.

-Sprinkle generously the remaining cinnamon powder at the top.

The look just before baking

LET’S BAKE

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes and then bake at 175 degrees for 15-20 minutes or till brown. Keep yourself busy since the aroma in the house drives you crazy. Maybe you can make yourself a smoothie in the meantime.

APPLE SMOOTHIE

MY APPLE SMOOTHIE is simply simple with just 3 ingredients. Mix small pieces of peeled apple (1 apple), toned cold milk (half cup) and few drops of vanilla essence.Blend. Add half a cup of frozen/chilled milk (whichever you prefer). Churn again. Pour and enjoy.

This combo is awfully delicious, exceptionally healthy and super quick. Above all its a complete wholesome meal without any more craving left for someone who has a sweet tooth. Well if you are generous, you can share it post lunch as a dessert too.

CHEERS..!

Posted in Delicious but Nutritious

Lets Bake..The Christmas Cake..!

Posted on by SIMI

My super simple recipe for a super quick ‘n yum Christmas Cake

All you will need is, altogether 40 minutes, some simple ingredients and some good music for yourself. So lets begin..

Rum soaked dry fruits and nuts. I soak them two months before, but no worries they can be soaked overnight as well.

The soaking liquid can be brandy, sherry, vodka or wine too or a combination of orange and cranberry juice. The dry fruits can be black raisins, black or red currents, orange peel, dried seedless dates, dried figs, dried apricots, cranberries, dried apple, prunes, glazed cherries,

Wet ingredients – 1/2 cup of virgin olive oil, 3 eggs, 2-3 tsp of milk / rum

Dry ingredients – 1 cup of multigrain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 4 tsp cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp of freshly ground spice mix (cinnamon, clove, black cardamom)

A cup stands for a standard tea cup not a very small one or a very big one, Multigrain flour can be replaced by whole wheat flour too.

I make this cake in foursimple steps-

1- Mix the wet ingredients till fluffy

2 – Add sugar and beat again

3 – Add all the remaining dry ingredients and beat till you get a smooth consistency almost like a thick pancake mix

4 – Pour the batter in the greased baking dish and add 4-5 tbsp full of soaked dry fruits. With the help of a fork cover the dry fruits with a layer of batter.

Its ready to bake. Insert it in a preheated oven ( I preheat it at 200 degrees for 15 minutes ). Bake it at 175 degrees for 20 minutes. Make sure it gets the heat evenly throughout. Check by inserting a knife or a fork. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready.

The cake doubles up in size so use the container accordingly. I love to eat it this way but you can top it up with whipped cream or nuts or more rum or chocolate sauce etc

The texture and taste comes out perfect, inspite of no self raising flour, no butter or cream and no white sugar. Multigrain flour and olive oil along with brown sugar and nuts make the cake, as i say DELICIOUSLY NUTRITIOUS. Rum does the rest of the job.

CHEERS..!

Posted in Delicious but Nutritious

DELICIOUSLY NUTRITIOUS..!

Posted on by SIMI

TUMMY FRIENDLY YUMMY FOODS

“The heart says, it yearns for it, yet mind just doesn’t allow..

Lets find a middle way my friend, so both declare it, WOW !”

Simi

CAN TASTY FOOD BE HEALTHY TOO?

Hi friends ! This is my first blog to promote fitness along with some poetry. Hope you all support me, the way you have always encouraged me for my poetry blogs.

Well ..! Food not only has the function of giving energy to your body, but is also completely responsible for satisfying your taste buds. In other words, it is supposed to give us happiness too.

What if someone tells you..”Eat some yum food to lose weight !” ?

Can food make you thin?

In today’s world where everything is adulterated, eating and staying fit appears to be a challenge. It’s not that the good things don’t exist, it’s just that we don’t have the time and energy to find out what is good for us and how can we make the most of it.

Though a dental surgeon by profession, I am also a certified nutritionist and a dietitian, who loves to stay fit by eating what i want, just in a little different way. So my work that starts in mouth, doesn’t end there. As they say, Mouth is the gateway to your health.

In the blogs to follow under this heading, i will be sharing with you some very interestingly customized recipes of the food which we generally crave for but are not able to eat, as they are tagged NOT SO HEALTHY.

Each recipe will have generally approximate ingredients, since i feel we should cook the food according to our taste buds. Along with that, the benefits of the ingredients will be generally discussed so that you are delighted, eating what you cook.

Then i can say, i am here to make you bake your own cake and eat it too!

So let’s begin this journey…

CHEERS and MERRY CHRISTMAS..!