HealthyVegetarianFoods

This is a very simple recipe for a very tasty starter or snack. It is often said that the Gujerathi community never waste anything and that is why they make good business people, and the same goes for the Gujetathi woman when she is in the kitchen-nothing ever goes to waste—the left over rice is used to make this delicious dumpling or as we call it a “mootia”. There is no hard & fast recipe for making this dish, you just go along and as much or as little of the vegetables that you have at home. Besides being easy, delicious and budget friendly it is also very nutritious. My daughter in law enjoys having it with some yogurt as a snack or you can serve it with some chilli sauce as a starter.

Quick Rice Dumplings

250ml cooked basmati rice

75ml chopped coriander leaves

125ml chopped fenugreek herbs or watercress or spinach

100ml chick pea flour

100ml soya flour

50ml self raising flour

7ml crushed fennel seeds

10ml ground chillies

10ml salt

10ml grated ginger

25ml oil

20ml lemon juice

 Vagaar / Tempering Spices

30ml cooking oil

15ml sesame seeds

10ml mustard seeds

3-4 curry leaves

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly

2. If necessary a little water can be added to ensure the mixture is soft.

3. If you have any baby marrow or a piece of carrot, you can grate it and add to the mixture

4. In a large flat pan heat the 30ml cooking oil and when it is hot add the curry leaves and seed spices & allow to pop-remove pan from           heat

5. Lower heat and place pan back on the stove and dampen your hands and take little golf ball size bits of the rice mixture form into                 dumplings and place in pan-carry on till all your mixture is finished

6. Cover pan and allow to cook for about 5minutes and then using a fork and spoon turn each dumpling over and cook for a further 5minutes

7. This can be served as a starter with some sweet & sour sauce, a chilli sauce or some plain yogurt.

For the past few weeks, i have been posting recipes of “simply prepared vegetables” and therefore today i decided to share a recipe for a rather unusual and interesting dish, the Gujarati name for this dish is “Phali ni Kichdi”. It can be served as starter, or as a light lunch meal.

This dish is generally made by the Gujarati community on Ekadashi (11^th lunar day of every lunar month in the Hindu calendar). There are 2 Ekadashis in a lunar month of the Hindu calendar, and people observe a vrat (Fast) on this day, whereby they abstain from consuming grains, beans, lentils, cereals and certain vegetables and spices. The preferred food consumed should be fresh and dried fruits, milk products, nuts and potatoes, hence the invention of this dish. Generally the fast is observed over period of almost 48 hours.

When i prepare this dish i am flooded with wonderful memories of my gran, she used to make this on a regular basis, as she was very religious and fasted regularly & this is all that she would eat on the days she fasted (Ekadashi). Unfortunately we do not observe this fast as regularly as she did, but we most certainly prepare this dish on a regular basis.

Peanut and Potato (Serves 4)

5 medium sized potatoes (peeled and chopped)

20ml cooking oil

5ml cumin seeds

35ml sesame seeds

30ml chopped coriander

5ml salt

2 green/red chillis chopped

½ cup water

150ml nibbed peanuts

10ml lemon juice

45ml chopped coriander

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pot and add the cumin seeds, chilli and sesame seeds and allow the seeds to splutter, now add the 30ml chopped coriander.
2. Add the potatoes and water and allow to cook till potatoes are tender/soft.
3. Once the potatoes are tender/soft add the peanuts, salt and lemon juice and switch the stove off.
4. Garnish with 45ml chopped coriander and serve with a cucumber raita.

Cucumber Raita

250ml plain fat-free yogurt

45ml grated cucumber

5ml salt

5ml freshly ground pepper

3ml mustard powder

2ml sugar

Method

1. Mix all of the ingredients together and serve over the potatoes.

I am sharing a recipe for spinach today & i think this will be my last simple vegetable dish for a while. I am working on a few interesting recipes and as soon as i mastered them & most importantly taken pictures of them i will be sharing them with you. I am challenged on a daily basis as to what to prepare for supper, my son who is vegetarian & he does not like vegetables & now he feels that lentils and beans are affecting his stomach. I am sure i have all you guys sympathies, & hopefully some inspiring ideas for me to prepare our daily supper.

 Spinach & Onions

 750ml tightly packed baby spinach chopped

200ml finely chopped onions

2-3 dry chillies (broken into pieces)

2 clove garlic finely chopped

5ml black mustard seeds

5ml salt

10ml cooking oil

Method

1.  Heat oil in a frying pan, add the onion and fry till translucent, then add the garlic, dry chillies and mustard seeds
2. Add the spinach and turn the heat of, leaving the leave the pan on the stove
3. Once the spinach has wilted and all of the liquid evaporated season with salt
4. Serve hot with roti, or any which way you would like to

My vegetable of choice for this post is “Cauliflower” or “Gobi Phool” (hindi name), this is a very simple recipe, however it has an abundance of flavour. You can serve it as a curry dish with roti, as a side vegetable with your meat dishes, as a salad on a bed of mixed freens for lunch, as a healthy snack for you and the kids to munch on while dinner is being prepared. However and whenever you serve this dish, you can be sure it will be enjoyed. I am hoping that all of my simple and quick vegetable dishes have inspired you to eat me more vegetables and prepare them in interesting ways.

Cauliflower

 10ml cooking oil

1 green chilli finely chopped (optional)

3-4 curry leaves

5ml crushed cumin seeds

5ml crushed coriander seeds

250ml cauliflower florets

3ml turmeric powder

5ml salt

3ml dried mango powder or 5ml lemon juice

25ml chopped coriander

Method

1. Heat oil in a medium size pot and add the chopped chilli, curry leaves and then cumin and coriander seeds,  allow to fry for a minute
2. Add the cauliflower florets (as you would note i like my florets to be cut rather small) and turmeric and allow to cook on low heat till the vegetables are nice and tender-still retaining a bit of crunch
3. Remove from heat and season with salt and lemon juice or dry mango powder before garnishing with fresh coriander and serve as an accompaniment with any meal or as a side vegetable salad.

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I am committed to sharing interesting ways in which to prepare the regular veggies and hopefully my recipes will entice your families to eat lots more veggies. I always find friends asking me “how on earth do you manage being vegetarian” and for me it is real simple-I was born into a vegetarian family and brought up to be vegetarian. We prepare a vast array of delicious meals and you will not miss your meat at one of these full 3 course meals. I am sure more people will be able to enjoy a variety of veggies if the veggies were tweeked and spiced and herbed. Today i am sharing a recipe for stir fried Baby Marrows

Stir Fried Baby Marrows

25ml cooking oil

400g baby marrows thinly sliced

10ml coarsely crushed coriander seeds

5ml crushed black pepper

10ml semolina

10ml rice flour

7ml salt

3ml lemon zest

3ml lemon juice

Method

1. Slice baby marrows into thin slices, and add the crushed coriander seeds, black pepper, semolina, rice flour and salt to the sliced baby marrows and mix in thoroughly
2. Heat oil in a shallow pan, and add the baby marrow mixture and stir fry for a few minutes
3. Lower heat and allow the marrows to cook till they are tender
4. Add more salt if necessary and add the lemon juice and lemon zest
5. This dish can be served as the vegetable dish with a lentil curry or it can be served as a side vegetable with any meat dish, or serve it as a salad with some mixed greens and crusty bread
6. Serve it any way you want to and it will surely get the approval of any fussy eater.

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I know i have blogged about “Missing Pink” but I have still not seen her bloggs, if anyone has any new about her or if she is blogging under another name please do let me know

As far as i know most people are trying to include more veggies to their diet and to ensure that the family eat these veggies one has to come up with innovative ideas to prepare the regular veggies. In my quest to share with you interesting ways in which to prepare your daily vegetables, i have chosen Butternut for this week.

 Butternut Fry

25ml cooking oil

7ml cumin seeds

1clove finely sliced garlic

1-2 dried red chillies

 375ml finely sliced butternut

75ml water

7ml salt

Method

1. Peel and slice butternut into small pieces
2. Heat oil in a shallow pan, and add the cumin seeds, garlic and dry chillies and allow the spices to crackle and pop
3. Lower heat and add the sliced butternut cover the pan and allow the butternut to cook till they are soft and tender, adding water as required
4. Remove lid season with salt, and turn the heat off and allow to cook for a further 3-4 minutes
5. Serve as a vegetable dish with a vegetarian meal or as a side vegetable with any meat dish, serve it any which way you want to and it is sure to be a winner

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I have decided to share a few interesting ways in which to prepare some of the most common vegetables.I am sure after a while   steaming, blanching, sauteing and etc, is not enough to get the family to eat their veggies. Being vegetarian I am always trying to vary the way in which I prepare vegetable dishes. Just  subtle changes in spices can transform any vegetable into a “Wow Dish”. Last week i shared a recipe for peas and this week it is green beans, this dish can be served with any meal, but it tastes divine with hot wholewheat roti.

Green Beans

10ml cooking oil

5ml mustard seeds

2.5ml pounded mustard seeds

1 dry red chilli

75ml finely sliced onions

75ml finely sliced onions

500g finely sliced green beans (fresh is best, but frozen can be used)

50ml water

5ml brown sugar

5ml salt

5ml lemon juice

Method

Heat oil in a shallow pan and add the mustard seeds and chilli,  lower the heat and add the onions

1. Allow the onions to become translucent – about 5 minutes
2. Add the chopped green beans and lower heat to 1-2, add water if necessary and cook till beans are tender
3. Season with salt and lemon juice
4. Serve with roti’s or as a side vegetable with your braai and the list goes on

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Hi everyone, my name is Usha Singh, and i am sorry that I never put my name down earlier.