Health Fitness Food

Bengali sukto Bottle gourd (Lauki) is not a favorite with anyone. It wasn't happily savored in my home either unless I learned a Bengali recipe that uses boiled lauki. I must say anyone who tries this SUKTO recipe will fall in love with lauki  smile emoticon Introduced to me by my Bengali neighbor - this traditional recipe is a treasure! In north India, we couldn't have thought of this version of lauki. Thanks to the fusion of recipes these days,and of course, the Internet, we get to savor and learn recipes from across the country, if not the world. It's great to learn about the food habits of people from across the world. Let's come back to the sukto recipe. I have been in love with traditional recipes. When I learned this recipe, I was on cloud nine. There is a funny story behind my learning of Bengali sukto recipe. Would talk about it later. The star ingredients in this recipe are lauki and karela. I did not have karela so I made it withou

eggless suji oats coconut cake Basbousa is a Lebanese cake that uses semolina flour, which is healthier alternative to white/all-purpose flour. What attracted me most to the eggless cake was its use of semolina, yogurt & coconut. The native Egyptian cake also belongs to traditional Middle East. The sweet moist cake made from cooked semolina uses soaked simple syrup that gives Basbousa a glossy look. If health is a top priority, but you still want to indulge in, this guilt-free Basbousa cake can come in handy.  This yogurt cake flavored with coconut is the solution to all your cake baking problems.  Simple, quick, and healthy sugar-free semolina cake recipe that you would want to bake again and agai The  semolina (suji)-coconut cake is sweetened with dates and flavored with coconut. The roasted semolina flour takes its taste to another level. If this isn't enough, I have added oatmeal to the recipe to include some fiber to the recipe. Oatmeal benefits are aple

In pursuit of healthy recipes, I am now attempting a few simple cookie recipes without raising agents. You are here for a no baking powder cookie recipe as well. Worry not! I am making a collection of such cookie and cake recipes that do not use raising agents. I have tried out a few and shall continue to update the page as I go along. This page is all about healthy nankhatai - say oats nankhatai, and atta nankhatai. atta nankhatai So let's come back to the atta nankhatai recipe without baking powder. I would have never thought of it a year back. But these days, I am experimenting with a few bakes to make my previous baked goodies healthier.   Let's see what I have come up with here in this new atta oats nankhatai recipe without baking soda or powder. nankhatai atta whole wheat flour Ingredients 1/2 cup- whole wheat flour 1/2 cup- oatmeal (or you make take an additional 1/2 cup of whole wheat instead) 2 tbsp- desi ghee/ butter at room temper

A sheer delight for vegetarians, this Bengali Poi saag recipe, with Poi, pumpkin, potato, and capsicum, is a soul pleaser :) Add vegetables of your choice and delight your family with this easy peasy recipe! I learned this recipe from a Bengali aunt, who has shared this delicacy with me umpteen times.I just love the sheer aroma and taste of this Bengali poi saag recipe. poi saag recipe Bengali Poi Mix Veg Recipe Poi Saag - a bunch Pumpkin - cubed- Potato-cubed Capsicum- thinly sliced Lauki- sliced 1/2cup Green chilly Salt Sugar-2 pinches Panch phoron- 1 tsp Bay leaf -1 Mustard oil- 1 tsp Heat oil in a vessel.  Add panch phoron and bay leaf. Let the spices splutter.  Add potatoes. Stir for a minute.  Add salt & turmeric. Mix well.  Add sugar. Mix. Add the remaining vegetables. Give them a good mix. Heat on a high flame for a minute. Keep stirring. Cover & cook for 5 mins on a low flame. Open the lid and mix everything well. Cover again

suji coconut cake The first time I came across semolina cake recipe , I was left wondering as to how our very own suji can be used for baking. I had never thought about it. Instantly I baked an eggless semolina cake with that recipe from Radha Natrajan. Once I experiment with something, my hands start itching to exploit that ingredient further. This is exactly what I have done to this recipe. I love cakes.Of course, baked goodies aren't the best choices for a healthy me. But I do not indulge in these goodies frequently - once in a blue moon! yay!  Except my favorite cookies - that too, one cookie with a cup of tea. This is how I go about it! When I am choosing healthy ingredients for my recipes, I can still choose to indulge. Isn't it? But I rarely do so. I have my self-imposed limitations that do not let me rest. Yes, I am happy being myself. Why shouldn't I? Yes, I prefer healthy baking - baking with healthy ingredients. Did you know semolina is ric

lauki kofta Recipe: Lauki kofta in appe pan Lauki or bottle gourd -1 small Besan -3/4 cup 1/4 tsp Haldi (turmeric) 1 tsp sukha dhaniya powder (Coriander powder) 1 tsp Curd  1 tbsp Ginger grated Salt as per taste 1 tsp Oil for greasing appe pan Grate lauki using a grater. Squeeze water. This is an important step. Grate ginger and add to bottle gourd. Add salt, haldi, coriander powder, chilly powder (if you are using), and besan.  Check for consistency. Add curd. Mix well. Grease appe pan. Make little balls and place in appe pan. Cover appe pan with a lid. Place a skillet (tawa) beneath the paniyaram patra (appe pan) and keep on medium flame. Check after 5 minutes.  Flip sides of each ball in the patra and cover again. Keep checking in between until done.

almond oats cookies The word "atta cookies" sends me back in history. Yes, I start feeling nostalgic, because I have some fond memories of atta cookies. I remember my mama or maternal uncle bringing boxes of atta biscuits at my nani's place everytime we visited them during summer vacations. Then when it was time to return to our place, he would bring more of those boxes for us to take back home. Aww...I am getting nostalgic. The atta cookies were simple and yet so delicious. The simple cookies with black cardamom flavor were no match to the cookies sold out in confectionaries these days. You could munch on those healthy bites all the time. I still remember unpacking those baked goodies bursting with the flavors of black cardamom - opening those aluminum tins and then unpacking the atta bites from their newspaper packs. I so wish to travel back to childhood now. Ever single memory gives me goosebumps now.  I have the best childhood I could imagine. So m