Health Fitness Food

 Monsoon is the best time to grow your kitchen garden. If you can find tulsi seeds, then growing basil from seeds is fairly easy. In this short video, I show how to do so.

  Summer is the season for pickling for a majority of Indian elderly women. Ravneet Bhalla has seen her dadi and Nani, mom and mother in law choosing to preserve some fruits and vegetables for the harsh weather ahead. Pickles are healthy in the sense that they make you salivate. Guilty indulgence is of course not recommended. Last year, mom inspired me to make karele ka achaar. This time I chose to take the initiative to make bitter gourd pickle as well as mango pickle for ma. Here are my favorites posing in this frame. Karele ka achaar Aaam ka sukha achaar Aam ka gila achaar Karele ka achar is easy to make at home. I love indian pickles as they remind us of our rich culinary heritage. remember, your dadis and nanis making big batches of pickles of seasonal vegetables. that was a way to preserve food for tough times. hey did you know pickles are healthy too? yes, they make you salivate and give you an extra reason to enjoy food. now think of bitter gourd pickle and you might say wh...

 

Bread is very much a part of our dining tables. It has invaded our breakfast and snack times. but when you BUY bread, you are not actually buying a pav roti, but a potpourri of unhealthy ingredients. so why not bake a healthy bread at home with our homegrown yeast. Ravneet Bhalla loves her sourdough starter, which is almost 2.5 years old. Let's learn how to bake a healthy whole wheat bread at home, which gets 9/10 for being a healthier alternative to store-bought junk. join ravneet bhalla in this healthy hamesha journey. you will need a fresh sourdough starter - about 1/4 cup of it. if you want to learn how to make your own yeast at home, ask me in comments. add 1/4 cup of water and mix both starter and water. i love to add methi or fenugreek powder along with flaxmeal to my chapatis, parathas, and bread dough because they keep a check on your blood sugar levels post-meal.  if you don't want to add both ingredients, that wont make any difference to the taste or texture of our i...

 

  How to make gluten free sourdough starter with rice flour? Let's start by mixing 2 tbsp of rice atta with 2 tbsp of water. It will look gooey. Mix until no dry flour is visible. Keep covered at room temperature with a loose lid. After 24 hours, you can see a few bubbles. That's the right start for our gluten free sourdough starter recipes. Now you will need a new glass container and stir in 2 tbsp of rice flour along with 2 tbsp of water. You will need 1 tsp of the starter from day 1. Now you might ask what to do with the rest of the discard. Well, since it is fermented rice, I choose to apply it on my hair as well as face as a mask. But mind you, dilute it with water else it might stick badly with your skin and hair. Mix the starter again until everything is blended well and rest it at room temperature again for 24 hours. The 3rd day, the starter should smell sour. It's a welcome sign. Again, each time you feed your starter, don't forget to stir it fairly well and t...

 Water wastage is a cardinal sin. If you own an RO, you too are contributing to water wastage unintentionally unless you take steps to save water, which is a scarce resource. I have been using RO waste water for: washing clothes watering plants mopping floors But keeping a bucket ready and carrying it to the washroom, balcony, and terrace was a hassle. So we decided to save every single drop of RO waste water by connecting it with a storage tank. We bought a new 100-liter storage bucket that keeps the waste water. It is connected with two pipes -  one that carries the waste water from RO one that brings out the water from the storage tank into the tap, which is used for washing utensils

 There are two-three types of dried apricots available on the market: Orange Light brown Dark brown Which dried apricot is better? What colour should dried apricots be? Why are some apricots brown? Is it normal for dried apricots to be brown? Why are organic apricots brown?  Why are some dried apricots brown and some orange? What is the actual color of apricot? What is the natural color of apricots? Is it safe to eat apricots with brown spots? Is it OK to eat dried apricots? Should we soak dried apricots before eating? True, orange looks more vivid and beautiful. But is is chemically treated during preservation to preserve the fruit color. The ones that look tad darker or light brown are healthier options than orange colored dried fruit. They are naturally dried under the sun without any chemical preservatives. The healthier ones are also sweeter than the one treated with sulphur.

Can you make homemade nutella with hazelnuts? yes, hazelnuts are quite expensive but they have a dense nutrient profile. but kids may not be as willing to eat nuts as much as they love to indulge in nutella. so let's make a small batch of healthy nutella with jaggery and eliminate all preservatives, chemicals, and refined sugar from the easy nutella recipe. there are two types of hazelnuts available on the market - one with skin  other without peel I got a batch of skinless hazelnuts. so that cuts short one step in the process of making nutella.  How to make nutella at home without sugar/oil? The process begins with dry roasting 1 cup of vitamin E rich nuts for 8-10 min @ 160 deg c. if you want to toast nuts in kadahi, please do so. but do not brown them. the process will be fairly quick in an open vessel. if yours is a hazelnut batch with skin, peel off the skin after toasting. then proceed to the next step. the peel should come off easily once the nuts are roasted. pulse ha...

 

 When extremely bitter,  bottle gourd should not be consumed. It can cause sudden onset of diarrhea, stomach cramps, gastro bleeding, vomiting, and hypotension. Bottle gourd contains a toxic element and can cause toxicity if it is bitter. Do a taste test before using lauki in any recipe. Research cautions against the use of bitter bottle gourd. These plants contain high levels of cucurbitacins, which make them a potential toxic vegetable. cases of cucurbitacin toxicity are on the rise and people are unaware of bitter gourd poisoning. This post has answered the following queries: Why is my bottle gourd bitter? मेरी लौकी कड़वी क्यों होती है? Is it OK to eat bitter bottle gourd? How to remove bitterness from lauki? how to identify bitter bottle gourd is cooked bottle gourd poisonous what happens if we eat bitter bottle gourd cooked bitter bottle gourd is bitter gourd poisonous? NO can we eat bottle gourd and bitter gourd together bitter bottle gourd in hindi

  Punjabi rajma recipe appeals to one and all. in fact, rajma is a favorite with Indians in Uttarakhand and Kashmir too. It's easy to make too. On my recent trip to Uttarakhand, I got my hands on Pahadi rajma that are known to be tastier than other varieties we get. There are actually a number of rajma types available. chalo ji, ab banayenge easy punjabi rajma. to begin with, sabse pehla kaam - soaking rajma. soak in 3 cups of water. soaking is important to reduce cooking time and eliminate phytate coating from legumes, which makes digestion difficult. these anti-nutrients must be eliminated first. soaking helps with that. don't throw this water, rather, use it for watering your green babies. the next step is to boil rajma after they have soaked well overnight. rinse and boil with cloves, cinnamon, hing, and a little amount of salt. i always boil for 6-8 whistles first. while rajma is boiling, let's prepare the masala paste. blend together 1 onion, garlic and ginger along w...

 5 Types of Saag/ Greens You Can Easily Grow in Pot in Terrace/Balcony Garden 1. Amaranth/chulai/rajgira - easiest to grow just about anywhere 2. Poi /malabar spinach - Grows easily  3. Spinach/palak - Grows even from palak scrap 4. Methi/fenugreek- Grows easily in winter 5. Mustard/sarson - Grows in winter How can I grow spinach at home? How do you grow leafy greens at home? What is the easiest vegetable to grow at home? Which plant can I grow at home? What's the quickest vegetable to grow? Is spinach easy to grow? What is the cheapest vegetable to grow? What vegetables are easy for kids to grow? Which vegetable can grow without soil? Which vegetable is easy to grow in pots?

 A clogged whistle channel/valve is one of the major culprits in cooker accidents. If the whistle is clogged, you are in for a huge risk. The pressure cooker could even blast as the air cannot escape out. Here's one pressure cooker safety tip that you must adhere to in order to keep yourself safe while pressure cooking. how to prevent cooker from spillover?

  Do chickpeas make you gassy? how do I avoid gas from chickpeas? your queries: Do chickpeas make you gassy? क्या छोले आपको गेस करते हैं? How do I avoid gas from chickpeas? Does Chana cause gas? Why do chickpeas cause discomfort? Do Chickpeas Cause Gas? how to make chickpeas less gassy chickpeas digestion time chickpeas gastritis do canned chickpeas cause gas do chickpeas cause smelly gas can chickpeas give you diarrhea do chickpeas cause gas in babies do roasted chickpeas cause gas How can I cook chickpeas to make them less gassy

  india and indians are reeling under the scorching heat of the sun. yes, it's summertime and we often crave thandi thandi ice cream. imagine being able to make a yummy kulfi instantly without the need for heating anything. yes, ravneet bhalla has decided to bring you my MOM's easy rose milk kulfi with a few twists. because ye mummy ki recipe hai, it has the guarantee of yumminess. chalo ji, let's get started with the milk badam kulfi. Ingredients and how to make badam milk kulfi add 1 cup milk to a blender along with 2 tbsp of malai. if you don't have malai, skip and go ahead. throw in almonds, pistachio, walnuts, and strawberries (optional). for sweetener, I have used 100% pure gulab sharbat from a local producer in rajasthan. they use no chemicals or colors or even preservatives. the producer claims to make rose syrup with desi khand, which is a form of raw cane sugar instead of processed sugar. blitz until the nuts blend into the milk and the ingredients combine int...

  are you washing rice correctly? How to wash rice properly? I have been washing rice the wrong way all my life until I learned old age wisdom from my MIL. I have seen my MIL and even FIL wash rice properly before cooking. Here's my MIL's way of washing rice correctly. This rice cleaning hack helps remove excess starch from rice along with dust and debris. Unless you wash rice properly, you will be prone to gastritis, uric acid problems.

 Are (Is) chia seeds good for hormonal imbalance?  Chia seeds are packed with nutrition, from fiber to omega 3, calcium, iron, inc, and magnesium. these black pearls are a nutrient powerhouse that can help a woman with PCOS and hormonal imbalance. Lab studies find that rats fed on chia seeds show an improvement in PCOS symptoms and had significantly lower ovarian weight and total body weight. The study also finds healthy levels of hormone concentrations in such women. Research credits this to the presence of polyphenolic compounds in these tiny seeds that induce ovulation in PCOS women.  क्या चिया सीड पीसीओएस के लिए अच्छा है?  Chia seeds are said to have antioxidant, antimicrobial, pro-neurological, and anti-cancer properties. They contain polyphenolic compounds that help treat metabolic and reproductive dysfunction. Harvard University states "2 tablespoons of chia seeds make 28 grams. They have 140 calories. Chai seeds have 4 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber....

My dadi Nani recipe series continues Saunf mukhwas is from my dadi's recipe book and I got the recipe from dad. He knows a lot of his mom's secret recipes because he has enjoyed them fully. Back in those days, they did not have any toffees or chocolates to relish. So dadi would make a digestive powder using flavorful fennel or saunf and blend it with khus khus ( poppy seeds), pepper, badam ( almonds) to make a lip-smacking product sweetened with dhage wali mishri ( crystallized sugar with thread). She would emphasize the cooling properties of these sugar crystals. You may enjoy it as a summer coolant drink or chew 1 tsp of this heavenly powder post-meal to aid in digestion. Don't overdo. Brush your teeth too. Enter 2023, we (I) no longer buy refined sugar , which is only empty calories but for this summer special cooling powder, dad gives me a few blocks of crystallized sugar so I can enjoy the benefits of dadi di recipe. Dadi's SECRET Instant Saunf Sharbat Premix Rec...

 Dhaba paneer masala powder can add more aroma and flavor to your paneer curries. let's see how dhaba walas make this aromatic  spice mix. Ravneet Bhalla has been trying out different spice combinations to come up with her favorite aromatic powder. Finally, here it is! You will need 3 tbsp coriander seeds or dhaniya, 1 tbsp fennel seeds or saunf, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp black pepper corns or 5-6 in number,4 cloves, 3 green cardamom, 1 inch dalchini, 1/2 tsp- methi dana or fenugreek seeds, 1red chili. dry roast all the spices for 2 minutes. I airfried the masala at 200 deg c for 3 minutes. Grind to powder along with 1 tsp kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves. I chose to pulse the spices to powder in my mortar and pestle as it was a little amount and I wanted to retain the freshness of the spice powder. my MIL taught me how to work without a machine. thanks to her. so how did you find the masala paneer powder recipe? easy na? to ek like to banta hai. don't forget to comment...