Health Fitness Food

yeast free bread Has anyone tried making yeast-free whole wheat bread at home? I experimented with it and the result was good. Of course, it does not rise as much as the yeast loaf, but still good for those days when you want a yeast-free alternative.   Since I made it with just 1 cup of wheat flour, the shape doesn't relate to bread. Moreover, I had decided to make pizza base, but owing to scarcity of time, I kept the dough unused for 7-8 hours and then instead of throwing it decided to experiment, that too without oven/microwave. Made this on a steel plate on tawa (iron skillet). The result made me happy. Why Say No to Maida? I do not use maida/all-purpose flour/white flour or refined flour, since it is nothing but empty calories. The extraction of maida or refined flour removes all the minerals, B-vitamins, fiber content from the grains, leaving it with nothing but empty calories. Additionally, there are many other refined flour disadvantages: It raises the risk

Dalma -a heavenly blend of lentils and green vegetables. The first time I heard of it, I was surprised that dal could be used in this form too. Thus far we had been sampling lentils as simple lentil curry or as dal makhni, which is widely popular in Punjab. But dalma is different. It was never thought of in my mom's home in Punjab, but now dalma curry has become a regular there. After having tried out dalma the tradition way, it was high time I made the curry from Odisha. The courage I have got from recipes tried and tested by me several times was instrumental in helping me unlock the dalma recipe the way. Voila! I made it once and it was loved by Odiya hubby - which gave me the confidence to try it out again and again. Have I ever looked back at making dalma other than making it in a pressure cooker? Na, not even thought of doing so! dalma Odiya recipe way My Dalma Connection When I got married to an Odiya, I got to taste this unique blend of vegetables and

Wheat pockets following baati recipe. You may call it stuffed baati, but it's open like a basket. Just stuffed the wheat basket with potato filling. Worth a try for occasional oil-free treats! Made on gas stove. baati Recipe: 1 cup wheat flour 2 tbsp oil salt as per taste 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain) Little water to make dough - should not be too soft nor too hard Mix everything and make a dough. Keep aside for 20-30 minutes. Potato Filling: 2 boiled potatoes (mashed) 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf) 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera) 1/2 tsp coarse coriander powder (I used home made) Salt as per taste, 1/4 tsp oil, 1 tsp ginger- chilly paste Sambar powder- 1 tsp (optional) (I used home made)  Here's the sambar powder recipe . Take a pan, heat oil. Add cumin seeds, fennel seeds. Stir Add coriander powder. Mix and add ginger-chilly paste. Add salt Add mashed potatoes. Mix everything well. Add sambar powder. Switch off the flame. Let'

I am a healthy cookie lover. I accept. Now my friends have started to call me "cookie queen."  Na, there is still a long way to go before I can accept that title.  I am still learning, and in baking, you aren't perfect at any time. The learning curve is very very long. But I am not one to give up though! In my pursuit to bake another healthy cookie batch, I experimented with olive oil and oatmeal. This does make an awesome combination - both for taste and health. This is one batch of cookies for weight loss that you would want to try even if you are on a diet. Wondering how? See, oatmeal is a wonder food. If I say it is a super food, it won;t be wrong. Tried olive oil cookies on tawa, with the addition of oats. I am starting to love these cookies more than those available in the confectionery. The best thing about making these cookies is that you do not need a MW/Oven and can bake these on a skillet. I have tried a number of cookies - almond, c

Not everyone likes raw banana (plantain), but it can be put to numerous uses, since it is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. Additionally green banana is a good source of resistance starch, which is not broken down by the body and acts like fiber. It also contains vitamin B6, which plays an important role in the formation of hemoglobin. Fiber is essential for the good health of your digestive system.  Let's get back to the recipe. Raw banana can be put to many uses.  Today, I made raw banana tikki/cutlets. Better to call it tikki since I used only 1 tbsp of oil while the recipe called for deep frying. Another experiment from my healthy kitchen. Raw Banana Cutlets Ingredients : 2 raw bananas (boiled and grated) 1/2 boiled potato (boiled) 1/2 onion 1-2 green chillies 1 tsp garlic-ginger paste 1/4 tsp- haldi 1/2 tsp jeera 1 tsp rice flour or suji 1 tbsp oats 1 tsp coriander powder coriander leaves salt as per taste Procedure Mix everything well. Make

moong dal burfi Moong dal burfi/halwa is one of my favorite sweet dishes ever! I have been craving for the lip-smacking dessert for quite some time, but the time and effort required to churn this out has kept me from trying my hands at making moong dal burfi. Yesterday night, I decided to give it a go and soaked 2 cups of moong dal. Unfortunately since morning, there was power outage in my locality. Suddenly, power came for 5 minutes and this was an opportunity for me to grind the lentil. Then again there was a powercut. Nevertheless, I did not bother, since I had made the most of the opportunity when it was restored for 5-10 minutes. I remember the good old office days when we would get to eat moong dal halwa as a sweet dish more often. I would especially wait for lunch and never check the menu, except the sweet dish part, for I always wanted to relish moong dal halwa or burfi. I was fortunate enough to get the same almost every other day. Yes, fond memories there

dashrath manjhi the mountain man The world knows Taj Mahal as an eternal symbol of love, since it was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. But how many of you have heard about Dashrat Manjhi - the mountain man who carved a path through the Gehlour Hills in Bihar using only a chisel and hammer. His efforts reduced the distance between his village Atri and Wazirganj blocks in Bihar's Gaya from 55 km to 15 km. Quite an achievement to talk about!!!! Now you must be wondering why are we talking about this man and comparing his efforts with the Taj Majal? Well, Dashrat Manjhi did this only for his beloved wife, whose death in 1959 due to lack of medical care in the village inspired Manjhi to carve out a path in the mountains to make commuting easier for people of his village. His wish was that nobody else has to meet the same fate as his wife and lose their life due to the mountainous distance between them and the nearest me