Sanchae Bee Bim Bap - Healthy Korean main course coming your way

I personally hold the opinion that Asian cuisine is one of the healthiest of all - of course provided that you cook them at home and not at restaurants. You could say the same for any cooking, but my choice, again among those, would be Asian cooking one of them being Korean. My personal exposure to Korean food is not very vast except for the famous and popular dishes and few not so well known from my research of the cuisine. Among the popular ones, Bee Bim Bap (or Beebimbop,bibimbap) holds a prominent place. It is one dish meal with layers stacked one on top of the other and is predominantly made with beef.



Sanchae Bibimbap which means Fresh Vegetable Bibimbap uses lots of vegetables along with the meat. I have this recipe from an Authentic Korean Cooking cookbook ( I misplaced the author’s name) from which I adapted this recipe to make it meatless and added a wee bit more ingredients to suit my palate. It’s pretty simple to make and instead of the Portobello mushroom which I used to replace the meat, non-vegetarians can use Beef to do the same process (simply marinate for more time than what is specified in this recipe)

Ingredients


• 1 cup small red radish, cut into thin slices
  
  
• 1 medium daikon radish, peeled and sliced into thin strips
  
  
• 1 carrot, sliced into strips
  
  
• 1 cucumber, sliced
  
  
• approx 4-5 cups spinach, washed with stems discarded (baby spinach works v well)
  
  
• About 4-5 large portobello mushrooms,cleaned and chopped
  
  
• 1 small yellow onion,sliced
  
  
• 2-3 cups cooked Jasmine rice
  

For the Marinade


• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  
  
• 3 tsp sugar
  
  
• 4 tsp spring onions/scallions, finely chopped
  
  
• 2 tsp minced garlic/garlic paste
  
  
• 2 tsp coarsely ground toasted sesame seeds
  
  
• 2 tsp sesame oil
  
  
• 1 tsp Rice vinegar
  
  
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
  
  
• salt taste ( make sure to add less salt that your usual amount since Soy sauce also contains sodium)
  
  
• Korean hot chilli sauce to serve (optional)
  

Method

In a bowl, add all the ingredients for the marinade.



Add the chopped mushrooms, give it a toss and close it with a plastic wrap and let it sit for at least 30 min.



Steam all the vegetables except the spinach and onions. Just 2-3 minutes before removing the vegetables add the spinach and let it wilt. Alternatively if you dont like your cucumbers steamed, then prepare a marinade with little Vinegar,sugar and salt and marinare your cucumbers in it until before serving. In a pan, cook the onions until soft.



Now add the mushroom along with the marinade until cooked. They look just like beef dont they ? ;) Alternatively prepare fried eggs, if you like eggs. They are optional.



Next set the plate. The first layer is the cooked jasmine rice



Top it off with steamed vegetables



layer that with the cooked mushrooms



Finally place the fried eggs on top of them.



Tada, you just made the popular Korean dish at home, made healthier, wealthier and with no major effort. And yes you save quite some money by not selecting to eat at the restaurant. The ingredients cost quite less too :)

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This main dish finds its way to the event close to my heart A.W.E.D hosted by dear PJ this month with Korean as its theme. Thanks PJ for the beautiful theme.

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Dill Roti - Indian flatbread with aroma of Dill

I love herbs and rare has been the case when I have made a visit to the market and not gotten myself minimum of two herbs. Something about them - the scent, the freshness or the taste - attracts me to them and I find myself looking for various permutations and combination to add them to my daily diet. I got myself some fresh looking Dill last week and for my usual dinner of Roti (which is Indian flat bread), I added the herb along with often forgotton spice - Dill seed.



Depending on your taste buds and preferences, add the herbs since many ppl find the herb little overpowering. I found 1 tbsp of the herb added only the slightest hint of its presence but enough to make a wonderful change and the dill seeds only help to compliment it. Its very simple and not at all time consuming.

Ingredients


• approx 2 cups whole wheat flour, plus some for dusting
  
  
• approx 1 tbsp dill leaves, chopped ( as per taste, some ppl find it strong.)
  
  
• 2 tsp dill seeds
  
  
• salt to taste
  

Method

Mix all the ingredients together



Add enough water to make it into pliable dough, soft yet not sticky.



Divide the dough into small balls and using a rolling pin roll it out.



Make it into a circle, not too thin nor too thick



Cook it in a griddle, add little vegetable oil around the roti, to cook.



Turn it after 2-3 minutes when golden/brown spots appear on the surface.



Serve it warm with any greens or any curry of your choice.

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This is my entry to Roma's JFI event:Wheat

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Oats Roti - incorporating health with every single bite

When I wrote this article for Daily Tiffin elaborating the different Oats and their nutrition, a reader of mine sent me a mail, telling me how she indeed sees the benefits but unfortunately no one in her family has the habit of eating cereal for breakfast. Also since she is working, she does not find time to sit and bake a whole lot of breads/cookies using oats. She asked me if there was any other way to incorporate oats other than the usual cereal/baked methods. I said yes! and that there are many many methods to make use of these nutrition powerhouses. I am a working woman too and I don’t find time to spend that much time in cooking either.



I use whole grains in different ways and one way of using oats in my kitchen would be by making these rotis. They are simple, and they follow pretty much the same method of making our regular rotis. Making them this way, one would not find that much of a difference in the taste either – but you, responsible for the family’s nutrition can rest in peace knowing that every bit of that morsel is going to do good for the health.

Ingredient


• 1 cup whole wheat flour
  
  
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
  
  
• i/4 cup oat bran
  
  
• salt to taste
  

Method

To make the oat flour, grind the rolled oats well.



It takes roughly 1/4 cup of rolled oats to make about 1/2 cup oat flour



Add the flour along with the bran and whole wheat, stir in the salt.



Add enough water to make a soft and pliable dough.



Divide the dough into small balls.



Using a rolling pin, roll it into a flatbread. Not too thick nor too thin into a circle.



Place it in a non-stick/iron skillet, use little oil.



Cook until brown on one side. Turn and repeat.



Serve it warm with any dal, side dishes of your choosing. They taste well with pickle too.

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This is my entry to Roma's JFI event:Wheat

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Thalipeeth - A quick healthy and filling fix for the fast and the furious!

You have had a long day, mentally exhausted and physically tired! Its 7:00 pm and you realize with a bang that you are the one to do the cooking for dinner, when all you wanted to do was settle down in that lush sofa and curl up to sleep! The 'other half' is obviously oblivious to all this and you know that the only solution 'kindly offered' by him would be to 'eat outside' since 'making food' and him dont go well together! Eating outside sounds so convenient but hold on! You had to go and take an oath of not eating outside since you wanted to be suddenly sensible about your eating! Seriously! Women should not be allowed to think so much! Dang! Women like me should not be allowed to check other's blog too - if not, you would not have noticed Sig looking remarkable thanks to her SBD and Meeta feeling way lot better thanks to hers and decided its high time,yours truly did something too!



With Asha cheekily seeing through my 'healthy' needs, I am totally left in a fix! Remembering how Kate Winslet looked at the Academy - I decided to draw inspiration and thought over healthy recipes - Thalipeeth! ta da! Yes, thats it. But the minute I entered the kitchen, exhaustion gnawed and I totally was not in for making dough, rolling, sticking and the other blah's. So what did I do? I made it into a batter and made a whole grain Adai :) Thalipeeth are savoury pancake like Maharashtrian dish enjoyed for breakfast. It does not need an elaborate side dish - some pickle and butter goes a long way! It is made with multi grains incorporating the raw nutrition straight on to your body. Usually the dough is made with what is called Bhajani which is readily made mix of different flours. One can replicate the same at home and the best part of this recipe is that one doesnt have to stick to the exact measurements for the flour. Add in as many, in whatever proportion you like and are comfortable with. This is my version. I am not sure, but I think I have seen few people making a batter version (like here) too.

Ingredients


• 1/2 cup Bengal gram flour (besan)
  
  
• 1/2 cup Sorghum flour (Jowar)
  
  
• 1/2 cup Millet (Bajra)
  
  
• 1/2 cup wheat flour
  
  
• 1/4 cup Finger millet (Ragi)
  
  
• pinch of turmeric
  
  
• ` red onion, chopped finely
  
  
• 1-2 green chillies, sliced thinly
  
  
• salt to taste and few sprigs of cilantro
  
  
• About 1-2 cups of water to make it into a thick batter
  

Method

1.Mix the flour, salt, turmeric together.



2.Add enough water to make it into a thick pourable batter.



3.Stir in the onions, cilantro and the chillies.



4.In a lightly greased pan, pour the batter to make into a rough circle. It need not be perfect. Rustic is good sometimes you know :)



5.Turn it after 1-2 minutes and cook likewise.



6.A little slab of butter along with pickle/curd is more than enough! Simple, easy and healthy living.

Ask the better half to at least take the final photo - and not think twice about posting it because it was something 'you-dint-do-yourself' and also ask Asha not to smirk at the butter - BUTTER LOOKS BIGGER IN THE PICTURES! IT WAS SMALL YOU KNOW! ;-)

Kadambam Rice - Simple one pot South Indian dish with vegetables galore!

Some dishes never fail to remind you of home, of the warmth of mom's touch - in short that luxurious comfort which we never thought we will leave. But life moves on, and so do we. The ache slowly is replaced by new responsibilities and in accommodating new changes in our lives - but BAM! a spoonful of that special dish, one fine day, teleports your memory cells back to the days bygone. And this is exactly what happened when I made Kadambam(mixture in Tamil) Sadam(rice)




Usually on the last day of Pongal - for Mattu pongal, we have a custom of making flavored rice like coconut rice, lemon rice etc. Few households also make this rice. It is an excellent option esp. if you like me get this sudden urge to throw everything you have in the fridge into a pot! If you like Sambar Rice and if you like Bisi Bela Bath, then this is another likable option for you, since I think this dish is between those two dishes. This is my mom's version which was given to her by her elder sister who is an excellent cook herself.

Ingredients


• 1 cup rice
  
  
• 1/2 cup Bengal gram (channa dal)
  
  
• 1 cup pigeon peas (toor dal)
  
  
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
  
  
• approx 3 cups of mixed vegetables chopped (ex. ladies finger, taro root, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplants, capsicum, peas, green pumpkin, drumsticks etc)
  
  
• 1/2 - 1 tbsp Sambar powder
  
  
• salt to taste
  
  
• few sprigs of curry leaves, cilantro and 1 tsp of sesame oil/ghee for garnish
  
  

Method

1. Cook rice with 3 cups of water. Meanwhile cook both the lentils together until cooked. Set aside. Par boil the vegetables for approx 10min.



2. Mix the tamarind paste in 3 cups of water and bring to a boil in a pan. Add salt, sambar powder, curry leaves along with vegetables and let it cook for 5 min. The vegetables are par boiled since they are further cooked again here.



3. Add the lentils mixture and stir for another 2-3 min.



4.Finally add rice



and gently mix making sure not to mash the vegetables.


5.Garnish with cilantro and sesame oil/ghee and serve hot with papad.



This is my entry to Harvest : the festival of Rice event. ( Thank you siri for letting me know :) )

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Some foods are our best friends, may be not so much for our taste buds ;-) but surely deeply loved by our body. Among such is Oats. Want to know more about Oats - the types available, how to cook the different varieties etc? Check my article about the same at Daily Tiffin

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Puran Poli - Unique and only one of its kind!

It looks like a flatbread but the similarity stops right there. Known by various names like Poli(Tamil), Obbattu(Kannada) and Bobbattu (Telugu), this traditional sweet dish is made for festive occasions. But festive or not, we enjoy Poli even on an ordinary day - that much is its love in our home. Until about a year back, I was not aware of another variation to poli where the stuffing is made using powdered sugar instead of the Jaggery which is what I grew up with. Variation nevertheless, it is one dish which will blow your mind however you make it.



This is made for quite a bunch of occasions like Pongal,Avani Avittam etc. I made it on the day of Boghi which is the first day of Pongal. Dont even think of cutting out the ghee! Forget your diets when having a bite of this - you can always starve yourselves the next day! ;-)

Ingredients


• 1 cup all purpose flour/Maida (sifted)
  
  
• 1 cup bengal Gram Dal
  
  
• 1 cup grated jaggery (remove stones/dust etc)
  
  
• 1/2 cut grated coconut, fresh preferred ( but incase of non availibility, forzen can be used too. Thaw it first)
  
  
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
  
  
• pinch of turmeric
  
  
• approx 1-2 tbsp broken cashews
  

Method

1.Mix flour, turmeric and 1 tbsp of vegetable oil(optional), mix well and add water as needed to make into a soft pliable dough.



2.Set aside covered with a cloth.



3.Meanwhile in a saucepan, boil bengal gram in 2 cups of water until soft.



4.Drain the lentil well and then drop it back into the saucepan along with jaggery, coconut and cardamom powder. Mix well until the jaggery melts and all the ingredients come together into one harmonious mass.



5.Cool it lightly and then grind this mixture in food processor without adding any water. Toast the cashews (dry roast/in ghee) and then add it to the lentil-jaggery mixture.



6.Now take a small lime sized ball from the dough.Roll it out into a small circle.



7.Similarly make a small ball from the lentil mixture and place it in the middle of the dough.



8.Bring the end of the dough to the center on top of the lentil mixture,pinch them together and then press it down into a flatbread.



9.Now lightly roll it out into a flatbread. It does not matter if a circle is not perfect. You can roll it as thinly or as thick you desire.



10.PLace it a griddle, spoon some ghee all around it and cook until golden brown.

11.Turn it around and similarly cook until golden brown/reddish.



12.It is good on its own although a little ghee on top makes it irresistable.