Lunch for me is a very subdued affair.As I have mentioned umptieth times before here in this blog, I hate cooking for myself. I am not a fan of leafy salads either. They really dont fill me up and I end up feeling doubly hungry, deprived and I end up overeating later on. To avoid that, I opt for healthy and filling soups accompanied by sizable piece of breads. Warm and nutritious, Soups are one of nature's best foods.
I have this recipe from a gal pal of mine who got it from her sister (and so on...goes the chain). I have made Red Lentil soup before but the addition of coconut milk along with lemongrass makes all the difference. Bursting with flavour and protein, this will soon become your go-to meal often enough, mark my words :) Serve it with a crusty bread.
Method
In a saucepan, in 1/2 tsp oil saute onions, garlic and lemon grass until soft.
Add the lentils along with the spices.
Add the coconut milk, 2 cups water (add more to suit your consistancy) bring to a boil and then simmer covered until soft and mushy
Add the juice of lemon, scallions, salt, pepper.
Serve warm garnished with scallions, paprika and cilantro.
I am a self confessed Falafel lover. But all said and done, I cannot hope to gobble down this delicacy for the sole reason that it is fried and hence not as good for our health as it does for the taste buds. But Falafel by itself without the frying is really nutritious and gives an instant energy boost. It also helps to fill you up faster thanks to all that protein packed into it.
Cooking for lunches gets cumbersome especially when I have to make something for myself. What can be done without much effort, makes me feel really full with less cooking time? Baked Falafel it is. Prep time hardly takes more than 5-10min and the rest of the cooking is done by the oven which approximately takes another 15-20 min. You have a perfect, healthy lunch under 30min. Need any more bargain than this?:) The recipe is almost same as Fried Falafel which I am repeating here.
Method
1.Take all the ingredients except the sesame seeds if using in a blender
2.Blend to a smooth paste. Dont add water until required for blending. The dough should allow you to shape this mixture into patties. In case, it gets difficult, add little soy flour/corn flour to thicken it.
3.Shape into patties, place them in a greased baking pan, drizzle little oilve oil on it, top it off with seeds and place them in a preheated 350F oven
4.Turn them in the middle so that both the sides are cooked. Bake them till both the sides turn golden brown. Dont bake them for a long time since they get drier.
5. You can use any sandwich bread. Instead of using the usual Burger buns, I used Whole Grain English Muffins to enhance nutrition. Use any stuffing - lettuce, red onions, avocado and the falafel with little ketchup was my choice. What would be yours? :)
"I believe in Luck, Otherwise how do I account for my enemy's success?"
Many have deduced about my interest for cooking as Love! I seem to have had this penchant for cooking, which helps me to belt out dishes after dishes. "I am natural" - "They" say. I also seem to be doing it since I have "lots" of time in my hands and have nothing "better" to do.!!
I am spell bound again and again at the inane excuses people give for "others" doing something worthy. My so called "penchant" and "inner desire" is a laughing matter for my mom who simply cant get over this fact! Trust me- she knows! My mother like many others, made sure that I dint end up in my in-law's kitchen (or hubby's as a matter of fact) flabbergasted at the pots and pans and endless lentils/powders. She sure taught me ("forced me" is more like it) the basics and I was the "emergency go to" (not without a reason- of course!) option when she couldn't make for some reason. I was busy in my own world which had nothing to do with kitchen.
After marriage, Cooking (esp balanced meals) became a necessity. Few of my close friends do know the lifestyle I lead - and I dont surely enjoy "lots" of free time either. And I dont "Love" nor have the "penchant" for cooking either. To be precise I love to Cook for "my loved ones".Period. And there are few dishes out there which hardly need lots of expertise or culinary excellence and a requires only a little know of how to make a dish as flavorful, healthy and delicious as one which takes lots of time. One such dish is Tabbouleh
Tabouleh or Tabouli is a middle eastern dish whose central ingredient is Bulgur. Like any Indian, my hands always reach out for Cilantro/Coriander leaves and not parsley. But I was curious and the very first time I used Parsley was for this middle eastern favorite.
Types of Parsley
There are two types - flat leaf and curly. The taste doesnt vary much between them although flat variety is used most preferably in cooked dishes.
Availibility
They are available all year round and can also be grown at home very easily
Benefits
It was these benefits which made me incorporate Parsley in my diet. It is an excellent source of Vit A, C,K, iron and calcium. It is also known to be a rich source of Anti Oxidants! Not only that - it is also a wonderful source of Folic acid. I mean all this and I was under the impression that it was good only for some colorful garnish."More than what meets the eye" is so true when it comes to Parsley.
So if you havent introduced parsley yet to your taste buds then high time to start - How about starting it with this v healthy dish of Tabbouleh. ( The benefits of Bulgur in this dish is a topic for another blog post!)
Ingredients 1 cup Bulgur wheat 1 red bell pepper ( for the vitamin C ) 1 red onion, chopped into small pieces 4-5 cherry tomatoes , sliced into quarters 2-3 tbsp of lemon juice ( as per taste) 2 tsp of Olive oil few springs of Parsley and mint, chopped 1 cucumber ( go for seedless variety if available), chopped 1-2 tbsp Pisatchios ( or cashews - for the added crunch and benefits)
Method
1. Place the bulgur in a bowl and pour 1 cup of boiling water. Add the olive oil and stir and set iut aside for 30-45min till the water is absorbed.
2. Broil the bell pepper ( or grill it ). If broiling, remove the blackened skin and then chop them into small pieces.
3. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and give it a stir.
4.Then add the bulgur and toss well till incorporated
5. Serve with Pita bread or any bread of your choice. I had some grilled bread and it made a fulfilling and healthy lunch. Not much of a prep work required and it is as easy as it can get.
With such a dish - do you really think I need "lots" of time/"penchant"/"experience" for cooking? All it needs is the desire to make something healthy, a little curiosity about every morsel that goes into the mouth, a little interest and the need to do whatever we do "properly" and not because it is "expected" of us, or it is a "burden". I would request such ppl to stop making "excuses" for others when in fact it is more an excuse for "themselves"!
For a self confessed Falafel lover, this post was long due.There is simply something extraordinarily amazing about this dish - so basic and simple. The making of Falafel cant get any easier, any addition or variation only ends up making it more and more likable. Falafel made only with chickpeas are the highlights when it comes to Middle East while the one made exclusively with Fava beans are favourites for Egyptions ( where it is was originated ).It can also be made with both the ingredients and that is my choice too.
Fresh Fava Beans are so good not only for their taste but also for the amount of Protein and fibre. And this is in addition to the loads of Vitamin C, iron , thiamine and so on and so forth. Chickpeas are also nutrition rich and I like to add these two wealthy ingredients for my falafel. The essence of making Falafel is that the beans used are not cooked. They are simply soaked and then ground to a paste and deep fried. This process helps to retain a lot more nutrients than usual. Further fresh fava beans can be eaten raw. I found some fresh fava beans the other day and knew that I had to make this fav.
Ingredients 1 1/2 cup fresh fava beans, shelled 1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked for at least 6-8 hrs 1 onion 2-3 cloves of garlic 2 tsp cumin 1 tsp lemon zest few springs of cilantro and 4-5 leaves of mint 2-3 green chillies ( or as per taste) salt and pepper 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Method
1.Drain the soaked chickpeas and the shelled fava beans and grind them into a paste along with onions, garlic, herbs and the seasoning.Dont add water and it will be a coarse paste. If needed add some flour to the mixture to thicken up the mixture.
2. Then add the sesame seeds and give it a stir.
3. Make small balls of the mixture and then deep fry in medium heat. The same can be baked/shallow fried.
Baking takes approx - depending on you oven - about 20min each side in 350F oven.Grease the Pan with olive oil and then place the patties on it and drizzle some olive on top. After it gets browned, turn it the other side.
4. I served these goodies with some nice creamy n minty Yogurt sauce.
Hummus is a Middle Eastern Vegetable dip whose calling card is not only its taste alone but also in terms of Nutrition. It is an excellent source of protein and fibre thanks to all that chickpeas thats added. What it usually lacks is color and I thought of adding that along with loads of more health benefits.
And Beet Hummus it is! Beets are known to purify blood and provide good defence boost to our body. That being said, I had some beets left over after making chips and dint want to make the same old 'oft repeated to tedium' Beetroot curry and remembered this colorful bowl of hummus from a friends dinner party long back. So the basic recipe for hummus with some beetroot along with Pita/nice crusty bread made a nice change.
Method
1. Cook the beets whole in a boiling pot of water for 15-20min until soft. Cool them and then peel off their skins and chop them into small pieces.
2.In a non stick pan, saute the onions along with cumin seeds till soft. Now grind the onions along with rest of the ingredients, along with 2-3 tbsp of Olive Oil, till smooth.
3.Serve it as a part of mezze platter or with pita bread.
REMINDER : The A.W.E.D is going on at full force at Siri's Corner who is hosting this month with Middle Eastern Cuisine. The deadline is Jun 15th, so buck up and get going. Otherwise how in God's name are you going to send all the 4-5 entries that you are planning to send ;-) ?
For details click the banner :) Have fun cooking and catch you guyz morrow.
You all must have come across lots of articles with headlines '1000 places to see before you die". Likewise if there was some list like that for food, Baba Ghanoush would be amongst them in my list. This simple and absolutely delicious eggplant dip is a famous Middle Eastern speciality.
It has a scrummy mix of roasted eggplant (ah! that smokey taste from broiling is not to be missed!) and tahini with other seasonings which compliment these so well.My variation is from a recipe book which I have adapted and come to like and which I have here.
Mthod
1.Brush the eggplant with olive oil and poke it with a fork all over.
2.Broil it or roast it directly on the flame in the stove top till the skin starts blackening and looks blistered. Cool it for some time and strain all the juices with the help of a colander.
3.Remove the skin and chop the eggplant
5.process it along with garlic, tahini, almond powder, lemon juice, cumin powder and salt. Then garnish it with some mint leaves and coat it with some olive oil.
Simple isnt it..It goes well with Pita Bread, flatbreads etc. This is my entry for Pooja's VOW Event with theme Eggplant
The next in line of my RSVP series is Brown Rice. There are basically two types in - Long Grained Brown rice which has its husk removed, leaving the bran and germ intact, which gives it a chewy and nutty flavour. The cooking time is longer than the normal white rice but it contains more fibre, vitamins and minerals. Recipe Below.
- Short Grained Brown Rice - They are high in starch content and is one of the most full flavoured rice. They are clingy and soft natured once cooked.
When you say Moussaka (musaqqaÊża), you think Middle East ( may be greece ), a casserole of layers of deep fried eggplant slices filled with a mixture of meat, vegetables and tomato sauce. The variations are influenced from the place they come from which are quite a few as per Wikipedia.
Different or not, the taste is heavenly wherever it comes from. But like many foods, it comes with additional unwanted baggage of calories and this recipe which I have adapted from one recipe in a magazine tried to minimize that without compromising on the taste. I have replaced the meat with Tempeh(soy) and added long grained Brown rice to make it a wholesome One pot dish.
Method
1.Spray a grill pan with PAM spray. Once hot, place the eggplant slices on them. Let them cook for a while.
2.Turn them once done. Remove and do them in batched till all the eggplant slices are done.
3.In a non stick pan, heat a little Olive oil. Saute the onions,garlic along with Bay leaf. Once soft, add the tempeh and peas and cook for some more time. Approx 5-6 min.
4.Add thyme,chopped tomatoes,tomato puree and ketchup ( if using) and seasoning till it starts boiling.
5.Add the brown rice and mix well.Meanwhile take a casserole or a shallow baking dish and spray with PAM. Place one layer of eggplant slices in the bottom. Pour out the brown rice mixture in the middle and then fill the top with the remaining slices of eggplant. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and bake in the oven at 450F for 30-40min, till the mixture starts bubbling and the bread crumbs turn golden brown.
6.Serve hot.A complete meal and rich in nutrients thanks to herbs,brown rice and inclusion of Tempeh with almost Sans Fat.
