Wheat Recipe Godown - all in the name of JFI: Wheat

Wheat forms such an important role in my kitchen. I use wheat every single day in one form or the other, either on its own or as an addition. When dear Curry Leaf informed me of the event, I was excited to know that Wheat was the highlight of the next JFI theme. Roma kindly informed me that I can send multiple entries and here's some of them.

I have only listed where Wheat is at its full glory without the addition of all purpose flour. Thanks Roma.

Nothing like having a wholesome meal of Dill Roti's which is healthy as well as light. The wonder of this roti is that, although not heavy, it satisfies your hunger and does not make you hungry in 2 hours! A chinese meal it sure is not! ( I always feel hungry in exactly 2 hours after a chinese meal!!!)




Wholegrains are always a boon! I call them Nature's blessing/gifts to us. They are versatile and one need not do elaborate preparations to add them in our day to day food. This Barley Roti is an example of the same



The beauty of this Sweet Potato Roti is such that you wouldnt feel like eating them! Well that beats the whole purpose you ask! I know! But well, it is hard but the taste matches its looks if not better. Delightfully moist with the addition of sweet potatoes enriching it with nutrition of the vegetable as well as the wheat grain.



Just like wheat, Oats is a staple in my pantry and this combination of the two ingredients to make Oats Roti is not only wholesome but immensely healthy as well. Wholegrain benefits at its full force.




This wholemeal cranberry and almond bread is a winner in more ways than one. Wholegrain - Check, Fruits - Check, Nuts - Check, Fat - Uncheck! :) Honey adds the sweetness to it. The wheat flour and the wheat germ give the bread its wholegrain nutrition, Cranberry, Orange and Raisins team together to represent the fruit and Almond makes up for the nuts. Thats almost one whole day's nutrition - isnt it?

While I love yeasted breads, busy schedules often prevents from making them as often as I would like to. That way, quick breads like this Persimmon Walnut Bread help me to fight the snack monster which attacks me with full vengeance during the evenings. It is filled with the goodness of persimmon and whole wheat flour filling me up without making me lose track of my calories for the day! ( believe me! A foodie that I am, I have to keep track!!!!)

Its good to indulge sometimes...at least u have to eat this wholegrain Milk and Cheese Bread. It tastes absolutely heavenly with nice bowl of warm vegetable soup and oh well! Its not a complete loss either. You get the calcium and protein from the dairy ingredients in there and also nutrition from wheat! Thats some indulgence - dont you think?



Another favourite snack recipe of mine is this Wholemeal Banana and Nut muffins. I love the combination of Banana and Walnuts. They compliment each other so well and along with the wheat flour become a nutritious trio




Wheat berries are a boon and so versatile. For those not so familier about what they are, my Wheat Berries 101 should be of some help.





Special thanks to Roma for the event. :)

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.

---

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

---

Barley Roti - Simple, appetizing and nutritious Indian flatbread

---

To know about the different varieties of Barley that are available and ways to cook them, please refer to my article at Daily Tiffin

---

I feel that incorporating the goodness of whole grains is a must in every household, be it in Baking or in normal day to day food. Since roti is a staple in my home, having it for dinner almost every other day, I try to bring about variation. Roti's are one of the best ways of adding in different grains. I have already blogged about making roti with Oats. This time its going to be with Barley. Barley are another nutrition powerhouse. Indians especially must be aware thanks to Barley Water.



I try to drink Barley water at least once in 10 days or so. But there are times, thanks to hectic lifestyle, such things tend to slip my mind. One thing which is more dangerous than anything is blaming time for not eating properly. That being said, these Barley Roti's come to rescue. I use Barley flour, along with whole wheat flour, which are available in everywhere, even in Indian stores. Instead of using plain water to knead the dough I use barley water. You can use the cooked barley as an alternative to plain white rice - for the same meal or refrigerate it and use the next day for salad prep, patties etc.

Ingredients


• 1 cup Barley flour
  
  
• 1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour, plus extra for dusting,rolling etc
  
  
• Barley water to knead the dough
  
  
• salt to taste
  

Method

Prepare barley water as shown in this post (skip the lemon).



Add the flours and salt together and stir well.



Add enough barley water to knead the dough. It should be soft and pliable.



Divide into small balls and using a rolling pin, roll it out into a circle to approximately 1/8 inches



Cook it into a medium-hot pan. Add little oil to help it stay soft.



Turn once golden brown with little spots appear in the bottom.



Serve warm with any dal or greens of your choice.

---

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

---

Wholemeal Banana (Wal)Nut Muffins

I Love using Bananas for Baking as evident from my Low Sugar Banana Muffins and Banana Walnut Bread. I like ti even more with walnuts. For me nothing tastes better than a combination of Banana and Walnuts. That being said, I was amazed to see that I dint have Banana Walnut Muffin posted when I have been making one quite a lot. I find having such treats around help me to avoid reaching for junk foods at the danger time - you know, the time between lunch and dinner. I read somewhere that if this period is not handled right, then thats where one goes bersek with their dieting strategies!



Anyways I have made these Banana Muffins with wheat flour instead of all purpose flour and it has healthy ingredients for a guilt free gluttony :) It is immensely moist with a crunch of generous walnut pieces. I have used minimal fat.

Ingredients


• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  
  
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  
  
• 2 large bananas
  
  
• 1/8th cup of wheat germ
  
  
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
  
  
• 1 egg (you can skip this to make it eggless.)
  
  
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
  
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
  
• 1/4 cup milk
  
  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
  
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  
  
• 1-1/2 tbsp butter
  

Method

Add the flour,salt,baking powder, wheat germ together.



Add the wet ingredients together . Mash the bananas with a fork. I do this to get little chunks of banana in my muffin. If you dont prefer that, mash it in a food processor until smooth.



Mix both of them until well incorporated. Blend in some nuts.



Drop spoonfuls of the batter into lined muffin pans.



Top it off with some nuts and bake in a preheated oven 350F for approximately 30-40 min or until done.



Serve warm. Some tea with this muffin would make you feel all the more good about yourself :), the way it does to me.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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! ;-)

Wholemeal Ricotta Pancakes with Berry Sauce and Grilled Pears

I am starting off my RSVP Series(Cheese) with Ricotta, since I am partial to it :). Although not technically a cheese, I am categorizing it in here for ease since it is mostly known as cheese ( Ricotta CHEESE! Duh! )

Ricotta Cheese is a soft, low-fat unsalted cheese which can be made from sheep,goat or cow milk. It has a slightly granular texture and is widely used in Italian cooking.Its mild, clean flavor means that it is incredibly versatile. It makes a wonderfulling filling for pasta where it is sometimes combined with spinach. Source @ Books and Internet

I have come across many families, where women usually keep their routine foods for weekdays and make something special on the weekends. That being the norm for obvious reasons( time to make something,family around to eat together etc), I seem to be made of something from outer unknown planet! A typical specimen who likes to make all sorts of foods during weekdays but absolutely nothing during weekends! Oh yeah! my reason is the same as mentioned earlier - lots of free time ( so utilize that for lazing around!), family around - so more reason to spend time with them than to slog out all alone in the kitchen :-)



But got to feed the family right! So thats when I thought of making more hearty breakfast! why? Dont have to make elaborate lunch and dinner cos usually a hearty and fulfilling breakfast cuts down the appetite for the rest of the day ( Oh well!I am Evil!) Anyways a balanced meal would include something from every food group in the pyramid. I have tried to include from almost all the groups resulting in a satisfying meal.

They cater to our taste, so do try variation around it, to suit your palate, cos this is one wonderful meal which is not to be missed.

Ingredients

• 1 cup wheat flour ( Usualy they are made with plain flour with baking powder. I have skipped them with the healthy wheat)
  
  
• approx. 1/4 cup Fat free/Low fat Ricotta Cheese
  
  
• 1 tsp ground ginger
  
  
• 1 tbsp brown sugar ( + or - as per your taste)
  
  
• 1 egg (optional, if not using egg increase the qty of milk)
  
  
• 1/2 cup fat free/low fat milk ( increase to 1 cup if cutting out egg)
  
  
• 1 pear
  
  
• 1/4 cup mixed berries, fresh/frozen
  
  
• about 2 spoons of butter,brown sugar and cinnamon mixed together to form a paste
  
  
• honey/malt syrup to taste
  

No, wait - dont go seeing the long list. Its simple really ! :)

Method

1.mix the wheat flour,sugar and ginger powder together.



2.Add the ricotta,milk and egg, if using and mix well till it becomes smooth without lumps. It should be of pourable consistancy.



3.Heat a non stick pan, coat with Pam spray ( Cuts out the unwanted butter) and pour down the batter to form round pancakes.



4.Meanwhile take the berries in a m/w bowl. If fresh, add few tbsp water , M/w for 2-3 min till there's liquid. Add some honey/Malt syrup to adjust the tartness and set aside.



5.Cut the pear lengthwise, remove the seeds and apply the butter,cinnamon and sugar mixture to it



and grill it skin side up in a grill pan greased with PAM butter spray.



Take them when done. We like the crunch of the fresh fruits so I dont grill for long.



6.Take the Pancakes, drizzle it with berry sauce and one half of grilled pear. This alongwith one cup of hot tea is so fulfilling and healthy.

This has wheat,fruits,protein from ricotta and milk and little bit of fat. You can also sprinkle it with oats. Or else sometimes cut out that tea and have some fresh vegetable juice to make it a total balanced meal :)

Related Ricotta Recipe

Berry Healthy Ricotta Dessert

This is my entry to

1. AFAM : Pears by Raaga

2.MM : Spring Fruits Sensations Event by Abby initiated by Meeta

3.WBB : Balanced Breakfast by Mansi