Oats Soup

Ingredients (one serving)

• One and half table spoon oats
• 6 flakes of garlic (finely chopped)
• Half cup of  skimmed milk
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp ghee
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Grind oats coarsely and keep it aside.
2. In a kadai put half tsp ghee.
3. Add chopped garlic and fry till it turns brown.
4. Remove half of the fried garlic from the kadai and keep it for garnishing.
5. Along with the remaining fried garlic, add ground oats and fry for two minutes.
6. Add enough water and boil till it gets cooked.
7. Add milk, salt and pepper powder and cook for two minutes.
8. The consistency of oats mixture should be similar to any soup consistency.
9. Garnish with fried garlic pieces.
10. Serve hot with whole wheat bread.

Dia Rice Pulav

You are an ardent rice-eater? You are a diabetic?

Unhappy that you have to forego portions of rice from your daily meal?

If your answer is yes to all the above questions, I guarantee you are going to love the vegetable pulav recipe here.  Don’t worry, the rice I have used for this recipe is called Dia Rice , herbally treated rice  made available for diabetics. You should get different brands and varieties in the Indian market today. If you are someone staying abroad, you should check if Dia Rice is available in your country.

This vegetable pulav is ideal for diabetic patients since it is a combination of Dia Rice and green vegetables. It is highly nutritious and fills your stomach quite well. It is very tasty even if you carry for lunch.

Carbs in Dia Rice have  less effect on blood sugar levels as its glycemic index is low. Diabetic patients can include this recipe often in their diet and is perfect for diabetic management.

Ingredients

• One cup of dia rice
• One cup of mixed vegetable(beans, turnip, capsicum, cauliflower and peas)
• One medium sized onion ( finely chopped)
• One green chilli(slited)
• One tsp cooking oil
• One cinnamon
• One cardamom
• One clove
• One bay leaf
• Salt as required

Method

1. Soak dia rice for 20 minutes.
2. Drain the water and keep it aside.
3. In a frying pan, put one tsp oil.
4. Add cinnamon, cardamom, clove and bay leaf.
5. Let it splutter.
6. Add chopped onion and green chilli and fry for a while.
7. Add the mixed vegetables and fry for 5 minutes.
8. Add the drained rice and fry till becomes seperate.
9. Add 2 cups of water and enough salt.
10. Stir well.
11. Cook the mixture in a pressure cooker (Once the whistle comes, sim it for 10 minutes)
12. Serve hot  with rajma masala.

Note: 50 gms of rice and a cup of vegetable is enough for one serving.Since we use dia rice the drained water can be used for making the pulav.

Veg Dhal

Ingredients

• One cup of toor dal
• One medium sized onion(finely chopped)
• One tomato (finely chopped)
• One cup of mixed vegetables (beans, carrot, turnip, cauliflower and peas)
• One green chilli (finely chopped)
• One tsp kasuri methi
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida
• One tsp red chilli powder
• One tsp cooking oil
• One tsp lemon juice
• Salt as required

For seasoning

• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• Few curry leaves

For Garnishing

• Few coriander leaves

Method

1. Cook toor dal in a pressure cooker with enough water till it gets cooked.
2. Boil the mixed vegetables with enough salt and water.
3. In a frying pan, put one tsp oil.
4. Add mustard and cumin seeds.
5. Let it splutter.
6. Add chopped green chilli and curry leaves and fry for a while.
7. Add chopped onion and fry for two minutes.
8. Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, asafoetida and fry till tomato gets cooked.
9. Add the boiled vegetables and red chilli powder and cook for two minutes.
10. Add the cooked dal, kasuri methi and enough salt.
11. Boil for five minutes.
12. Switch off the burner and add lemon juice.
13. Mix well and garnish with coriander leaves.
14. Serve hot with phulka.

My Blog Turns 2 Today!

Hello All,

I am so glad that I completed two years of blogging. I haven’t been so regular in the blogging front. My family keeps me busy all the time. Yet I have managed to sustain this whole effort. This blog now has 88 useful recipes.  I have also received more than 200 comments from my wonderful readers across the world. This is indeed encouraging and motivates me to continue to blog.

The huge response that I got through this blog also inspired me to publish my book last year. The response has been very positive again. Thanks to all of you again.

I take this opportunity to list top 5 recipes in this blog here today:

• Bitter Gourd Juice For Diabetics
• Spicy Cabbage Curry
• Bottle Gourd Kootu
• Papaya Milk Shake
• Sprouted Chick Peas Curry
• Sprouted Green Gram Dosa with Mint Leaves Chutney

My Diet Chart also seems to be a big hit. I am glad you find the chart useful.

I hope to keep posting useful recipes in the coming days. Please keep visiting this blog and do not forget to leave your comments and suggestions. I would also love to hear diet recommendations from you.

I wish you all a very blissful and healthy life.

regards

Sharadha

Methi Matar Ki Sabzi

Ingredients

• One bunch of fresh methi leaves
• 100 gms of green peas
• One medium sized onion (finely chopped)
• One big tomato (finely chopped)
• 3 or 4 flakes of garlic (finely chopped)
• One green chilli
• One tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• One tsp garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp jeera
• Cooking oil as required
• Salt to taste
• One tsp fresh cream (Optional)

Method

1. Boil green peas with enough salt and water.
2. Clean the methi leaves well and cut into small pieces and add little salt to it so that the bitter taste will disappear.
3. In a frying pan, put enough oil.
4. Add jeera and let it splutter.
5. Add chopped garlic and fry till it turns brown.
6. Add chopped onion and green chilli and fry till the onion becomes soft.
7. Add chopped tomato and fry till it gets cooked.
8. Add the chopped methi leaves, turmeric powder and enough salt.
9. Cook for five minutes.
10. Add the boiled peas and mix well.
11. Add red chilli powder, garam masala powder and fry till the raw smell of masala disappears.
12. Add enough water and make it as a gravy.
13. Garnish with fresh cream and serve hot with phulka.

My Mother’s Favourite Dish – Peas Parantha

This year has been really special for me. After so many years, my mother travelled all the way from Bangalore to stay with me for a couple of months. She is old and weak and I am awed by her mental strength and determination to travel at this age. We get so much time to chit chat about little things and enjoy a hearty meal together.

I must say that it delights me a lot  that I got a chance to make all the healthy and tasty dishes for my mother. My mother is also a diabetic and my dishes worked like magic on her. She is completely moved and impressed with the food I serve her. Out of all the dishes I made, she loved peas parantha the best. She in fact wrote a short, sweet poem and presented it to me. I am deeply touched by her gesture.

This post is dedicated to my mother, Mrs. Savitri. In this post you should find the poem my mother wrote to me and the recipe for peas parantha. Enjoy the poem and of course my peas parantha 🙂

My Mother’s Poem to Me

Cherish and Relish – By Mrs. Savitri

Ideal wife, loving mother, sincere daughter, dutiful to inlaws is none but Sharadha who should shine

Sharadha, the lovely angel of the magnificient Shrine

Is the sweetest and the softest bird so very fine

Flies from morn till eve for everyone to dine

The dishes she makes out of many a grains

Sprout no doubt is really cute.

Speciality of the same is immensely tasty to eat.

Marvellous and delicious eatables are prepared

Extra ordinary taste is overspread

Oh, Mother do bless her too

For the best of luck in this sport.

My Mother’s Favourite Dish : Peas parantha

Ingredients for filling

• One cup of green peas
• One medium sized onion(finely chopped)
• One tsp ginger garlic paste
• One tsp red chilli powder
• One tsp jeera powder
• One tsp fennel seeds
• One tsp cooking oil
• Few coriander leaves
• Salt to taste

Ingredients for making dough

• One cup of whole wheat atta
• Quarter cup of oats flour
• Salt to taste
• Enough water for kneading

Method for making the filling

1. Boil peas with enough water and salt.
2. Allow it to cool and grind it in the mixer.
3. In a frying pan, put one tsp oil.
4. Add fennel seeds and allow it to splutter.
5. Add chopped onion and fry till it becomes soft.
6. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.
7. Add jeera powder and red chilli powder and fry for a while.
8. Add the ground peas and salt(if required) and chopped coriander leaves.
9. Mix well.
10. Now the filling is ready.

Method for making the dough

1. In a large bowl, mix atta, oats flour, salt.
2. Knead well with hand by adding enough water.
3. Knead well by applying little oil in the hand  till it becomes a soft dough.
4. Let it remain for one hour.

Method for making parantha

1. Take a lemon sized portion of the dough and make it round shape using rolling pin.
2. Place one portion of the stuffing in the middle and fold all the edges towards centre tightly.
3. Dust with dry flour using rolling pin,  again make the parantha into big round shape.
4. Heat non stick tawa and place the parantha  andpour oil around it
5. Cook parantha on both sides till it turns golden brown.
6. Serve hot with any gravy sabji or raitha

Rajma (Kidney Beans Sundal)

Kidney beans are rich in soluble fiber and help in reducing cholesterol and blood pressure. They are a good source of folate, potassium, iron, manganese, copper and zinc. Since kidney beans have low glycemic index and fat content, those who are on diet and diabetic patients can include kidney beans in their menu often.

 Ingredients

• One cup of rajma
• One tsp of cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• One red chilli
• Few curry leaves
• Salt to taste
• Few coriander leaves

For Grinding

1. One tsp daniya
2. One small piece of coconut
3. Two red chillies
4. 1/2 tsp asafoetida

Method

1. Soak rajma overnight and clean well with water.
2. In  a pressure cooker, boil rajma with enough salt and water till it gets cooked.
3. Drain the excess water and keep it aside.
4. Grind daniya, coconut, red chillies and asafoetida coarsely.
5. In a frying pan, put one tsp oil.
6. Add mustard and red chilli and let it splutter.
7. Add curry leaves and cooked rajma and fry for a while.
8. Add the ground masala to the cooked rajma and fry for five minutes.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot as an  evening snack.

Mixed Vegetable Oats Upma

Ingredients

• One cup of oats (200 gms)
• One onion (finely chopped)
• One tomato (finely chopped)
• 1/4 cup of mixed vegetables (peas, carrot, beans, capsicum and cabbage)
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• 1/2 tsp channa dal
• 1 or 2 red chillies
• Few curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida
• 2 tsp cooking oil
• Salt as required

Method

1. In a kadai, boil beans, carrot, cabbage and capsicum with enough salt and water.
2. Fry oats for 2 minutes and keep it aside.
3. In a frying pan, put 2 tsp oil.
4. Add mustard, urad dal, channa dal and red chillies and fry till the dals turn brown.
5. Add chopped onion, curry leaves and asafoetida and fry till the onion becomes soft.
6. Add chopped tomato and fry till it gets cooked.
7. Add one and quarter cup of water and enough salt.
8. When water starts boiling, add the cooked vegetables and fried oats and stir well.
9. Lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid allowing it to get completely cooked and all the water is dried.
10. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot along with coconut, coriander chutney.

Mushroom Basil Soup

 

Are you  a vegeterian and think mushrooms are non-vegeterian?

or

Are you a non-vegeterian and eat mushrooms only because they taste like chicken or mutton?

Either ways, here are some more reasons why you must go for mushrooms or go all the more for mushrooms.

Button mushrooms are :

1. Vegeterian
2. Good for diabetics and to control high blood pressure
3. A good source of minerals and high in antioxidants
4. Low in calories
5. Are widely available through out the year in most super markets

So what are you waiting for?

Go to the supermarket now and grab your packet of mushrooms and some basil leaves and make this yummy soup 🙂

Ingredients

• Four medium sized button mushroom
• One medium sized onion
• 3 or 4 flakes of garlic
• One tsp dried basil
• One tsp cooking oil
• Half tsp ghee
• Half cup of toned milk
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Cut onion into small pieces.
2. Peel off the skin from the garlic.
3. Wash and clean two mushrooms well and cut into small pieces.
4. In a frying pan put some oil.
5. Add onion, garlic and mushroom pieces and fry for five minutes.
6. Add enough water and salt and cook till the mushrooms become soft.
7. Allow them to cool and grind them in the mixi into a fine paste.
8. Add enough water and milk to make a smooth mixture.
9. Add dried basil and pepper powder to the mushroom mixture and boil for five minutes.
10. Chop two more mushrooms into fine pieces and keep it aside.
11. In another frying pan, put ghee and add the chopped mushroom pieces.
12. Fry till it turns golden brown.
13. Add the fried mushroom to the soup.
14. Serve hot with whole wheat bread or sandwiches.

Mint Leaves Chappathi

 

Ingredients

• One small bunch of mint leaves
• One green chilli
• One tsp ghee
• One cup of whole wheat atta
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil for making chappathi

Method for making the dough

 

• Wash mint leaves well and cut into small pieces.
• Grind green chilli into fine paste.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix atta, green chilli paste, one tsp ghee, chopped mint leaves and enough salt.
• Knead it with hand by adding water.
• Knead well till it becomes a soft pliable dough.
• Let it remain for one hour.

Method for making chappathi

• Take a lemon sized portion of the dough and roll out a nice,  round shape with a rolling pin.
• Pour some oil around it and cook on both the sides till it turns golden brown.
• Serve hot with spicy dal, or any gravy sabji.