Showing posts with label 7 Day Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 7 Day Challenge. Show all posts

Thursday, December 06, 2018

Bajri Pearl Millet Pancakes


The last week, I have been desperately trying to stay off carbs in my diet. Not an easy feat for aluseddho-bhaat loving Bengalis.

But I have been eating like a glutton and wanted to give the whole digestive system, a short break between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Add to that my recent woeful experience while clothes shopping in Kolkata.

I love going to stores like Pantaloons, Biba or Big Bazaar back home. Being used to departmental stores in the West, where store assistants hardly pay a glance, careful not to intrude my privacy by suggesting any opinion unless clearly asked for,  the overload of shopping assistants in the stores at the Kolkata Mall, makes me feel very special.

They are always asking "Madam, ki chai?";then suggesting designs that they profess will look good on me; if I am throwing a tantrum that nothing matches they are eager to hunt down the right color leggings for my Kurta. In general they are pretty good people, showering attention as if I am buying a 900 rupees kurta for the royal wedding.

But with every pro, comes a con. And in this case there is plenty. One of them, of course is the intrusion which I am now old enough to take in stride. I have bidden enough time standing in long queues for the public bus in my college days, with Aunties suggesting all kind of skin and hair care routine. From staying off "oily food" to some Baba's miracle ointment, I have heard it all. That has toughened my self confidence.

So we will not talk about intrusion. Instead I would like to ponder upon why size of clothes in Indian stores is a variable. It is not a constant and is always shifting. What is a M today is not a M tomorrow in the same brand. What used to be an XL is now non-existent.. Folks in Kolkata are slimming down at an alarming rate so that size S is becoming a smaller size every year.

Until 2017, I was a size M with Kurtas that I bought in India. With most US brands, I can still get into a size S! But this time back in Kolkata, I could barely breathe in even M sized Kurtas.

At the Big Bazaar, which is close to my parent's home, and so a favorite haunt, I asked one of the young nymph like store assistants, "Are you guys just becoming more thin, or why does a M not fit me anymore?"

The young girl gave me a once over and without a smile said, "Didi, try a L, that will fit you!"

And of course it did. But that is when I made up my mind to stay off carbs for a week. But only after I had polished off all the Norom paak mishti and Nolen Gur er Ice cream of course!!!

Bajri Flour or Pearl Millet flour is a very common flour in some regions of India. It is high in complex carbohydrates and a rich source of protein and dietary fiber. I therefore cheerfully bought a small pack of Bajri flour while planning the low-carb week's menu. 

However I have never had Bajri flour while growing up and I doubt if my Mother has used it even once. All I knew is this nutty coarse flour is used to make a type of thick flat bread called Bakhri, which I was not keen to make. My neighbor then suggested making a Chilla with bajri flour as it is easier to make than a Bakhri.

I took it a step further, added eggs, spices, onion, green chilies and made savory crepes instead. I had these crepes with a ground chicken keema and avocados. I really loved the robust flavor of the crepes. The kids thought it was "meh" but then they are kids, so we will ignore them. For now, I am hooked to Bajri Crepes!!!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Mung Bean Soup -- Moong Dal Ayurveda way





Mung Bean is BIG in Ayurveda. As I read through I see whole green mung(moong) dal referred to having magical and powerful effects. It seems to be as magical as the magical bean of Jack and the Bean Stalk.

"Mung bean soup pacifies all three doshas and is nutritious yet easy to digest. Mung Bean Soup recipe is used to clear even the most chronic, troublesome digestive issues and used to enhance overall health and vitality."

Really ??? You say to yourself. Those tiny shiny green beans and they want you to make a soup of it, a dal actually, and that dal is supposed to get rid of the toxins in your body ??? Whoa, and you fall right into it and before you know you have this big pot of green moong dal bubbling on the stove and you are having a bowl full of it everyday. It does not exactly detox if you follow it up with cut mirchi bhaji and samosas with your afternoon chai but what the...





Actually the green mung(moong) dal is pretty delicious. Made the Ayurvedic way without the onions and garlic, makes it not rich but very tasty. I deviated from the recipe a little and followed my Mom's way,added vegetables like cauliflower and carrots. I think greens like spinach would be a very good idea too.

The split and hulled moong dal, which is the yellow moong dal has equal magical properties and you can use that instead of whole green mung beans. The yellow moong dal cooks faster and is also easier to digest.

When you are making the mung bean soup and you want to follow the Ayurveda detox regime you need to determine which category you fall in. Depending on the dosha you have you have to use different spices. The recipe I have here is loosely based on Kapha Balancing Mung Bean Soup. I have used whole green mung and also the pressure cooker. You can use yellow moong and do it in a regular pot.


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Green Mung Bean Soup




Wash and soak 1 cup of whole green moong beans for couple of hours or overnight. You can skip the soaking if in a hurry.

Pressure cook the beans with double the water, little salt and 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

Heat Ghee in a soup pot. I used Olive Oil about 3 tsp

Temper the oil with
1/2 tsp of Whole Cumin/Whole Jeera
1/2 tsp of Whole Fennel/Whole Saunf,
6-7 whole Fenugreek seeds/Whole Methi seeds
and a pinch of asafoetida/Hing
.

If adding vegetables add them now and saute for a few minutes

Add the cooked mung beans

Add 1" ginger grated or pounded in a mortar and pestle

Add 1/2 tsp of fresh corriander powder and salt to taste. Mix well. Add about 2 cups of water and let the dal come to a boil. At this point you can blend the dal to make a puree, I do not.

Adjust for seasonings. Squeeze juice of a lime quarter and enjoy hot.

Alternately

Skip step 2 i.e. do not pressure cook the dal at the beginning. Instead start the whole process in a pressure cooker and pressure cook the dal after adding all the spices.

I am sending this off to MLLA -19 hosted by Simple Indian Food and the brainchild of Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Detoxifying Tea -- the Cleanse





Yesterday I had two uninterrupted hours to myself, bang in the middle of the day, a rare opportunity on a week day. I could have taken a much needed shower, cooked something more elaborate than serving up masoor dal, baked tilapia and aloo-gajar yet again or at least cooked something, anything. But did I do that ? No.

Instead I googled for "detox diet ayurveda 3 days". Don't ask me why. Maybe I overdid the Biryani that we got on Sunday and the body was sending toxic signals.At least I didn't ask for "detox diet in a packet". Ok hold on, let me google this. Guess what there IS a detox diet in a packet, what fun, packaged, processed and with all the chemicals.

But the ayurveda detox thingy is not easy. They don't do things fast, to do it the right way, you need 60 whole days, S-I-X-T-Y, who has that ? But they have a point, the body is like your child, no point hurrying it, it is best to go with the flow, to let things balance out gradually.
"A complete ayurvedic cleansing program includes 15 days of preparation and 45 days of actual cleansing. Ayurvedic healers recommend paying special attention to your diet during these two phases to avoid overtaxing your digestion and to enable purification to occur easily and completely. Maharishi Ayurveda does not recommend fasting or entirely liquid diets such as juices, because that may cause your digestive agni to become imbalanced."


Why Do You Need to Detox ?

According to Ayurveda, there are three different types of toxins that can impact the physiology: ama -- the waste product of incomplete digestion, amavisha -- the reactive form of ama i.e ama + other doshas and garvisha -- external toxins from the environment, exposure to chemicals etc..

Ayurveda recommends a program of internal cleansing at every change of seasons to clear the channels of the body of toxins that may have built up over the previous season. Detox is particularly recommended at the time when winter is phasing into spring.

The Detox Routine according to Ayurveda

The following is a general guideline of what to eat and to avoid during this phase.





To know more in details about the kind of fruits and vegetables that you can eat depending on your body type, check this Food Guidelines

Along with the diet you also need to follow a routine of sleep, exercise and massaging. And then there is the eating habit you need to follow, of never skipping a meal and eating slowly, chewing each morsel.

Basically "the Ayurveda Detox Diet is what your Mom has been telling you since you were six and you never listened until Google told you to".

But seriously what I like about the detox plan is the use of spices in cooking the vegetables.

"Ginger, turmeric, coriander, fennel and fenugreek help open up the channels of the body and support the flushing of toxins via the skin, urinary tract, colon and liver"

These were the main spices (along with Nigella seeds and mustard seeds) that were used in the everyday Bengali Food that my Ma made. She did not use garlic or onions much and neither does everyday home cooked Bangla meals call for that. Everyday Bengali food is light, subtly spiced, not much garlic, onion, red chili or cream and tends to retain the texture and taste of the vegetables. Ahh, if we could just add some fish to that detox diet, I could have sealed the deal

Main Reference: Ayurvedic Detox Diet -- Maharishi Ayurveda

Though I don't have the determination or resources to go on a sixty day detox diet right now and I need to use up the 20% discount coupons at the local restaurants, I decided to do my body some good by making and sipping the Detoxifying Tea throughout the day.

This is a very light and extremely easy to make tea. A big cup of this and small sips throughout the day will help you feel good about yourself and you will also get all the water. Just drinking this tea alone will do nothing to detox I am sure but here's to a better beginning.


Read more...






Detox Tea



Original Recipe

Bring to boil two quarts of water in the morning.

Add 1/4 t. whole cumin,
1/2 t. whole coriander,
1/2 t. whole fennel to the water and let steep for ten minutes with the lid on. I also added some fresh grated ginger and 3-4 Tulsi(Holy Basil) leaves.

Strain out the spices and pour the water into a thermos.

Sip throughout the day.

Disclaimer: I am not a Doctor. Biology was not even amongst my main 4 subjects in High School

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Dry Roasted Spicy Chickpea Salad -- Going local ?





Prelude

I am the kind of consumer who is pro organic because my primary concern is safety in food. Though due to cost and restricted availability I do not buy everything organic.

I did not rely much on "local food" because I do not have access to good locally grown produce. The nearby Farmers market that I go to have lovely produce, very good price but produce is never ever seasonal. If I compare their produce to this Harvest Dates for Jersey, it can only mean produce there is NOT local. Neither is the produce there certified organic. I am confused.

During summer the only local vegetables that I have seen in limited quantity(as sold in Wegmans or Whole Foods) is Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Tomatoes and Corn.

So if I want to eat Local I have a choice of very few vegetables and that too only during 5-6 months of the year. Not practical.

After I expressed my own doubts about Local Food on reading Indosungod's very informative post, I read the comments and felt I needed to know more and re-evaluate my decision . I then ventured into a little more research. Disclaimer: The following is information that I have gathered over the internet and then my interpretation.





Why we should buy Local

Local is really important as a deep investment into your local economy and developing a relationship with the person who produces your food. Local food is also fresher and more richer in nutrients. Proponents of Local Food say "Local" is the new "Organic". In an ideal world food would have been "Local and Organic". There would be no other kind and no discussion.

Is Local Sustainable ?

While dreams of our future food system may rely on the romantic image of local farmers, the reality is: this model(Local or Organic or both) can't do what we need it to do, that is, feed billions of people. From TreeHugger. But really is there an alternative, organic farming method that is sustainable ?

But Is Local always Safe and Organic ?

This largely depends on where you are and also on the trust relationship you have with the grower. If I don't know the farmer or am not sure if there is a vigilant body checking the farmer's activity, I cannot be sure of his method of growing food. The CSAs or the CoOps are more trustworthy.(Read Times Article)
The trust and the local farming practice also also depends on the country where you are. We tend to think of only the Western World when discussing such stuff.

Local Farming and Environment

It is not necessarily true that Local Food has a lower carbon footprint. More than transport, methods of growing impacts "food miles". It is likely to be more environmentally friendly for tomatoes to be grown in Spain and transported to the UK than for the same tomatoes to be grown in greenhouses in the UK requiring electricity to light and heat them.(Read more)

Local Farming and Third World Countries

If people in developed nations are convinced to eat only locally grown food what happens to the farmer in the third world country whose income is from exporting his produce. Afghanistan produces some of the world’s tastiest fruits and nuts. If these do not reach the world market how does that country better its economy ?
Also take an ordinary farmer in India. The prices of locally produced food is usually higher because they are not subsidized. Because of WTO's free trade policies it will be very hard for a poor farmer in India to compete his local grown produce with imported ones. So then is local food only a privilege of people in wealthier nations ?
I don't have much knowledge on this and really would love to know more about how local farming works in developing nations

How does Local fare in a Global Flat world

Local had always been how produce was grown when I was a kid. Food was seasonal and my Mother did without tomatoes and cauliflower in summer and didn't make mango chutney in winter. We waited for the fruit and vegetable of the season and accepted nature's way. Now with world going flat food is not only non-seasonal, it has also gone global. So even if you have moved countries and shifted loyalties you can still eat your jackfruit curry for lunch and suck on an alphonso mango after dinner. How do you put a stop to that craving and go local ?

Conclusion as a Consumer

"If the average meat eater gave up meat once a week that would be the equivalent of eating all of your food local."
—James McWilliams, author of Just Food: Where Locavores Get it Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly. From The TakeAway.


Eat Organic and Local as and when you can but they truly might not be the answer to building a sustainable food system. For each of us eating local or organic may mean different thing and I think it is largely a personal choice.
I was reading a book by Bourdain and there he talked about a sushi place in New York, the most expensive restaurant where they fly in fish from Japan every single day. If patrons of this sushi place, the rich & the famous of NYC, drive a 3 hrs distance from the city to a farm to get their local produce because buying local makes them feel warm and fuzzy and "in with the crowd", I will think the idea is somewhere defeated.

References from

Wiki -- Local Food
Wiki -- Organic Food
Eating Better than Organic -- Times
TreeHugger
Food That Travels Well - NY Times




Now back to these lovely dry roasted chickpeas spiced with Indian spices. They are great as a snack and also makes for a very healthy and satisfying meal. That they look pretty is an added bonus.


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Inspired by Kalyn's Roasted Chickpeas with Moroccan Spice.

Dry Roasted Spicy Chickpea Salad



Wash canned chickpeas in several changes of water. I used a 29oz can of Goya Garbanzo

In a bowl toss garbanzo beans with
1 & 1/2 - 2 tsp Dry Mango Powder
,
1/2 - 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
,
1/2 - 1 tsp fresh Coriander powder
(grind coriander seeds in your spice grinder),
little Kitchen King Masala(optional),
salt
and
1 tsp Olive Oil


Heat oven to 350F

Put the chickpeas in a single layer on a tray and bake for 30-40 mins or so.

To eat as a salad, toss together the roasted chickpeas with some peeled and chopped cucumber,chopped red onions and finely chopped green chili. Drizzle 1 tsp olive oil and combine. Add salt and pepper if needed

This made for a very filling and also satisfying packed lunch for work. Though I suggest that it tastes better when had fresh off the oven and tossed as a salad.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Mr. Pinto ? Bean there Done That





A couple of days back I was driving to the mall with Big Sis S in the backseat. A lot of things were going through my mind including how best to avail of the discount at Bath & Body Works.

When S from the back squeals: "What is WOW"?

Me: "That's a gym."

S: "Why does it say Wow ?"

Preoccupied Me: "Dunno". Actually it is "Work Out World"

S: "I know. Wow as in WOW you are so fat, you will become thin if you join me !!!"

Me: "!!!"

I need a WOW factor in my life. I need catcalls, to fit into skinny jeans, to wear fitted tees. I have a mid age crisis, I think I am sixteen. No seriously who am I kidding, I don't want any of those, I just want to be fit enough to survive, sitting down cross-legged on the floor 560 times, bending down to pick up toys 250 times, going up&down 100 times, kneeling down to mop a spill 90 times like any other Mom does. For all else there is Photoshop.

To achieve that I have two options. I either take Google Ad's tip that keeps appearing on my sidebar like a bad dream or I take this month to eat well, well as in healthy, more vegetables, more fish, more fruits, less meat, no sugar, no processed food, no grains well. Since I did this 7 Day Challenge last year, I keep going back to it every month or so. Even a week of this restricted eating helps me feel better about myself.

Pssst, but seriously how does Google know that I need tips and maybe more to get a flat belly ?






Whenever I have such healthy eating agenda on mind I browse through Kalyn's blog. She has wonderful SBD friendly recipes and so does Sig. This Pinto Bean recipe that I have today is adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen's this recipe.

Now I had never been to Rubios and so had no clue what she was talking about. But then again I had never tried cooking pinto beans either. But all that talk about creamy, "not refried" beans hooked me on. I loosely adapted her recipe and now am a big fan of Rubios, wherever it is. A creamy chunky bowl of these beans will fill you up and satisfy your hunger as well as taste cravings.


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Creamy Pinto Bean



I have no measurements and you shouldn't really need any. Follow Kalyn's recipe to cook and mash the beans.

Soak Dried Pinto Beans in water overnight or for at least 12 hrs. Note: If not soaking, cooking time will be longer

Cook them in pressure cooker with salt, coarsely ground black pepper and little of finely minced garlic. I had to pressure cook mine twice about 10-15 mins each time. You need the beans to be really soft, falling apart kind so if it is not done after the first 15 minutes do it again in second stage.

With the back of a spatula or a potato masher vigorously mash the beans until they are almost mashed but about 25% of them are still chunky. You don't want to mash all of them. Note: You can make a big batch of this and freeze. When needed spice it up. I would suggest not to add garlic if you intend to freeze, it might become too garlicky

Now comes my own story of spicing up everything

Heat olive oil in a deep bottom pot

Add some sliced onions and minced garlic and fry till onion is soft and translucent.

Add Pav Bhaji masala and a little red chili powder. Add the cooked and mashed beans and mix well. Adjust for salt and seasoning. Add a little water and let the beans simmer and thicken. Stir in between till you feel the creaminess is perfect.

While serving garnish with roasted garlic pods and chopped coriander. You can squirt a little lime juice if you wish. That red sumac on top is just for the pictures, you don't really need it.

More healthy eats



Trivia:The pinto bean (Spanish: frijol pinto, literally "painted bean") is named for its mottled skin. It is the most common bean in the United States and northwestern Mexico.Rice and pinto beans served with cornbread or corn tortillas are often a staple meal for the poor where there is limited money for meat; the amino acids in this combination make it a complete protein source

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Grilled Portabella and a Salsa Soup


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I am done with my challenge, it ended on Saturday. I had a glorious lunch to go to on Sunday so I ended it one day early, no harm done.

It was really good this time and I did not crave or miss anything at all. The meals were simple and yet we ate a lot of veggies and also heart-healthy fish. I stuck to eating no grains, no processed food, no sugar and almost no meat. I did bend the rules and ate out on two nights. One day it was salad, the other day a chicken vindaloo which we ordered home. I think bending the rules a bit and also a simpler meal plan helped to do the whole thing without any stress and accept it as a life style instead of one week fling.

If you ask me about weights, honestly I did not weigh in, neither before nor after. The weighing machine at home has given up after umpteen weighing of suitcases whenever the parents are here and gets totally messed up if humans are aboard. The gym whose weighing scales I trust was not visited.

I know I am nowhere near the target weight which the BMI calculators predict for me, man I would rather grow vertically than reach that pathetic low weight. But I do feel lighter and better, I think a week of restricted good eating does that to you anyway. The best thing is I have lost in inches, I can feel it , really.

Ok and the real proof of the pudding is in I could gracefully fit into the saree-blouse my Ma got stitched for me and sent over last week. This is no mean feat if you know my Mom and my blouse fitting saga.

My Mom is a health freak and is either exercising or eating small portions of healthily cooked food. She wasn't always like this but her arthritic knee has made her very watchful of her and consequently my weight. She gets my blouses stitched by the tailor whose template is from my wedding days. So most of the time I am huffing and puffing to get into those wry pieces of fabric which think I am Malaika where in real life I maybe Mayawati.

Now I am not sure if the tailor lost his original template but this time his creation was a much easier fit. A reward worthy of the challenge.

Before I go into the recipe I would like to make it clear that the no-grain diet is not necessary the best thing to and will depend on the individual's health and such factors. As some of the readers have asked, whole grains are definitely good for you in small portions.

Basically the No-Grain Diet is based on the idea that meals high in grains, sweets, and starches promote elevated insulin levels, causing you to become hungry soon after you have just eaten. This is referred to as a "grain addiction" - when the cravings trigger you to eat more of the "wrong foods" and a harmful cycle ensues. So getting rid of the grains reduces your carb cravings.

Back now to two more recipes which are much welcome in our home on no grain days are a Grilled Portabella Caps and a Salsa Soup. I have no pics for the Salsa Soup but trust me, it is a wonderfully tasty soup.


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Grilled Portabella Caps


Remove stems and wipe portabella caps clean with a damp paper towel. Combine Olive oil, Lime juice, Sambal Olek or Hot Chili Garlic sauce, little Honey, Garlic salt and Red Chili Powder.Brush the dressing on the outer side of the mushroom. Place mushrooms on their backs, with dark "gill" side up on the grill. Brush dressing over gills. Grill, gill sides up. serve whole or sliced.


The Salsa Soup is a quick recipe from here. Check the original link for measurements. I made a total vegetarian version with little changes and no Tortilla Chips but papad

Salsa Soup


Heat Olive Oil in a deep, heavy pan. Add a pinch of red pepper and about 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds to the oil and stir briefly.
When the cumin sizzles, add chopped onion and fry till soft.
Now add your salsa. Note: Either home made salsa or the jar will work. If you like it hot add chili powder or use a HOT salsa.
Cook the salsa and oil together for couple of minutes, stirring constantly so that it does not burn or stick.
Add the black beans, and the corn. I used a can of black beans.
Next, add the organic low sodium vegetable stock and stir all to blend well. If you don't have stock use plain water, add salt to taste.
Bring this mixture to a full boil and reduce heat to medium low.
Add Lime juice.
Simmer the salsa soup until the corn/bean is completely cooked .
Turn off heat under the cooking vessel and stir in a bunch of chopped cilantro.
Ladle your finished salsa soup into individual soup bowls
Stir in avocado chunks on top . Toss a bit of cheese on top of that.
Top with a few tortilla chips or papad.

Edited on 01/18/2011: Today I made this soup with a speedy homemade salsa. In a blender add
1 firm good quality tomato roughly chopped,
1-2 clove of garlic,
2 hot green chili pepper
a little cumin powder
Process till chunky to get your own salsa. Add some minced coriander to the prepared salsa.It was delicioso.Use this for the soup.





I will be on a break until next week. I haven't been able to visit blogs as much as I would have liked to the last week and the trend will continue for the next week or two. I am sorry but I will be back.


Trivia: Aztec lords started to make a mixture of tomatoes with chili peppers and ground squash seeds as early as 1521. They used it as a condiment, to be eaten alongside turkey, venison, lobster, and fish. It was Alonso de Molina who first gave the name ‘salsa’ to the mixture, in 1571.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Fish Kolhapuri and even a Paneer Kolhapuri


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What are meal plans if not to be altered ? So after eating grilled and baked for two consecutive days my heart was craving something fiery. I found that D survives such stuff better, me I want spices in my life.

And then there was this jewel red, fragrant spice that had just arrived.Like a new bride it sat in my pantry, shy and coy, fiery from inside, waiting to be introduced to the rest of the family. I too was waiting for an opportune moment, to make memories out of the first introduction.

To make things more clear lets cut and do a flashback.

Few weeks back Dear Nupur of One Hot Stove had a generous giveaway at her blog. Of the millions who responded I was one. I didn't hope to win. Winning by luck is not my forte, I have better chances when hard work is involved.

So of course I did not win. But life is not totally unfair and there are extremely nice judges like Nupur who will mail losers and ask them if they want the prize even though they have lost !!! And what a prize, the jewel red, fragrant spice from far away Kolhapur, the authentic Kolhapuri Masala.

Cut to present. So yesterday I tossed the idea of baking salmon and made a Fish Kolhapuri with salmon instead.
I picked up this recipe but altered it because I was using the pre-made Kolhapuri Masala. I also got helpful and prompt tips from Nupur on using the masala, the right way.

Fish Kolhapuri with salmon was the best salmon dish we have had till date. With the sweet fresh water fishes that I love, this dish can only get better. It was rich in texture, gorgeous in color and very flavorful and fiery in taste.

Fish Kolhapuri and Dal Fry again flavored with Kolhapuri masala was our meal yesterday night. The challenge is still on but now it more flavorful.

I still had some of the masala paste remaining and since S loves Paneer, I made a Paneer Kolhapuri exactly the same way I made the fish. It was delicious to say the least.

Thanks Nupur. This is a spice mix we will treasure for ever.

If you don't have access to the Kolhapuri Masala, you can make your own from Nupur's blog or this recipe. You can also follow the original fish recipe and make the dish but I bet mine was more flavorful with that gorgeous masala.




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Fish Kolhapuri



Marinate the fish pieces (10-12, 2" x 2" pieces of salmon) in 1 tsp of garlic paste, 1 tsp lime juice, Red chilli powder, salt and 1/4 cup yogurt for half hour or more. Note: use any fish of your choice here.

Meanwhile heat oil in a frying pan/Kadhai

Saute 1 cup of chopped red onion till it is soft and bordering on light brown

Add 1 medium tomato chopped and fry till tomato turns soft and mushy

Add about 1/4 cup of grated coconut and fry for couple of minutes. I used frozen, use fresh if you can.

Add 2 tsp of Kolhapuri masala and mix well. Note: This quantity was enough for me, add more or less if you want more or less spicy

Cool the above and blend the whole mixture to a paste with aid of a little water. You need a thick paste so don't add too much water.

Heat some more oil and gently add the fish pieces. Lightly brown the fish pieces on both sides.

Add the prepared masala paste and saute for a minute

Add salt, a little water for the gravy and simmer over low heat till fish is cooked

Adjust for seasonings and garnish with finely chopped coriander.

Paneer Kolhapuri



Cut paneer in small cubes

Heat oil in a frying pan/Kadhai

Add the paneer cubes and lightly brown them on both sides.

Prepare a masala paste as above in the fish recipes

Add the prepared masala paste, salt, a little water for the gravy and simmer over low heat till paneer is cooked

Adjust for seasonings and garnish with finely chopped coriander.




Monday, July 20, 2009

7 Day Challenge -- 2.0


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My packed lunch today


I had other posts in mind for this week, posts that have been sitting in my draft. But then something happened last week.

For the first time ever I met a blogger in real life. For whatever reason I have never taken a blog friendship to the next level with e-mails, chats, social networks, phone calls and then live. Occasional e-mails yes but nothing beyond that.

So even when I told her that I would be happy to meet her I wasn't too sure. But am I glad that I did. It was wonderful really and it didn't feel like meeting a stranger at all. She was extremely sweet and got me and S some delightful presents. The Tulika books for S are a treasure.


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I made a complete bengali meal for her and the menu was Rice, Dal, Begun Bhaja, Jhinge Chingri Posto, Pathar Mangsho and Aamer Chaatni, the dessert didn't happen.

But her no-grains/limited grain diet for the last 12 years inspired me and I thought of doing the 7 day challenge again this week. Kay's post gave me the final shove.

Summing up the Challenge is simple points

* No Grains
* No Sugars
* No Alcohol
* No Processed Food
* Regular exercise
* Fruits and veggies except Potato
* All lean meat and fish
* Fast for 18 hours


As I had mentioned earlier my main problem was the large amount of prep work that I needed especially to pack lunch etc. So I am keeping it simple this time.


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7 Day 2.0 Challenge Menu

7 Day 1.0 Challenge Menu

I got 6-7 packets of frozen vegetables, different blend like Italian, California etc. They are not processed, just chopped and frozen. I am going to steam them and pan roast them for lunch. Different spices and difference in vegetables will bring in the much needed variety. I will have a simple Dal or soup along with it. Dinner will be grilled veggies and salmon on most days. Snacks will be Kala Chana and Papad. I am going to have Tea twice a day. Also I am going to have a little honey on some days.

Steam Veggies according to package Direction

Heat 1 tsp of Olive Oil in a heavy bottomed pan

Flavor the oil with minced garlic and chopped green chillies

Add some chopped red onion and saute till onion is soft.

Add spices like Garam masala or Corriander powder or anything else that you fancy.

Add the veggies. Add salt and saute at medium to low heat till veggies are done to your liking

Monday, April 27, 2009

Besan Ka Cheela and Pepper Shrimp


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We are done with 7 days of Challenge, woo hoo. Am I glad or what.

Saturday with all that fasting-shasting I was pretty crappy and so was the husband. We were spiteful and had huge rows. Low carb/sugar was showing its effects.

"But I feel lighter", I said to myself, "Maybe I have lost inches(or feet) if not pounds. If I lose my marriage so what, at least I will be thin"

And then came along dear N and made me re-read the rules again. As always I had just skimmed through the rules. I have been doing this since time immemorial. The only times I read and re-read the rules was during TOEFL and that because I thought I wouldn't understand Amriki accent over my headphone

Ok so as it goes I have broken errrr worked around several rules of the challenge. I had potatoes, honey with my yogurt and did no exercise

No wonder the husband was gladly gliding along until the fasting started.

Let me quickly sum up the pros of this process before I crib

* You feel much better about yourself
* All that eating right makes you feel a whole lot better. You do feel light believe me and may even lose pounds if you are strictly adhering to the rules. Actually the husband did lose noticeable inches as claimed by him.
* Remember the guilt after wolfing down a pizza. Well now you don't have any, neither pizza nor guilt
* You learn a whole new lesson on self-restraint and "giving up". If you continue you might achieve moksha soon

Things that did not quiet work for me

* We spent a whole lot of time cooking and packing lunches during the weekday. I was packing 3 dabbas each !!! This was definitely not good for me as I prefer spending weekday evening with my kids rather than in the kitchen. Maybe we also went overboard with the idea, but next time I plan to keep it even simpler

* Don't know why but since so much after-work time was spent in the kitchen that I didn't feel like going to gym at all. That would have cut into my time with the girls but Exercise would have helped

* No eating out on Weekends were tough, I am not going to do weekends next time. Such nice weather and yet we couldn't grab anything and had to be back home for dinner

* This challenge saw both of us(D & me) together in the kitchen a lot and by that I mean A LOT. Now this might be a total incentive for honey-baby-lovey-dovey kind of couples(with no disrespect meant to anyone). But for me this is a hindrance. I have known the husband for a loooong time now and don't feel the need to bond over how to grill salmon just right.
The hubby is a good cook and definitely a help in the kitchen but when he is in there I would rather spend my time with the baby who needs me more. Once the kids are older and can be in the kitchen too maybe we all can have coochie-coo Kitchen time.

On the whole the Challenge was worth it and I am going to do it maybe every alternate week or so. Take it up and feel good.


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On Saturday after the fast I didn't want to settle down for anything less but cheela -- a savory gram flour pancake and some hot spicy pepper shrimp. The very thought of it pepped me up until I broke the fast an hour early. Lovely light besan ka cheela with the hot shrimp did heal bruised egos and rumbling appetites to some extent. The Pepper Shrimp is frameworked on Cham's Pepper Mushroom recipe which I altered around a bit to suit my convenience and loved a whole lot


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Besan Ka Cheela or Gram Flour Pancakes


Makes enough for 2(5-6 cheelas)

In a wide mouthed deep bowl add 1 cup of besan(chickpea flour) and fluff with a fork to break lumps if any and aerate

Make a batter with the above Besan + about 1/4 cup of finely chopped red onions + 3 finely chopped green chilli + 1/2 tsp of Carrom Seeds/Ajwain + 1/2 tsp of Cumin Seeds + little Asafoetida/Hing + salt. Add a little more than 1 cup of water slowly to make the batter.

Heat a flat tawa or frying pan.

Grease it with little oil

Pour a ladleful of batter and spread it out to make a circle. This step is same as you would do for dosa or pancake. Add less than 1/2 tsp of oil in droplets along the edges

When your spatula slids under the edges easily, flip the cheela and cook the other side

Pepper Shrimp



Defrost about 10-12 frozen shrimp. I used frozen raw shrimp, substitute with whatever kind you like. Sprinkle some sea salt on them and let them rest for 15-20 minutes.

Heat oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan. A little more oil boosts the flavors in this dish

Add 5-6 Kari Patta(Curry Leaves) to the hot oil

Add 1/3 cup of chopped red onions and fry

Once the onion turns pink and translucent add 1 tsp of garlic paste

Add 1 tsp of Pepper Powder and saute for half a minute

Add the shrimp

Add 1/4 tsp of Red Chilli powder and 1/4 tsp of Fennel Powder

Add salt and fry the shrimp. You need to sprinkle a little water to bring the spices together and fry

Once the shrimp is cooked you are done. Don't cook shrimp for too long, it might get rubbery.

* If you are not a shrimp eater replace shrimp with mushroom and do not add any water while cooking. Also cook till all the water released by mushroom dries up

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The All Purpose Masala Paste & Fish Fry


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Today is Day 4 of The 7 Day Challenge, it has been good so far. I am not missing my grains any more, I have become paranoid about going grain free and am eating better in both quality and quantity.

The problem is both me & D are true foodies and cannot live on just salad & soup even if it only for a week so we both have to do a lot of work every day cooking interesting stuff and prepping. Only if I was able to transmogrify into a bovine creature chomping greens in a spring meadow, life would be easier.

I will analyze the pros and cons at the end of 7 days, but believe me even if you don't lose an inch this challenge is worth every salad because of the self-restraint you will acquire by the end of it


Now to The All Purpose Masala Paste which is an efficient homemade packaged solution for busy moms.

If I had any business acumen I would market it and put it on not Patel's but Whole Food's Freezer aisle. But before that I would have to pay hefty royalty fees to Vee and then Coffee, the original creators of this idea. This masala saves me on most weekdays and if you are not already making it, I urge you to refrain and wait till my product is out there.
I promise I will have a fun, family ad out with it too with a jingle that says "Taste mein Best, Mummy aur Mummy Ka Paste"


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Till then you can make it on your own by following these steps

Chop a large red onion roughly

Chop a medium plump red tomato in rough chunks. I keep saying rough because you don't need to spend time and cut in small equal sizes

Peel two to three cloves of garlic and chop in 2-3 pieces

Peel and chop about an inch of ginger, again roughly

Heat little oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic, follow by tossing in onions and then ginger

Fry till the onion is soft and translucent. Toss in the tomatoes and saute till tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

At this point you can get imaginative and add some generic spice powders if you wish, like say Garam Masala or maybe Kasoori Methi. I usually skip this step.

Cool the above and make a paste in your food processor, make a smooth paste not one of those chunky ones.

Cool this paste, pour it in a ice cube tray and freeze

Once frozen, take the frozen cubes out and store in a ziploc bag. I usually make enough to last me a week for impromptu weekday cooking

On a busy week night when all you want to do is just pull a blanket over your head, take some of this cubes out and make a quick gravy in minutes.



Depending on your taste you can vary the proportions and add green chillis to the above


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I made a Fish on Day 3 of the challenge using this paste. I had some Tilapia Fillet which I marinated with this paste (I made with Kasoori methi added this time), salt and some red chilli powder for 24 hours. However 30 mins to an hour should be enough. I usually bake this fish drizzled with Olive Oil but then I saw this recipe at Shilpa's and wanted to try this instead.

So for 30 mins before cooking I marinated the already marinated fish with some more garlic paste, red chilli powder and lime juice. For one of the fillets I added tamarind paste instead of Lime Juice.

However I am a Bong who always fries her fish except for maybe Ilish(Hilsa) so I was not sure how just poaching the fish would taste like. I therefore smeared my frying pan with a little olive oil, maybe 1/2 tsp. Added some curry leaves to it and then placed the fish fillet on the pan. Slowly added enough water so that the fish were just submerged in water. Let it cook till all the water has evaporated.

The fish tasted definitely good but I feel this method is best if the fish was more fresh. We had it with some salad and oven baked masala potato fries.



Monday, April 20, 2009

Day 1: Fatoush like Salad


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Today was ok. I definitely craved all kinds of grains from Biryani to fish and rice but that was all in my mind.

I sacrificed my morning tea too and still I was ok. I am not a coffee drinker so no problem there.

Lunch was pretty satisfying but I need larger portions tomorrow. After 3pm I wasn't feeling that good though. For some reason I have a pounding headache.

I couldn't do the Fatoush as I didn't have zatar or feta at hand. So my salad was this:

In a bowl add chopped cucumber, chopped red radish, halved grape tomatoes and chickpeas. In a separate bowl make a dressing of Olive Oil + Lime Juice + Minced Garlic + Red Chili Flakes. Toss the salad with this dressing.


I have this dressing saved for the other salads too.

The Keema Chickpea was damn good. I kind of followed the Rajma Keema recipe but did not marinade the keema(minced meat) or anything. I also did not use Whole Garam Masala or my favorite Maggi Ketchup to make it tangier. Added the canned chickpeas after washing thoroughly towards the end of the cooking and mixed well


The Hot & Sour Soup went like this

In a deep bottomed soup pot add very little olive oil. Flavor the oil with minced garlic, ginger and green chillies. Add chopped mushroom(I added carrots).Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, white vinegar, little salt and bring to boil. I did not add the cornstarch which goes in mixed with little water. When the soup comes to a boil add some shrimp. Add lime zest and garnish with chopped scallion. I omitted adding an egg to make the string thingy


Thanks for all your ideas. Cheela wins hands down for weekend menu. I have not had pesarattu so don't know how it will be.

Besan or Gram Flour is flour made from chickpea, a legume. I guess if that is processed even cooking oil is. However Besan contains high proportion of carbohydrate but no gluten. The higher carb is ok or not ?

Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Great 7 Day Challenge


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I will be on the 7 Day Challenge from tomorrow. The husband has kindly agreed to be with me "for better or for worse".

I picked it up from Rads and following are the rules. I am going to work around couple of those rules, because rules are meant to worked around if not broken

* One week -- starting Monday to the next Monday. Okay, done. April 20th to April 27th

* No sugars -- I need sugar in my tea, twice a day. I can switch to Splenda, doesn't say No Splenda(see I am stickler to rules actually)

* No Alcohol -- Given up, am a saint already

* No Grains -- This is the one that lured me and yet this is the hardest for me. Needed a lot of thinking, re-thinking and planning

* No processed foods -- What, no Marie with my tea ??? Guys does Marie Biscuit or any cracker come under category "processed" ?

* Not eat out at all-- Going to be tough for the weekend. Got to decide weekend menu

* Workout everyday -- Not possible. I manage one zumba class and maybe one more gym session a week. No time or desire to leave the kids and go exercise. If weather is good I will try taking a walk each day. The husband might take this up

* Eat veggies -- Ok, maybe I will even eat the tender Spring grass and hugely reduce my grocery bill

* Eat Fruits - Not too much I guess

* Eat meat and eggs -- I will eat fish and eggs. This is an opportunity to get good eats into my system so I will stick with fresh fish and limited meat

* Fast for 18 hours - I am going to drink water and juice and tea, that is how I fast. I will stop eating Friday around 8 pm and have Saturday Lunch by 2 pm

I have a spreadsheet with probable menu for 5 work days, hopefully I will stick to it. Since no processed food(no ketchup, pickle ??) or eat out was allowed along with no grains it was not easy to plan. I also wanted to control fat in my food though that wasn't one of the conditions. This also needed some prep work on Sunday.

The menu is up here on my spreadheet. The menu seems to have plenty of food, I am not sure if it will be more or less so I will update it as necessary.

I chose simple, light, fancy free recipes which are moderately spicy and Indianized and have tried to plan a balanced meal. Got some idea from Sig's SBD Phase 1. This is NOT SBD though and I can eat a lot of things which maybe they can't.

Check my 7 Day Challenge Meal Planner Spreadsheet

The original challenge or tag started here.

Why am I doing this ? For exact reasons mentioned by the originator. I needed a push to make a change like like getting rid of all carbs. Only the end will show if I am fitter, better for it.

Anyone want to join ? Come on take it up and use the following icon I made if you want

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