Monday, February 25, 2013

Protien Rich Soya Keema Paratha

I tend to make stuffed parathas very frequently as they are tasty and filling. This time I used soya granules for stuffing. It is tasty, filling and very healthy too.

I adopted this recipe from sanjeev kapoor. Hope you would enjoy it too
 
Ingredients for Stuffing
  • 1 cup soya granules
  • 1 small boiled potato
  • 3 chopped green chillies
  • 1/2 cup chopped onions
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 3 tbsp chopped cilantro/coriander
  • 1/2 tsp amchur powder
  • 1 tsp oil
  • salt to taste
Procedure:
Soak soya granules in hot water for 15 min ,then squeeze nicely and keep aside

Heat oil in a pan,add onion and fry,once its start becoming translucent add soya granuals and fry for 1 min in medium flame,to keep it moist add milk and stir a while ,then add mashed potato and mix nicely

Then add salt,amchur powder,green chillies and cilatro and mix nicely and switchoff the flame and shift the mixture to plate to cool.

Ingredients for paratha :

  • 2 cups atta
  • 1/4 tsp ajwain
  • 1/2 tsp oil
  • pinch of salt
Take flour,mix salt and ajwain to it then add three-fourth cup of warm water gradually, knead to make a smooth dough. And keep aside for 15 min.

Making the paratha

Break the dough in 6 equal portions,roll each portion in a ball and flatten it by pressing.

Place 1 1/2 table spoon of stuffing on it and enclose it.Seal the edges completely so that stuffing does not come out.

Flatten again, sprinkle a little flour and roll them with a rolling pin to approximately six-inch diameter.

Heat a frying pan(tawa), place paratha on it and cook on moderate heat for three minutes.

Turn it and pour half a tablespoon of oil, spread it on paratha and shallow fry over low heat.

Turn it and again pour half a tablespoon of oil on other side, cook on low heat till golden brown

Serve hot with pickle and curd

  

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Soursop Smoothie a Natural Cancer Fighter

My mother survived cancer a couple of years back and it was very a painful experience for her and the family. Recently when I was at a local vegetable fruit store "Kovai Pazhamudhir Nilayam" Anna Nagar Shanti Colony, I was amazed to see the soursop fruit being sold as a natural cancer fighting fruit. It was expensive sold at 350 rs per kg but having known what cancer can do to the human spirit prevention is always better than cure.

The mineral content and substance in soursop is 10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells compared with adiamycin and chemotheraphy.And unlike chemotheraphy soursop selectively hunts down bad cells and not harm healthy cells  

This fruit is very rich in fiber and has a distinct sourness and sweetness combined. You can have it as it is too and I ate half of the pulp directly. It tasted much better after I had freezed it.



Before you enjoy this fruit it is also important to realize how cancer cells grow in the human body as it will help us effective measure to prevent it

1. Sugar is a cancer-feeder.
By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells.. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Stevia which I had posted  earlier .

2. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily and deep breathing like kapalabhati popularized by baba ramdev help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cell.

3. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment 
Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to relax and enjoy life. Meditation is helpfull to de-stress.

Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour and contains only one mineral iodine. Table salt makes our  body  more acidic. A  better alternative would  be  himalayan salt 
Source : Canceractive.com

A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics,growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer. A vegetarian diet keeps the body more alkaline.

After reading about the benefits of soursop I recommend to make it part of your diet .

So here is the recipe

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup soursop pulp
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1.5 tsp sugar or 1/4 tsp stevia
  • 7-8 ice cubes
  • 1/2 tsp pistachio for garnish
Procedure:
Cut into half and scoop the pulp out and and remove the seeds.


In a blender make a smoothie with all the above ingredients. Pour it in a serving glass and garnish with the pistachios and serve immediately.



Note: 

1.Grinding the ice cubes with the soursop makes it a perfect chilled smoothie.

2. Soursop is best to select if it is turning lightly yellow and a little soft when pressed outside.

3. Adding nuts is optional however it gives a wonderful nutty texture to the smoothie


I shared this recipe with the Hearth & Soul blog hop

Monday, February 18, 2013

Stevia a Natural Miracle Sugar Substitute

I have been using artificial sweeteners as a substitute for sugar as it is advertised as a healthy alternative for weight watchers and for diabetics.  

My MIL is diabetic so we switched to a popular brand but  after having a conversation with a doctor he mentioned artificial sweeteners are not healthy and using honey or palm jaggery has no benefit as it too breaks down to a sugar compound that raises blood sugar. He recommended me to use Stevia.

Stevia is the only chemical-free, zero-calorie, zero-carb, zero-glycemic index, natural sweetener in the world !! 

Stevia is a double edged sword as it is the perfect solution for weight control and for diabetic . It is very popular in Japan as a natural sweetener 

The health benefits of Stevia include
  •     Helps maintain normal healthy blood sugar levels
  •     Helps support healthy pancreatic function
  •     Helps maintain a healthy digestive function
It is mentioned in Ayurveda and is used for cardiac edema, obesity, high blood pressure and gastritis. 

Herbalists in Brazil describe stevia as hypoglycemic, antihypertensive, diuretic and cardiac tonic. They use the plant for the treatment of obesity, fatigue, dental caries and high blood pressure

Now this was something I had never heard of but it is available in Nilgiris !! Dont worry if you dont have it at your local store, you could order it online in India or order it online in US

But before you consider to buy this for your family I would like to share all the research I found about Stevia.

I sincerly hope you would all benefit and make this life changing decision to use this sweet herb to sweeten all your recipes.


Scientific Evidence of Stevia by Dr  Amit Ahuja





India Recipes With Stevia  with Stevia 

History of Stevia A Tale of Incredible Sweetness

The Miracle of Stevia Book Written by James A May 

Stevia on Fox News 

Other Videos of SweetLeaf

 

Monday, February 4, 2013

The Ultimate Devil's Food Cake With a Chocolate Glaze

Contrary to it name it is one of the most heavenly cakes I have tasted.The crumb is tender, the filling and frosting luscious. It is dark, rich and yet not so sweet. And it is butter free so you enjoy it with a guilt free spirit : )

I bookmarked this recipe recently when I saw on Sangeeta's Spicy Treat blog. It is the perfect cake to prepare for this occasion of my in-laws 50th marriage anniversary.!!.

Ingredients 
  • 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup powder sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 6 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup oil(I used sunflower oil)
Procedure

Preheat oven 180 C 

Grease the baking pan, I used a 9 inch square pan.


Sieve the flour,cocoa powder, salt, baking soda 3 times together.Beat the eggs and sugar well with a beater approximately for 10 min or till it becomes fluffy. Add vanilla essence,butter milk,oil.coffee and beat for another minute.Now gently fold it with sifted flour and mix softly so that air does not escape. Now shift this batter to the baking pan.



Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes in 180 C, check with a toothpick till its done. Once done let it sit for 5 min then remove the cake from the pan to a cooling rack to cool completely. In the meantime we will prepare the chocolate glaze.

For Chocolate Glaze:

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the glaze combine the butter,chocolate,milk and vanilla extract in the top of the double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over hot water,until melted.

Place a piece of greaseproof paper under the cake, then pour spoonfuls of glaze along the edge to drip down and coat the sides.

Place the remaining glaze on the top of the cake.

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