Vibrant Purple Pasta

Purple cabbage, more commonly known as red cabbage, is a colorful variety from the brassica family. Purple cabbage has a relatively high ratio of nutrients and vitamins

Cooking Cabbage:

When you cook the purple cabbage, avoid boiling it, as the water will sap the nutrients from the vegetable. Sauteing purple cabbage works well for most dishes. When comparing purple cabbage to other varieties, the notable difference is the antioxidant levels. The deeper pigmentation in purple cabbage indicates a richer supply of anthocyanins, which can help lower your risk of cancer, heart disease, macular degeneration and many other diseases. (read more Here)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pasta (off your choice) : 1 cup
Purple cabbage - Shredded -2 cups
Chopped green bell pepper - 1/2 cup
Chopped Tomato - 1/2 cup
Alfredo sauce - 1/2 cup
Olive oil - 1 Tbs
garlic - 1 clove chopped finely
Salt and pepper
Dried basil, Rosemary, thyme
Prego pasta sauce (optional)

Easy steps:

1. Boil pasta according to the package.
2. While pasta is cooking,  prepare purple cabbage
3. Heat oil, saute garlic for few seconds.
4. Add purple cabbage, tomato, pepper
5. Add salt and pepper to taste
6. Give a nice mix, and saute them.
7. Cover and cook for couple of minutes.
8. Now add Alfredo sauce and turn the heat to low. saute if for couple of minutes.
9. Add the dried herbs.
10. Add the cooked pasta and pepper to taste
11. Mix it gently.
12. Serve the warm pasta with pasta sauce like prego (optional)
13.  I served with boiled corn to make my plate more colorful and healthy.

◦

Vibrant Purple Pasta

Daliya Khichdi - Cracked Wheat Upma or Kichdi

Cracked wheat is made by crushing  the whole wheat into small pieces.  Cracked wheat contain relatively less calories but high nutrition values. It will be good source for loosing weight yet get more nutrition values.

1/4 cup of dry cracked wheat serves 8 -10 % of Iron Content and protein contents of daily serving.

Fiber in Cracked wheat :

In addition to keeping your body moving throughout the day, some carbohydrates take the form of fiber, a type of carb your body does not digest. Each serving of cracked wheat has 5 g. Fiber promotes the health of your digestive system and influences your bowel health, helping to decrease your risk of developing hemorrhoids and diverticulitis. Eating a carbohydrate and fiber-rich diet aids in maintaining a steady blood sugar level, preventing spikes that can damage your health.

source : Livestrong.com 

Ingredients:

Cracked Wheat - 1 Cup

Water - 21/2 cups
Green Beans - Finely chopped; ~1/2 cup
Carrots - Finely chopped ; ~1/2 cup
Peas - 1/2 cup
Ginger, garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Onion - Chopped, 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste (optional)
Green Chilly - 1 or more :per your taste bud


Seasoning : 

Butter - 1 Tbs
Musturd Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Hing a pinch
Turmeric - a pinch

Easy Steps :

Soak the daliya in water for 10 minutes.

Heat Butter in a pan. Add cumin seeds, urad dal, fry for couple of seconds. Add mustard seeds, hing and turmeric. Once the mustard seeds starts to crack add ginger garlic paste and green chilly. Fry until golden brown for few seconds.

Add Vegetables, soaked daliya.  Add salt, sugar and mix it well. Add 1 2/2 cups of water. Cook on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the hard cracked wheat's are soft and easy to chew. OR you can pressure cook for 3 whistles. use little less water if using pressure cooker.

Either you can make it like mushy like kichdi or less mushy like upma.

Enjoy this healthy kichdi with raita or yogurt or curd.

◦

Daliya Khichdi - Cracked Wheat Upma or Kichdi

Self rising white cornmeal blueberry muffins

Hello friends,

I am back to blogging after a long vacation in India..We had such a wonderful time with family and friends.. We miss them here. Especially Arushi is missing grand parents so much.: (
Anyways,  this is the first recipe I am writing after long time and here you go!

Ingredients you need for Cornmeal muffins.

Self rising white corn meal - 2 cups
Egg - 2
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Butter melted- 1/2 cup
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Blueberry - fresh or frozen - 1/2-1 cup
Raisins - 1/4 cup

Easy steps :

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Combine sugar and corn meal in a large bowl
3. Whisk eggs, yogurt and butter
4. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and Stir just until all the dry ingredients are moist.
5. Spoon the mixture to muffin cups , filling 3/4th fill.
6. Bake at 400F for 13-15 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

◦

Self rising white cornmeal blueberry muffins

Vegetable Couscous quesadilla and Tomatillo salsa

Ingredients for Vegetable Couscous quesadilla :

Whole grain tortilla or Chapathi
Couscous - 3/4 cup
Vegetables of your choice - I used : Beans, carrot, peas, corn and green bell pepper,
Cheese - of your choice - I used: Sharp Cheddar cheese, Grated
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Olive oil - 1 Tbs
Cumin - 1 tbs

Ingredients for Tomatillo Salsa:

Tomatillos - 4,  husked and rinsed
Jalapeno Chile - 1
Pepper - 1 tbs, freshly ground
Garlic -  2 cloves
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbs of Salt
Basil or cilantro - 1/2 cup roughly chopped

Easy Steps: 

Salsa:

1. Preheat the broiler, place tomatillos on cooking sheet.
2. Turn tomatillos when they start to blister and blacken.
3. Remove from broiler once the other side blisters, and let cool
4. Remove the blackened spots. 
5. Grind the tomatillos , jalapeno, lime juice, salt and garlic to make chunky puree.
6. Place a puree in a bowl, add chopped cilantro or basil and stir to mix.
7. Cover and let stand until ready to serve.

Quesadilla:

1. Cook the couscous according to the package instruction. OR check my other recipe for cooking instruction. and set aside
2. Chop the vegetables.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add  cumin.
4. Add all other vegetables and cook on a  low flame until tender.
5. add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Now add the cooked couscous and mix well.
7. Place tortilla or chapathi on the pancake pan. Turn the heat to low.
8. Spread desired amount of cheese on and couscous mixture and freshly prepared tomatillo salsa.
9. Spread another round of cheese if you like.
10. Place another tortilla carefully over the stuffing's.
11. Once the below tortilla turns brown, carefully flip to cook another side.
12. Once the other side of the quesadilla turns brown, take it out from the heat.
13. Run the pizza cutter in the middle of the quesadilla to divide.
14. Serve warm with tomatillo salsa, sour cream and freshly shredded lettuce.
15. Enjoy

◦

Vegetable Couscous quesadilla and Tomatillo salsa

Couscous, Coconut soup

Ingredients:

Couscous - 1 cup

Dry Coconut flakes- 3 tbs

Paneer - cubed 1 cup

Carrot - chopped finely - 1/2 cup

Onions - chopped finely - 1 cup

Green beans - chopped- 1/2 cup

Peas - 1/2 cup

Garlic - 2 cloves minced

Ginger - 1 inch piece - grated

Milk or heavy cream - 1 cup

Water or broth - ~3 cups (Adjust according to your required consistency)

Corn kernels - 1 cup

Butter - 1 Tbs

Salt and Pepper - to taste

◦

Couscous, Coconut soup

Sweet Corn Soup

Ingredients: (Serving size 2 adults)

Cream style sweet corn kernels -  small tin

Onion - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Green onion(Scallions) - 2 spring

Carrots - 1/4 cup Finely chopped

Green beans - 1/4 cup chopped

Cabbage - 1 cup Shredded

Garlic- 2 cloves minced

Ginger - 1 inch piece grated

Butter - 1 tbs

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Water or Broth

Corn starch

Add any other vegetables of your choice - Finely chopped cauliflower is also very good option.

◦

Sweet Corn Soup

Jolada rotti/ white Corn rotti/chapathi

I cannot stop laughing the day I made the corn rotti for the first time.  Vighnesh had invited his friends to home and he promised them 'We will make jolada rotti and ennegayi' which is famous recipe in north karnataka. One of his friend from north karnataka and he was very excited about it.

You know how bachelors feel when someone invites for lunch. :) . I never prepared jolada rotti until that day in my life. And was not sure how to make it, I just made a dough just like wheat chapathi dough. It was such flop show, ended up throwing whole dough and made simple wheat flour chapathi instead.

Later, I learned it from my Mother-in-law; she is a great cook and now I make pretty good jolada rotti. Trust me :).  I keep getting appreciation from friends or vighnesh. Aw, It is been 3 years since corn roti was introduced in our regular diet.

So how do I make?

◦

Jolada rotti/ white Corn rotti/chapathi

Pan-Seared Corn on the Cob / Cidar vinegar Corn



Aw, Shucks!



 

 Ingredients:

Water - 3 Tbs

Apple cidar vinegar - 11/2 tbs

Olive Oil - 1 Tbs

Corn (obviously :) )

Unsalted butter - 1 tbs

Garlic -2 clove minced

Parsley - Fresh preferred, I used dry; as I ran out of fresh

Pepper & salt 1/8 tbs or to taste

◦

Pan-Seared Corn on the Cob / Cidar vinegar Corn

Roasted Corn potato soup

Ingredients:

Corn kernels - 2 cups

Potatoes - 3

Celery - 1 stick

Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup chopped

Green beans - 1/2 cup chopped

Any other vegetables if you like, I like to add zucchini and french onion

Milk/ heavy cream - 1 cup

Broth or water - 2 cup

Onion - 1 cup chopped

Cheddar Cheese - 1 cup

Garlic- 4

Salt and Pepper to taste

◦

Roasted Corn potato soup