What we choose to eat first thing in the morning can have a massive impact on the rest of our day. If we go for protein rich eggs or slow release carbs like porridge oats we’ll feel ready to take on the day and be fueled right up until lunch time. If instead we opt for a sugar laden cereal, it’s highly likely that come mid morning we’ll find ourselves crashing down from that sugar high and ready to raid the biscuit tin in a bid for a quick fix of energy, being that said I will leave you here these 5 Ways to Eat Porridge Oats in the Morning.
This is a tasty loaf with lots of flavor. I prepared it with whole wheat flour rather than just all purpose and it came out very good 🙂 I will be enjoying this on Christmas morning with my family. What will you be eating Christmas morning?
Ingredients
2 cup of Dates fruit
2 Cups of Water
2 tbsp butter
1 to 2 cups of sugar. I used approximately 1.5 cup and it was fine.
3 cups of flour ( I used whole Wheat flour – 2 cups and 1 cup of all purpose flour)
2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
100 gm Pecans
Method
Add fresh dates fruits similar to Mariami Dates, water, sugar and butter in a saucepan and bring to boil. Add these wet ingredients into dry ingredients ( which includes flour, spices, baking soda). Add egg. Add Pecans and gently mix everything together. Bake at 350 F for 40-45 mins. Serve with a cup of Chai latte.
Hello guys, here is a recipe for Punjabi style eggless tawa Kulcha (Indian flatbread) which my mom often makes when all our family gets together during the holidays. She makes a big batch of dough which lasts easily 3-5 days in the refrigerator and Kulchas can also be cooked (in advance) if expecting company and stored in the fridge for upto 5 days..although nothing beats fresh homemade Kulcha with a bowl of tasty curry.
Ingredients and Method
6 cup flour ( we use combination of 4 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups of all purpose flour).
2 tbsp melted butter
1 cup plain homemade yogurt ( Dahi) / Greek yogurt
1/2 tbsp yogurt ( dissolve it in 1 to 1/2 cup of luke warm water and let stand for 10 mins)
1/2 tsp salt
extra water to knead the dough
– Begin by pouring flours into a bowl.
– Add butter, yogurt and add yeast (dissolve yeast in water and let stand for 10 mins) before adding in
– Add salt in the flour
– Gradually add more water as required to make smooth dough. Let dough stand for 4 hours (covered with a wet – (not dripping with water though) kitchen cloth). Place it in a warm place like instead oven or above fridge or one of the kitchen cupboards.
– After 4 hours, take small golf size dough balls, roll them out with rolling pin (using little bit of flour) and cook on a hot griddle/skillet until light brown spots appear on both sides.
Serve with a curry of your choice.
There are several ways to make Naan and at home you can cook it in three distinct ways. Once you’ve prepared the naan dough (recipe below), you can make it :
– In the oven ( I love to turn the oven on at the highest temp i.e. 550 C during winters or I prefer this method when I am making Naan for a large group) Remember if you are using thismethod, your baking sheet needs to be hot when you put flattened out dough onto it. Each side of dough needs 2-3 mins. Once naan is ready, pat some butter on top and serve right away.
– Cook it on a tawa/griddle/skillet on a stove top (my favourite way since Naan’s always come out soft and fluffy) . I like to make a big batch of dough this way and then our whole family enjoys the naan with curry foir several days. When you want to reheat the naan (just sprinkle few drops of water on top and microwave it) It is also good to be used as a base for a pizza.
– There is always an option to take out your good ol’ George Foreman grill especially if you are a student living in a dorm or out camping or travelling and crave this delicious Indian flatbread.
3 cups all purpose flour (feel free to use whole wheat flour or half of each kind for healthier version)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar (and pinch more to add in yeast)
2 tbsp oil ( few drops more to pat on top of the dough)
1 tsp yeast ( to be dissolved in 1/4 cup lukewarm water and with pinch of sugar) Let this mixture stand for 10 mins and become frothy. It works like magic but smells really bad.
1 egg
1/2 cup milk and to knead the dough you will also require 1/2 to 3/4 cup room temp water
1/2 tsp baking powder
In a bowl, combine flour with baking powder, sugar and salt. Add in egg and oil. Let yeast mixture get ready and then add it in the flour. Gradually add milk and water to form a soft pliable dough. Let dough stand for at least 4 hours. After about 2 hours, knead it once more. Dough will double in volume. Remember to cover the dough with a wet kitchen cloth or clean wet towel. Keep the dough in a warm place (like on top of the fridge or inside the oven) Once it’s done, you can refrigerate the dough (covered in an airtight container to make flatbread at a later date) Stays good for 3-5 days then starts to dry out. Now enjoy delicious homemade flatbread whenever you want.
At first glance Kapil Sharma seems like your average Indian boy from next door but this simple Punjabi boy from town of Amritsar has won hearts of millions of Indians from all over the world with his comedy. It won’t be wrong to say that ‘Kapil sharma’ is a world class standup comedian who knows what tickles and makes Indian crowds laugh. And like all Punjabi’s Kapil Sharma’s love affair with food is old and solid. He is very fond of Rajma chawal and his favourite dish is Aloo Parantha.
Kapil often refers to food and jokes about not having enough food to eat at his home in his show ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ on Colors TV. Recently he made a comment inorder to encourage Indian people to go out and vote: If you just eat pakodas/pakoras on April 10 (polling day), be ready to get stomach ache for next five years. Don’t just eat Pakodas but go out and vote. If he sees a fat person in his show, he makes fun of them by saying ‘Did you eat lot of Chole BhatureToday?’ and the audience loves his guts and teasing manner.
With two episodes of his stand-up comedy show per week and an impending feature film debut looming over his head, comic entertainer Kapil Sharma is currently going through the most hectic time of his life. And now he has a nutritionist accompanying him to all his shootings as he needs to lose weight (chickpea salad recipe to lose weight) for his movie project.
“My schedules are so jampacked that I just snatch sleep and eat food whenever I can. But I’ve decided health comes first. I’ve got a guy to control my food intake. The trouble is, he feeds me boiled vegetables for dinner.” “But then after that when I’m on my own, I end up cheating and snacking on bread and omelette while shooting. So I’m not losing as much weight as I’d like to,” he added. Snack like Kapil Sharma- Recipe for Masala Egg Toast
Fortunately, Kapil’s back problem has been taken care of. “I’ve been regularly working out and doing back exercises. So the back problem has gone. But nowadays I have a shoulder pain,” he said, adding that he is fighting a desperate battle with his schedules. “I need to create a bank of episodes for my show before I start shooting for my film from May 15. I can’t run back-and-forth from the film set to the shooting of the show. They’re two completely different disciplines, and I can’t allow them to clash.
“Stand-up comedy comes as naturally to me as breathing. But film acting is an entirely new experience for me. I’ve to give it my hundred percent,” said the comedian, who is set to make his film debut with a Yash Raj Films project. “The channel says the TRPs will suffer if we cut down the episodes. Luckily, for me I got an unexpected reprieve when the first schedule of my film Bank Chor was shifted from April to May. I am racing against time to create a bank of episodes, so I can complete one schedule of Bank Chor without any interruption,” he said.
All his fans are looking forward to his first movie debut ‘Bank Chor.’ All the best to our favourite Kapil Sharma. Hope he gets in better shape and reaches his fitness goals while still enjoying his favourite Indian foods. Kapil, you have managed to put a smile on our faces and hope that you will continue to do so in the future.
Learn how to make Aloo Parantha just the way all Punjabis (including Kapil Sharma) like to eat 🙂
Meetha Paratha is a sweet Indian flatbread stuffed with cashews, blanched almonds, pecans, raisins etc (basically any dry fruit of your choice.) It is one of my favourite flatbreads especially because so many of my childhood memories are associated with it. As a kid, sometimes when I would be upset my mom prepared this tasty paratha for me because she knew I loved it. Now, I make it for my little ones and they enjoy it too.
Ingredients:
Plain Roti/ Paratha dough
( Video link to make Dough: Dough for Parantha)
Sugar
Dry fruit of your choice
and butter
Method:
Take a small portion of dough and divide it into two equal parts.
Roll it out as thin as you can and then add on dryfruit onto one part. Sprinkle sugar. Cover with the other part and seal the edges by pressing on with your finger tips. Cook on a hot griddle/ pan until brown spots appear on both sides. As you are cooking, you can add on ghee/butter. Enjoy as a snack or for breakfast.
Treat your kids to this yummy snack. Better than store bought junk. All you need to make this tasty paratha is some flour ( for the dough) and chocolate spread. Really that’s it… ok a little bit of butter too 🙂
Ingredients:
Plain Roti/ Paratha dough
Recipe to make Dough here
Chocolate spread- Nutella works great. I often use hazelnut spread.
and butter
Method:
Take a small portion of dough and divide it into two equal parts.
Roll it out as thin as you can and then add on chocolate spread. Fold it and roll it out again with help of a little bit of dry flour. Cook on a hot griddle/ pan until brown spots appear on both sides. As you are cooking, you can add on ghee/butter. Enjoy as a snack or for breakfast.
One of the easiest desserts ever is bread pudding. Here’s how you can make it with an indian touch.
Ingredients/ method
( Serves 2-3)
4 slices of bread
1 tsp oil to grease your loaf pan
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup dry fruit of your choice. I like using raisins and pecans
( Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts work really well in this pudding too)
2 large eggs- beaten
1 can Evaporated milk – 370 Ml ( almost 1.5 cup + a bit more)
1/2 cup sugar
I use sugar moderately but you can add upto 3/4 cup- depending on how sweet you want your pudding
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp Elaichi Powder (Cardamom Powder) – Made by simply crushing or coarsley grounding green cardamom seeds
3-4 drops of Kewra essence (1/4 tsp). If you don’t have it use good ol’ Vanilla extract.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease a standard 5×9″ loaf pan with oil and place bread slices in it. I divide each slice into 4 equal parts but you can make them smaller as well.
Add Dry fruit onto bread slices.
Next in a bowl mix together other ingredients – eggs, spices, milk and sugar. Once well beaten and nicely incorporated with each other, pour this mixture
over bread.
Bake at 350 F for 40-45 mins until nicely set.
You can prepare a special bread pudding sauce like caramel or vanilla sauce, serve it with ice cream or drizzle maple syrup/ may be even honey and serve.
Enjoy this tasty treat.
St. Patrick’s day food might be associated with being greasy and unhealthy, this is one recipe that you can enjoy guilt free. Pair it with Masala Hummus and everyone at that St. Patrick’s day you are invited to will be wowed or simply prepare it to share with your co-workers or to get into St. Paddy’s day spirit.
Ingredients: Bunch of Spinach leaves and 2 cups whole wheat flour. Method: Make spinach puree by blending spinach leaves with 1 cup of water. Add 1 to 1.25 cups of puree into 2 cups flour and make a dough. You can add 1 tbsp oil to the dough to keep it soft and moist. Let rest 10-15 mins. When ready to proceed, heat a pan/tawa/griddle. Flaten out small portion of dough (Golf Ball size) and you can either use a cookie cutter in Shamrock shape or cloverleaf shape to cut the dough out. Cook the shape on the pan until brown spots appear on both sides. Alternatively flatten out the dough, cook it until both sides have brown spots (2-3 mins) and then cut out cloverleaf shapes and serve with chutney of choice or Masala Hummus. Enjoy!
Wishing you all lots of good luck this St. Patrick’s Day. Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day 2014.
Sago Kheer (often confused with Tapioca Pudding) is actually made with Milk, Sago Pearls (which look like Tapioca), Sugar, Saffron, Cardamom and Kewra essence. In Northern India, it is also called Sabudana Kheer and is specially made during Shivratri festival ( or other religious festivals like Holi, Navratri etc) as a fasting food.
Ingredients and Method:
1/2 cup Sago (Sabudana)
1.5 Cup water for cooking (+ for soaking)
2.5 Cups milk
1/4 tsp saffron strands
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
3-4 tbsp Sugar (adjust per taste)
1-2 drops Kewra essence
Dry fruit of your choice for garnish
Method:
Soak Sago in water for 15-20 mins after washing it thoroughly.
Next boil 1.5 cup of water in a pot and add Sago. Let cook for 10 mins. Keep stirring in between so that sago doesnt stick to the pot.
Add Milk, Saffron, Cardamom powder, Kewra and Sugar. Stir thoroughly and cook until milk thickens up and Sago pearls turn translucent and soft.
Garnish with dry fruit of your choice and serve warm or chilled.
Indian flatbread stuffed with lentils, sugar and coconut mixture is called Puran Poli. It’s really tasty and can be enjoyed anytime during the day. In India, it is specially made during the Holi season. My kids love it and I am sure yours will too.
Ingredients/ Method:
1/2 cup Chana Dal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
Water to knead the dough
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp Oil
Butter/ Ghee to smear over Parathas
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Coconut
Method:
Soak Chana Dal in water for 30 mins then cook it in pressure cooker with little bit of water. Make a puree out of the lentils. For the dough, mix all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. Add Oil. Add pinch of salt and water to form the dough. Set aside. In a wok, cook lentils in 2 tbsp butter along with sugar, coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom powder. Form a dry mixture and let it cool down so that its easy to form small round balls.
Out of your flour mixture, take small portion of dough. Flatten it out half way through and fill it with lentils mixture. Close the dough and flatten it out with a rolling pin. Put some dry flour on your working surface. Cook this flattened out roti on a griddle/skillet till brown spots are formed on both sides. Smear with ghee and serve.
Wishing you all a very Happy Holi 2014 from our family to yours.
