Cracked Wheat Upma

I am just back from my trip to Puerto Rico. It is an amazing place. Wow the beaches are so relaxing and water so azure. Well it was a great trip but like every vacation I came back with the baggage of excess weight. Now with great difficulty as I am settling back into my routine, I am also figuring out ways to eat right to lose some pounds. So today while scouring my forgotten jars in the cabinet, I came across cracked wheat and whipped up an upma out of it. It turned out to be great tasting. The recipe for it goes as follows-

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups cracked wheat
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
• 3 green chillies chopped
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 4 cups boiling water

Directions:

• In a pot, take 3 tsp olive oil. Add cumin seeds and let the oil heat.
• When the cumin seeds crackle, add green chillies and curry leaves. Saute well.
• Add onions and saute till translucent.
• Add tomatoes and let it cook till it gets mushy.
• Add red bell peppers and salt. Cook for a minute.
• Add cracked wheat and mix well. Reduce the flame and let it stay on heat for a minute or two, mixing occasionally.
• Add boiling water and lime juice.
• Let the cracked wheat cook till there is almost no water in the mixture, but it should be moist.
• Add pepper and mix.
• Turn off the gas and cover the pot for 5 minutes.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

Samosa Chaat- Healthy Way

Growing up in Mumbai, I have fond memories of chaats. During my college days while going back home I always enjoyed having bhel puri, sev puri or ragda patties with my friends. Samosa chaat is a yummy fast food from India. But it is loaded with calories since the samosa is a stuffed pastry which is deep fried. I just skipped the frying and used our regular whole wheat rotis to create the cover for potato stuffing.

To assemble the chaat we need:

• 4-5 large whole wheat rotis
• Potato stuffing
• Chhole curry
• Yogurt
• Green cilantro chutney
• Tamarind -date chutney
• Thin sev

To make Rotis-

Ingredients:

• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups warm water (approximate)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

• Add salt to the whole wheat flour. Add water one cup at a time and mix well.
• Add more water if you think the mixture is too dry, 1/4 cup at a time. Likewise if you think the mixture is too gooey you can add whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup at a time.
• Add olive oil and knead into a soft pliable dough.
• Keep aside for 15 minutes, well covered.
• Make large tennis ball sized balls from the dough.
• Roll them flat with a rolling pin about 1/8 inch thick on a smooth surface and cook well on both sides on a pan.

To make the Potato Stuffing-

Ingredients:

• 4-5 potatoes cooked and mashed roughly
• 1 cup green peas cooked
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp amchur powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• salt to taste

Directions:

• In a pan heat olive oil. Add cumin seeds and fennel seeds. When they start changing color add mashed potatoes and green peas. Mix well.
• Add chili powder, amchur, garam masala and salt. Mix everything together.
• You can adjust the spices as per your taste.
• The potato filling is ready.

To make the Chole curry-

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chickpeas/ garbanzo beans (soaked 5-6 hours and cooked)
• 2 large onions
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp garam masala
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

Directions:

• Make a paste of 1-1/2 onions and tomatoes in a food processor.
• Chop the remaining half onion.
• Take oil in a pot and when it heats up add the chopped onion, asafoetida and ginger-garlic paste. Saute well.
• Add the onion and tomato paste and let it simmer let the raw smell goes off.
• Add chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala. Mix well.
• Add chickpeas/ garbanzo beans and salt. Simmer till the gravy thickens and gives out a nice aroma of spices.

Assembling Chaat-

• Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
• Put the potato stuffing in each roti and roll it.
• Place the filled rotis, in a greased rectangular baking pan, with its open side down.

• Spray cooking oil on top of the rotis and bake it for 15-20 minutes. The rotis should not be burnt but browned with crisp tops.

• Take each roll on a plate. Top it with chhole curry, yogurt, green chutney and tamarind-date chutney.

• Finally top off with sev and you can enjoy samosa chaat in a healthy way. 

Oatmeal Upma

Oats are healthy grains that provide essential fiber to you body. Well oats are not predominantly Indian but I have Indianized the usage of oats. Upma is a quintessential breakfast popular all over India, and making this breakfast with oats makes it all the more healthy. I know lot of Indians who are so used to our spicy food that oats cooked with water or milk does not go well with them. So this oats recipe is good for everyone, for those who want a twist to their regular oatmeal breakfast to those who can't have oats without spice in it.

This recipe also makes for a healthy quick meal on those lazy weekends or for those days when you are really busy and tied for elaborate cooking.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oatmeal (quick/ old fashioned)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 green chillies chopped
• 6-7 curry leaves
• 1 inch ginger chopped fine
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1-1/2 cup mixed frozen vegetables/ corn/ peas/ bell peppers/ tomatoes
• 5-6 cups boiling water
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Directions:

• Keep water, on stove, to boil
• In a large nonstick pot, take 1 tbsp oil and let it heat. Add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters.
• Add green chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Saute it.
• Add onions, saute it till translucent and add oatmeal.
• Add vegetables and let the oats get toasted on the stove on a low flame for 10-15 minutes. Keep stirring in between to prevent oats from getting burnt. 
• Add salt and boiling water.
• Add lime juice and stir to mix everything well.
• Simmer the mixture till  it becomes like a thick porridge.
• Oatmeal upma is ready to be served.

Tortilla Soup

I consider tortilla soup to be my comfort food especially during these cold winters it is heart and belly warming. The heat and the flavors in the soup are just right to set you in a good mood. My husband and I love Mexican food. I think it comes close to Indian cuisine with the addition of chili powder, cumin powder, etc.

The soup that I make is a hearty one with lot of ingredients going into it. It can be served as a filling entrée in itself. It is a complete one dish meal which is a good source of vitamins and proteins.

Here goes the recipe for tortilla soup-

Ingredients:

• 6-8 corn tortillas
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded, veins removed and chopped fine
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup cooked Mexican beans (black, red, kidney or pinto)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• salt as per taste
• 4-6 cups water/ vegetable broth/ beans broth/ chicken broth
• few sprigs cilantro chopped
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Directions:

• Soak beans overnight or at least for 6 hours and cook it al dente.
• Cut corn tortillas in strips. Spread them on a baking sheet with aluminium foil. Spray cooking oil on it and put it in oven pre heated to 350 degree F.
• In 15-20 minutes the tortillas will become crisp and lightly brown. Remove and keep aside.
• In the meanwhile, in a cooking pot take a tablespoon of olive oil and heat it. Add garlic, jalapeño pepper and saute for  a minute. Add onions and saute well till onions become soft. Add tomatoes and let it become mushy. Add bell pepper and corn.
• Add chili powder, cumin powder and salt. Mix well.
• Add beans with water/ broth.
• Let it simmer for around 15 minutes.
• Add lime juice and cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Take soup in a bowl, top it with baked tortilla strips and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Homemade Whole wheat Pizza

Pizza is the most versatile dish in the world and it is a surprise to find anyone who would hate pizza. If given a chance I think kids would gorge on pizza everyday for every meal.

Growing up in Mumbai I have memories of the first pizza I had, it was a small pre-made base with onion, bell pepper and tomatoes, tomato ketchup and cheese topped on it. I still loved that. But then with the entry of Pizza hut, Dominoes and Smoking Joe's I realized what we used to have would be a pizza made by a kid. These new chains came with pizzas suitable for the Indian palate with tandoori chicken pizza, paneer tikka pizza and all. I think that is the beauty of pizza, you can get so creative with the toppings that really sky is the limit. So it can be enjoyed by people of all ethnicities and culture.

Again the pizza that you get in Italy (the land which gave us the pizza) is nowhere close to what you get in Pizza huts. I think the freshness of the ingredients makes the difference. But ultimately the taste and good ingredients matters. So I would like to share my recipe for the whole wheat pizza which tastes good and has healthy ingredients too.

Ingredients:

For the base

2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1-1/2 cups warm water

1 packet dry active yeast

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce

5 tomatoes chopped roughly

3 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic minced

1 small onion chopped fine

1-1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar/ honey

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp paprika

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degree F.

For the base

• Mix sugar in warm water and add yeast on top of the water. Let it sit for 15 minutes and the yeast will become frothy.
• Add salt to the frothy water and mix well.
• In a large bowl, take whole wheat and all purpose flour. Mix it with a whisk. Add the water mixture to the flour and mix well. Add more water, if you feel that the mixture is too dry, a tablespoon at a time.
• Add oil and knead the mixture into smooth and soft dough.
• Cover the dough with cling wrap loosely and let it rest for at least an hour. It will double in size.

For the sauce

• In a pan add olive oil and when it heats up saute garlic and onion for a minute.
• Add chopped tomatoes and salt.
• Let the tomatoes cook well and be all mushed up.
• Add tomato ketchup and sugar/ honey.
• Add the Italian seasoning and paprika. Let the mixture simmer for a minute or two.
• Remove from heat and the sauce is ready for use.

Assemble Pizza

• Remove the dough, it must have doubled in size. Punch it and knead once more and make two large balls out of it
• Roll each ball into pizza base. Roll it to a thickness of 1/2" to 1/4" according to your preference.

• Top the base with sauce, add mozzerella and any other cheese.
• Top it with your favorite veggies, meat, or even fruits like apple, pineapple, etc.
• Top off with mozerella and any cheese of your choice.
• My toppings were spinach, corn, onion and paneer (an Indian hard cottage cheese)

• Put it in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. The crust should be hard and golden brown in color.

Enjoy Pizza ;)